Government Contracting Blog

Contractors need to keep a lookout for new cybersecurity regulations or requirements when completing work for federally funded contracts. If you’ve heard of the newly proposed CUI rule submitted by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council earlier this year, it’s aimed at standardizing the handling of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). This proposed rule was created to enhance the integrity and security of federal contracting processes by establishing uniform requirements across agencies for safeguarding CUI.

If you are a GSA MAS (Multiple Award Schedule) contractor, you might already know the term “SIN” or Special Item Number. However, knowing what a SIN is and being able to utilize SINs for the best benefit of your GSA Schedule are two different things. In this blog, we’ll cover the basics of SINs, the benefits of adding SINs to your GSA Schedule, and key requirements when adding SINs.

GSA has recently announced that it has rolled out a major update to GSA Advantage! that enhances its functionality by introducing "Related Products," a rebranding of what was previously called "Product Accessories." This update simplifies acquisition for government buyers by making accessories more visible, easier to find, and accessible either as standalone purchases or accessories to base line items. In this blog, we’ll cover what the updates are and what contractors should be on the lookout for in the future.

GSA MAS contractors often see terms such as “Mass Mods” or “Solicitation Refreshes” and wonder what they entail as well as the potential impact on their GSA Schedule. These are separate contract actions from a traditional modification you would use to update the pricing, terms and conditions, or any other kind of update you may need to your GSA Schedule. These modifications are not initiated by contractors but are mandatory for maintaining compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and other solicitation requirements.

As a government contractor, you have likely become familiar with SAM.gov. There are a number of features in SAM, but arguably the most important is the entity registration feature. Since registering your entity in SAM.gov is required in order to do things like apply for contracts or receive grants from the federal government, this creates a database of thousands of companies. Not only that, but these registrations require resubmission every year in order to remain active. However, the process of updating SAM can be fraught with downfalls that can jeopardize your compliance status and contract opportunities.

When it comes to GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) acquisition and post-award maintenance, contractors are often left with questions when they come across Transactional Data Reporting (TDR), wondering what it is and what the impacts on their contract are. Through TDR, contractors are required to report specific details of their sales to the government, including prices paid by government agencies for products and services. This type of reporting is chosen when eligible contractors do not submit Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) with their GSA Schedule offer, or switch over to TDR during the period of performance of their contract.