Guam Business Resource Guide

U.S. DNB website at www.dnb.com. Once you have
obtained your D-U-N-S number, you may proceed to
the CCR registration page at www.ccr.gov. Prior to
beginning your registration, it is recommended you
download and read the CCR Handbook as it is full of
helpful hints that will make the process go more
smoothly once you begin the registration process.
Upon completion of the application, CCR will issue
your firm a Commercial and Government Entity
Code (CAGE Code) and CCR will issue your Trading
Partner Identification Number (TPIN). Your CAGE
code information will be required on all contracts
and your TPIN is your password to updating and
maintaining your CCR registration. Due to personnel
turnover and poor record keeping habits, this
information is often “lost” between the time you
register your firm and the time you need to update
your CCR information. Therefore it is highly recommended
that this information be included in
the standard operating procedures that outline
your firm’s policies related to the storage
and protection of important information.
In addition to registering in CCR, your
firm should also complete, update and
maintain information in the Dynamic
Small Business Search Engine (DSBS)
which is part of CCR. This area is very
important to small business concerns as
it allows your firm to refine your marketing
information to make the CCR/DSBS registration
“yours.” In the DSBS, your firm will be able to
identify itself as woman owned, serviced disabled
veteran owned and more as well as provide links to
your company’s web site, provide information on
past performance and tailor the marketing message
to your company’s advantage. When you begin
your DSBS registration you will see your “SBA customer
ID number” on the first page. Just like your
CAGE code and TPIN, this information should be
stored in a safe place since you will be required to
produce this information when your firm seeks
HUBZone, 8(a) or Small Disadvantaged Business
(SDB) certification.
So why should I complete all of these registrations
other than “I have to?”
In this day and age of contracts that are increasingly
regional or in some cases worldwide, contracting
officials and large businesses need to find
small businesses to partner with to fill the government’s
need in the geographic areas covered by a
contract. It doesn’t take much imagination to envision
the number of telephone books, Chamber of
Commerce registries or rolodex entries needed to
try to keep up with businesses located over a wide
geographical area. The availability of the DSBS
gives the contracting officials and their large business
counterparts, an inexpensive, one stop portal
to find small businesses capable of fulfilling their
need.
9.3 CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Knowing what and how the government buys is essential
if a business owner is to be successful in
government contracting. Don't think, however,
that you can relax once you receive the good news
that you have won a contract. Your work is just beginning.
If you cannot perform according to
the terms of the contract, the government
will not get the product or service
it needs and you may find yourself
in financial difficulty as well.
The first thing to do is to read the proposed
contract carefully before signing it.
This may look like an imposing task, as
some contracts may contain many pages,
depending on the type of contract and complexity
of what the government is buying.
However, many contract terms and conditions are
"boiler plate." Once you read and understand the
terms, you will be familiar with them when they
appear in your next contract. One important feature
of the contract is the identity of the office
that will administer it. In most federal agencies
this is usually the same office that awarded the
contract. In the Department of Defense, however,
the contract is generally assigned to a special administering
office. If you have any questions about
the contract, contact the office of administration.
Do not proceed and find out much later that you
are not in compliance.
The Department of Defense (DoD) in particular is
requiring businesses to have an ever higher standard
of computing capability as a pre-condition to
contracting with DoD. DoD is also increasingly using
computer driven contract monitoring and performance
reporting through programs such as “web
CM” and “wide area work flow.” In some cases,
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