Central Contractor Registration Government
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With the economic recovery not yet in full swing, businesses are increasing looking toward government contracts to fill the gap. No matter how you feel politically, pursuing government work may make sense, particularly if you are a small or medium business. The federal government is the country’s largest consumer of goods and services. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the federal government spent more than $93 billion last year on prime contracts with small businesses.
However, the SBA warns that the money isn’t easy. Becoming a government contractor take time and involves many steps just to qualify to make bids. Like any market, you must consider if it’s right for your business and you have the infrastructure to manage the process, from qualifying to be eligible to bid on government contracts, to submitting proposals and performing the work.
A good first step is going to the SBA’s web site to learn more. The SBA has an Office of Government Contracting and Business Development to assist small businesses.
Reviewing Business Systems
The next step is examining your business to make sure government contracts fit with your business plan, and ensuring that you have the resources to take this work on. Pay particular attention to your business software. If you have separate systems for accounting, project management and logistics, you may have gaps in managing all the details involved in government contracts.
If this is an area of concern, you may want to consider implementing a different system. This may not be as cost-prohibitive as it sounds. This is an excellent opportunity to consider cloud computing, where you work with a technology services provider to have a system hosted externally and available through the Internet.
Microsoft Offer on Dynamics SL
For small businesses that are government contractors, or businesses that are just entering this space, Microsoft is offering a special promotion for Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft’s solution that combines accounting and project management functionality.
Microsoft Dynamics SL helps project-driven organizations obtain reports and business analysis and is designed for such businesses as professional services, operations, field services and Construction Management. Because of this focus, it’s a good option for businesses doing government contracting.
Through March 10, 2010, Microsoft is offering up to a 20% discount for new customers that are registered in the Central Contractor Registration database or whose businesses are in these Standard Industrial Classification codes:
- 73xx: Business services not classified elsewhere (including, advertising, equipment rental, computer services and business services)
- 87xx: Engineering, accounting, research, management, and related services
- 89xx: Services not classified elsewhere
Additional Resources
- Central Contractor Registration – the primary registrant database for the U.S. Federal Government. Contains information on registering.
- Small Business Administration – includes information on the Office of Government Contracting and Business Development.
Dan Torchia is a writer and marketing communications consultant based in Kansas City, Mo. His clients are from such industries as IT, performing arts, entertainment and financial services. His current projects include writing articles, blog posts and web content for NetStandard, a technology services provider in Kansas City, Kan. NetStandard is a Microsoft Gold Standard Partner and is certified to implement a wide range of Microsoft Solutions, including Microsoft Dynamics.
For more information, go to http://www.netstandard.com.
Are there any drawbacks to registering with the central contractor registration?
The CCR wants some incredibly detailed and personal information, including routing numbers, account numbers, TIN, SS#, financial statements….the works really. I am a paranoid person by nature, and I hate giving the government any more info about my business than is necessary. I also worry that if the CCR database was ever hacked into, my business could be ruined. Has anyone else ever given this much thought about registering with the CCR?
I understand completely why you would hesitate to share your business information – it always makes me squeamish too. The Department of Defense prefers to pay by Electronic Funds Transfer, which is why they need your account/routing numbers, and since you’re going to be working for them they’ll need your SS# and TIN to make proper deductions. They want your financial statements to help them decide whether or not you are a “responsible” contractor when considering you for a contract. The nice thing is that once your info is in the system, you can do work for a bunch of different DoD agencies without having to go through the whole process again – that’s basically the purpose of the CCR. It’s the Department of Defense; it seems very unlikely that their site will be hacked, but I suppose anything’s possible. If it makes you feel any better, it’s the federal government – they already have your SS# and TIN anyway!
In the end it’s up to you whether you want to share this kind of information. It’s a trade-off: you can register for the CCR and give up some personal information, or you can choose not to register and miss out on all those government contracts. You can NOT do business with the Department of Defense without registering for the CCR, unless you are a subcontractor. Good luck!
Government Contracts
