Before September arrives, review these five areas of your government contracting foundation.
1. Confirm That Your SAM Registration Is Active and Accurate
An active System for Award Management (or SAM) registration is generally required if your company wants to bid on and receive federal awards directly as a prime contractor.
SAM.gov states that entity registrations must be renewed every 365 days to remain active. The site also warns that activation can take up to 10 business days, making the final days of September a particularly dangerous time to discover that a registration has expired or contains unresolved validation issues.
To check your standing, log into your SAM.gov workspace and confirm:
- Your registration status is active.
- Your renewal date is not approaching unexpectedly.
- Your legal business name and address are accurate.
- Your points of contact are current.
- Your banking and payment information is correct.
- Your representations and certifications remain accurate.
- Your listed capabilities and business classifications reflect what your company provides today.
2. Review Your NAICS Codes
North American Industry Classification System codes (or NAICS codes) help government buyers and prime contractors identify businesses operating within particular industries. They are also used in federal contracting to determine applicable small-business size standards.
Your SAM registration should include NAICS codes that accurately represent the products and services your company can deliver.
NAICS codes can also change over time. They are reviewed every five years and may be added, updated, replaced, or discontinued. With the next major revision scheduled for 2027, it’s a good idea to make sure the codes on your SAM profile are still current and accurately describe what your business does.
Ask yourself:
- Are all of our primary services represented?
- Have we added new services since our last SAM update?
- Are we using codes that accurately describe our actual work?
- Does our primary NAICS code reflect our most important government-facing capability?
- Are any of our NAICS codes outdates or no longer active?
- Are we pursuing opportunities that consistently use codes missing from our registration?
More codes are not automatically better. Your selections should create a clear and credible picture of your business. Listing unrelated codes simply to appear in more searches can make your positioning less convincing.
The goal is alignment: the work agencies are buying should match the capabilities your company communicates.
3. Keep Your SBS Profile and Capability Statement Current
Your capability statement is one of your most important marketing documents in government contracting. Your SBA Small Business Search (SBS) profile is another place where contracting officers and potential teaming partners can learn about your business.
Make sure both are current and tell the same story about your company, including:
- What your company does
- Which problems you solve
- Your core capabilities
- Your relevant past performance
- Your differentiators
- Your NAICS and Product Service Codes
- Your Unique Entity ID and CAGE Code, when applicable
- Your certifications and socioeconomic designations
- Your contact information
Your capability statement should be updated and ready to send, while your SBS profile should accurately reflect the business information buyers may see when researching your company.
Keeping the two aligned gives buyers a clear and consistent picture of who you are, what you do, and where your business fits.
4. Strengthen Your Visibility with Prime Contractors
Not every government contracting opportunity is awarded directly to a small business. Prime contractors work directly with federal agencies and often bring in small businesses as subcontractors. In fact, certain large federal contracts require prime contractors to have plans for subcontracting with small businesses and businesses in specific socioeconomic categories.
An important part of being visible to these primes in your SBA Small Business Search (SBS) profile. The former Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) has been retired and replaced by SBS. If you haven’t already, make sure your SBS marketing profile is created, complete, and up to date.
Your profile should include your capabilities, keywords, NAICS codes, certifications, past performance, and current contact information. Your capability statement should support the information in your SBS profile and be uploaded where applicable.
Before the year-end rush, identify:
- Prime contractors already serving your target agencies
- Contract vehicles relevant to your products or services
- Potential teaming partners with complementary capabilities
- Supplier and subcontractor registration portals
- Small-business liaison officers at major prime contractors
- Existing relationships that should be reactivated
Many year-end requirements are fulfilled through established contracts and acquisition vehicles. If you are not positioned to participate directly, being visible and building relationships with the right prime contractors can provide another path to opportunity.
5. Prepare Your Response Process Before an Opportunity Arrives
Visibility is valuable only if your company can respond when someone shows interest.
Before September, decide who will be responsible for:
- Reviewing new opportunities
- Making bid/no-bid decisions
- Preparing pricing
- Collecting technical information
- Obtaining resumes or past performance references
- Writing and reviewing responses
- Approving final submissions
Also, assemble commonly requested materials in advance, including corporate information, certifications, project examples, insurance documentation, resumes, pricing assumptions, and past performance details.
