What you will be able to do
After this lesson you should be able to look up possible partners in official Government directories, check whether a firm is excluded in SAM.gov, and explain that AsherGate does not search those directories for you.
Educational content. Follow the applicable solicitation and contract. Official sources are provided below.
Intermediate
12 min · Progress tracking is not available yet
Search the Government systems, not a product matcher
SAM.gov Entity Information is the official place to search entity registrations, exclusions, and related records. Use it to confirm a prospective partner’s Unique Entity ID and to see whether the firm appears in exclusion records. A public search does not replace your own capability check.
SBA Small Business Search, formerly the Dynamic Small Business Search, is the SBA database agencies and small businesses use to find small firms to work with. SBA states that information you provide when you register in SAM.gov is used to populate that search, so a thin SAM profile produces a thin partner listing. Search at the SBA Small Business Search site. SAM.gov Entity Information still labels a link Dynamic Small Business Search; follow SBA’s current name and URL.
SBA SUBNet lists subcontracting opportunities that large primes and others post when they are looking for small subcontractors. Browse those listings on SBA.gov. They are not imported into AsherGate. Finding a listing is not an offer, a teaming agreement, or a bid.
Worked walkthrough: look up a welder before you name one
Using the Whitecap story below, the RFQ needs a certified field welder. Search SBA Small Business Search for welding firms near Duluth. Open the matching SAM.gov entity record and look for exclusions. Then decide whether that firm can actually perform the weld described in the files.
Do not open the Vendors tab on the AsherGate draft and wait for a match. That tab does not search partners.
Fictional example
Whitecap Buoy Lights Inc and a directory that was not inside AsherGate
Whitecap Buoy Lights Inc is a fictional navigation-light shop in Two Harbors, Minnesota. It is helping Brambleford research a welder for fictional RFQ AG-TEAM-26-0318.
A teammate opens the AsherGate draft, chooses the Vendors workflow tab, and looks for a search box. The tab says vendor matching is coming soon and that this phase does not search vendors or subcontractors.
They leave AsherGate, search SBA Small Business Search for certified welding, then open the SAM.gov entity record for Frostlane Certified Welding Co. No exclusion appears. They still call Frostlane to confirm the weld procedure in the RFQ. Nothing is submitted from AsherGate.
Sources reviewed for this lesson
Each official source is listed with the teaching claim it supports. Product behavior is labeled separately. Review dates are when AsherGate last checked the page.
- SAM.gov Entity Information
SAM.gov / GSA · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: Entity registrations, exclusions, and related records are searched on SAM.gov. AsherGate does not search that directory for partners.
- SBA Small Business Search
U.S. Small Business Administration · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: SBA Small Business Search is the current public search for small businesses seeking federal work, including firms other small businesses may team with.
- SBA How to win contracts
U.S. Small Business Administration · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: SBA identifies Small Business Search, formerly Dynamic Small Business Search, as the database agencies and small businesses use to find small firms. SAM registration data populates that search. SUBNet lists subcontracting opportunities posted by large contractors.
- SBA SUBNet subcontracting opportunities
U.S. Small Business Administration · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: SUBNet helps users browse subcontracting opportunities posted for small subcontractors. Listings are not imported into AsherGate.
- FAR 9.104-4 Subcontractor responsibility
Acquisition.gov · Official source · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: Finding a name in a directory does not determine responsibility. The prospective prime generally makes that determination.
- AsherGate solicitations workspace
AsherGate · AsherGate product · Reviewed 2026-09-27
Supports: The Vendors workflow tab does not search subcontractors. Official partner research stays on SAM.gov and SBA sites.