The Importance of SAM | Episode 28

SAM ("System for Award Management") is a federal registration that is required if you are going to participate in the federal market.  It is sometimes called your “accounting record” and is used as the primary database of vendors doing business with the federal government. 

In this episode of FedBiz’5, we are hosting Cassie Elbany from FedBiz Access to discuss the importance of your SAM registration.

SAM can be found on the official government website (SAM.gov) used to register entities for government contracts or grants.

When you register in SAM you are assigned a CAGE code (Commercial and Government Entity) and a  UEI number (Unique Entity ID) as your official federal government identifiers.  Within the SAM website federal buyers can search for your business, and you can use the system to search for contract opportunities using search features such as keywords, NAICS codes (North American Industry Classification System), or PSC codes (Product and Service Codes).

That is why it is important to properly identify is your industry classification using NAICS and PSC codes. Simply put, NAICS codes are for your business function or commercial activity, and PSC describe your products or services themselves.  These codes let the federal government, or the federal buyers know what it is you do and makes it easier for them to identify you for award opportunities based on your industry and your products or services offered.

A business can self-certify in SAM, but because of the complexity of the registration process many businesses are better suited to use a professional service to complete their registration.  This may be considered in the same way that many businesses use a professional accountant to file their tax returns to ensure they are complete and compliant.

For businesses looking to work with the federal government, they must remain compliant and keep their registration active to be awarded a federal contract. 

As your business evolves, so should your SAM be updated to reflect your most current information. SAM must be renewed annually, but can be updated more frequently.

Additionally, businesses must conform to the Federal Acquisition Regulations, referred to as the FAR.  The FAR are the overriding set of regulations for federal procurement and agreement to adherence to the FAR is required to be registered in SAM.  Having a clear understanding of the FAR as you are completing your SAM registration is very critical. A misrepresentation or wrong answer could not only get you in trouble but could bar you from federal work.

Businesses also register their business size and socio-economic status while completing the required solicitation clauses and certification. By completing the required solicitation clauses and certifications you certify that the information provided about your company and its business activities are correct.

In addition, it is very important that your SBA registration in the Dynamic Small Business Search be properly aligned with your SAM for marketing purposes.

One source federal buyers turn to to easily find information you register in SAM is FedBiz Connect, a searchable database of businesses registered for federal contracting that highlights their business to contracting officers and prime contractors.  The database is searchable by keywords, business name, CAGE code, UEI No., location, socio-econom

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Transcript

The Importance of SAM

Jesse Sherr  00:02

My name is Jesse, and I work with small businesses in the government marketplace.

Jesse Sherr  00:06

You're listening to FedBiz'5 where you get informed, get connected, and get results on everything government contracting. 

Jesse Sherr  00:15

Hello and welcome to another episode of FedBiz'5. Today we have with us Cassie Elbany, a senior team lead in the processing department at FedBiz Access working with some of the most prestigious clients. 

Jesse Sherr  00:29

Cassie, welcome to FedBiz'5!

Cassie Elbany  00:31

Thank you. Thanks for having me today. Glad to be here. 

Jesse Sherr  00:35

Happy to have you. I understand you're going to fill in our listeners in on SAM.gov. So, let's go ahead and jump right in. What is SAM.gov?

Cassie Elbany  00:44

So SAM stands for, and I think a lot of people ask what is SAM but they don't exactly know what Sam stands for, so I'm gonna start with that. It stands for System for Award Management, and it's the official government website used to register entities for government contracts or grants. 

Cassie Elbany  01:05

So, when you register you get a CAGE code, a Unique Entity ID and that will showcase your entity within the system. So the CAGE code and the Unique ID are two identifiers in SAM. Which if you were to go to the website, you hit the search button, that would be the way to find an entity in SAM is using a CAGE code or the U-E-I, how we call it for short.

Jesse Sherr  01:32

Wonderful. Well, thank you for that clarification. I appreciate it. And I'm sure our listeners will as well. My next question though, that leads me to what is SAM.gov used for?

Cassie Elbany  01:42

So aside from registering in SAM, registering your entity and getting your CAGE code and UEI, you can also search for contract opportunities right from the homepage. And you can search by using keywords or NAICS codes. 

Cassie Elbany  01:57

In addition to that, companies that are looking to work with the federal government, they need a compliant and active registration to be awarded a federal contract. And I think that's not talked about enough. 

Cassie Elbany  02:09

A lot of people think, you know, I'm just going to try and bid on this. Well, you can't. For federal contracts, you actually need your registration to be done and it has to be done properly. Or, that could prevent you from getting a contract. 

Cassie Elbany  02:23

And the SAM also has to be renewed yearly and should always be kept up to date so it shows the most current and accurate information. So, that could be if you change an email address, or if you change your company's phone number, or maybe you add a different service or product, you always want to make sure you go back into SAM and update it as well.

Jesse Sherr  02:42

So that sounds like a pretty important thing to kind of stay on track with. 

Cassie Elbany  02:45

Absolutely. 

Jesse Sherr  02:46

I mean without that you don't have anything, right? 

Cassie Elbany  02:49

No, not at all. Yeah, and I don't think that that's set enough because the business, you know, changes, right? You know, it evolves and your SAM should too.

Jesse Sherr  03:00

I mean, for instance, the U-E-I. I mean, that's new, that's changed. We got rid of the DUNS numbers. You know, stuff like that correct. 

Jesse Sherr  03:05

So, thank you again for that. That's fantastic. And part of your your your statement there is talking about NAICS codes, what are NAICS codes? 

Cassie Elbany  03:15

So, NAICS code is the North American Industry Classification System, basically describing what a company does. So, their industry codes. They describe a company's either services or products. 

Cassie Elbany  03:29

You can utilize these NAICS codes in your SAM to showcase what you do. Another use for them is contracting officers during their vetting process, enter in a specific NAICS code depending on what they're looking for. And whoever has that NAICS code within the SAM shows up in their search results. 

Cassie Elbany  03:47

And that goes both ways. If you're looking for a potential opportunity, like we said earlier, you can type in an NAICS code in the search bar on SAM.gov, and any NAICS code associated to an opportunity is going to pull up.

Jesse Sherr  04:00

 Right.

Cassie Elbany  04:00

So, it's super important to drill down and search through the NAICS census. There is one online to figure out what works for your business. What, you know, products you sell. 

Cassie Elbany  04:11

And NAICS codes can be very broad in the title. So, there is descriptions on every NAICS code and there could be anywhere from 10 to maybe 20 to 30 things that fall under one code. So, you really have to search, look at the descriptions, and just really drill down your industry. Keep it focused and pop those NAICS codes into SAM so that way they're in there and you'll be found for an opportunity. Or, you can go ahead and search for some that are applicable to you.

Jesse Sherr  04:42

Right. When you say you know there's like you know, 10 different subcategories basically over one. So, that's good advice right there as well. Just to make sure to really hone in on what specifics and not having too much.

Cassie Elbany  04:55

Yes.

Jesse Sherr  04:55

You don't want to be going overboard with your codes and the PSC codes. Yes, that's it. But yes, thank you so much for that information. I know you actually cleared up a couple questions that I had, and I am confident that any questions that our listeners may have had about SAM you've certainly covered. And thank you so much for coming on and taking the time.

Cassie Elbany  05:17

Thanks for having me. Take care if you guys, you know, need me ever again to answer some questions. I'm glad to come back.

Jesse Sherr  05:25

Absolutely, appreciate that. Thank you so much. Bye bye. 

Cassie Elbany  05:29

Thank you. Bye.

Jesse Sherr  05:31

This concludes this week's episode of FedBiz'5, where you get informed, get connected, and get results. 

Jesse Sherr  05:42

Today's podcast is sponsored by FedBiz Access, government contracting, made simple.

Jesse Sherr  05:47

Visit them at FedBizAccess.com or contact them at 888-299-4498.