If you’re a small business owner, you may have heard that there are some benefits to claim if you become a certified small business.
While there are some nuances, there are some pretty big reasons to get certified!
At CSI Accounting & Payroll, we’ve worked with small business operations for nearly 60 years. That means we’ve heard plenty of questions about certified small businesses, including:
If you own a small business, is that enough to become a certified small business? Sure, if you meet the specific requirements!
The Small Business Administration (SBA) oversees the certification process for small businesses. That also includes further categorizations, such as the Veteran Small Business Certification program and the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract program.
You qualify to register as a small business if your business:
You may be seeking a small business certification because you know there are benefits – but what are they? Let’s talk about them!
There are plenty of advantages for certified woman-owned small businesses, certified veteran-owned small businesses, and certified minority-owned small businesses. The same can be said for economically disadvantaged small businesses!
What if you’re none of the above? No problem! There are still options for you as the owner of a small business.
Without an official certification, you lack some credibility, but you can still claim to be a small business and use that marketing on your website to incentivize customers to buy from your business.
Plus, whether you’re certified or not, there are no tax benefits for small businesses (not just for being small businesses, that is).
So, why get certified? It unlocks two more benefits:
Certified small businesses are preferred vendors for the federal government. That means the government may award you certain contracts (rather than a larger business) to meet its diversity goals.
If you meet all of the requirements listed above, you can self-certify as a small business and register with SAM.gov to be able to bid on those set-aside contracts.
These days, many businesses of all sizes have supplier diversity programs. Being registered as such on SAM.gov and D-U-N-S can help you gain access to these programs.
They may pledge that a certain percentage of the vendors they work with must be diverse businesses, which includes certified small businesses.
Is becoming certified worth it? We certainly think so.
What do you have to lose? Just time and effort – or a fee for professional assistance. We can help!
Jo Rawald, our partner in this area, offers a one-year Small Business Certification Navigator program to guide you through the certification process and help you leverage your small business status for business growth.
Don’t stop at the certification! While many other advisors charge upwards of $5,000 just to get certified, Jo charges a lower fee for a more in-depth, ongoing service. The Small Business Certification Navigator program includes:
Interested in learning more? Check out her small business certifying services here!
While there are no tax benefits for being a certified small business, a monthly accountant can help you by working on your tax strategy year-round.
Now that you know about the requirements to be a certified small business, what advantages there are, and how you can register, are you ready to check out monthly accounting services?
If so, please consider CSI Accounting & Payroll! To see if we can be a good fit for your business, click the button below for a free consultation:
Not ready to talk? That’s okay! First, learn more about what it’s like to work with CSI by clicking the image below: