Is a GSA Schedule right for your company?

Monday Morning Contracting Tips

Dannie E. James

djames@jegroupllc.com

Many businesses ask how they can figure out whether it’s worth their while to go after a GSA Schedule.   Let me share some information that may be helpful in answering this question. Maybe the information provided will guide your decision.

I think it’s important to understand what a GSA Schedule is and what it is not. 

A GSA Schedule is a contract awarded by a federal agency, the General Services Administration (GSA), to firms with established track-records of selling products or services.  A Schedule contract is long-term (a base term of 5 years, with renewal options to a maximum of 20 years).  Schedule contracts cover a wide array of products and services, there may be some products and services may not be purchase on a GSA Schedule.  Contract awards are based on “most favored customer pricing.”   While issued by the GSA, a Schedule contract can be used by any federal agency and, in some cases, by units of state and local governments.   Since everything is pre-negotiated, government agencies benefit from using Schedule contracts because acquisition lead-times are shorter, administrative costs are lower, and administrative steps are fewer. 

From a business point-of-view it’s very important to know that a GSA Schedule contract IS NOT an order, there are no funds obligated once you receive a GSA Schedule. Once you are awarded a Schedule contract, you must be prepared to actively market yourself to government buyers.   In many cases a GSA Schedule contract is referred to as “a license to hunt.”

Your initial step in pursuing one of these contracts should be to examine the entire list of 39 Schedules, including nine Schedules administered by the Veterans Administration.  You can search for details inside particular Schedules by conducting a key word search. Look for the Schedule that most closely fits your line of business.  Subcategories within each Schedule are called SINs — Special Item Numbers.   Remember, there is not a Schedule for everything. 

If and when you find a relevant Schedule, I recommend you research spending reports on individual Schedules.  This will give you some ideas about what kind of money is being spent on individual Schedules and who the prominent, winning Schedule contractors are.

You should do further market research on your potential competitors.  Remember that today’s competitors may be tomorrow’s business partners; GSA Schedule contractors are allowed to team-up with one another to execute government contracts.

All GSA Schedules are located on FedBizOpps — the central repository of virtually all government bid and proposal solicitation documents — so you can download the Schedule solicitation.  The solicitation consist of several different documents, so when you identify the solicitation please download them all.  Collectively, we’re talking about hundreds of pages here, so the real work now begins — you must read, and re-read, everything.   Only you can make a serious and accurate assessment of the impact of GSA’s terms and conditions on your business.  Particularly pay attention to the instructions in the solicitation — you will need to follow these “to the letter” to ensure that GSA accepts your proposal.

Note, too, that many Schedules solicitations allow you to submit your proposal in an electronic format rather than on paper.  These Schedules are designated as “eOffers.”

I know all of this may be a little overwhelming. After all, there are lots of ways to do business with the government, not just through a Schedule contract.  In fact, GSA itself contracts extensively with vendors outside of the Schedule process.  You can take a look at a forecast of GSA’s acquisition needs at www.gsa.gov/smbusforecast.  This forecast can help you plan your approach.   And don’t neglect to consider possible subcontracting opportunities with GSA contractors.

I hope this was helpful. 

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