GSA Schedules

• GSA Schedules: The Grandfather of IDIQ Contracts
  Imagine the pressure on federal buyers, those tasked with the responsibility of procuring the goods and services needed to keep the federal government up and running. The demands on the system are forcing contracting officials to... read more
• Procrastination: Putting Off Preparing a GSA Schedule Offer
  Imagine this scenario. Your CEO has assigned a person in your organization to prepare your GSA Schedule proposal and upper management expects the same person to administer the resulting contract. The designated point person has business development... read more
• GSA Schedule Price Reduction Clause
  The GSA Schedule Price Reduction Clause (PRC) makes almost everyone scratch their head. A simplified example may help to clear up some of the confusion. A company sells a single product with a list price of $100. The company discounts according... read more
• GSA: The Rules Governing GSA Schedules
  The rules governing GSA Schedules are set out in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 8.4. Hopefully, this newsletter will keep you from having to read Subpart 8.4. The key points of the GSA Schedule regulations from a sales perspective... read more
• Full and Open Competition
  Public bids under the federal government's "full and open competition rules" are horrendously inefficient. End-users and official buyers do not like to use public bids. Once a program administrator has identified a need, or reached a decision to... read more
• What Drives Companies to Pursue GSA Schedules Part III
  When companies ask us if we think they need a Schedule, we ask the following questions: Are you currently doing business with the feds? Has your contracting officer asked whether you have a GSA Schedule, or suggested that it would be a lot easier... read more
• What Drives Companies to Pursue GSA Schedules Part II
  It's not just size of market that drives a company to pursue a GSA Schedule. Companies attending the Fedmarket GSA eLab tell us that they decided to pursue a Schedule contract for the following reasons: The company currently does business with the... read more
• GSA Schedule Price Reduction Clause (PRC) Compliance
  Our previous newsletter discussed the importance of identifying price reduction clause compliance early before the potential money claw back risk piles up. Obviously, preventing violations by maintaining the capability to monitor discounting... read more
• Contract Management and Pricing Compliance
  In plain English, the GSA Schedule Price Reduction Clause says: GSA negotiated a Basis of Award customer(s) with you. You specified in your proposal and during negotiations the discounts you give to your Basis of Award customer(s). GSA used these... read more
• Contract Management and Discounting Policies
  Implementing an internal GSA management system within your company is the only foolproof way to protect against adverse audit consequences. An effective management system is not difficult to establish. Simply follow basic management... read more
• What Drives Companies to Pursue GSA Schedules?
  Sales numbers for a particular Schedule may be interesting to look at, but the numbers are all large and not particularly useful to individual companies. The size of a particular GSA Schedule market is not a meaningful number if only a tiny slice... read more
• Schedule-Speak: A New Foreign Language
  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... read more
• Fitting Schedules to Companies Part II
  GSA created a Consolidated Schedule (00CORP) for companies needing more than one Schedule to cover their offerings. It's a step toward a single GSA Schedule for all products and services, but it falls short in its coverage. To make matters worse,... read more
• Fitting Schedules to Companies
  "Which GSA Schedule fits my company?" That's usually the first question vendors ask, and it's the million-dollar question. The products and services covered by each of the 53 or so Schedules are listed at gsa.gov. Follow the "GSA Schedules"... read more
• How GSA Orders Are Placed
  GSA Schedules are unique in that purchases are transacted directly between the federal agency requiring a product or service and the contractor. Any federal agency, anywhere in the world, can place an order using the prices, ordering procedures,... read more
• GSA: It's All in the Details
  GSA Schedule solicitations are unique in that they are always open and a vendor may submit a proposal at any time. Normally, federal solicitations for products and services have a closing date for proposal submittal. The opportunity to submit a bid... read more
• Ease of Use
  Making a purchase through a Schedule contract is relatively easy. A federal buyer interested in a particular product or service sends a Request for Quote to companies holding a GSA Schedule contract for the desired product or service. In response,... read more
• Applying for a Schedule Contract
  In order to get on the inside government sales track with a Schedule contract, a vendor must go through an arduous application process. The most difficult and painstaking part of the Schedule application and approval process is negotiating what the... read more
• You Can't Do Government Business Without One
  Government agencies cannot operate without a way to buy quickly and efficiently in the same way as commercial companies. But competition is still required under public procurement laws. GSA schedule prices are pre-negotiated with the vendor. As... read more
• GSA Says it All in Using Schedules for Stimulus Contracting
  GSA recently published the following information at GSA.gov: The GSA Schedules program can help federal agencies meet their economic recovery goals. Ordering vehicles covers many projects funded by the Plan Schedules contractors are leaders in... read more
• Is Your GSA schedule Contract in Danger of Cancellation?
  The following clause is contained in every GSA Schedule contract in one form or another: A contract will not be awarded unless anticipated sales are expected to exceed at least $25,000 within the first 24 months following contract award, and are... read more
• GSA Schedule Buying Scenario
  Let's assume that your company is an information technology service business that has sold a web site development project to an end user at a military base in your area. Your company is new to the market and does not have a GSA Schedule contract... read more
• Those Who Prefer GSA Schedules
  Most, but not all federal buyers, like working with GSA Schedule contracts. Federal buyers prefer to use GSA Schedule contracts because the buyers can: Purchase a product by consulting price lists on the GSA Advantage! online database Purchase... read more
• Eliminate GSA Schedule Audit Risk with a Compliance Program
  Many contractors get an award of a GSA Schedule contract and think that their work is complete. The reality is that the tough work has really only begun. Compliance issues are of critical importance and are often overlooked or even ignored. Smart... read more
• GSA Schedule Competition in Real Life
  For political reasons the federal government takes the position that competition for federal contracts is 'full and open". In real life, full and open competition is impractical because it takes far too long to make a purchase and federal... read more
• Capturing State and Local Contracts with Your GSA Schedule
  Vendors, along with state and local governments, have urged GSA to allow them use the GSA Schedules program to spend federal grant money on pre-negotiated Homeland Security contracts. GSA has indicated that it will respond to such requests sometime... read more
• Get Your GSA Schedule Now Before it is too Late
  In previous installments we stated that GSA Schedules are the sales closing mechanism of choice for small businesses. They are always open for bid and they cover all major industries; two critical characteristics unique to GSA schedules.... read more
• GSA Schedule Recovery Purchasing by State and Local Government
  Until recently, the use of General Services Administration (GSA) schedule contracts by state and local government was limited to Schedule 70, Information Technology. Recently, under congressional authority, GSA amended its regulations to allow... read more
• GSA Schedule 30 Day Proposal Evaluation Program
  The General Services Administration recently implemented a new GSA Schedule 30 day proposal evaluation program called the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Express Program.. At the present time, the program is open to five GSA schedules and specific Special... read more
• GSA Schedules and Small Businesses
  As reported in earlier installments, the federal government's use of multi-vendor contracts to buy products and services is steadily increasing. Getting on the GSA Schedule is one of the few ways a small and medium-sized company can compete with... read more
• GSA Schedule Rejections
  The task of preparing proposals for submittal to the General Services Administration (GSA) has always been a difficult one for those unfamiliar with government contracting. Many companies abandon the effort to obtain a GSA Schedule contract after... read more
• The Eagle Has Landed
  Multiple Award Schedule Contracts (MAS) are master contracts that allow the companies which receive an award of such a contract to compete for task orders over the term of the contract. Most MAS contracts pertain to information technology (IT) products... read more
• Is There a Magic Bullet?
  We recently received a call from an engineering company that hasn't entered the federal sales market. The conversation essentially went down like this: Question - "Our business is considering obtaining a GSA schedule so we can get into the... read more
• GSA Visits Contractor Sites
  GSA will visit you to make sure you're tracking your GSA sales properly. GSA's auditors will also pay close attention to whether you have offered better pricing to the "basis of award group" defined under your GSA Schedule contract. If your... read more
• Get a GSA Schedule Contract or Stay Away
  In our previous installments, we have repeatedly stated that small- to medium- sized businesses must have a GSA Schedule (pre-approved price list) to sell in the federal market. It is critical that your company either get on the GSA Schedule or stay away... read more
• Electronic Representations and Certifications
  The federal government is now requiring that prospective contractors complete electronic annual representations and certifications at http://orca.bpn.gov (ORCA) in conjunction with registration in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database.... read more
• Guard Against Audits
  The General Services Administration (GSA) is increasing the number of pre-award audits of vendors with GSA schedule contracts up for renewal. What should vendors do to guard against adverse pre-award audit findings? Disclose your discounting practices... read more
• Procurement Problems and GSA Schedules
  Federal procurement is being attacked from all directions. The General Services Administration (GSA) was recently called to task by federal auditors and Congress for alleged "scope of work" violations. As a result, GSA implemented its current... read more
• GSA and Most Favored Customer Pricing
  A recent newsletter discussed that the General Service Administration (GSA) has encountered procurement problems and has initiated a "Get It Right" campaign to improve acquisition regulation compliance. The "Get It Right" campaign was necessitated... read more
• Submitting Proposals to the 'New GSA'
  In our previous installment, we discussed how the General Service Administration (GSA) is becoming more stringent and rigid with respect to its review or evaluation of GSA Schedule offers. As a result of this recent development, vendors submitting... read more
• What is Happening at GSA?
  The Federal Supply Service, the General Services Administration (GSA) organization responsible for GSA schedules, is undergoing significant changes. Scope of work issues have placed the agency under a microscope. At present, the Federal Supply Services... read more
• How a GSA Schedule Sale is Made
  Most federal sales are relationship based. People buy in the federal sector, not agencies, and they need to know everything about what you are selling. Your sales person has to first get in the door (the tough part) and then: Establish a trust... read more
• Best Value: A Sales Person's Dream
  In a previous installment we discussed the rules governing GSA schedules that encourage "Best Value" selection of vendors. Best value considerations include: Special features Trade-in considerations System life Warranty Maintenance... read more
• Should You Have a GSA Schedule?
  A common comment from attendees at Fedmarket's Federal Sales Academy seminars is: "Long time federal customers are now telling us we need a GSA schedule to do business with them." Other seminar attendees ask us if they should obtain a GSA schedule... read more
• Why Vendors Like GSA Schedules
  GSA aggressively promotes the use of GSA schedules to buyers across all federal agencies using the war chest accumulated from the industrial funding fee charged to GSA vendors. Vendors holding GSA schedule contracts like them for the same reasons ... read more
• Why Buyers Like GSA Schedules
  In essence, a GSA schedule is a pre-approved price list for use by any federal buyer. Pre-approved (pre-negotiated) pricing is the key. In making a buy, GSA schedules allow: Unprecedented speed and minimal paperwork. Limited competition... read more
• Rules of the Road for GSA Schedules
  The rules governing GSA schedules are set out in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 8.4. They can be accessed at: http://www.arnet.gov/far/farqueryframe.html Key aspects of the GSA schedule regulations from a sales perspective are:... read more
• Procrastination and GSA Schedules
  Writing a GSA Schedule proposal is an excruciating process for companies. Most people do not like to write and the problem is compounded by indecipherable Requests for Proposals provided by GSA. This is particularly true for people working in small... read more
• The Similarities and Differences Between Commercial and Government Sales
  Most people outside Washington, D.C., view the federal market as strange and unique. The truth is, it is and it isn't. On the sales side, the federal market is identical to the commercial market.  A sales person must convince an end user... read more
• GSA the World's Biggest Customer
  The most confusing aspect of a GSA proposal is the requirement to disclose your discounting practices. GSA uses the disclosures to negotiate a discount equal to or better than the best discount you have extended to your commercial customers.... read more