US: registering my consulting firm — which NAICS code works for cybersecurity consulting?

Keep an eye on SBA size standards. Code 541512 has an average annual revenue cap to qualify as a small business. When you leverage small business set-asides in federal contracting, the agency verifies these limits against your primary code in the registry.

note: I wrote this based on my own experience, it might not apply to everyone.

For federal contracts and state-level procurement processes, registering 541512 as your primary code is the most credible approach in the eyes of agencies. Also, ensure the primary activity code reported on your tax filings doesn't conflict with your banking records.

We started with a similar setup in Virginia two years ago. We made 541512 our primary, then added 541519 and 541690 on the side. Professional liability came out to around 1,800 dollars a year. If we'd just picked a general management consulting code, insurance wouldn't have covered a data breach resulting from a pen test.

When opening a bank account if you tell the rep "cybersecurity", they sometimes confuse it with crypto or high-risk finance and hold it up in compliance. If you give the code as 541512 and say IT systems design and consulting the process goes through without a hitch.

you can add as many codes as you want on sam.gov anyway dont sweat it... make 541512 your primary and fill out the rest as a list whichever one is needed when bidding does the job.

Correction: I misremembered the figure, it was a bit lower.

Some people make 541519 their primary just because it's general, but that code is mostly a catch-all for unclassified work. When enterprise procurement teams see it, they might question the company's technical depth.

virginia is pretty much the hub for federal cybersecurity work you picked a great market. anyway don't worry about the code starting with 541512 and backing up systems auditing with secondary codes is the cleanest path.

The registration steps should go like this: 1) Report 541512 as your primary activity with the state and the tax agency 2) Make sure penetration testing is explicitly covered in your insurance policy 3) Add 541519 and 541690 as secondaries on your federal contracting profile.

Sorry, but this doesn't apply in every case. Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

I went through the same thing two years ago. Don't rely on a single measure; go layer by layer.

Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate. If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

To get into the details: An automated scan report is not the same as a penetration test.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.

Thanks for posting.

This thread is archived.

My questions are cleared up, thanks.

Following.

i have no experience with cyybersecurity consulting naics code so Im asking but taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

Do you think this works at any scale? If it's your first time, start small; scaling comes later.

Good luck with that.

You're right, I've been down that road too. Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

An untested backup is not a backup. I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.