How to Find and Win New York State Contracts

The State of New York spends billions of dollars on products and services every year, in areas such as healthcare, education, and human services. In this article, you will see advice for your company’s sales, marketing, and business development divisions on starting or growing your business into New York’s marketplace. Read on to prepare your firm to win your share of billions of dollars in annual spending.

If you are just beginning your government contracting journey, this government contracting guide has the information you need to successfully find and win government contracts. New York State also has a contractor resource that provides support for doing business with the state.

New York State’s procurement spending totals billions of dollars every year. The state government is constantly planning for the increasing demands of operating a state government and serving its citizens as best as possible. To find contracting opportunities in this lucrative marketplace, you need to join the New York State Business Registry.

The New York State Business Registry is one of the most important places for your company to go. It’s a central point for success because agencies go there to find companies that can meet their needs. By registering, you will join a bid list where an agency reaches out for advertised procurements.

Agencies search the Registry by New York State Contract Reporter (NYSCR) category, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, or by keyword in the companies’ description. They can also filter by New York State small business enterprise (SBE), minority/women-owned business enterprise (MWBE), and other discretionary spending criteria.

Any company based in New York State may apply for inclusion in the Business Registry. It creates a separate, searchable account for your company. The account can provide information about your firm so state agencies or prime contractors can contact you directly with contracting opportunities. Your company can also advertise your government subcontracting opportunities to thousands of businesses for free. The Registry account is a company account, rather than an individual account, so several users from a firm can use it to post your ads.

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The New York State Contract Reporter is the state’s official source of contracting opportunities. It brings business and government together. Private companies can register for a free account with the New York State Contract Reporter to find recent opportunities, all government opportunities, and general information on doing business with New York State. Procurement activity valued at $50,000 and above must be reported in the Contract Reporter.

How to Register for the New York State Contract Reporter

Registering for the New York State Contract Reporter is a simple process that can be completed in four easy steps.

You will need to:

1. Agree to the terms of service agreement
2. Create a login account by entering your email address, name, and a password
3. Input your account information about you and your company
4. Get an activation code

Once enrolled, you will receive an enrollment email with login credentials and instructions from the Statewide Financial System (SFS). Follow the instructions in the email to create your user ID to access your vendor information.

If you’ve already registered for NYS Vendor ID but never received an enrollment email, or no longer have the email from SFS, contact the SFS Helpdesk at helpdesk@sfs.ny.gov.

You should also consider signing up for ePayments, which is an electronic payment program of the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). NYS recommends that you sign up for Electronic Payments with OSC. Once the Office of General Services (OGS) Business Services Center (BSC) processes your invoice, funds are transferred directly to your bank account quickly and securely.

Searching for relevant bidding opportunities for your business in the New York State Contract Report (NYSCR) can be accomplished in a few steps.

You can find new bid opportunities on the NYSCR. Agencies are required to post all their bids on NYSCR. They often upload the notices daily. In addition, most local governments in the state post theirs too.

When a bid intrigues you, decide if you want to bid or become a partner with another company. The decision can impact how you respond to an opportunity. Some agencies draft their bids to encourage subcontracting or even joint partnerships.

NYS notes if you are or are considering whether to partner with a minority and women-owned enterprise business and/or service-disabled veteran-owned business, the state has certifications and resources available to make your bid more competitive.

Alternatively, you can easily find New York State bidding opportunities, along with comprehensive government bids, RFPs, and spending information from U.S. federal, state, and local governments, in the GovWin IQ platform of government market intelligence.

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New York State has a specific order of purchasing priority for state agencies. The process is meant to address issues such as ensuring fair, open, and transparent competition and establishing vendor responsibility.

State agencies purchase commodities, services, and technologies to address a wide range of needs. To meet these varying needs, agencies are mandated to make purchases in the following order:

• First: Preferred Sources
• Second: Centralized State Contracts for Commodities, Services, and Technology
• Third: Agency-Established Contracts
• Fourth: Agency Conducts Its Own Procurement, Including Discretionary Spending

Preferred Sources:

New York State’s Preferred Sources were statutorily created to advance certain social and economic goals. State agencies, public benefit corporations (including most public authorities), municipalities, and school districts are required by law to purchase commodities and services from Preferred Sources first if a Preferred Source offering meets the agency’s form, function, and utility. Commodities or services purchased from Preferred Sources are exempt from the competitive bid process.

Centralized State Contracts:

The New York State Office of General Services (OGS) is responsible for the state’s system of centralized contracts. There are presently more than 1,500 centralized contracts in place, valued at over $29 billion. Contracts meet a broad range of commodities, services, and technologies that fit the form, function, and utility requirements of contract users. Generally, a centralized contract is established through an open, competitive-bid process among eligible businesses for the purchase of commodities. Service and technology contracts are procured using best value.

Agency or Multi-Agency Established Contracts:

Agency or multi-agency contracts are contracts established by an agency or multiple agencies to procure on an ongoing basis and are usually in effect for multiple years. The purchasing agency must determine if such a contract exists that meets its form, function, and utility requirements, and if the contract is structured to allow for inter-agency use.

Agency Conducts its Own Procurement, Including Discretionary Spending:

When agency requirements cannot be met through a Preferred Source, centralized contract, or other existing agency contract, agencies may conduct their own procurement. This type of procurement may be either a formal competitive bid process or a discretionary spending purchase, depending on the value of the procurement.

New York State has several business designations and purchasing programs available. These include:

Small Businesses

A “New York State Small Business” is defined as a company that is a resident of New York State, independently owned and operated, with 100 or fewer employees, and not dominant in its field. There is no certification process to be considered a New York State Small Business. The majority of businesses in New York State are small businesses; they supply over one-third of the services and commodities purchased by agencies under state centralized contracts.

For more information, and to view frequently asked questions, see Empire State Development’s New York State Directory of Small Business Programs.

Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs)

Executive Law Article 15-A, signed into law in 1988, established guidelines for state agencies to establish business and contract utilization goals for certified enterprises owned by minorities and women. Article 15-A defines an MWBE as at least 51 percent owned and controlled by minority or women members. Contract spending thresholds establish goals for using New York-certified MWBEs as subcontractors or suppliers. Businesses meeting the criteria to qualify as a New York-certified MWBE firm are strongly recommended to become certified. For more information, contact Empire State Development MWBE Help Desk at 212.803.2414.

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOB)

The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act, signed into law by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on May 12, 2014, allows eligible Veteran business owners to become certified as a New York State Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) to increase participation in New York State’s contracting opportunities. The OGS Division of Service-Disabled Veterans’ Business Development is responsible for certifying eligible businesses and assisting with SDVOB participation in the state’s procurement activities.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing

New York State establishes a variety of contracts that address environmental issues, including green cleaning products and supplies, recycled and remanufactured products, and more. Those contracts are identified as such on the OGS website, and many of them are influenced by Executive Order 4. OGS is in the process of collaborating with several interested state agencies on a new website presentation for Environmentally Preferable Purchasing.

BuyNY Food

Created in December 2014 by Governor Cuomo at the first-ever Farm to Table Upstate-Downstate Agriculture Summit, the Buy NY local food sourcing initiative is a collaborative effort across the food supply chain that connects government entities, farmers, and food processors. The effort is intended to build partnerships to promote New York food products while educating New Yorkers and supporting healthy living and obesity prevention initiatives.

Empire State Development

Empire State Development (ESD) is charged with statutory responsibilities under the Omnibus Procurement Act to promote New York State business participation in state procurement opportunities. In addition to promoting New York State firms as prime contractors, ESD works to connect primes on state projects with New York State subcontractors and suppliers, and New York State-certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises.

Follow these steps to give yourself the best chance to win government bids from New York State:

1. Read the bid carefully. You may have to participate in mandatory activities before you can submit a bid or risk being disqualified. Examples of these mandatory activities include:
• Pre-bid conferences
• Request for comment (RFC), request for information (RFI), or request for quote/qualifications (RFQ)
• Notice of intent (NOI) or invitation/intent to bid (ITB)
2. Actively participate in the bid evaluation process. This process can include:
• Interviews
• Reference checks
• Product or service demonstrations
• Requests for clarifications

Agencies usually award contracts based on lowest prices or best value for services. An agency can cancel an RFP if no vendor meets the need.

3. Make sure to avoid these common mistakes:
• Late bids, missing forms, or no price information
• Blank USB drives or CDs that should include specific information
• Failing to follow directions by providing the wrong number of copies, improper labeling, or using the wrong version of the bid documents
• Failing to provide the required certification
4. If your business is selected for the contract, you have a few extra steps before the contract is officially awarded. These steps include:
• Contract negotiations
• Drafting and reviewing the contract
• Completion of various administrative forms

You will receive notice from the bidding agency if you were not awarded the contract or if the agency decides to cancel the procurement. A debriefing will give you an opportunity to discuss what you did well and not so well.

Deltek has been serving government contractors with solutions that support their business endeavors for over 30 years. With GovWin IQ, a business development market intelligence solution and Costpoint, an ERP solution for government contractors, Deltek helps businesses find, win and deliver on more U.S. state, local and education government contracts.