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By Mary Graff

We’ve all heard through the media about large businesses that have received government contracts and have been masquerading as small businesses. Some of these businesses were formerly small, but are now large businesses and failed to change the information in their government registrations, which continued to depict them as “small” businesses. This issue has produced a great deal of consternation among members of Congress, as well as the general and small business public.

As a result of this issue, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was required to report to Congress on how they intended to remedy the situation. The SBA’s solution was to require all businesses registered in CCR to recertify their size standard. This means that even if you renewed your CCR this year, but prior to November 7, 2007, you must log into CCR and do an update of your profile. Whether your business is small or large is determined by your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.

Recently, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes were updated in certain fields and a new NAICS codes update was issued for 2007 (NAICS 2007). These updates affect only a small number of businesses, but the size recertification is still required of ALL businesses. To check your NAICS codes in the NAICS 2007 system, please go to: http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics07/index.html.

What You Need to Do

To update your CCR and recertify as a small business, here’s what you should do.

1. You need to go to the CCR website at: http://www.ccr.gov and click on the “Search CCR” link on the left side of the screen, which is the third link in the list. After clicking on the link the page that appears will ask you to type in your DUNS number or CAGE code, and then click the “Search” button.

2. When your profile appears be sure to PRINT a copy of it. (Click on the “Send to Printer” button that appears in the middle of the page at the top.) It’s important that you print a copy of your registration so you have a list of your NAICS codes, since the next step is going to delete all of the NAICS codes in your profile, and you will be required to re-enter them.

3. After you have printed your profile, click on the second link on the left, “Update or Renew Registration.” After clicking on that link, you’ll be taken to a page where you will need to log into your profile with your DUNS number and your TPIN (Trading Partner Identification Number).

4. When you are in your record, you should go through each page of the registration, clicking the “Validate/Save” button at the bottom of each page. On the first page of your registration, be sure to look at the boxes near the bottom of the page that indicate how much your firm’s revenues have been over the last three years, and how many employees your firm has. If you need to make changes to either of these boxes on your registration, now is the time to do it. These numbers, in conjunction with your NAICS codes, will determine your business’s size.

5. When you are on the “Product/Services” page, you will see that all of your previously entered NAICS codes have been deleted. You will need to re-enter all of your NAICS codes. (Use your printed copy of CCR with your list of NAICS codes.) This page, for some reason, does retain the SIC codes, so you don’t need to re-enter those codes. Be sure to click the “Validate/Save” button at the bottom of the page.

6. When you get to the last page of your CCR profile (the IRS Consent Validation page), be sure it reflects the correct tax year for which you last filed a tax return. For most businesses, that probably will be 2006, but your situation may be an exception if you or your accountant filed for extensions. If in doubt, check your files for your last filed return, or call your accountant.

7. After you have viewed each page of your CCR and made any necessary updates, you can print a copy of your CCR profile. To do so, click on the “View TPP” button in the upper left corner of the page. Your entire profile, with any changes you may have made, will appear. Then you can click on the “Send to Printer” link to print a copy of your profile. NOTE: Your entire profile, with the exception of the “IRS Consent Validation” page will appear. For some reason with this current CCR upgrade, it is no longer possible to print a copy of the “IRS Consent Validation” page, so don’t be concerned that it does not appear there.

8. If you clicked on the “View TPP” link at the left of your screen, then you can return to your profile by clicking on the “BACK” button of your BROWSER. If you did not click on the “View TPP” link, the next page that will appear is the SBA Profile page. This page will allow you to begin updating your SBA profile.

9. At the SBA profile page, there are two buttons near the center of your screen, one for viewing your SBA profile, and the other which says, “Update or Renew Your SBA Profile.” Click the “Update or Renew SBA Profile” and proceed to update your SBA Profile. Be sure to click the “Save/Next” button at the bottom right of each page, or this program won’t save any changes you make.

Again, this size recertification process by the U.S. Small Business Administration is part of the SBA’s effort to assure Congress that size standards for businesses registered in the Central Contractor Registry are correct. Most businesses will find that the NAICS 2007 has no impact on their business, but there are a few industries where the changes will be important. To check your NAICS codes before you begin your CCR update, go to: http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics07/index.html.

If you haven’t updated your CCR since November 7 th of this year, please follow these simple steps to update it, thereby recertifying your business size standard.

If you need assistance updating your CCR and SBA profiles, please call your PTAC consultant for assistance: Andy Alexander – 402-554-6253; Mary Graff 402-554-6254; Scott Knapp – 308-865-8244; Roger Johnson – 402-472-1177. We’ll be happy to assist you.