Small businesses new to federal contracting almost always find the language in GSA Schedules mysterious, confusing, and impenetrable. Many prospective contractors complain of difficulties navigating the GSA website and finding the list of products and services covered by GSA Schedules. Others complain about the challenge of identifying the Solicitation or Request for Proposal (RFP) that applies to their company's products or services. The persistent few able to trudge through these difficulties and find the appropriate solicitation often discover that it seems to be written in a foreign language.

GSA Schedule solicitations are definitely not reader-friendly. They contain strange, unfamiliar terms and are written in what we call (not too fondly) "government-speak." Most solicitations exceed 150 pages in length and are printed in blindingly small font. Some of the more important sections and their shortcomings include:

• Standard boilerplate federal contract clauses often create an ominous impression when in fact the clauses are reasonably innocuous.
• Some clauses are far more important than others, yet they're all given equal weight. The critical clauses are discussed in-depth in GSA Schedules: The Shortest Path to Federal Dollars by Richard White.
• The language in the Certifications and Representations section is difficult to interpret. In spite of the difficulty, the prospective contractor (also known as the "Offeror") is legally required to certify that statements made in the proposal are accurate and true.
• Proposal preparation instructions are often far too short and even more often confusing.
• The section pertaining to how proposals will be evaluated is too brief.
• The provisions pertaining to the post-award process and the expectations of the contractor once an award is granted are unclear. Little or no time is spent educating new contractors on their responsibilities to the government.