Uncle Sam can be one of the biggest—and most overlooked—sources of funding, contracts, and credibility for small businesses, but there’s a catch: you can’t access a single federal opportunity until your business is properly validated. In this post, you’ll learn why SAM.gov registration is a game-changer for grants, SBA programs, and government contracting, how Dun & Bradstreet verification fits into the process, and the simple “before you start” steps that prevent costly delays—so your company can get compliant, get visible, and get eligible for the federal dollars that help businesses scale.

Many major corporations were once small Mom and Pop businesses, but were able to skyrocket to success by holding onto the coattails of everyone’s favorite uncle, Sam.

WHAT ARE THE RELATIVE BENEFITS OF UNCLE SAM?

Your business cannot receive a penny of federal funds without first being validated by D&B and SAM.gov. Registering with the federal government at SAM.GOV can have far-reaching benefits for small companies who are seeking to obtain funding, build credibility, and grow their business. Everyone has heard of the $600,000 toilet seat or the $1.5m paper clip contract. While that particular concept may seem hard to even imagine, our government does have a need for reliable federal contractors who can provide a quality product or service at an attractive, reasonable, and competitive price.

The federal government requires any company seeking to obtain federal contracts, grants, or loans to register at SAM.gov. The System for Award Management (SAM) is the official U.S. government system that consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS. While SAM helps to validate your business, you will still need to make sure your company's credibility and creditworthiness are established with the commercial credit bureaus before you take that step. Whether you contract with local, state or federal agencies, those agencies will need to be able to see that your company has the capacity to honor the contract.

READ MORE: The Invisible Score: A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Monitoring and Maintaining Business Credit

Entities may register at no cost directly on the website. It takes about an hour to register and identify the type of company you are and what products or services you would like to offer to the government. While the site itself is simple enough to navigate, the entering of information is repetitive, tedious, and can be rather daunting for a first time user. The benefits, however, are well worth the time and energy you invest in the process.

One of our current clients, for example, designs, manufactures, and distributes automated beverage dispensing systems. While he may spend a lot of time, money and energy marketing his product to a few thousand prospective clients, by registering his company as a federal contractor, he will open up a global marketplace for his products by servicing just one client, Uncle Sam.

When you consider the opportunity to provide their product to every chow hall, mess kitchen, NCO Club, Officers Club, and government facility across America, much less every US military installment and embassy on foreign soil, the possibilities are astronomical. And while they may just see our assistance with SAM registration as a side benefit to the credit-building his company already needed, it may just turn out to be the best decision he has ever made for his company.

But even if your company doesn’t sell a product, even if you sell a product or service such as landscaping, charter buses, trucking, industrial supplies, or corn, you can still register with the federal government. You may be in high demand by major corporations looking to hire a certain type of sub-contractor who is already registered in the SAM system. It can also be beneficial to those who are seeking grants or SBA funding.

READ MORE: The SBA's New 7(a) WCP: Are you eligible?

The System for Award Management registration process requires that your D&B report match exactly to the information you are entering into their system, so updating your D&B profile is a prerequisite. A misplaced comma or incorrect street address can kick back a registration and prohibit you from proceeding as planned.

I know the steps and am willing to dedicate my time to the process so you can grow your business and obtain the funds you need for your company. Like the professionals at SAM, I understand the value of having solid information on file for your company, including certain pinpointed qualifiers, such as a minority-, women-, or veteran- owned business.

LESSON: Before you begin the SAM.gov registration process, make sure to visit D&B's free update portal to verify all of your company information is up-to-date and accurate. Reach out if you need assistance with updating your D&B report so you can register at SAM.gov and become eligible for federal programs.

CLICK HERE to schedule a free one-on-one business credit consultation.