Posts Tagged certification

ATTENTION: All Previously Certified 8(a) Firms

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Please be aware with the recent lower court ruling and resulting interim guidance issued by SBA regarding the 8(a) Business Development Program, it may be necessary to write a Social Disadvantage Narrative to respond to 8(a) Set-Aside Solicitations or receive a Sole Source award. You may need to provide this narrative to the Contracting Officer to be approved by the SBA before the award can be finalized. This appears to include upcoming option year modifications.

Please take advantage of this new resource guide provided by the SBA that firms can use when writing the social disadvantage narrative: https://sbaone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CHDB/pages/2768076819/Guide+for+Writing+a+Social+Disadvantage+Narrative

Register for our next live webinar on the topic of SBA’s 8(a) Certification Application Process on October 2nd: https://virginiaptac.ecenterdirect.com/events/4044 and follow us on LinkedIn to stay in the loop.

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Annual Update Requirement for WOSB Repealed

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We received word that a message was distributed to WOSB firms – please check out the message and link below:

Dear Valued WOSBS,

Please note that the annual update requirement for approved WOSB firms has been repealed. Since May of 2022, the annual update has been in abeyance; it has now been removed entirely from the regulation. You will still need to recertify with the WOSB program every three years. No further action is needed at this time. Please see more information about the removal of the annual update requirement by visiting our Knowledge Base: Repeal of Annual Update Requirement for Approved WOSB Firms  · WOSB.Certify.sba.gov.

Thank you for your continued participation in our program.

Best,
The WOSB Team

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Attention Veteran Owned Small Businesses

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Please review the latest message from Small Business Administration (SBA) to Veteran-Owned Businesses and Stakeholders regarding the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Center for Verification and Evaluation Transfer (CVE) from VA to SBA:

Dear Veteran-Owned Businesses and Stakeholders,  

We are one month closer to the transfer of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) to the SBA. Effective January 1, 2023, all functions of the CVE will be managed by the SBA.  

As we near the transfer date, please review the following scenarios and take the necessary steps to ensure a smooth transition: 

  1. If you are a self-certified SDVOSB and you are currently doing business with the government or you’re interested in pursuing work with the government in the near future, you will need to become certified in order to do business with the government once the transfer is effective on Jan. 1, 2023. Please consider getting certified through the VA now. Your VA certification will then transfer over to the SBA on Jan. 1, 2023. If not, you will have a one-year grace period after the transfer date to become certified through the SBA. Please start the VA process here: https://vetbiz.va.gov/vip/ 
    • Example: Linda runs a self-certified SDVOSB. Linda should consider getting certified now through the VA or otherwise she will need to become certified through the SBA after Jan. 1, 2023. She can keep her contract through the period of performance but if she wants to compete for sole source and set-aside contracts with the government in the future then she will need to be certified through the SBA.  
  2. If you are a VOSB or SDVOSB certified through the VA and your certification is within 120 days from expiration between now and December 2022, please recertify with the VA now before the transfer is complete. Follow instructions provided in reminder emails from the VA.  
    • Example: Stacey owns a VOSB, and her VA certification expires in December 2022. Stacey should follow the steps provided in the notification/reminder email from the VA and recertify through the VA now before the transfer. Her certification will then transfer over to the SBA effective Jan. 1, 2023.  
  3. If you are a VOSB or SDVOSB certified through the VA and you’re not up for recertification soon, no action is required. Your status will transfer to the SBA.  
    • Example: John owns a VOSB, and his business is certified through the VA through 2024. John’s certification status will transfer over to the SBA, and he does not need to take any steps at this time before the transfer.  

Lastly, please join us for the next public briefing on the CVE transfer which will take place during the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs on Thursday, June 2, 2022, at 9 a.m. ET. To join the meeting from your computer, go to https://bit.ly/JuneACVBA or dial-in by phone at 202-765-1264 and enter code 147 026 343#.  

Thank you, 

Larry 

Larry Stubblefield 

Associate Administrator 

Office of Veterans Business Development U.S. Small Business Administration

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Attention All WOSB/EDWOSB Firms RE: Annual Attestation with SBA

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To remain eligible as an EDWOSB or WOSB, program participants must submit an annual attestation to SBA each year, per 13 CFR Part 127.400. If you have received a letter from SBA about your annual attestation, and you are able to navigate to their dashboard, you will be able to go through the process of attestation, these are the steps:


• At the dashboard select the link to your application which states you are “approved”

• Then, select from the options (not a drop down) update/change

• Then, select the update you are doing, “WOSB Annual Update One”

• Carefully answer the questions presented that show nothing has changed

• After the questions are answered you will be asked to attest that everything is correct, then submit   

• You will receive an email from SBA saying there has been a change to your certification, it is really vague, and you will be instructed to go to your dashboard again and access the letter from your documents saying you have successfully done your annual attestation. 

Save the document to a handy folder on your computer and/or print out if you prefer a hard copy.


As a reminder, 13 CFR Part 127.401 states, “Once certified, a WOSB or EDWOSB must notify SBA of any material changes that could affect its eligibility within 30 calendar days of any such change. Material change includes, but is not limited to, a change in the ownership, business structure, or management.”

PTAC Counselors are here to help you through this process if you do not feel comfortable navigating it on your own.

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Notice to all WOSB/EDWOSB firms with annual attestation due: Temporary Suspension of Annual Update Requirement

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To remain eligible as an EDWOSB or WOSB, program participants must submit an annual attestation to SBA each year, per 13 CFR Part 127.400. Currently, SBA is experiencing technical difficulties with the annual attestation process.

As an interim solution and to mitigate negative impact to firms, SBA is suspending annual attestation until 1 Mar 2022. SBA will notify firms when the issue has been resolved to allow participants to complete their annual attestation.

As a reminder, 13 CFR Part 127.401 states, “Once certified, a WOSB or EDWOSB must notify SBA of any material changes that could affect its eligibility within 30 calendar days of any such change. Material change includes, but is not limited to, a change in the ownership, business structure, or management.”

Currently, reporting material changes is fully available under beta.Certify.sba.gov and instructions are available within the beta.Certify Knowledgebase.

A participant’s failure to notify SBA of a material change may result in decertification and removal from SAM and DSBS (or any successor system) as a designated certified WOSB/EDWOSB concern. In addition, SBA may seek the imposition of penalties under §127.700.

Lastly, once we respond to a help ticket and move it to a closed status, we are unable to directly view any updated responses. If there is any follow-up question or concern, please create a new ticket and if needed please include the previous ticket’s Case Number for reference.


Best,  
Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program Office of Government Contracting & Business Development 
U.S. Small Business Administration 
https://beta.certify.sba.gov/help-csh/

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WOSB Alert!

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Does your EIN Number begin with a 0?   When beginning your WOSB Application, you are asked to “Claim Your Business.”  You are asked to enter your EIN number; however, if your number begins with a zero, the system does not recognize your number and rejects it.  Please resubmit by omitting the zero, and you will be able to Claim your business and continue your application.

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8(a) certification extended

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8(a) certification extended to 10 years for companies admitted before 9/9/2020

From page 400 of the FY2021 NDAA (Public Law No: 116-283):

“SEC. 889. EXTENSION OF PARTICIPATION IN 8(A) PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall ensure that a small business concern participating in the program established under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637) on or before September 9, 2020, may elect to extend such participation by a period of 1 year, regardless of whether the small business concern previously elected to suspend participation in the program pursuant to guidance of the Administrator.

(b) EMERGENCY RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—Not later than 15 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall issue regulations to carry out this section without regard to the notice requirements under section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code.

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Effective Oct. 26, you must be registered in SAM before you submit a federal bid, proposal or quote

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It’s official: If you intend to pursue a federal contract, your business must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before you submit a bid, proposal, or quotation. The new rule that makes this clear goes into effect on October 26, 2018.

Any wiggle room that may have existed in the past has been eliminated. SAM registration is now imperative if you are interested in federal contracting.

It used to be that SAM registration was required before a contract could be awarded. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at Subpart 4.1102(a) made that clear. But that requirement was always a bit ambiguous since another provision of the FAR (Subpart 52.204-8(d)) said that bidders and proponents had to complete the representations and certifications in SAM as a condition of making their offer. As a matter of practical interpretation, most federal contracting officers simply made sure that an offeror’s SAM registration was complete before awarding the offeror a contract.

That latitude goes away on October 26, 2018. On that date, FAR Subpart 4.1102 is officially amended to require all entities (i.e., vendors, including joint ventures) to be registered in SAM at the time they submit an offer (a bid or proposal) or submit a quotation to a federal agency. In essence, vendors who are not registered in SAM are ineligible to submit offers or quotes – effective October 26, 2018.

Keep in mind that the SAM registration process can take time to complete. If you’re planning to compete for a federal contract in the future, you should complete your SAM registration as far in advance as possible. And, if you are already registered in SAM, remember that your SAM registration must be renewed at least annually – and renewed whenever any part of your registration needs to be updated.

If you need help with your company’s SAM registration, feel free to request counseling with the Virginia Procurement Technical Assistance Program (Virginia PTAC). If you are an existing client and aren’t sure which counselor to reach out to, contact your local office for scheduling: https://virginiaptac.org/contact/.

If you are located outside of the state of Virginia, you can find the procurement technical assistance center (PTAC) nearest you at: http://www.aptac-us.org/contracting-assistance

Remember: There is never a fee to register in SAM as a government contractor. PTACs are available with no-cost help to get you through the process.

SAM is located at: https://sam.gov. But before beginning the SAM registration process, you must first take care of the following:

  1. Obtain a DUNS Number by registering your Legal Business Name and Physical Address with Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). If you don’t already have a DUNS Number, you can request a DUNS Number for FREE from D&B at: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform
  2. Make sure you have a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) associated with the Legal Business Name registered with D&B. To obtain information from the IRS on how to obtain a TIN, visit: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tin
  3. Have your bank’s routing number handy, including your bank account number and your bank account type (i.e., checking or savings). You’ll need this information to set up Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) in SAM. The federal government makes virtually all contract payments via EFT.
  4. The first time you log in to SAM.gov, you’ll be asked to create a login.gov user account (if you don’t already have one). Going forward, you will use your login.gov username and password every time you log in to SAM.gov. Existing SAM.gov usernames and passwords no longer work.

Article adapted courtesy of the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

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