Government Contracting Blog

Exploring the world of government contracting vehicles may feel like a deep dive into an ocean of acronyms and abbreviations that you have never come across before. Don’t panic—it takes time to make sense of it all. If you are interested in selling your products or services to the government or you are a new contractor, it’s important you understand what vehicles are available to you. Below is a guide to the government contracting vehicles that you will come across in your research.

Like shopping and ordering items online in just a few clicks on Amazon, GSA Advantage! is an online shopping and ordering system operated by the General Services Administration (GSA). The system provides government agencies access to a wide range of products and services available on GSA Schedule contracts, which are pre-negotiated agreements between GSA and commercial companies.

GSA Schedules offer the opportunity for contractors to provide their products and services to federal agencies at pre-negotiated rates, making it easier for the government to acquire what it needs and for commercial companies to secure reliable contracts. However, securing a GSA Schedule is not simply a matter of filling out paperwork and submitting it to GSA. Rather, vendors must ensure they are offering fair and reasonable pricing to the government. Once this pricing is determined in the award process, contractors must maintain their established rates and report their GSA sales quarterly or monthly.

As a prospective or current GSA contractor, you might have seen the term COTS. What does it mean and why is it an important piece of government contracting? If a government agency wants to buy Commercially available Off the Shelf (COTS) items quickly, efficiently, and at the best value, they often turn to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. In this article, we will define COTS, cover how they fit into the MAS program, and discuss regulations on COTS from the Buy America Act (BAA).

As your company searches for contracting opportunities in the federal marketplace, you have most likely come across a Request for Proposal (RFP). An RFP is a solicitation document to communicate the requirements and parameters of a government agency's needs, both products and services. An RFP often requires companies to convey the technical aspects of the proposal and address how their company will meet the government’s needs while offering the best value. Your response to the RFP needs to be highly detailed and precise, as RFPs are considered formal requests that could result in contract award. However, this is is easier said than done. There are a number of common mistakes that contractors fall into as they hunt for government contracts. Here’s what they are and how to avoid them.

GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts have many compliance requirements to ensure that contractors provide products and services that align with federal procurement regulations. This fall, GSA renewed efforts to take action to remove non-compliant products from GSA contracts and GSA Advantage!. In the coming months, GSA will be removing items from a contractor’s Schedule if they are not in compliance with Trade Agreements Act (TAA) regulations, include prohibited hardware and telecommunications, as well as non-authorized refurbished items. Compliance with the terms and conditions of your Multiple Award Schedule is critical to the success of your contract, so let’s cover what you need to know about these non-compliant products.