The Rundown on the Veterans First Verification Program
Public Service Announcement (PSA)…the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is one of the largest federal procurement organizations and spends more than $3 billion in contracting services annually with Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) or Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB). Interested in working with the VA and getting your hands on some of that money?
WAIT! Just because you are a VOSB or SDVOSB contractor does not mean you are automatically eligible to work with the VA. Be advised, you must apply and be approved for the Veterans First Verification Program by the Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) before working with the VA on projects set aside for verified companies only.
This program qualifies VOSBs and SDVOSBs to participate in competitive and sole-sourced contracts with these set-asides, ensuring that funds are awarded to accredited firms who are legitimately owned and controlled by veterans.
Verification into this program places your company in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database, the only federally controlled database which uses legal verification to determine service-disabled and veteran status of small businesses. Being listed on this database is beneficial for business development, as it was developed and is supported by federal agencies and private businesses who want to find, support, market to and work with legitimate veteran-owned businesses.
Not a Prime Contractor? Joining the Veterans First Verification Program is still recommended as a subcontractor. Large Prime Contractors working with the VA have small-business utilization goals, using verified VOSB and SDVOSB firms works towards their goals.
TIP…don’t wait to get verified until the perfect contract pops up. Being verified for the Veterans First Verification Program takes time. The CVE goes through four phases to verify including initiation, examination, evaluation and determination. So, get started today!
If you need help getting verified the VA has trained and certified Verification Assistance Counselors to provide application assistance. All VOSBs and SDVOSBs interested in getting verified can use the services of the Verification Assistance Counseling Program. This program works with applicants offering insight on the process, review of firm’s business models, recommendations for resource tools and reviews of documents for application submission.
Once the CVE has verified your Veterans First Verification Program status and you are ready to start bidding, you can learn about upcoming or issued contracting opportunities with the VA by searching the VA Forecast of Contracting Opportunities (VA FCO), or the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps).
Better yet, contact Meridian West today and we’ll let you know about anticipated solicitations or opportunities already issued that are VOSB or SDVOSB set-aside. Find out about all upcoming and issued contracts with these set-asides by taking advantage of our complimentary opportunity tracking services.
