HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES –
GENERAL INFORMATION AND WEB SITES
SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM)
Prospective vendors must first register here to become eligible to receive an award. SAM is the primary registrant database for the U.S. Federal Government. SAM collects, validates, stores, and disseminates data in support of agency acquisition missions, including Federal agency contract and assistance awards such as grants and cooperative agreements. Both current and potential federal government registrants are required to register in SAM in order to be awarded contracts by the federal government. Registrants are required to complete a one-time registration to provide basic information relevant to procurement and financial transactions. Registrants must update or renew their registration at least once per year to maintain an active status. SAM validates the registrant information and electronically shares the secure and encrypted data with the federal agencies’ finance offices to facilitate paperless payments through electronic funds transfer (EFT). Additionally, SAM shares the data with federal government procurement and electronic business systems. Please note that any information provided in your registration may be shared with authorized federal government offices. Registration in SAM is free; however, registration does not guarantee business with the federal government. https://www.sam.gov
FEDERAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES (FBO)
The FBO website is the US Government’s one-stop virtual marketplace. FBO is the single government point-of-entry for Federal government procurement opportunities over $25,000. Through this single point-of-entry, commercial vendors and government buyers are invited to post, search and retrieve opportunities solicited by the entire Federal contracting community. https://www.fbo.gov
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (GSA)
Many commercial off-the-shelf items are available for purchase from GSA and the ADVANTAGE! website. Requirements posted to the e-Buy portal and are available to GSA Contract holders only. This website is an electronic Request for Quote (RFQ) / Request for Proposal (RFP) system designed to allow Federal buyers to request information, find sources, and prepare RFQs/RFPs online, for millions of services and products offered through GSA's Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) and GSA. https://www.ebuy.gsa.gov/ebuy/
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS (COE)
For information on how to do business with the COE, go to https://www.usace.army.mil/Business-With-Us/Small-Business/
COMPUTER HARDWARE, ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE AND SOLUTIONS (CHESS)
CHESS is the Army's designated Primary Source for commercial IT. Use of CHESS is mandatory for all IT buys, regardless of the dollar value of the acquisition. https://asc.army.mil/web/portfolio-item/eis-chess/
WIDE AREA WORKFLOW
Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF) is a Paperless Contracting Department of Defense (DoD) wide application designed to eliminate paper from the receipts and acceptance process of the DoD contracting lifecycle. It is the DoD-preferred method of invoicing and payment. For information using WAWF or have any invoicing or payment questions, contact 570-615-8733. https://piee.eb.mil/piee-landing
MY INVOICE
myInvoice is an interactive web application developed specifically for contractors/vendors to obtain invoice status on DoD contracts. It is available 24/7 and can be accessed through WAWF. https://piee.eb.mil/piee-landing
OTHER INFORMATION
The U.S. Small Business Administration site offers programs and services to help a small business start, grow and succeed. https://www.sba.gov
PTACs
Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) form a nationwide network of procurement professionals dedicated to providing you - at little or no cost:
- An understanding of the requirements of government contracting, and
- The know-how to obtain and perform federal, state, and local government contracts
- Copies of military specifications and standards
To Find a PTAC near you, search on http://www.aptac-us.org/.