APEX Accelerator support includes registration in systems such as the System for Award Management (SAM), identification of contract opportunities, help in understanding requirements and in preparing and submitting bids.
To sell to a Federal, State, or Local Government Agency – a business must first register as a vendor.
SAM
System for Award Management is the primary federal registration that is required to become a federal government contractor. This is a no cost registration that is the gateway registration to be eligible for more portals such as DLA DIBBS, SBA socio-economic certifications, and more.
PA Supplier Portal
The PA Supplier Portal is the commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s required registration process for small businesses to become government vendors to sell their products/services. There is no cost associated with this registration. This portal is the base registration for other state portals, such as COSTARs, PRiSM, JAGGAER, and more.
COSTARS
A cooperative purchasing program that many small businesses apply for to sell to municipalities, local police departments, local firehalls, and more. This program is offered at a fee. This program allows for cost effective, and efficient contracting between vendor and buyer.
Based on business ownership of 51% or more, there are many socio-economic certifications that can offer a competitive advantage in the government contracting space.
SBA
All federal socio-economic certification applications or approved third-party certificates are uploaded, reviewed, and approved by the SBA. If applying through the SBA it is a free application process. The NEPA Alliance APEX Accelerator assists with applications at no cost.
PRiSM/BIDSBO
The PRiSM portal is the commonwealth’s portal for submitting an approved third-party certificate or application to be considered a socio-economic business. This is also the portal for becoming a Department of General Services (DGS) certified small business. This process is free to apply to, and the NEPA Alliance APEX Accelerator can assist in guiding small businesses through the process.
Once you are registered to sell to government entities, have your certifications in place if appropriate, how do you find bid opportunities.
Bid Matching
The APEX Accelerator provides support on navigating the various government databases where solicitations are posted, how to define your business profile, and how to decompress once an opportunity is found.
Solicitation Support
You have identified a solicitation, the APEX Accelerator can help you decompress and review the solicitation to help you build a strong bid response based on the documents work scope, evaluation criteria, and response requirements, but not pricing.
Marketing
After your business registrations and certifications are in-place and you are ready to provide products/service to federal/state/local government entities, the APEX Accelerator can help you prepare a Capability Statement to market your business to both contract officers and buyers.