Once you’ve been awarded your GSA Schedule, you have a living document in your hands that can last up to 20 years and that any federal agency can purchase from. It's an exciting prospect, but as you are aware, 20 years is a lifetime in the business world. Think back to what was being sold two decades ago. Can you imagine being stuck with a catalog full of floppy disks? To avoid scenarios like this, GSA has established processes to modify your GSA Schedule after it has been awarded.

In your journey through the alphabet soup of federal contracting, you may have come across the terms BPA and IDIQ. These stand for Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) and Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) respectively. Both terms describe a type of contract vehicle that can be used for multiple orders, but they are not interchangeable categories. When considering contract vehicle options, what are the differences between a BPA and an IDIQ? In this blog, we’ll compare and contrast BPAs and IDIQs so you can become familiar with these two contract vehicle types, allowing you to examine future contracting opportunities with confidence. To start with, we will establish what exactly BPAs and IDIQs are.

If you are looking into getting a GSA Schedule contract, you’re probably excited about the prospect of selling to government customers, but also wary of some of the less favorable elements of government contracting, like processing times and regulatory requirements. While having a GSA contract does not free you of all the burdens of federal government contracting, it does mean that you can take care of the pricing and terms from the outset so that future contracting is streamlined.

Once you’ve submitted your GSA Schedule proposal, you are probably excited to get it awarded and start selling your products or services as soon as possible. Unfortunately, perhaps the hardest part of the Schedule acquisition process is waiting. Although this can be frustrating, GSA needs some time to process and review your GSA Schedule proposal to make sure it’s worthy of award. GSA can take anywhere from around three months to a year to complete the review of your GSA Schedule proposal, depending on several factors.

If you are an Information Technology (IT) firm entering into the federal government marketplace, you will be introduced to a whole new world of terms that you were previously unfamiliar with. After taking advantage of some open market contracting opportunities, you may be encouraged by one of your Contracting Officers to get on a GWAC.

As a businessperson, you are probably always looking for new ways to unleash the untapped potential of your company. This can involve offering new solutions, entering new markets, and researching your competitors to gain an advantage. Many of the same business development tactics can translate over to the federal government sphere. As a commercial company, you can sell your products and services to the government, provided you meet all the requirements. However, you cannot simply start filling orders for government agencies—you typically need to become a government contractor first. As you have probably witnessed throughout your life, federal government processes are heavily regulated, and that includes procurement.