Small Business Procurement Scorecard

The small business procurement scorecard is out! In FY21, the federal government exceeded its small business contracting goal, awarding 27.2% or $154.2B in federal contract dollars to small businesses, a new record.

“Small businesses play a vital role in the American economy, and they are essential to the mission of the Department of Defense (DOD), enabling us to develop, deliver and sustain critical capabilities to our Warfighter. DOD achieved our small business prime contracting goal for eight consecutive years. This shows our commitment to maximize opportunities for small businesses, which increases competition and strengthens our national and economic security,” said DOD Undersecretary William LaPlante.

The individual agency scorecards were released at the end of July, and a detailed explanation of the methodology is available at SBA.gov. Highlights include: 

• Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) spending reached 11.0% for the first time in history. This achieves the President’s commitment to increase to SDB contracting one year ahead of schedule.  
• Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) spending reached 4.4%, exceeding its goal of 3%. This represents $25 billion in procurement and a $1 billion spending increase over the prior year.  
• Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses received a historic $14.3 billion in federal contract awards. Although the federal government has never met its 3% statutory goal, it reached the highest amount awarded to HUBZone businesses in the program’s history. 
• Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) received more than $26 billion for the third straight year, translating to 4.6% of the FY21 total eligible dollars. The SBA is actively working with contracting agencies to make future progress toward achieving the WOSB goal. For instance, SBA has increased the number of certified firms from approximately 1,000 to nearly 6,000 and expanded the NAICS codes for which women-owned businesses can receive set-aside awards. Now, over 92% of federal spending is covered by NAICS codes eligible for WOSB set-aside awards.
• The federal government achieved its small business subcontracting goals, awarding 30.9% or $72 billion to small business subcontractors. Women-Owned Small Business subcontractors received 5.2% of subcontracts or $12.2 billion, exceeding the 5% WOSB subcontracting goal. 
• Despite the overall increase in the dollar value of small business awards, the absolute number of small businesses receiving prime contracts with the federal government decreased again in FY21. This continues a multi-year trend of decreases in small business vendors, dating back over a decade. In December, the government issued a policy memorandum intended to reverse the decline in the small business supplier base, in part by tracking new entrants to ensure that new government contractors are entering and then finding opportunities in the federal marketplace. 

View the first-ever digital scorecard.

GCAP Trivia

QUESTION: Which federal agency received an A+ for the sixth year in a row for their acquisition efforts in maximizing opportunities for small businesses?



See below for the answer to this month's trivia question.

Upcoming GSA Webinars on the Entity Validation Process

If you are attempting to register for the first time in SAM, renewing your SAM 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. 

The validation process is a critical piece of the federal awards ecosystem. It prevents improper payments, procurement fraud, and helps to ensure the integrity of government contracts and grants processes, representing trillions of dollars in taxpayer funds annually. 

An Entity Validation Service independently verifies the uniqueness of an entity. This is required to get a Unique Entity ID or to register in SAM. SAM verifies that there is no existing registration for the legal business name and physical address as part of the validation process. 

GSA will host a series of events to share information about how the entity validation process has changed and the improvements they are making to the current experience. 

Click here to register for a webinar hosted by GSA's Integrated Award Environment (IAE) on August 3, 2022 at 1:00pm. This session is focused on assisting entities that have begun the registration process or are currently renewing their registration. 

The session will cover the following topics:

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

Space is limited for this presentation. However, GSA will make a recording of the event available online for all to watch. Live closed captioning of the event will be available.

Please note: You may listen to the entire event through your computer audio. You are not required to dial into a conference line. All communication during the event will be through the written question and answer log only. 

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

Considering Government Contracting

By Robin Livingston, GCAP Counselor

As a Government Contracting Assistance Program (GCAP) Counselor, I speak to a lot of small and mid-sized businesses interested in participating in government contracting. This makes a lot of sense from the business owner's point of view, as government agencies collectively make up the world’s largest buyers. This is true, but, as a GCAP counselor, I must ensure that I am setting my clients up for success. One of the least considered but most important services that GCAP offers is informing our clients of their suitability as a government contractor. This can be unwelcome news to business owners, but it is necessary to set client expectations and provide critical information to assist the client with structuring their business for contracting opportunities in the future.

Government buyers usually require positive corporate past performance, a developed commercial market, stable financial resources, as well as operational and administrative controls when pursuing potential government contractors. In layman’s terms, this shouldn’t be the business’s first time up to bat. Businesses interested in entering the government marketplace should consider the following questions to determine their potential for success as a government contractor.

1. Do you have steady and/or growing commercial market sales that can support a new market venture?
2. Is the company well established? Does it have the necessary experienced staff, appropriate tooling, and overall resources to fulfill government contract requirements?
3. Do you have an active strategic plan? Is your staff willing to implement government contracting sales?
4. Is your company financially solvent with no legal judgments? Do you have available lines of credit, appropriate assets, and set accounting standards?
5. Does the company have a defined marketing radius and designated marketing staff?
6. Do you have an established quality control program with written procedures and staff designated to implement it?
7. Is the company Electronic Commerce (EC) capable? What is the company’s level of computer literacy?
8. Are your competitors active in the government marketplace?
9. Have you considered teaming with similar businesses to pursue government contract sales? 
10. Have you considered pursuing government subcontracting opportunities before entering the marketplace as a prime vendor? 

If you are a small or mid-sized business interested in government contracting and can answer yes to the above questions, please contact your local GCAP Counselor for assistance. We have trusted professionals that can assist you with your government contracting efforts. To find your local GCAP Counselor, click here.

Register for the 2022 NC Veterans Business Association Procurement Summit 

The North Carolina Veterans Business Association is holding their annual Procurement Summit on August 16 from 9:00am to 3:30pm at the McKimmon Center on NC State University's campus. It is the first in-person Procurement Summit since the COVID-19 pandemic. This exciting event is the perfect opportunity for North Carolina's veteran-owned and military spouse-owned businesses to access resources, education, and connection to corporations and agencies seeking to do business. 

Tickets, which includes event registration and lunch, are $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Tickets should be purchased ASAP at https://www.ncvetbiz.org/event-details/2022procurmentsummit. 

Success Story:

Lock4, LLC

By Robin Livingston, GCAP Counselor

Lock4 is a veteran-owned professional services small business that is focused on federal government support, providing specially qualified subject matter experts in strategy and plans, intelligence, training, education, exercise development, and program, facility, and administrative management support. Lock4 supplies knowledge-based services, specializing in Department of Defense, Special Operations, and Inter-Agency expertise. Their SMEs provide high-demand, low-density expertise at your doorstep.

Additionally, Lock4 provides facility construction and management in support of the State Department's overseas operations. Lock4 has developed relationships with an extensive group of reliable and experienced DOD and Inter-Agency personnel. This agile manpower corps can quickly adapt to various stated requirements, executing projects that are multi-disciplined and demand specified high-skill certification requirements. Lock4 currently has SBA 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, and HUBZone certifications.

Phil Locklear, President of Lock4 LLC, is a former member of the United States Air Force and Joint Special Operations community. He retired in 2010 and moved back to the family farm in rural North Carolina along the Lumber River Basin with his family. He founded the company in 2011 and further established relationships within the State Department and DOD to provide a more reliable small business option for our nation's best.

Lock4 is located in Red Springs, NC, less than an hour drive from Fort Bragg and within two hours of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Camp LeJeune, and Shaw Air Force Base. Since its establishment, Lock4 has developed extensive operational experience, providing their customers with low-risk small business options.

Lock4 became a SBTDC client in November of 2010. We have been with them from inception to present and watched them grow to the thriving business that they are today.

The SBTDC and GCAP have assisted Lock4 through various business processes, including marketing, financial analysis, industry analysis, business management, research, registrations, certifications, and identifying contracting opportunities. Lock4 has received multiple sub and prime contracts in excess of $1M annually in a relatively short period of time.

There is no doubt that Lock4 will continue to excel as a prime contractor for DOD. The SBTDC is happy to be their trusted advisor, and we look forward to a lasting relationship with Phil and the Lock4 team.

"The SBTDC and GCAP is an excellent resource for small and mid-sized businesses," said Phil Locklear. "They have been instrumental in our company's growing success. Their proactive assistance enabled the company to thrive initially and will continue to promote growth in support of our national defense.”

For more information about Lock4, LLC, please visit https://www.lock4llc.com/home.

Trivia Answer

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) received an A+ for the sixth year in a row for its work in maximizing opportunities for small businesses.

Last year, DHS obligated $8 billion to small businesses working to support the homeland security mission. DHS strives to continue to lead in  small business contracting by focusing on small business outreach and engagement in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion.