It's July, which means Q4 of the federal government Fiscal Year has started. Did you know Q4 accounts for about 1/3 of government spending from the year? As federal agencies look to spend the remainder of their budgets, it's a great opportunity for GSA Schedule contractors to increase their business and take advantage of all the opportunities springing up. Here's how you can prepare your GSA Schedule for this spending spree:
Make sure your pricelist is visible: ensure your pricelist is updated and uploaded to GSA Advantage! and GSA eLibrary.
Research and track opportunities: to take full advantage of the upcoming opportunities in Q4, you should know the best places to look. SAM.gov and USAspending.gov may help you find relevant upcoming opportunities and determine how much an agency will plan to spend based on historical trends.
Marketing your GSA Schedule: alternatively to searching for opportunities, it's important to make sure your contract is visible to searching government agencies. This includes researching your competitors, identifying your target agencies, boost your company's web presence, keeping your GSA Advantage! updated, and creating an effective capabilities statement.
Couldn't make it to last month's webinar? Watch it here on demand. In this webinar, we teamed up with McCarter & English to talk about Joint Ventures and how they now fit into the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program.
From our clients and partners, to employees, and the local community, Winvale is dedicated to supporting our nation's veterans. We are especially proud to support a local Richmond organization, Tech for Troops. Tech for Troops provides veterans and their families with computer, skills, and IT workforce training. To learn more about our involvement with the veteran community, check out our video.
The General Services Administration (GSA), Office of Small Business Utilization is hosting this 30-minute webinar for all small businesses looking for additional information and guidance on GSA and our opportunities. The webinar will include an overview of the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Program, Public Buildings Service, Federal Acquisition Service, Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts, the Forecast of Contracting Opportunities, the Small Business Administration’s Subcontracting Network (SubNet), Section 889 guidance, and more. Register for the event here.
This training class will cover preparation for Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Contractor Assessment (CA) process for industry partners. CAs are conducted by GSA’s Industrial Operation Analysts (IOAs), and are designed to verify the contractor is complying with their contractual terms and conditions and have the support necessary to be successful. Register for the event here.
Did you know Quarter (Q) 4 of the Federal Government Fiscal Year accounts for roughly 1/3 of all government contracting spending throughout the year? Q4, which began on July 1 and will run until September 30, is essentially a spending spree for federal agencies looking to use up their annual budgets. This means it’s a busy time for contractors, and a window for loads of opportunities to get business through your GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). How do you ensure you are prepared for this kind of opportunity?
Join Winvale’s BCG Manager, John Abel, as he discusses the importance of Q4 and how to prepare your GSA Schedule so you are ready to take advantage of all the spending that will go on for the next few months. We’ll discuss:
The statistics
Making sure you're visible to buyers
Being proactive with opportunities
Preparing your GSA Schedule pricelist with modifications
A few changes were made to SAM.gov registration recently. First, when you create a new entity, you will be asked two questions about your intention of using SAM.gov. Whether you are doing business directly with the U.S. federal government or are a subcontractor working with an organization doing business directly with the government, you will see a personalized recommendation based on your responses. Once you have taken a moment to compare your options, you’ll be able to make a choice that best fits your organization’s goals.
When it’s time to update your existing registration, you will also be asked two questions regarding your purpose for SAM.gov. As a returning user, you will see a table with your current option highlighted. You can either change your option or continue with your previous decision. When you renew your SAM.gov account annually or update your account, you will be able to view your entity options and change your answer, if desired.
It’s important to note that your answers to the new questions are anonymous and not recorded on your entity record and no matter how you answer the questions, you can choose any of the options. Additionally, you only need to answer the questions once per entity. Once it’s time to update or renew, you won’t have to answer them again.
QUICK TIPS
How to Qualify Government Opportunities
Qualifying for government contract opportunities requires a strategic approach. The process of going after these opportunities can be complex and demanding. How do you decide which opportunities are relevant and are worth going after, so you can make the best use of your resources? We put together some tips:
1. Research and Understand the Government Contract Landscape
It's important to familiarize yourself with the various federal, state, and local agencies with contracts relevant to your offerings. The agencies may even have unique sets of rules and regulations that will change their processes, and could affect your response.
2. Assess Business Capabilities and Identify Target Customer/Market(s)
It’s key that you identify your business capabilities and compare them against the stated requirements in a government contract opportunity. The first phase of any pipeline is to identify opportunities, but without knowing who and what your client base will look like, it will be difficult to identify opportunities that may be a good fit for your offering.
3. Utilize Government Contract Databases and Paid Subscriptions Tools to Find Relevant Opportunities
You should use the System for Award Management, commonly known as ‘SAM’, to find relevant opportunities using keywords, place of performance, specific agencies, set-asides etc. Additionally, commercially available paid subscription tools provide companies with a solution that lets you search for and uncover opportunities using key search terms relevant to your offerings.
4. Government Contract Qualification and Proposal Submission
Once you locate and identify a relevant opportunity that you would like to submit a response, it’s vital that you thoroughly review the solicitation documents, including the stated requirements, terms, and conditions of each solicitation. If you are unable to meet a requirement or do not follow the instructions carefully, your response could be tossed out, so it's important you are paying attention.
More information about qualifying opportunities can be found in our blog.
EMERGING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Antenna
The Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency has issued a pre-solicitation announcement under NAICS Code: 334220 - Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing, for the acquisition of Antennas. Responses are due no later than August 9, 2023 and is subject to change. More information can be found under Notice ID: SPE7M523R0029.
Sources Sought – INCREASING THE RESILIENCE OF USMC RESOURCES USING NATURE BASED SOLUTIONS
The US Army Corps of Engineers is seeking potential sources under NAICS Code: 541620 - Environmental Consulting Services. The Sources sought will be for all eligible small socio-economic entities. The intended purpose of this distribution is to identify nature based solutions for use in reducing impacts from natural hazards (e.g., coastal storms, floods, desertification, drought, wildfire, etc.) rather than by conventional means. Responses are due no later than 30 September, 2023. More information can be found under Notice ID: W912HZ23SS0029.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What is SAM.gov and Why is it Necessary?
A: SAM.gov, which stands for System for Award Management, is a website and database maintained by the U.S. government. A SAM account is needed before you can submit your GSA Schedule offer, and you need to renew it annually as long as you want to do business with the government. SAM.gov consolidates several previously separate federal procurement systems into a single platform, making it easier for vendors to register, manage their information, and pursue government contracts. Whether you are a business seeking government contracts, or a federal agency looking for potential vendors, SAM.gov is a key resource for accessing and managing procurement-related information in the United States.
Q: How does an Entity Register for a SAM.gov account?
A: On the SAM.gov homepage, click on the "Register" button located at the top right corner of the page. This will take you to the "Create a SAM User Account" page. On the registration page, you will be asked to select the type of account you need. Choose the option that best suits your situation. Fill out the registration form with the necessary information such as your name, email address, phone number, and physical address. You may also need to provide your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), depending on the type of account you are creating. Additionally, you may need to provide additional information, such as your banking information for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) purposes.
Q: Which NAICS Codes Should Be Included in Your SAM Registration?
A: The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes selected should best reflect your entity’s offerings. NAICS Codes are a numerical way of classifying types of products and services so a buyer should be able to look at your NAICS in SAM.gov and know what your company offers. While you are required to put in one NAICS, you can put as many as you think are applicable on your SAM.gov registration. If your company is registering a SAM.gov account to pursue a GSA MAS Schedule contract, make sure the NAICS Code you choose corresponds to the SINs you want on your contract.
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