Government Contracting Blog

It can be difficult to keep up in the world of government contracting because there are so many codes and number combinations that contractors need to know. There’s your contract number, CAGE code, DUNS number, your NAICS codes--and the list doesn’t stop there. It’s like learning a new language full of numbers and acronyms. As both a government contractor and consultant, we know NAICS codes are an important identifier for your business, but what exactly is a NAICS code and why is it relevant to GSA Schedule contractors? Let’s dive into FAQs about NAICS codes.

If you’re interested in selling to the government through a GSA Schedule contract, you might be wondering how government agencies will find your products and services and what the buying process will look like. If a government buyer wants to purchase a product, they can’t just hop onto one of the mega online retailers to find what they need because there are several requirements that need to be met. Instead, they use government online shopping and ordering sites like GSA Advantage!®.

So you have decided you want to sell to the government—what’s next? You’ll need to prepare a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS Offer) before you can be awarded a GSA Schedule contract. Here at Winvale, we prepare GSA MAS offers every day, so we know it's not necessarily an easy task. The GSA MAS program can open several doors for businesses, but acquiring a MAS contract requires effort and commitment to succeed in the federal marketplace.  We’ve discussed the pros and cons of getting a GSA contract, but now let’s dive into some tips to make the preparation of your MAS offer a little easier! 

If you’re a GSA Contractor, you may already know some of the benefits of a Small Business Set Aside. 8a certification is a certification given to specific Small Business contractors that allows contractors a wide breadth of opportunities for socially or economically disadvantaged businesses. A new opportunity — the 8(a) Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resource for Services (STARS) III Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) is on the horizon for your company. The 8(a) STARS III Request for Proposal (RFP) was released in July of 2020. Here is what you and your company should know if you want to pursue this huge 8(a) opportunity.

The 4th quarter always seems to be the most important--whether it’s in a football game where a quarterback is running a 2-minute drill while down one score, a basketball team is rallying back from a deficit and banking on a buzzer beater to take home the win, or even discussing government spending toward the end of the fiscal year when government agencies are rushing to use up their annual budget. One statistic that stands out to rookies and seasoned contracting veterans alike is that nearly one-third (yes, 1/3!) of federal contract dollars are awarded during Q4 of the government’s fiscal year. With agencies spending the remainder of their annual budget, and a rising need to procure a larger volume of products and services, the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program becomes a key vehicle for both buyers and sellers.

If you’re new to the world of federal contracting, chances are you have come across several foreign terms like GSA Multiple Award Schedule, and the definitions are not always self explanatory. The government has its own jargon we call "government speak" and it can be a little daunting at first to learn the terms and acronyms associated with selling to the government, but at Winvale, it’s our job to help our clients understand. Federal contracts like the GSA Multiple Award Schedule provide plentiful opportunities for businesses and organizations to expand their public sector sales presence, but in order to reap the benefits of selling in the government landscape, it’s important for companies to understand the basics of government contracting first. In this article, we'll break down the GSA Multiple Award Schedule, highlight the benefits, and tell you how you can get on the GSA Schedule.