8a application organization

Don’t think the 8(a) Program or HUBZone Program has any work? Think Again!

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If you don’t think the 8(a) Program or HUBZone Program can be a valuable tool for your business just look at the following 8(a) and HUBZone contract information pulled from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) for just the period of 10/1/2014 through 09/30/2016.

8(a) Sole Source Contract Actions:
Total Action Obligations: $17,327,494,322.14
Total Contract Actions: 122,381

8(a) Competitive Contract Actions:
Total Action Obligations: $16,760,620,275.87
Total Contract Actions: 72,546

8(a) with HUBZone Preference Contract Actions:
Total Action Obligations: $13,444,789.30
Total Contract Actions: 29

Summary:
Total 8(a) Sole Source, Competitive and HUBZone Preference:
Total Action Obligations: $34,101,559,387.31
Total Contract Actions: 194,956

HUBZone Set-Aside Contract Actions:
Total Action Obligations: $3,300,688,237.85
Total Contract Actions: 23,405

HUBZone Sole Source Contract Actions:
Total Action Obligations: $78,474,087.11
Total Contract Actions: 1,014

Summary:
Total HUBZone Set-Aside and Sole Source:
Total Action Obligations: $3,379,162,324.96
Total Contract Actions: 24,419

Need assistance with your 8(a)  or HUBZone Application? With 15 years and over 2,000 successful applications under our belt, we can assure you that no matter which option you choose, Cloveer will work harder and faster to get your business SBA 8(a) or HUBZone certified.  Contact us today at 813-333-5800 or visiting our website at cloveer.com to discover what Cloveer can do for you.

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8(a) Certification Tip – Your primary NAICS code and what’s reported on the business tax returns.

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When you apply for the SBA 8(a) Program you must report to the SBA what your primary NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) code is.

Your primary NAICS code is defined as the six digit code in which your business earned its largest segment of revenue, in the most recently completed fiscal year. To get 8(a) certified you typically must have earned your largest segment of revenue in your primary NAICS code for at least the last two fiscal years. If your business has not earned the largest segment of revenue in the primary NAICS code reported to the SBA for the last two fiscal years you will need to apply with a 2 year waiver.

To determine the primary NAICS code for your business you can visit our blog post titled “How to Determine your Primary NAICS Code” for detailed instructions.

The primary NAICS code for your business must also match what is reported on your business tax returns otherwise the SBA will assume that the business does not meet the two years in business requirement.

If your primary NAICS code is different that what is reported on your filed business tax returns, and the NAICS code reported on the business tax returns is incorrect you must:

Submit a letter of explanation to SBA, as part of your 8(a) Application, from your CPA or tax preparer regarding the business activity code and service listed on the filed business tax returns vs what NAICS code that should have been reported on them. This letter will save you 15-30 days of processing by the SBA.

Need assistance with your 8(a) Application? With 15 years and over 2,000 successful applications under our belt, we can assure you that no matter which option you choose, Cloveer will work harder and faster to get your business SBA 8a certified.  Contact us today at 813-333-5800 or visiting our website at cloveer.com to discover what Cloveer can do for you.

8(a) Certification: Family members with ownership in another business. What do I need to know and provide?

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When you apply for the 8(a) Program the SBA will ask if you have any immediate family members who have ownership in a business. Why? 13 C.F.R 121.103(f) defines that the SBA may find affiliation on an identity of interest between individuals or business, including family members.

Immediate family member is defined as father, mother, husband, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, grand-daughter, father-in-law, and mother-in-law.

Tip: They do not ask this question upfront. To alleviate any questions by the SBA during the review process you should provide a signed and dated certification that you or any immediate family members do not have ownership in any other business during the application submission process, if this is the case.

If you do have an immediate family member that has ownership interest in any other business you must provide the following documentation to the SBA:

The above must be supplied if any immediate family member, any owner of more than 10%, any director, any officer has ownership in any other business entity.

  1. SBA Form 355 (listing each firm as an alleged affiliate);
  2. Interim year to date financial statements, as well as number of employees;
  3. Three most recently filed business tax returns, including all schedules, attachments, and proof of tax paid;
  4. If the firm is a corp, provide:
    – Articles of incorporation and by-laws;
    – The last two years of  shareholder meeting minutes showing the election of the board of directors;
    – The last two years of board of director meeting minutes showing the election of the officers;
    – Stock certificates and ledger;
    – Assumed/fictitious name registration, if dba name is used;
    –     Copies of cert of good standing if your firm is a foreign firm; and;
    – Any buy/sell agreements, stock transfer agreements, etc.
    If the firm is a LLC, provide:
    – Articles of organization and operating agreement;
    – Assumed/fictitious name registration, if a dba name is used;
    – Certificate of good standing; and
    – Any buy/sell agreements, stock transfer agreements, etc.If the firm is a sole prop, provide:
    – Assumed/fictitious name registration.If the firm is a partnership, provide:
    – Partnership agreement;
    – Official filings with the state; and
    – Assumed/fictitious name registration, if a dba name is used.

Why do they require this information?
The SBA requires the above information to determine if any affiliation exists between the 8(a) Applicant firm and any other business that your family member owns.

Need assistance with your 8(a) Application? With 15 years and over 2,000 successful applications under our belt, we can assure you that no matter which option you choose, Cloveer will work harder and faster to get your business SBA 8a certified.  Contact us today at 813-333-5800 or visiting our website at www.cloveer.com to discover what Cloveer can do for you.

 

 

8(a) Certification: Ownership or outside work in any other business can be a certification show stopper!

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The applicant(s) for 8(a) Certification must devote full-time to the business that is applying for the 8(a) Program with no outside employment. This means that they must generally work at least 40 hours a week during the normal hours of operation of the business that is applying for the 8(a) Program.

If the applicant(s) have an ownership or are an officer, director or partner  in any other business, other than the business that is applying for the 8(a) Program, the SBA may very well deny your 8(a) Application.

Why?

As stated above, you must devote full-time during the normal hours of operation of the business. If you have ownership or are an officer, director or partner in another business the SBA will likely conclude that you are not devoting full-time to the applicant business even if you do not devote any hours to the operation of this other business.

How to overcome this potential show-stopper?

a. You can dissolve this other business and provide evidence of dissolution to the SBA during the application review process.

b. You can formally resign your officer, director or partner position in this other business and provide evidence of resignation.

b. You can sell your ownership in this other business. The sale must take place at fair market value and you must be able to provide proof of the sale and a copy of any proceeds you might receive. Be sure to factor in any funds you receive as a result of this sale. You must also resign all positions you held in this other business and provide proof of this resignation.

What if the other business is just a business for holding real estate?

If the other business is just for holding real estate and you can prove this to the SBA, you can most likely keep your ownership in this other business since this other business is solely for the purpose of holding and/or protecting you ownership interest in the properties that it holds.

Need assistance with your 8(a) Application? With 15 years and over 2,000 successful applications under our belt, we can assure you that no matter which option you choose, Cloveer will work harder and faster to get your business SBA 8a certified.  Contact us today at 813-333-5800 or visiting our website at www.cloveer.com to discover what Cloveer can do for you.

2 Year Waiver Guide; How to prepare the 2 year waiver for your 8(a) Application

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Who needs to provide a Length of Time in Business Waiver/Two Year Waiver?

Your firm must demonstrate potential for success by showing two years in business. Please note that if the business concern has not yet generated revenues you will be unable to waive the two-year rule.

If the business has not generated revenues for the preceding two years, as verified by sufficient revenues reported on business tax returns, you will need to request the Length of Time in Business Waiver/ Two Year Waiver.

Proof of two years operation in the firm’s primary industry as verified by sufficient revenues reported in business tax returns for the two previous tax years, NOT the business concerns anniversary date.

What are the SBA requirements to be able to apply for the 8(a) Program using the Length of Time in Business Waiver/Two Year Waiver?

  1. The 8(a) applicant(s) must possess substantial business managerial experience.
  2. The business concern must have demonstrated that it has the technical expertise it will need to carry out its business plan with substantial likelihood for success.
  3. The business concern must have adequate capital to sustain its operations and carry out its business plan.
  4. The business concern must have a record of successful performance on contracts in its primary NAICS code.
  5. The business concern must have (or can quickly obtain) the personnel, facilities, equipment, and other resources it needs to perform any 8(a) contracts it might be awarded.

Our 2 year waiver guide contains very detailed instructions on how to satisfy each of the 5 conditions including what you should detail in your narrative for each condition as well as the exact supporting documents you must provide to the SBA to support your narrative. Additionally, a detailed example narrative write-up for each condition is provided in our guide.

Our 2017 SBA 2 Year Waiver Guide will assist in the preparation and 100% completion of the 2 Year Waiver for your SBA 8(a) Application. This downloadable guide is $150.00. Click on the Buy Now button below to purchase the guide and download now. This guide will not only show you how to properly prepare the 2 Year Waiver but will save you countless hours of trying to figure out how to properly complete the 2 Year Waiver and possible endless back and forth or long delays of the processing of your 8(a) application by the SBA.

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8(a) Application – New Procedure for Submitting your 8(a) Application

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The SBA has recently changed its method for submitting your 8(a) Application supporting documents.

On August 24, 2016, the SBA updated Title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 124. Among one of the updates, the SBA included a requirement that all 8(a) Applications along with supporting documentation must now be filed electronically.

Because of this change, the SBA now (as of February 10, 2017) requires that you submit your entire 8(a) Application electronically instead of mailing the completed 8(a) Application and supporting documentation to them. Please note, this has been noted as an interim process therefore please stay tuned to our blog for further updates to the submission process.

(You can download the Interim Process Guide by visiting https://certify.sba.gov/8a-docs). Please review the process in detail before submitting your 8(a) Application to the SBA. Here are the basic steps from the guide:

  1. You will still need to complete your 8(a) Application forms within the BDMIS system or via your SBA GLS account.
  2. To upload your supporting documents to the SBA, you will now need to establish an account with certify.sba.gov. Once you have established an account with certify.sba.gov and have selected the option for 8(a) Document upload under the Programs option within this system:

You must use the following naming convention when saving and uploading your 8(a) documents to the SBA: FIRM NAME_DUNS NUMBER_TYPE OF FILE.PDF.

For example, if you are uploading your 2015 personal tax returns, the PDF file should be named: ABC LLC_123456789_2015 Personal Federal Tax Return.PDF

All files must be uploaded as separate documents.

  1. You will also need to upload your BDMIS Application completed through your SBA GLS account with all executed signature pages.
  2. For all further instructions, please review the guide mentioned above.

Tips to select the right consultant to prepare your 8a, HUBZone or VetBiz Application.

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1. Pick up the phone. Call them and speak to the actual person who will be preparing your application. 

You should be able to call them and speak directly to the individual(s) who will be responsible for preparing your application. At Cloveer, you can call and speak to the employee who will be responsible for preparing your application. They will answer any of your questions and let you know whether or not you are eligible to become certified into one of these programs at no cost. Call us at 813-333-5800 to get your questions answered.

2. Don’t choose your consultant solely on their price for services.

The old adage is true. You get what you pay for. If it looks to good too be true, it usually is.

3. Stay away from any consultant that offers you any type of guarantee.

The FAR prohibits any federal consultant to base any fee for their services contingent on certification.

4. Ask as many questions up front as possible. See if they actually know the rules and regulations of the program you want to get certified into. They should be able to answer your eligibility questions quickly and correctly.

Cloveer pre-qualifies all of its potential clients to make sure they meet all of the regulatory requirements.

5. Check the consultants Better Business Bureau report.

If they don’t have a profile established with the BBB, or have negative feedback, this is a sign of potential problems. Cloveer is an A+ Rated BBB business with zero complaints.

6. Ask them for references you can personally speak to and look for a recent track record of success.

Cloveer has real references that are published on our website that you can call and speak to.

7. Look at their website to see if they provide more than just sales information.

Cloveer.com has an extensive FAQ section along with a comprehensive blog on getting certified. We want you to understand as much as possible before making a decision on whether or not to pursue certification.

8.  Make sure that the agreement provided for services to be rendered covers everything.

All services provided by Cloveer are on a fixed price basis so there will be no hidden charges.

For More information on getting your 8a Certified, HUBZone Certified or VETBiz Certified, call us at 813-333-5800 or visit www.cloveer.com