Posts Tagged SAM

SAM.gov problems as of 3/8/2023 Generating Bad Emails with “Someone updated the entity registration” Message

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Please note that many clients of Virginia PTAC are receiving messages from donotreply@sam.gov with the message that their SAM.gov entity registration was updated when no such update occurred.

A review of the current outages on the Federal Service Desk website reveals there is a SAM.gov outage AND that the cause of these emails are being investigated. The latest message on 3/8/2023 referenced “We believe the matter is related to a software issue” but we recommend checking for updates on the SAM.gov alerts page linked below.

Please do not click any links in those emails at this time and monitor the FSD.gov website for more information:

*As a friendly reminder, Virginia PTAC, an APEX Accelerator, is not connected to SAM.gov and is a separate resource provider. We help our clients navigate SAM.gov but do not have any control or access to the backend of the system.

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SAM Address Validation Training Session

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A message from GSA IAE:

If you are attempting to register for the first time in SAM.gov, renewing your SAM.gov registration, or trying to only get a Unique Entity ID (the identifier that replaced the DUNS number in April 2022), you need to validate your entity.  GSA will host a series of events to share information about how the entity validation process has changed and the improvements we’re making to the current experience.

You can register here for the first session that will happen on August 3, 2022 at 1:00 PM EDT that will cover the various steps of the entity validation process, review requirements for documentation, and address the most common user questions. This session is focused on assisting entities that have begun the registration process or are currently renewing their registration.

The August 3 session will cover topics such as:

  • What is entity validation?
  • How does entity validation work in SAM.gov?
  • What documentation is required and accepted, and what isn’t?
  • What do I do next after my entity is validated?
  • Where do I get help?

We will be holding additional sessions in the near future specifically for entities that are planning to update their SAM.gov registration or submit a new registration in the coming weeks or months. These training sessions will cover the entity validation process phase of SAM.gov registration. If you want to learn more before you begin, the next session later in August will be the session for you.

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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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Department of Defense Waiving SAM registration requirements for emergency response vendors

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Due to the emergency situation caused by the hurricanes, contracting offices are using authority to waive the requirement for SAM registration in purchases that directly support the emergency response.  If you’re helping a vendor who is not yet registered in SAM but needs a CAGE code, the expedited process instructions are below. 

(information on selling to disaster response agencies)

Subject: Obtaining CAGE codes for vendors responding to the Hurricanes

Hello everyone – obviously we expect that there will be many offices responding to the hurricanes with emergency purchases where SAM registration is waived per FAR 4.1102(a)(3)(iii) and part 18.102.  We want to get the below instructions out for how you can still help your vendors obtain CAGE codes (if they don’t already have one) that are required per FAR 4.1804 for other than micro-purchase actions:

1 – Go to https://cage.dla.mil

2 – Choose ‘Request or Update a CAGE Code’ and hit Begin on the next page

The user will then be taken through a series of pages where they provide the data necessary to set up a CAGE code, but before they get to those elements, they have to answer a few more questions.  In order for the CAGE website not to just direct them to go register in SAM, the users need to answer exactly as follows:

  1. Question – Do you have a registration for this same entity in process at System for Award Management (SAM)?  Answer – No
  2. Question – Do you plan to receive contract payments or grants from the U.S. Government?  Answer – No
  3. Question – Are you a NON-U.S. entity (government or commercial)?  Answer  No (note – if the entity really is foreign, answer Yes, but realize that the user will be directed to contact his/her home country codification bureau)
  4. Question – Are you requesting a new CAGE Code?  Answer – Yes
  5. Question – Do you have a previous business?  Answer – No
  6. Question – Please choose your Entity Type   Answer either – (1) U.S Commercial Company/Firm, Organization or Government Entity (non-federal) OR (2) Sole Proprietor Business
  7. Question – Please choose a Primary Purpose for this CAGE   Answer -Other
  8. Question – Please describe the primary purpose for this CAGE  Answer – Provide Urgent Hurricane Irma Support (or Harvey or Jose as appropriate)

From here on, the user is just providing their name, address, etc.information.  Should be simple from here.

Be aware – when a user requests a CAGE code be established via this method (instead of through registering in SAM), it goes into manual processing at DLA in Battle Creek.  It’s very important that the user enter ‘hurricane’ in the purpose field after they choose other.  The CAGE team is going to search for that term in each request that comes in and move those to the top to be worked.

For non-GPC actions, it’s important that the vendor get a CAGE code assigned and it be included in the contract when its distributed to ensure that their eventual payment is streamlined and not held up for manual action.  Note also that without a valid CAGE code, an action will fail Procurement Data Standard (PDS) validations.

If these are going to be on-going contracts (such as reconstruction), it would behoove the vendors to eventually actually get registered in SAM (they can use the CAGE code that will be assigned in this process when they do so) even if they’re not technically required to do so because the contract was initially exempted due to the emergency.  Being registered in SAM will just make the whole invoicing and payment processes run a bit smoother if the contract lasts for a while.

Lisa Romney, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy Office of Acquisition Technology and Logistics

 

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Before You Start… (and how to make the best use of your PTAC)

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Virginia PTAC (and our nationwide colleagues) are happy to welcome you to government contracting. We will do our best to help you succeed at selling to state, local, and federal agencies.

Some businesses, however, aren’t ready for government contracting, and your meeting with a PTAC counselor, or your attendance at a class can be frustrating, overwhelming, and (let’s be honest), disappointing.

So let’s get this secret out of the bag: PTAC is not intended to help you start a business. That’s outside our mission, that’s something our grant funder (Department of Defense) specifically frowns upon, and that’s the kind of assistance we recommend you seek from our resource partners, such as the Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, Veterans Business Outreach Centers, and SCORE.

In fact, before you meet with a PTAC counselor or attend even our introductory “Basic Training” class, we recommend that your company obtains:

Legal Requirements (for any business)

  1. State entity registration if your business is anything other than a sole proprietorship (LLC, Corp, LLP….)
  2. Federal Tax ID Number (TIN / EIN) from the IRS
  3. Business license from your state / locality (in Virginia, it’s called a BPOL)
  4. Business Plan

PTAC Counselors won’t usually ask to look at your documentation, unless they’re helping you submit a certification that requires above-mentioned paperwork.  However, in order to start registering as a vendor to any government entity, businesses must meet certain basic requirements.  If you are sure that you are going to pursue government work, get these out of the way.  And as far as the Business Plan – again, while we don’t require written proof that you created one for your business, we do want to ascertain that you are serious, that you have considered the pros and cons and financials and business structure and have a plan.  We will absolutely help you refine it, give you a reality check, and assist with a proof of concept; but if you’re not serious about your business, there really isn’t much we can do to overcome that.

Government Contracting Specific Pre-Requisites

  1. Identify your NAICS and PSC Codes (Federal)
  2. Identify your NIGP Codes (State / local)
  3. Register in SAM = obtain a CAGE Code & UEI.

This is a bit more of a chicken-and-egg category.  Yes, we can help you figure out all of these codes and numbers and what you should select.  However, the best advice at the outset is that you try to identify the codes that apply to your business. See if you can register in SAM.  If you get those steps out of the way without a snag, then your meeting with your counselor can cover more in-depth, “next step” material.  And if you do have questions or run into technical difficulties, that’s absolutely an area where a counselor’s perspective will be invaluable.  (Hint: make sure the physical address for your Virginia SCC registration, Tax ID, and SAM is *identical* down to the letter and abbreviation).

You and your counselor should review your registrations during your session, and we will have some insight into additional / related / adjacent codes to consider.  You’ll hear tips and tricks in classes.  We’ll explain the purpose and utilization of all of these by your target customers. And we’ll give you next steps, like competitive and customer analysis, DSBS profile creation (and much more!) — built on the foundation of the basics you have completed.  There’s a lot more to government contracting, so the sooner we get these “pre-requisites” out of the way, the sooner we can do some real work.

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