Southeastern SBDC to host government contracting course
Monday, September 26, 2016
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – The Louisiana Small Business Development Center at Southeastern Louisiana
University is hosting a government contracting course in Walker on Thursday, Oct.
6.
Co-sponsored by Louisiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), Livingston
Economic Development Council, and Dixie Business Center, the free course will take
place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center,
located at 9261 Florida Blvd.
Deputy District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration Jo Lawrence
will serve as speaker for the course.
According to SBDC Assistant Director Sandy Summers, the System for Award Management
(SAM) is the primary database for vendors doing business with the federal government.
The registration is often referred to as “self-certifying” a small business. Federal
Acquisitions Regulations require all prospective vendors to be registered in SAM prior
to the award of a contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket
purchase agreement.
Summers said SAM is also a marketing tool to businesses. It allows government
agencies and contractors to search for a company based on its ability, size, location,
experience, ownership and more.
“The goal of this workshop is to walk participants through completion of their
SAM registration. For those who were registered in Central Contractor Registration
(CCR), assistance will be provided in migrating their legacy CCR account,” said Summers.
“All contractors wishing to do business with most all federal agencies are required
to register in the SAM. This is done by first creating an account. The registration
must then be renewed and/or updated annually. It is very important that the information
entered into SAM be accurate, detailed, current and complete.”
Summers said participants can bring their laptops or work from computers provided.
To complete the SAM registration, participants will need the following:
-- A company D&B (Dun and Bradstreet) DUNS number.
-- A company Tax Identification Number (TIN) / Employer Identification Number
(EIN).
-- A company Commercial and Government Entity Code (CAGE Code). The CAGE Code
is a five-character ID number used extensively within the federal government, assigned
by the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The CAGE code is used
to support a variety of mechanized systems through the government and provides a standardized
method of identifying a given facility at a specific location.
-- Banking information. Participants will need an ABA routing number for their
bank; account number and type, or lockbox number; automated clearing house (ACH) point
of contact; remittance point of contact; and accounts receivable point of contact
-- Statistical Information. Participants need to be able to provide receipts
from their firm including average annual receipts for the past three years,; the number
of employees at the firm; and the average number of persons employed for each pay
period.
Summer said at the end of SAM registration there will be an opportunity to “Register
or Update Your SBA Profile.”
“This is a separate data base from the SAM database and a place where all small
business firms want to be sure and get registered,” she said. “SBA’s Dynamic Small
Business Search (DSBS) is a site that most all Federal Contracting Activities as well
as Large Business Prime Contractors use for market research when looking for a particular
small business firm or sector of small business firms when making decisions on whether
or not to use small business set asides. Be sure to complete this section in full
detail to include the ‘Capabilities Narrative.’”
Although the seminar is free, pre-registration is required due to limited seating
available.
For more information on the course or the requirements, call 985-549-3831. Registration
is available on line at www.lsbdc.org.
