If you’re a business owner, chances are you’ve heard of sam.gov. But what is it, and why do you need to care? In short, sam.gov is the official website of the U.S. government’s System for Award Management (SAM). SAM is the system that businesses use to register in order to be eligible to receive federal government contracts.
SAM.gov is the United States government’s free, official website for Federal awardees, contractors, grantors, and applicants to search for and find information about entities receiving Federal awards. The website consolidates information from multiple systems into one, centralized database.
Why You Need to Register with SAM.gov
If your business wants to sell goods or services to the federal government, you’ll need to register with SAM.gov. The registration process can be a bit daunting, but luckily there are plenty of resources available to help you through it.
There are how-to videos on the site to help you and a chat button during regular business hours. Once you’re registered, you’ll be able to view and apply for federal contracts that your business is eligible for.
Keep in mind that the federal government buys billions of dollars’ worth of goods and services from businesses every year, so there’s a good chance that your business could be eligible for at least some of those contracts. Even if you’re not interested in selling to the government, registering with SAM.gov can still be beneficial; many state and local governments require businesses to be registered with SAM in order to apply for contracts with them.
SAM.gov contains data on:
-Financial assistance (grants, cooperative agreements, and loans) awarded by all Federal agencies
-Federal contracting (goods and services) awarded by all civilian executive agencies
-Exclusions from Federal programs
The entity data in SAM.gov comes from the following systems:
-CAGE (Contractor and Grantor Entity) Code System – CCR (Central Contractor Registration) – eRA Commons (Electronic Research Administration Commons) – FPDS (Federal Procurement Data System)- GRANTS.GOV – SAM (System for Award Management).
Entity registration in SAM.gov is free. After registering an entity in SAM.gov, users will be able to:
-Receive payments electronically -Update entity information -Manage exclusions -Submit representations and certifications electronically.
To be considered a registered entity in SAM.gov, users must have a Unique Entity Identification (UEI) number and an active registration in the CCR system.
The Process for Registering with SAM.gov
The first step in registering your business with SAM.gov is creating an account on the website. Once you have an account, you’ll need to complete your registration by providing information about your business, such as your UEI, tax identification number, and commercial and government entity code. You’ll also need to create a user profile for each individual authorized to access your company’s information on SAM.gov.
Once you’ve completed your registration, you’ll be able to view and apply for federal contracting opportunities that your business is eligible for. You can also use SAM.gov to update your registration information as needed; for example, if your business changes addresses or adds new employees who need access to your company’s information on the website.
Registering your business with SAM.gov may seem like a daunting task, but it’s well worth the effort if you’re interested in selling goods or services to the federal government—or even if you just want to do business with state or local governments that require businesses to be registered with SAM in order to apply for contracts with them. By taking care of the registration process now, you’ll be able open up a whole world of new contracting opportunities for your business down the line!
BizCentral USA helps our clients with their Sam.gov registration as a complimentary service. Let us help you build your business. Give us a call today at (833) 217-9667.