Government Contracting FAQs |
This page contains frequently asked questions about government contracting for small business in the North Texas area. Questions
For the purpose of SBA procurement assistance, a business generally is considered small if it is a business entity organized for profit, located in the United States, and which operates primarily within the United States or which makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor. The business entity must further qualify under the criteria set forth in the SBA Small Business Size Standards Regulation, Title 13, Part 121 of the Code of Federal Regulations. In making a detailed definition, the SBA may use a number of criteria, including the number of employees, annual receipts, affiliates, or other applicable factors. For information on specific industry classifications (manufacturing, construction, services, transportation, refined petroleum products and research development, development and testing) and refinements of the general definition of a small business, contact your local SBDC. The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1997 established a simplified-acquisition threshold of $100,000. It also required that a government-wide computer system, the Federal Acquisition Computer Network (FACNET) be implemented no later than January 1, 2000. One FACNET is in place. The entire procurement process, from solicitation through award and payment, will be done electronically. To access the FACNET System you must use the services of a Government-certified VAN/VAS. The letter requires a substantial investment. Your may contact the Department of Defense Electronic Commerce Information Center by calling 800-334-3414. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ Consult the U.S. Government Purchasing and Sales Directory, which will be put online here in the near future. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. Although these terms (acronyms) are still used, two of them now have different meanings than they did in the past. IFB now refers to Sealed Bidding and RFP now refers to Negotiated Procurement. RFQ still refers to requesting oral or written prices on small purchases. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ DUNS stands for Data Universal Numbering System and is used by the government to identify each contractor and their location(s). The number is also required to register with the Central Contractor Register (CCR) that is used by the government's Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange (EC/EDI) system called FACNET. If you do not have a DUNS number, the government has an arrangement with Dun and Brandstreet (D&B) to provide one at no cost. You can contact D&B at 800-333-0505. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ The CBD is the public notificaton media which U.S. Government agencies publish in five or six daily editions, as necessary. Contracting officers are required by the Small Business Act and the Federal Procurement Policy Act to publish proposed contract actions expected to exceed $25,000 and contract awards of $25,000 or more. Some exceptions apply to the requirements. Prime contractors are also permitted and encouraged to publish subcontracting opportunities in the CBD. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. The 8(a) program name is from Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act. The Act, as amended by Congress, created the 8(a) program so that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) could help small companies owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged persons develop their businesses. One of the business development tools of the 8(a) program is the award of Federal contracts. Under the program, SBA acts as a prime contractor and enters into contracts with other Federal Government Departments and agencies. In its role as a prime contractor, SBA awards subcontractors for their performance by certified companies. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ If a contractor abandons a contract or fails to perform satisfactorily, the contracting officer may terminate the contract for default and charge the contractor the excess re-procurement costs ( i.e., the difference between the original contract price and the ultimate cost to the government). For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive three-phase award system which provides qualified small business concerns with opportunities to propose innovative ideas that meet the specific research and development needs of the Federal Government. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994
establishes a 5 percent government-wide goal for contract awards to small, women-owned
businesses. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is determined both to establish
aggressive goals and to develop meaningful initiatives in cooperation with other SBA
program areas and other agencies to ensure that these new goals Each of the 11 Federal agencies the SBA has identified to participate in the pilot program has designated a women-owned business "advocate" to act as a liaison. Together with other resource partners, SBA and these agencies are developing a systematic approach to expand the pool of women-owned firms receiving Federal contract awards. The SBA and the liaisons from each of the agencies provide outreach, training, and marketing assistance to women-owned businesses. They meet regularly to assess the progress of the program, resolve problems, and develop new initiatives. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ Central Contractor Registration is the federal government's repository of pertinent data common to all contractors and the single place for contractors to register for conducting business with all federal government agencies. Contractors register only one time, with a requirement for annual renewal. CCR captures and stores the required information and distributes it as needed. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC.
For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ Contact the Center for Government Contracting or contact your regional ECRC (Electronic Commerce Resource Center) or your local PTAC (Procurement Technical Assistance Center). These locations are available from http://www.acq.osd.mil/cc/assist.html. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ Each of these numbers serves a separate purpose fo DoD contracting. The CAGE Code (Commercial And Government Entity Code) is required because it is being used by current and legacy DoD Automated Information Systems to identify contractors doing business with the Department of Defense. The DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) is the identification number specifically selected for CCR because of it's wide acceptance and recognition in the commercial marketplace. Both codes are used to validate CCR registration applications prior to completing the registration process. The TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) is required to facilitate elecronic funds transfer and to comply with the Debt Collection Improvement Act and for certain IRS 1099 income tax reporting requirements (NOTE: only certain finance and accounting personnel will have access to this privileged information. This information will not be accessible by other contractors or the public.) The TPIN (Trading Partner Identification Number) is similar to the personalized identification number (PIN) used to access private bank accounts. It is assigned after the CAGE and DUNS have been validated and the CCR registration is complete. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ No. The various Value Added Networks (VANs) and EDI translation software are designed to work with each other. EDI translation software databases contain the complete EDI standards dictionary, typically both ASC X12 and UN/EDIFACT. However, it is important to verify with the VANs and EDI translation software vendors what version and releases of the standards they support. Some VANs also work better with other specific VANs. You may want to get a list of the DoD certified VANs from the DoD EC Office to find the VANs that work well with the government. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ The most sensitive information is bank account EFT information. This data is only releasable to the appropriate DoD finance community. Much of the information is not available for public query. For the releasability of a specific data element refer to the matrix. Vendor information that is not releasable to the public is protected and viewable only by those government users with a login and a password. Your entire vendor profile is only viewable if you provide your DUNS and TPIN. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. For any given contract, find out how many documents are involved (how many Cost Performance Reports (CPRs), schedule reports, etc.) and the average number of pages per document, how many times the data are manually entered, who enters the data (expressed as a rate per hour), and how long it takes to enter the data. You want to determine how much it costs to handle one page manually and an equivalent page electronically. From these basic figures you can determine time and costs savings by document, by month or by year. You can then extrapolate these figures based on the number of contracts and types of reports you receive from the contractors. You may also want to try to quantify other costs savings or value added benefit factors such as better use of data or how linking EDI to other EC tools, such as bar coding and on-line systems, improves the process. These value added factors are harder to measure and quantify, but typically provide additional benefits for the end users that no one had anticipated before hand. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ A contractor will need to:
Other less tangible costs may be involved such as updating policies and procedures to move from a paper-based system to an electronic-based system. Most of the costs are a one-time expenditure. A contractor can use the EDI translation software throughout their company for a number of other functions and many contractors have a corporate EDI group or resources they can use. The benefit to a contractor is that they can use the same format and transmission method for all their government contracts instead of satisfying one requirement for one contract. Note that some commercial off-the-shell program management software applications include the capability to import and export ANSI X12 data. If so, the mapping process to interface with EDI translation software has already been done. For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ The best way to learn more about GSA's many contracting activities is to visit a Small Business Center -- GSA's "front door" to contracting opportunities. The center serving your area will help you become acquainted with GSA's programs and requirements and point you to the contracting offices that buy the types of products or services you provide. Counselors at the Small Business Centers can help you:
For more information on this topic, see your local SBDC. ^ TOP OF PAGE ^ Copyright © 2006 North Texas Small Business Development Center
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