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The Language of Governemnt contracting

Certifications and Government Contracting have their own vocabulary!

Use this page to help navigate through some of the various acronyms and terminology specific to contracting. 

Knowing your target customer is important.

Not all contracting opportunities will be a good fit for your business. It's important to understand who your ideal customer is and align your strategy accordingly. 
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Contracting Language

Appropriations

Every year, the Treasury Department issues funds to federal agency spending accounts (known as Treasury Accounts ) as a result of appropriations from Congress. Appropriations are one form of budgetary resource , and any given Treasury Account may include a variety of budgetary resources.
Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, formerly Procurement Technical Assistance Center. PTAC's provide contracting assistance - often at no cost- in nearly every state. 
Centralized Master Bidder's List - official state vendor fee-based registration portal that does not include an endorsement to a registered vendor. 

DBE

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise

EIN

Employer Identification Number - an individual number that is registered with the IRS to identify each business entity. IRS Form SS-4 is utilized to request an EIN from the IRS. 
Electronic State Business Daily - online portal system that provides public notice to registered vendors of procurement opportunities. 
The Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) is the official website that all large prime contractors and large subcontractors should use for submitting both the Individual Subcontracting Report (formerly SF 294) and the Summary Subcontract Report (formerly SF 295).

HUB

State - Historically Underutilized Business
The Comptroller of Public Accounts (the authorized primary purchaser for the state of Texas) manages and administers the state's small business program with certifications and state procurement process training aimed to increase the HUB competitive participation. 
A free sub-listing of only active HUB certified vendors withing the CMBL portal.
Minority Business Development Councils and Chambers

MBE

Minority Business Enterprise

Minority Chambers

Chambers of Commerce may be further distinguished by the population they serve, for example; Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, or LGBTQ+
North American Industry Classification System
The federal government, in cooperation with Canada and Mexico, developed the NAICS to establish a common economic classification standard that allowed the three countries to trade commodities and services by group and unit.
NAICS codes are a five or six digit number based on Sector Identification and Industry
National Institute of Governmental Purchasing
The State of Texas uses the NIGP commodity code book to identify its procurement needs. Any vendor/bidder should use these codes to identify the information technology, commodities and services it can provide to state procurement needs.
NIGP codes are distinguished by a three-digit class code followed by a two-digit item number.
Class codes 005-898 describe commodities.
Class codes 905-998 describe services. 

Obligations

Agencies enter into binding agreements called obligations to spend the appropriated money for certain authorized purposes. These purposes could be for agency expenses or for federal awards such as contracts, grants, and loans. Obligations could commit the agency to spend money immediately or in the future.

Outlays

Outlays occur when federal agencies authorize payments to individuals, businesses, or other organizations. Whereas an obligation is merely a promise to spend money, an outlay represents actual spending.
USAspending has data on both obligations and outlays, but in most cases, it is more common to measure spending by obligations rather than outlays.

Regulation A+

Can be thought of as an alternative to a small, registered IPO and as either an alternative or a complement to other securities offering methods that are exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933.  

Regulation Crowdfunding

Enables eligible companies to offer and sell securities through crowdfunding.
The rules: require all transactions under Regulation Crowdfunding to take place online through an SEC-registered intermediary, either a broker-dealer or a funding portal. 

SBA

Small Business Administration
An organization that supports and mentors small business owners in financial and operational needs. 

SDV

Service Disabled Veteran
The State of Texas is split up by different regions in some state contracts. You can locate your highway district by entered your zip code. 
The Texas Comptroller's HUB Mentor Protégé Program is an incredible initiative that encourages prime contractors to guide and support Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs). This mentorship aims to boost HUBs' growth, increasing their contracts and subcontracts with the State of Texas. It's a win-win, as mentors can fulfill HUB subcontracting requirements, and protégés receive valuable business development guidance.

WBE

Women Business Enterprise

Procurement Opportunities

Use the links below to search for procurement opportunities at every level. 

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SAM.gov
Use the SAM website to search procurement notices for the federal government. 

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Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD)

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City of Dallas Procurement Services

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Dallas Fort Worth Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.

Private Sector Procurement Opportunities in North Texas

North Texas is home to many larger organizations that may be potential customers. Here is a partial list of local businesses and links to their procurement or supplier diversity pages. 

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3M Supplier Direct

Supplier Diversity

Procurement Portal

Supplier Diversity Portal

Business Diversity and Procurement

Supplier Diversity

Worldwide Procurement & Logistics

Aquisition Tools

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GSA eBuy is an acquisition tool used by federal agencies and military services. 

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System for Award Management - SAM

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Centralized Master Bidders List (CMBL)

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Bidnet is a third-party site that allows you to search for bid opportunities at all levels.