Top 7 Crucial 8a Certification Benefits Your Business Will Obtain

As a small business entrepreneur, you always focus on taking your company to a great level of success, right? Consider 8a certification benefits. When government agencies purchase your services or products, you can often reach a level that the traditional commercial sector may not allow you. But for that instance, you should have proper information about the government contracting procedure.

What is 8a Certification?

U.S. Federal Government enacted a 9-year 8a certification program. The aim of this certification is to give small businesses more grasp on the market. It also increases their business revenues and lets them be successful business enterprises.

Government grants the Small Business Administration (SBA) the legal authority to supervise this program. They also offer them statutory resources required to assist the 8a-certified businesses. They have the significant authority to handle the company’s 8a-certified status-related issues.

How Does 8a Certification Benefit Your Small Business Enterprise?

Benefit #1: Sole Sourcing

About half of all 8a sales, or approximately $16 billion annually, are made through sole sourcing. There is no formalized bidding process for sole sourcing contracts. A sole source contract operates similarly to how contracts are awarded in the typical marketplace for small businesses. As an 8a-certified business owner, you need to contact the Federal procurement officer to discuss the project's specifications and price. The federal procurement officer has the authority to direct award the contract to the 8a company so long as the firm does not charge 10% more than the market. 

The company with 8a certification benefits is able to get sole-source contracts from federal buyers before other businesses even know about the available opportunity.

Is your 8a-certified business organization have been in business for more than three years? If yes, then you no longer need to respond to bids. You will definitely have sufficient sole-sourcing contracts to keep you busy.

Limits on sole sourcing are set at $6.5 million for manufacturing and $4 million for goods and services.

Benefit #2: Limited Competition

The pool of potential bidders for federal contracts is restricted to companies with 8a certification benefits. Only 6,500 U.S. businesses have successfully completed the 8a certification process. Over $34 billion in annual federal contracts are awarded to 8(a) certified firms. That means the company will receive 5% of all federal spending. This amount of federal spending is more than $4 million per 8a certified company annually.

Benefit #3: Boost GSA Schedule Contracts

The 8a certification benefit will greatly improve your company’s GSA schedule effectiveness. When the federal procurement officers visit GSA Advantage (an online portal for GSA purchasing), they always start with 8a-certified businesses. As a result, 8a companies are may experience a 300% advantage over their non-8a GSA Schedule competitors.

Benefit #4: Better Business Growth

Companies with 8a certification benefits have the ability to grow much faster than their competitors. Each year, the fastest 50 federal IT contractors working for the federal government are featured in The Washington Post. And you will surprise to know that 31 of the fastest 50 are 8a certified companies.

Benefit #5: Win Large Business Contracts

From a small business perspective, the contract sizes for the businesses with 8a certification benefits can be substantial. Working together with other partners is one of the best ways to complete these contracts. This is due to the fact that 8a businesses are permitted to form joint ventures with other businesses. Large federal prime contractors are frequently used for this purpose. As a result, the 8a-certified business enterprises may have the opportunity to learn more about the government's working procedure. Apart from this, it enables the 8a company to win contracts it wouldn't be able to win otherwise. Most importantly, it contributes to the federal performance history of the 8a company. As a result, companies with 8a certification benefits can win significant contacts without forming any further partnerships.

Benefit #6: Ensure Better Pricing

Businesses with 8a certification benefits are small business enterprises, and their number is limited. They are roughly comparable in their capabilities and costs. As a result, they generally get better prices than their peers.

Benefit #7: Construction Contractor Friendly

Companies with 8a certification benefits can outperform their competitors just because they win a lot of federal construction contracts. As a result, more than 40% of construction accounts are 8a-certified businesses. 

Additionally, the contract funds are distributed across the United States and its territories. The reason behind this is: 80% of federal construction happens in DoD facilities like Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Bases.

Final Thoughts

We hope that you have learned the reasons why the 8a certification is getting a lot of attention among socially and economically disadvantaged Americans. After having their applications approved by the SBA, a company can take the advantage of 8a certification benefits. It will help the company significantly increase its business. Sometimes it may prove to be life-altering for some business enterprises. So, let’s take a look at the 7 top advantages of 8a certification benefits and obtain yours.