Maine APEX Newsletter December 2023

Helping businesses find, win and perform on government contracts • maineptac.org

December 2023 Newsletter

Free Webinars

The Maine APEX team hosts free webinars for those interested in learning more about government contracting.

How to Read and Respond to a Winning Bid

12/13/23 • 11:00am

Click here to learn more

Introduction to Surety Services for Small Businesses

12/14/23 • 11:00am

Click here to learn more

What is Foreign Ownership, Control, and Influence?

12/20/23 • 10:00am

Click here to learn more

Selling to the State of Maine: A Collab with the L/A Metro Chamber

01/09/24 • 12:00pm

Click here to learn more

View all events

PM’s Corner

A monthly feature from the ME APEX Director

Finding Opportunities with Maine DOT

You may be aware of where the Maine Department of Transportation publishes current bid opportunities; https://www.maine.gov/mdot/contractors/. But did you know that from that very same page you can navigate to “Recently Awarded Contracts” in the menu down the left of the page to find recently opened bids, and who won the work? This could be extremely powerful information for businesses looking to be a subcontractor and build past performance by working on a government contract.

Another useful feature on this page is the “Get Opportunities By Email” option. This is a great tool for businesses looking to stay in the know for Maine DOT work. By signing up, you’ll get everything that Maine DOT puts out.

Lastly, I want to point out the tab labeled “Bid Openings”. MaineDOT bid openings take place each week on Wednesdays at 11:00 AM at the MaineDOT Headquarters buildings in Augusta. If you can’t get there in person, you can always watch it virtually. You can even go back to review recent bid openings.

Grace Period Ending for Self-Certified SDVOSBs

Miranda Pelkey-Deputy Director, Maine APEX

On January 1, 2023, the responsibility for certifying service-disabled veteran-owned- and veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs and VOSBs) was transferred to the Small Business Administration. A one year grace period was given which will be coming to an end on January 1, 2024 for all SDVOSBs to file an application for SBA certification. Once this grace period ends, SDVOSBs and VOSBs not certified with the SBA will be ineligible for set-asides or sole-source awards tied to these programs.

To apply for certification with SBA as a VOSB or SDVOSB, a firm must meet the following requirements:

Be considered a small business, as defined by the size standard corresponding to any NAICS code listed in the business’s SAM profile.

Have no less than 51% of the business owned and controlled by one or more veterans.

For certification as a SDVOSB, have no less than 51% of the business owned and controlled by one or more veterans rated as service-disabled by the VA.

For those veterans who are permanently and totally disabled and unable to manage the daily business operations of their business, their business may still qualify if their spouse or appointed, permanent caregiver is assisting in that management.

The clock is ticking so don’t delay reaching out to your APEX counselor to assist you with maintaining your SDVOSB and VOSB status.

Client Quote of the Month

"Maine APEX has taken a lot of the guess work for Main-Land Development Consultants out of the public sector procurement processes."

-Rick Dunton, PE, Main-Land Development Consultants, Inc.

Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) Update

Morgan Rocheleau, Southern Maine APEX Counselor

If you have been in government contracting for any amount of time, you have heard of the DSBS and might recall the headache it was to update that supplemental pages of your profile. If you are new, well, you are lucky you won’t understand the trouble it was to keep the company DSBS profile current. Recently, the Dynamic Small Business Search made a change and the only way to access your profile and the supplemental pages is through SBA Connect. It is no longer a part of the Entity Registration process on SAM.gov. This change has streamlined everything, and I am encouraging everyone to take advantage of it. If you haven’t heard about the Dynamic Small Business Search, it is the database that contracting officers and purchasers use to find small businesses that have registered within the Entity Registration module on SAM.gov and have an active CAGE code. It can be used by contracting officers for many reasons, but one big one is possible micro purchases that are done directly with businesses.

With the change, the only way to access the supplemental pages of the business profile is from the SBA Connect website. Once on the site, individuals will login using their login.gov credentials. The first time on the site, you will need to request access to the DSBS. This is a fairly simple process, in the upper right-hand side click on the “Access” tab and in the drop down click on “Request Access.” The 3rd drop down menu is DSBS, if you expand the section you can click on the box for “DSBS” it will provide a location to put in your UEI and Bank Account (from Entity Registration). After you have input the information, it states the SBA will send you an email once access has been granted. When working with clients recently, this access has been granted immediately. When you return to the SBA Homepage, the DSBS will now be listed. There are generally 6 areas on the supplemental pages that business owners can complete that will provide contracting officers with full understanding of the business. These sections are; Capabilities Narrative, Key Words, Past Performance (references), Capabilities Statement URL (new feature), Non-Federal Government Certifications, Special Materials/Equipment and if applicable Bonding Levels.

Completing these sections and keeping them currently is a great way to set your business apart in the government marketplace. If you are looking for assistance or want to learn more about how to maximize your business’ DSBS profile in an effort to help create the most potential in the government contracting reach out to your APEX counselor today. We will be happy to help you through the whole process.