Renew early to avoid headaches

Clients are often surprised when we advise that they renew their SAM (System for Award Management) registration at least 90 days prior to their expiration.

They often want to wait till the last minute since the registration is valid for one year from the renewal- not one year from your expiration date. However, the risk in waiting this long is there are often processing delays due to the bureaucracy involved. If you are snagged by one of these delays (which of course we will help you manage as expeditiously as possible) you may find yourself in the unfortunate position of expiring.

Once you expire you cannot receive federal funds until your registration is reactivated. Don’t take that risk! Renew at least 90 days in advance to ensure that your organization or company remains active.

Small Business Administration (SBA) registration

Registering your business with the Small Business Administration is an important step that is often overlooked during SAM registration. This registry makes you easily to find by procurement officers. A portion of government awards are set aside specifically for small businesses so its important to be listed if you qualify.

In addition to just opting to be listed it is vital to include your keywords and capability statement so that you come up in searches for terms related to your business. We help you with this and will select the most searched for keywords that will garner your business the greatest visibility. Simply ticking the button without properly filling out your keywords and capability statement adds no value. We add a small business profile for every eligible business that we register and we ensure that your listing is crafted for maximum impact and response.

You are registering for SAM to receive federal funds- make sure that those who award them can find your small business!

SAM registration has wide reaching impact across governement procurement

SAM streamlined  multiple government databases systems into one centralized repository. This limited the need to register with multiple separate systems. However this also makes it crucial that your SAM registration is accurate as it is now the only system. This means that a mistake in this one application will effect your eligibility for a wide variety of government procurement opportunities.

SAM integrates all of the following systems:

• Central Contractor Registry (CCR)
• Federal Agency Registration (FedReg)
• Online Representations and Certifications Application
• Excluded Parties List System (EPLS)
• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
• Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS)
• Electronic Subcontractor Reporting System (eSRS)
• Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)
• Federal Business Opportunities (FBO)
• Federal Funding and Accountability Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FPRS)
• Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS)
• Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS)
• Wage Determination Online (WDOL)
• System for Award Management (SAM)

Why you should renew your SAM registration at least 90 days in advance

We encourage our clients to renew their SAM registration at least 90 days in advance.

This strikes many as very early however it is crucial. If you are currently bidding on any contracts most procurement officers won't consider your submission if you have less than 60 days remaining. This is often seen as a sign that the business is not on top of policies and procedures- not the impression that you want to make with procurement officers!

Additionally if your registration is not updated you risk delaying federal payments. No payouts will be made if your registration lapses until it is updated again. Don't get caught in this position!

Also keep in mind that updates are not necessarily processed the same day they are received and if there are any snags it can take weeks to correct and complete. Any business that needs to change addresses or point of contact information should start even earlier.

Finally there is now a requirement that you send a notarized letter via regular (aka snail) mail. Its called snail mail for a reason and if the government does not process your letter promptly (as we have seen happen often) you need to leave enough time to send another and get it processed without your registration lapsing.

The early bird gets the worm -or in the case of SAM - the payment! Be an early bird and start your registration or renewal early.

Let us help you with your SAM registration or renewal and navigate the process for you.

Click register and we'll get to work on your registration or renewal and usher your submission through the process.

A day in the life of a renewal specialist

We asked Rowena, a Renewal Support Specialist to share what her typical day is like. Here are excerpts of her comments:

On a typical day I get in at 8 am and go through emails and voice mails from the day prior. I also have my cup of coffee (laugh). I usually work with clients from 9 am till as late as 6 pm depending on how much help they need with getting registered or renewed.

I really enjoy working with SAM registrants. Helping them navigate that part of the federal government contract process is my specialty. My clients really appreciate that we are able to make the SAM registration and renewal simple for them especially with all the changes to SAM. I am constantly either on the phone with a client or working on my computer pushing registrations and renewals through.