Did you know that you should regularly update your SAM.gov registration in order to be able to sell to the government? And do you know how to renew SAM registration correctly?
- What is SAM.gov
- Why do you need to update your SAM.gov registration?
- How often should you update your SAM.gov record?
- How to check the current status of your SAM.gov registration?
- Is SAM.gov registration renewal important?
- How to renew SAM.gov registration, step by step
- How long does it take to update my SAM registration?
Unfortunately, from our practical experience we have to conclude that many scam websites today offer paid SAM registration updates. Sometimes, GSA contractors would even receive email messages telling them they need to follow a link to update SAM.gov registration for a price.
Clearly, you should not allow yourself to be deceived: using SAM.gov website is 100% free. It is even written on their main page! However, you should know how to update SAM registration correctly. This article explores the topic in detail, so if you are not too familiar with the topic, please make sure to read on.
What is SAM.gov
System for Award Management (SAM.gov), or in short SAM, is the official place made for those who pursue, receive and manage government contracting awards. As a government contractor, you are required to start your relationships with the GSA by registering at SAM.gov.
Since its major update in 2021, the SAM.gov website offers the following functionalities:
- Businesses can register to get government contracts or otherwise cooperate with the U.S. Government.
- Business owners can update, renew, or check the status of their entity registration
- The website allows searches for entity registration and exclusion records
- Since 2021, SAM.gov website integrates functionality of legacy websites such as CFDA.gov, WDOL.gov, FBO.gov, and FPDS.gov.
- You can view and submit BioPreferred and Service Contract Reports
- View publicly available award data.
Why do you need to update your SAM.gov registration?
Updating SAM registration is a must. Every SAM.gov account is only valid for exactly one calendar year, after which it expires, unless explicitly renewed by the owner.
The requirement to renew SAM registration arises from the fact that the government wants the most up-to-date information about companies. The purpose of such manual updates is to force vendors to confirm their business is still alive and the data specified in the SAM.gov account is accurate and relevant.
How often should you update your SAM.gov record?
The SAM registration must be renewed every 365 days starting from the date of registration. If you fail to perform SAM update in time, your SAM.gov account will be suspended and its status will be set to “Expired”. So, next time you attempt to authenticate, you will see a “SAM registration expired” message.
What should you do to prevent that? Renew your SAM registration in time.
How to check the current status of your SAM.gov registration?
What to do if you do not know the exact date you must update? How to renew SAM registration then? How to check if you need renewal in the first place?
Well, all you need to do is to attempt to log into your SAM.gov account using your login.gov email and password that you used for your company’s registration at System for Award Management.
Then, switch to the “Workspace” tab and go to “Entity management”. Here, you can see the due date for each of your registered entities under the “Next Update Due” label.
Another way to check your SAM expiration date is:
From your “Workspace”, select the “Home” menu, then select “Check Registration Status”.
Is SAM.gov registration renewal important?
No, it is not just important. It is vital! As soon as your registration status switches from “Active” to “Expired” – BOOM! – you cannot work with federal agencies as a contractor anymore.
Here is what happens technically. When a contractor’s SAM registration expires, it is put to the Excluded Parties List (EPL), a list of contractors excluded from receiving federal contracts, some subcontracts, as well as certain types of federal benefits, financial and non-financial ones.
We’ll put this simply: federal agencies won’t award you because your entity is marked as “Inactive”. And you will not even be able to place bids while inactive.
Normally, you will be notified by email that your SAM registration is going to expire soon. But we do not recommend relying too much on automatic reminders. In fact, renewing 2-3 months before the due date is a smart thing to do. Here is why.
Normally, federal contractors would place an RFQ or RFP, then contractors will place the bids, and eventually a federal agency awards one of them. Federal buyers consider dozens of factors when awarding contractors. A close to expiry or expired SAM registration is one of them. Federal agencies may be hesitant to award a contract to a company that does not pay enough attention to the relevance of its records.
How to renew SAM.gov registration, step by step
Step 1. Login and select the entity for SAM updates
First of all, login to your SAM.gov profile. Use the same email you specified when you first registered. Then, open your workspace and go to the “Entity Management” section. There, you can manage all your business entities, see their due dates, and update registration if necessary.
The entities in the workspace are sorted by their status. To open currently active entities, click the button that says “Active” with a number inside it. The number shows how many active entities you have. Finally, select the entity you want to update your registration. Click the “…” button and select “Update”.
Step 2. Update your entity registration
Now, you can review and update your registration. Here is how.
It is obligatory and critical that you verify every section of the update window and make sure the specified information is accurate, valid and up to date. You must not skip sections, otherwise your registration update will not be complete.
Even though every section must be checked through, some sections are literally crucial. So make sure to verify information in these sections twice.
- DUNS information. DUNS is where your company name and address come from. Make sure they are correct. Your actual address, company address in DUNS, and SAM address; all three must be the same. Whenever you change your address at D&B, you should update your SAM.gov data too. It is easy, though: just click the “Refresh D&B” button.
- Financial information. In this section, check your banking and financial information for correctness including your account, correspondent account (if applicable), etc.
- Size metrics. This section is about the size of your business. Whether or not you are considered a small business depends on the information you enter here. That is why this section is important. Make sure to update your averages; employee count and average annual receipts!
- Points of contact. Should we say again how important it is to keep your contact data fresh and crispy? Well, it is. If your employees cannot receive emails, they won’t be able to see new RFIs from SAM.gov. If employees who are responsible for SAM.gov interaction have changed since last year, make sure to update the contacts accordingly.
- NAICS codes. It is only normal that you may want to start offering new products. Update your NAICS codes or change the primary ones to make sure they match what you sell.
- Representations and certifications. This section allows you to provide certifications and representations of your entity required by FAR or DFARS.
Step 3. Double-check everything and submit
Once again go through all the sections and make sure the information you entered is correct. This is important, because a single error in contact or banking information can result in big potential difficulties in the future. If everything is correct, it is time to complete the update of your SAM.gov registration. Submit your changes and wait.
How long does it take to update my SAM registration?
This question is often asked by our clients. Once you submit your SAM.gov update, you should receive an automatic email confirmation. This confirms that the agency has received your information. The approval, however, takes a bit longer, up to a week. When your update is approved, you should receive another notification.
Note that major changes, for example if your business has changed its organizational form, or if you changed your company address, may require more time to approve, up to several weeks.
Keeping up with your GSA Schedule
Ok, now that we have guided you through the details of the SAM registration renewal process, you can see that it is actually quite easy. Yes, you have to be very scrupulous and all, but in the end updating your SAM registration correctly is a doable task for anyone.
But the story does not end here. There’s more work to do if you plan to become successful with your GSA Schedule. For instance, SAM.gov updates are a natural part of the GSA contract extensions; a special renewal procedure executed when the major 5-year term of your GSA contract expires. There are also bidding optimization, integration of your GSA sales into your business processes, automated reporting, marketing, and many other tasks. If you are all new to federal sales, you may need assistance with getting on GSA, in the first place.
If so, please don’t hesitate to visit the official website of Price Reporter, a leading GSA contracting agent that has already helped hundreds of small and medium-size businesses to get a GSA award.
