Registrations, Certifications, and set-asides
Systems you need to register in:
- Login.gov: Create a personal account to access other federal systems
- SAM.gov: Register your company to do business with the Federal Government
- SBIR.gov: If you plan to pursue SBIR/STTRs register here
- Agency SBIR portals: Each SBIR/STTR awarding agency has its own portal that you will need to register in
Applying for set-asides:
- Applying for set-asides tends to be long and cumbersome so we recommend starting early
- For our class on set-asides and registering for them click on the class link
Other corporate certifications
- Personal certs: As we discussed in the credibility section the government loves asking for degrees and certificates so if there are common and respected certificates in your industry consider pursuing them
- Corporate certs: The government also loves asking for corporate certifications:
- Federal compliance: Certification that your business processes meet federal standards (e.g. federal pricing or accounting standards).
- Industry validation: The government likes to use industry certifications to validate technical competence (e.g. ISO 9001, CMMC, etc)
Tracking registrations & certs
- Track: Add the certs and set-asides you want to pursue in the FedScout Business Pipeline
- Registrations: The basic registrations are pre-loaded in the Business Pipeline
- Assistance applying: We have courses on each of the major registrations and set-aside applications
Rants and Reflections
My unscripted thoughts after coaching hundreds of small government contractors over the last 10 years
Other resources
List of further reading
Video Transcript(s):
Your business work plan has tasks pre-loaded for the common registrations, like SAM and you can add tasks for set-asides and other certifications you want to pursue.
And as you're reading the opportunities in your pipeline look for required certifications and add them to your tasks list.