What your Firm's Federal Sales Could Look Like with an 8(a) Certification
At Advance 8(a) we are dedicated to making businesses successful in the federal marketplace. Will it be yours?
- Accounting
- Architectural
- Computer Hardware
- Computer Services
- Construction General Contractor (GC)
- Construction Trade
- Custodial / Landscaping / Janitorial Services
- Engineering
- Environmental
- Financial
- Legal
- Management Consulting Services
- Manufacturing
- Medical Offices / Doctors Offices
- Medical Supply
- Real Estate Firms
- Security
- Staffing
- Translation
- Wholesale
- Totals / Average
Totals / Average
| 8(a) Average Sales this Industry | GSA Schedule Sales for a firm with an 8(a) in this Industry | Synergy (Generally adding an 8(a) to a GSA Creates More Sales than from the GSA Schedule Alone | Synergy Ratio | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8(a) Industry Grouping | Total 8(a) Federal Sales | Number of 8(a) Firms | Average 8(a) Sales | GSA Schedule Only Sales 8(a) Firms | Number of 8(a) Firms w/ GSA Schedule | Average 8(a) Sales Directly from the GSA Schedule System | Total Federal Sales 8(a) GSA Contract Holders | Number of 8(a) Firms w/ GSA Schedule | Average Total 8(a) Federal Sales for firms with a GSA Schedule | GSA Schedule Sales Advantage | |||
Interested? Qualify Yourself
Use our Qualification tool to see if you are eligible to grow your firm utilizing the 8(a) Certification
8(a) Qualifications
Social Disadvantaged
Clarification 1: People with Heritage from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain/Portugal) are considered Hispanic for proving social disadvantage.
Clarification 2: People from the Middle East and North Africa can successfully apply, however they need a solid narrative.
Clarification 3: Native Alaskans, and Hawaiians often overlook their social disadvantage status.
Clarification 4: The Social Disadvantaged Individual or group of individuals needs to own 51% or more of the firm.
Is the 51% owner(s) of the firm U.S. Citizens
Is 25% or more of your blood heritage from a minority group or do you have a tribal card from a state or federally recognized Native American Indian Tribe?
Why Obtain an 8(a) Certification? Here are the Benefits!
Sole Source Contracts
The best description for a Sole Source Contract is a procurement officer meeting directly with the owner of the 8(a) firm to hash out the details and pricing of a contract. This occurs without a formalized bidding process, very similar to how small businesses conduct transactions with one another. The contract can be codified, provided the 8(a) firm is not more than 10% over market rates.
Sole Source Contracts are favorable to the contracting officer, as it gives them a means to award a contract much faster than going through a formalized bid process, days or weeks, compared to six to nine months.
Approximately half of all 8(a) sales occur using sole source contracts, or $16B annually. Sole sourcing is valuable for 8(a) firms as it greatly reduces the administrative burned on firms that are new to the federal marketplace.
Key Point: 8(a) firms that build rapport with contracting officers can routinely obtain sole source contracts from the same contracting officers. Therefore, being trustworthy and providing good work is very beneficial to the 8(a) firm.
Limits: Sole source contracts are limited to $4MM for goods and services and $7MM for manufacturing.
Limited Competition
5% of all federal contract are earmarked for 8(a) firms. In reality, all agencies exceed this goal bringing the average to around 8-9%. There are approximately 24 million businesses in the United States. There are around 350,000 small business contractors in sam.gov. However, only around 6,500 firms have successfully navigated the process for becoming 8(a) Certified. As a result, 8(a) firms on average have sales in excess of $5MM per year.
Boosts GSA Schedule and GWAC Effectiveness
There are many contracting vehicles that federal agencies utilize. GSA Schedule and other Government-wide Contracting vehicles are among their favorites. When procurement officers are utilizing these contracting vehicles, in order to hit their 8(a) social inclusiveness goals they seek out the 8(a) firms on those contracts. This, in turn, boosts the performance of the 8(a) firms compared to other contract holders.
GWACs, such as 8(a) STARS, for Information Technology companies, can also provide an avenue for a major increase in sales due additional narrowing of competition.
Better Pricing
8(a) firms are all small businesses with somewhat similar capabilities and cost structures. Due to these factors, they are generally able to receive better pricing than their peers, who do not have access to sole source and set-aside contracts.
Construction Contractor Friendly
8(a) Construction opportunities occur throughout the United States. This is because 80% of Federal Construction occurs at DoD facilities (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Bases). These facilities are in all 50 states, as well as US Territories. Generally, a military facility will utilize 2-3 different 8(a) firms on an ongoing basis, providing those 8(a) firms routinely work near their firm’s headquarters.
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