Government Contracting Blog

Obtaining a GSA Schedule contract for your company can be a major victory for growing your public sector footprint and opening the door to untapped government sales. However, the process of getting on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) can seem a little daunting considering the amount of information that is required to get a contract award.

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.

Professional services, SaaS, cloud solutions, power tools – if your company is selling it, GSA (probably) has a Special Item Number (SIN) for it. Previously, the GSA Schedules Program was separated by Schedule number and limited contractors to one scope of work per contract, including Information Technology, Professional Services, Hardware, and more. With the new Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Consolidation, contractors have the ability to pursue more SINs on their GSA Schedule than ever before.

As a government contractor, you’ve probably run into NAICS codes more than a few times, and you likely know which ones are applicable to your products or services. But like many, questions still linger about their true meaning and function. Questions like: “What does the acronym even mean in the first place?” “How do they affect your business and how you work with the government?” “What is a size standard?”

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?

NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes are a very important part of government contracting. We've covered what a NAICS code is, how to use codes to determine if your organization qualifies as a small business, top spending trends and much more. Now that you know about NAICS codes, start using them now to find opportunities!