MO PTAC counselors offer guidance to businesses
seeking contracts with government agencies

When considering target markets for their products and services, many business owners often overlook one with nearly limitless potential — local, state and federal government. Agencies and organizations at all three levels of government buy nearly everything you can think of — from food and flowers to construction and heavy equipment. In fact, governments spend nearly $900 billion annually on various products and services.

In spite of the potential, business owners tell us that the overwhelming perception of the government as a morass of red tape and bureaucracy turns them off. It just seems to be more trouble than it's worth. But the Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers can help navigate what can be a complicated system.

The PTAC program has been available in Missouri since 1993 and is part of MU Extension's Business Development Program, along with the Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers.

MO PTAC offers business owners a variety of services to help them with the government contracting process. The most popular is an electronic bid-matching service, through which a business is notified any time a government agency is seeking to purchase a product or service the company provides. The notification appears in the business owner's e-mail and saves you the time of searching through Federal Business Opportunities and other resources offering appropriate solicitations.

If you decide to bid, MO PTAC can help you with the solicitation package. We'll work with you in preparing your bid, interpreting the regulations and assisting you with the appropriate certifications. Sometimes we can also supply you with bid histories — information on what the government has purchased in the past and at what cost — as well as any other unique specifications on each product or service requested.

Many government agencies look for vendors with specific certifications when selecting a contractor. MO PTAC can assist you with those as well. You may qualify as an 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB); as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUB Zone) small business; a service-disabled veteran-owned small business or as a veteran-owned business small business. At the state level you could be certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE); a Women Business Enterprise (WBE); or a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), all of which may give you some advantage in winning a bid.

Although the data are not yet complete, MO PTAC clients have received more than 2,000 contracts valued at greater than $390 million. This results in more than 7,800 jobs created or retained for the current fiscal year.

Other resources you may find helpful in government contracting include:

• The Federal Acquisition Regulation website, which outlines the policies for doing business with the government. Information on FAR can be found at http:/farsite.hill.af.mil
  
• The Federal Procurement Data Center at https://www.fpds.gov reports statistics on procurement for more than 70 federal agencies. Some federal, state and local government agencies, military installations and prime contractors publish procurement directories and procurement forecasts on their websites.
  
• All federal agencies are required to publicize bidding opportunities on http://www.fedbizopps.gov when the purchase is expected to exceed $25,000, so anyone with Internet access can find out about these opportunities. The dollar-level requirements for state and local agencies vary, so it is important to research this on each entity's purchasing website.
  
• The federal government requires the completion of two mandatory registrations: the Central Contractor's Registration (CCR) at http://www.ccr.gov and the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) at https://orca.bpn.gov. Both CCR and ORCA are free registrations and must be renewed annually.

Our role in PTAC is to assist you in obtaining government contracts. We can add your company to our electronic bid matching service at no cost for at least 90 days. If you find the service beneficial and wish to continue past the first year, the cost is a minimal $300 per year.

We will work with you individually to ensure the government contracting process is as simple and painless as possible. Our clients often see dramatic increases in sales, which translates into more jobs and prosperity for our state. If you'd like to participate, let us know how we can help by calling the Columbia PTAC at 573-882-9398 or by contacting a MO PTAC specialist near you.

- Bill Stuby, director of the central Missouri PTAC at the MU University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, e-mail: stubyb@missouri.edu

This story was featured in the August 2010 newsletter