Government Contracting Blog

On Monday, March 24th, the GSA Press Office released a notification that the General Services Administration (GSA) will be implementing a new initiative to “rightsize” the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program. This effort to “rightsize” follows suit with recent policy changes and the Trump Administration’s overall goal to eliminate waste, improve efficiency in operations, and ultimately save the taxpayer money. Let’s explore what this means for your GSA Schedule and how you can prepare.

At this point, you’ve likely seen hundreds of articles published in this series and on our website about GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), the MAS consolidation, the structure, how it works, and on and on. But, what about the VA Federal Supply Schedule Service (FSS) Program? Most of the questions our consulting team sees come through our online chat or via email are about the GSA MAS program but today, we’ll be shining some light on the MAS program’s not-so-little sibling, the VA FSS Program managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year—if you look at the numbers, government Q4 (July through September) of each year are by far the busiest months for government contractors. In recent years, Q4 of the government fiscal year has accounted for roughly 1/3 of all government contract dollars awarded throughout the year. This increase in spending can be attributed to an array of reasons including later award dates due to delays in budget availability, greater negotiation leverage, and adapting to potential new requirements that may factor into a particular procurement.

Professional services, electrical supplies, cloud solutions, power tools – if your company is selling it, GSA (probably) has a Special Item Number (SIN) for it. All contractors part of the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program have the ability to add any of the 315 SINs available to their contract at any given time or include any assortment of them in a MAS contract proposal.

As a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contractor, it can sometimes seem like a mystery how the “fair and reasonable” pricing determination can be reached. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) outlines parameters for how the federal government analyzes and makes these determinations, but the guidance does allow a certain amount of discretion.

Did you know that having a small business designation can fuel marketing and sales efforts for new federal business opportunities? Every year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) aims for certain percentage goals of budget spending that are designated for small business contracts. So, it’s critical to know if your company is eligible for small business set-aside contracts, but how can you be sure?