Frequently Asked Questions

NVSBC or the National Veteran Small Business Coalition is a nonprofit membership organization serving the interests of veteran-owned businesses, their employees, and a wide range of industry and agency strategic partners. Our focus is on the field of federal contracting and supporting our members with access to networking and training events, consultations, and resources to help veterans grow strong and successful businesses. We are registered as a 501 (c) (6) nonprofit organization.

Closely aligned with the work of NVSBC, the NVSBC Education Foundation is registered as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and provides a wide range of business training services and events including consulting, national conferences in business finance and business growth strategies, and Regional Engagement events featuring industry experts and business networking opportunities. NVSBC Members receive discounted admission to all events.

• Access: You can access a vast, large and stable market with a billion-dollar annual budget.
• Support and Resources: You can get extra support and guidance from government agencies and other GovCon resources to help you navigate the complex rules and regulations of government contracting.
• Set-Asides: You can compete with fewer or no competition from larger corporations for certain contracts that are designated for small businesses, women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and other categories.
• Network: You can build your reputation and network with other government contractors and agencies, which lead to more opportunities and referrals.
• Rewards: You can enjoy timely and reliable payment from the government, as long as you comply with the contract terms and conditions.

NVSBC hosts several different types of events throughout the year. National Conferences are offered annually and include our signature VETS Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, and our FINANCE Symposium which is held once a year in the Washington DC metro area. NVSBC Members receive discounted admission to our national conferences and the discount applies to all employees of that company or organization.

NVSBC also hosts Regional Engagement events in 9 different cities across the country, providing local business owners and their sales teams direct access to training and insights from industry leaders, prime contractors, or representatives from federal agencies. Regional Engagement events are offered multiple times per year in each location and are typically conducted as a lunch or dinner venue, providing great networking and business development opportunities. NVSBC Members can also attend our Regional Engagement events at a discounted rate.

Yes! Exhibit space is affordably priced and typically sells out at our national conferences. Sponsors, who receive additional promotion and recognition throughout the event, are offered access to premium booth locations. For more information about exhibiting at an upcoming conference, contact Adelaide Kahn.

While each Administration shapes the overall direction and amount of the budget, the United States Federal Government continues to be the LARGEST buyer in the world, spending hundreds of billions on contracts annually. For Veterans who own their own businesses, there are many federal contracts that provide set asides totaling tens of billions of dollars for qualified SD/VOSBs and NVSBC provides a network for identifying and pursuing those opportunities – and training to help you be more successful in your new business development efforts.

It’s simple! Click the “Join NVSBC button” on this page and you’ll be directed to our VetFedConnect membership portal to complete your registration.

No. Memberships are offered at the organization level, and all benefits extend to everyone in the company with a linked profile to the main account — no need for each team member to create separate memberships.

NVSBC offers seven types of annual memberships. Membership rates range from $350 for veteran-owned businesses to $2400 for large businesses under the Supporting Membership category.

From the CEO to the back office staff! Anyone and everyone in your organization who has a linked profile to your organization’s account receives all membership benefits NVSBC has to offer!

Of course we do! NVSBC offers discounts ranging from $5 to $20 on engagement events to $200 to our annual VETS Conference.

Your NVSBC membership runs for one full year from your join date. Choose between annual manual renewal or convenient auto-renewal to maintain your membership benefits.

Individuals or firms who enter into a contract with any government department or agency to perform a specified task, provide labor and materials, or sell goods and services are known as federal contractors. A federal subcontractor is a business that works with another business that has direct government contracts. Both federal contractors and subcontractors take on certain responsibilities while doing business with the federal government. Discrimination based on sex, race, color, national origin, religion, disability, or veteran status is prohibited under the law. Affirmative action is required when hiring people from historically discriminated-against groups or minority-owned enterprises.

• Good Compensation: You will be properly compensated if you do business with the government. The government wants things done right the first time, therefore they’re willing to pay more for high-quality labor. Contractors are significantly more likely to be paid more than full-time government employees who perform equivalent tasks. Benefits are the only thing the government does not grant to contractors.
• Good Reputation: Winning a government contract builds up a good reputation for a business. Whenever a brand successfully bids on any government contract and gets good reviews and feedback from government agencies, they are more likely to get referred and contracted for more contracting opportunities in the future.
• Long Contracts: It may be difficult to become a government contractor, but once chosen, companies are frequently hired for long periods. The majority of the government’s planned service contracts require contractors to work for at least one to three years. If a contract company performs well during its initial contract time, the government will frequently return to them with additional work to accomplish.

• Lots of Rules: It requires a lot of paperwork to apply to work as a federal contractor. To operate with the government, businesses must have certain credentials and codes. Companies must also comply with the Code of Federal Regulations and a variety of other labor laws. It will be reported if the job is not done correctly or according to the stated rules. That documentation is then made public and accessible at any time. Businesses must also keep track of their documentation. The government can request an audit of any of its contracted enterprises at any time.
• No Stability: While partnering with a federal contractor can result in a long-term contract for some companies, the industry remains unpredictable. The government can decide to stop cooperating with a certain corporation at any time, without warning.

The principle of transparency ensures that state entities contract through a public selection process that includes objective, transparent, fair, and complete rules that allow bidders to submit appropriate proposals as well as file objections, observations, questions, and/or clarifications to the contracting entity’s documents.

According to the economic principle, selection procedures should be arranged so that only the procedures that are strictly necessary and have connected terms and preclusive and urgent deadlines are used, guaranteeing that the least amount of resources are used.

Contractors, governmental agencies, and public officials are all held accountable for their actions throughout the selection process under the responsibility principle.

• Fixed-Price Contracts: The pricing of this group of government contracts will not change. However, there are times when a ceiling price, target price, or even both are used. It’s also worth noting that with fixed-price contracts, the risk is transferred to the contract. This is because these government contracts are not based on the amount of time or resources spent. You’re working with what they put in front of you.
• Time & Materials Contracts: This one is quite straightforward. For these contracts, the government establishes a per-hour labor rate, assesses materials costs, and establishes a price ceiling. If you can provide the services within the budget, this is a fantastic option. Contracts for emergency services, for example, are frequently quite short-term. The contractor will only deliver labor and not materials in some situations, known as labor-hour contracts.
• Cost-Reimbursement Contracts: While fixed-price contracts place greater risk on the contractors, cost-reimbursement arrangements place more risk on the government agency. These government contracts are more likely to be for research and development than for actual goods or services. Cost-reimbursement contracts are divided into numerous subcategories, including cost/cost-sharing, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus award fee, and cost-plus incentive fee contracts. Some of these have a minimum and maximum payment range, while others are more flexible.
• Incentive Contracts: An incentive contract will be based upon either a cost-reimbursement contract or a fixed-price contract with added incentives. A cost-reimbursement contract or a fixed-price contract with additional incentives will be used to create an incentive contract. Because the government is well aware of the potential for traffic disruption, they may award an incentive contract to a business that can complete the project speedily. If the company completes this project ahead of schedule, it may be eligible for a bonus or incentive if the contract is completed on time or early.
• Indefinite Delivery & Quantity Contracts: A government agency may not always know exactly what they require. For example, they may not be aware of the exact quantities of material they require or the length of time they require a contractor to offer a service. These are the most adaptable government contracts. They’re given out when the government isn’t sure how much of an item or service they’ll need or when they’ll need it. They’re also known as Task Order Contracts or Delivery Order Contracts.

The federal government needs to acquire products and services in order to keep all public and essential services such as those required for public safety, national security, health, infrastructure and social services.

The System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is an official website of the U.S. Government, for which there is no cost to use. The SAM.gov site can be used to:

• Register to do business with the U.S. Government.
• Update, renew, or check the status of your entity registration.
• Search for entity registration and exclusion records.
• Search for assistance listings (formerly CFDA.gov), wage determinations (formerly WDOL.gov), contract opportunities (formerly FBO.gov), and contract data reports (formerly part of FPDS.gov).
• View and submit BioPreferred and Service Contract Reports.
• Access publicly available award data via data extracts and system accounts.

At SAM.gov, we use the term “entity” to refer to prime contractors, organizations or individuals applying for assistance awards, those receiving loans, sole proprietors, corporations, partnerships, and any U.S. federal government agencies desiring to do business with the government. Entity can also refer to a party that has been suspended or debarred, is covered by a prohibition or restriction, or is otherwise excluded from doing business with the government.

Effective since April 4, 2022, the Unique Entity ID (UEI) is the official identifier for doing business with the U.S. Government, replacing the DUNS number. As stated previously, all entities wishing to do business with the federal government must have a valid UEI issued by SAM.gov.

Yes, if you registered in SAM.gov prior to April 4, 2022, SAM.gov will automatically assign you a UEI. You should navigate to https://sam.gov/content/home to renew your existing entity record in SAM.gov by clicking the “Renew Entity” button on the SAM.gov homepage.

If each organization has a separate Legal Business Name and Physical Address, you will need to register in SAM.gov and obtain a separate UEI for each organization/entity (i.e., for each unique Legal Business Name and Physical Address combination). For more information regarding how the GSA Entity Validation Service works, please click here.

If you are already registered in SAM.gov and have been assigned a UEI, you can follow the following steps to view your UEI in SAM.gov:

1. Log into SAM.gov.
2. In your workspace, select the numbered bubble above “Active” in the Entity Management Widget.
3. Any registered entity records will then be displayed, and the UEI number(s) are shown on the left side of each record.

Navigate to sam.gov/content/home, and on the home page do one of the following:

1. If already registered in SAM.gov ‐ Renew your existing entity record in SAM.gov by clicking the “Renew Entity” button on the SAM.gov homepage.
2. If not registered in SAM.gov – Obtain a UEI by clicking the “Get Started” button on the SAM.gov homepage and follow the steps included on that page.