GSA Schedules on average produce a high rate of return for small businesses. This is because the average small business on schedule selling more than $1.1 million per year in goods and services to the federal government. With this said there is a best time of year to begin the process for obtaining a GSA Schedule and that time is now. This is due to the four points listed below:

Part A – Timing

Point 1: In terms of timing if we start today it will take between 4-6 months to obtain a GSA Schedule Contract, March, April, May time frame depending upon the schedule.

Point 2: The fiscal year for the federal government ends September 30th every year. The fourth quarter is therefore Jul-Aug-Sept.

Point 3: Federal Acquisition Spending by Quarter

• Q1 has accounted for 17.2% of total fiscal year spending. (Oct-Dec)
• Q2 has accounted for 20.4% of total fiscal year spending. (Jan-Mar)
• Q3 has accounted for 22.5% of total fiscal year spending (Apr-Jun)
• Q4 has accounted for 39.9% of total fiscal year spending. (Jul-Sep)

Point 4: Generally it is easier to make your first sale to the federal government in the 4th quarter opening up future sales in the other three quarters. So now is a good time to get ready to prepare for Q3 and Q4 when federal spending really picks up.

Part B – GSA Schedule Advantage

Small Business Picture

• There are 28MM small businesses in the United States.
• There are 224K small businesses that are registered to do business with the federal government.
• 1 in 125 small businesses are registered to do business with the federal government.
• Last year the federal government spent $132.9B with small business.
• 10,900 of these small businesses are GSA Schedule holders.
• GSA Schedule holders average 3x the sales of Small Businesses without GSA Schedule Contracts. (This does not take into consideration other contracting vehicles the GSA Schedule holders maybe utilizing)

Conclusion: Now maybe and excellent time for your business to revisit obtaining a GSA Schedule Contract.