Acceptance into the General Services Administration’s GSA Schedule System requires an applicant to successfully pass a strict evaluation. The GSA places high levels of scrutiny on GSA Contract Applications because once accepted this contracting vehicle can be used to sell to any agency within the federal government. The application process usually takes professionals approximately four to six months to complete. An unsuccessful GSA Schedule Application can be a large drain on firm resources and effort. It can also force the company into a less competitive position with regard to pursuing federal contracts compared to its GSA Schedule Contract holding peers. At GSA Magazine we explore how a GSA Schedule can help a firm grow through federal contracts, what role a GSA consultant should play in this process, as well as all other issues pertaining to a GSA Schedule and Federal Sales.
GSA Schedule Contract is an umbrella group or umbrella of contracts that are grouped together with either similar products or services creating a market for federal buyers.
When a company completes the required paperwork for GSA schedule or solicitation and submits it to the GSA for review. This is referred to by the GSA as a contract offer.
When a company makes either a pricing change as per updated in GSA magazine, ads or removes an existing product or makes an administrative change to its GSA Schedule Contract.
A requirement for all GSA Schedule Offers. A brief customer service survey that is completed via email by DnB. An Open Ratings Report requires approximately 8 to 10 customer contacts including their: name, company name, email address and phone number. These customer contacts will then be notified via email to complete a brief survey about their experiences with your firm.
A registration in the System for Award Management (SAM). This replaced the older CCR and ORCA registrations. The SAM registration creates a vendor profile with the federal government. Therefore it is a requirement prior to submitting a GSA schedule Contract offer. The SAM registration requires a Duns number provided by DnB to register.
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) are the governing regulations for both federal contacting officers and federal suppliers. FAR rules are different based upon the cost of a procurement and the contracting vehicle being used.
GSA magazine can describe the fact that Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) is the fee the GSA charges schedule holders for facilitating and managing the vendors GSA Contract. The current fee is .75% of sales and is paid on a quarterly basis.
Once approved with the GSA a vendor to sell directly to the federal government without competitive bidding. This gives the federal procurement officer the ability to purchase in a matter of minutes compared to months utilizing a formalized bidding process.
There are two steps to the GSA contract award process. The first step involves developing and drafting your proposal and getting all your information in the proper GSA format. For most small companies this step takes on average of four weeks. The second phase is submitting the proposal to the GSA for contract award. This phase varies based upon how busy the GSA is as well as the contract type your firm is attempting to obtain. For most small companies, this step takes two to four months, for a total award time of three to six months.
For people attempting to go through the GSA contract application without expert assistance some delays and challenges should be anticipated and get proper knowledge on GSA Magazine. There is generally a large learning curve as expected for completing anything that is highly technical for the first time. The balance becomes is this the best use of your time, and does obtaining the GSA Schedule in a quicker timeframe aid your firm in reaching its government sales objectives.
Having a proper GSA schedule contract can be really daunting, so at GSA magazine there are all up-to-date information, news update, guidance, and resources for the GSA Schedule. GSA process actually works with all leading industry partners to assure they are compliant with all basic federal rules and regulations and contract policies.
GSA magazine offers information and contract services process discussion that comes with fair and reasonable prices.
What Is a Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC)?
An administration wide procurement contract (GWAC contract) is an agreement where various government offices adjust their necessities and buy an agreement for labor and products. Government-wide obtaining contracts (GWACs) consider economies of scale, which as a rule lessen per-unit costs.
The Professional Services Schedule (PSS) is considered as one of the top General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Contracts. With such countless open doors, potential project workers might have a few inquiries before presenting their proposition.
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This week I am going to go over how to do some basic federal market research. If you are in the market of pursuing a GSA Schedule Contract some drilldown is a good idea to determine your market size is advisable.
Here is how to conduct some basic market research using GSA Schedule in the Federal Marketplace. In this example we are going to use a Hypothetical Company in the industry or Language Services. This firm is also classified in its NAICS code as a Small Business, Location Georgia.
After the submission of your firm’s GSA contract application, the GSA conducts a price negotiation with the applicant firm. The GSA’s purpose of this negotiation is to obtain the lowest price possible for the federal government. This negotiation takes place even though the GSA applicant has already agreed to give the federal government its best pricing relative to any given quantity ordered.
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