What is 8a Certification?
8a Certification is the term used for socially or economically disadvantaged businesses who have gone through the application process with the General Services Administration (GSA) and been awarded a GSA schedule contract. Once 8a Certified, the 8a Business is then able to take advantage of any number of contracts which the federal government has mandated can only be fulfilled by 8a businesses. These mandated contracts are known as "Small Business Set Asides." More specifically, "8a Small Business Set Asides."
What is the Difference Between a Small Business Contractor and an 8a Contractor?
An 8a Contractor is a small business that has proven to the GSA it is socially or economically disadvantaged. Most any small American business (whether socially or economically disadvantaged or not) can obtain a GSA schedule contract and be eligible for Small Business Set Asides. These set asides make it easier for the small business to compete against (and work with) much larger companies. In many instances, a larger company is awarded a contract with the contingency that it will hire GSA certified small businesses to fulfill portions of the contract. These larger company contracts are then monitored closely by the GSA to ensure compliance with the small business requirement.
8a Certification is the Tie Breaker
The thing that makes an 8a Certified small business different from a non-8a Certified small business is that there are extra incentives for larger businesses to hire 8a Certified small businesses to fulfill federal government. What it boils down to is that two small businesses competing against each other for a particular government contract and one is 8a Certified and the other is not, the 8a Certified business will most likely get the contract all other things being equal. 8a Certification is the tie breaker.
8a Certification Process
The process for obtaining 8a Certification can be tedious and drawn out if not done correctly from the beginning. One reason for this comes from the way the federal government works. Just like any other business, the federal government would rather deal with people who are familiar with the application process than with people they are going to have to baby sit every step of the way. I have previously written about a client who went through the process of obtaining a GSA schedule on its own. It took 10 months for them to receive their contract award. This process could and should have been significantly quicker if they had retained someone more familiar with the process from the beginning.