Government Contracting Blog

Earlier this year, GSA released cybersecurity requirements that mimic the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). The “IT Security Procedural Guide”, or more formally known as CIO-IT Security 21-112, establishes a new framework of security requirements and privacy controls for contractors who deal with Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in nonfederal systems. Since this requirement was rolled out quickly and quietly without a formal announcement, some contractors may not be aware of the change. You may be wondering if this applies to your company or affects your contract. We’ll cover everything you need to know below.

If you’ve made the decision to pursue a GSA Schedule contract, one of the first choices you will need to make is whether to go it alone or hire a GSA consultant to help. At first, your instinct might be to save money and handle it internally because you may have a sales or marketing team that deals with your commercial sales. However, it's important to remember that the government marketplace is a whole new world. The acquisition process is not easy or straightforward, and once you get your contract awarded, you have to manage it for up 20 years.

A key part of winning business in any market is drafting a strong and effective proposal. They may not all look the same, or are sometimes called by different names across industries, but the goal is always to win the reader over. But how exactly do you accomplish that? Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are a key part of your government contract, and while there's an entire rulebook on how to reply to them (the Federal Acquisition Regulation), there are some unspoken rules contractors should follow.

As a GSA Schedule contractor, you are part of a bustling government marketplace that includes federal as well as state and local buyers. While you are a part of a very popular and unique contracting vehicle, competition still exists. How do you stand out from your competitors? Now that we are a year into the Trump Administration, priorities, budgets, and consequently buyer habits, have changed. In this blog, we’ll discuss 8 strategies you can use to set your business apart.

Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) has existed for several years as a pilot program, but not every GSA Schedule contractor had to pay attention to it until now. Either your Special Item Numbers (SINs) weren’t eligible, or you chose not to opt in, but either way, it wasn’t on your radar. Things are changing now. With GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Refresh #31, ALL contractors are now required to switch their sales reporting over to Transactional Data Reporting. Since TDR reporting will become a monthly occurrence for you, it's important that everyone knows what TDR is and how to transition. In this blog we’ll cover what TDR is, sales reporting with TDR, and how to participate in the program.

GSA has long envisioned the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) as the one-stop-shop for all your federal procurement needs to make, receive, and manage federal awards. This vision is hopefully soon to become a reality as GSA’s Integrated Award Environment (IAE) continues to modernize and consolidate their federal awards systems. The goal is for GSA Schedule contractors to use one modernized site for most of their contracting needs rather than to navigate several archaic sites. In this blog, we’ll review what recent changes GSA has made to SAM.gov and what the upcoming forecast looks like for system consolidation.