When you apply for a job, you typically only have one chance to draw someone in before they decide whether they want to invite you in for an interview. You have one single-page resume to highlight your past experience, your capabilities, and what skills make you different from others. This is very similar to drafting a capabilities statement for your government customers.

A GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract can give your company access to a whole new marketplace. As a GSA Schedule contractor, you can sell to federal agencies, several international entities, and state and local governments under certain programs. While the GSA MAS program provides a multitude of opportunities to companies, it’s not necessarily for everyone. If you are considering whether your company should pursue a prime GSA Schedule, you should first make sure that you can meet all the GSA contractor requirements. We have helped several clients through the requirements stage so we know it can seem overwhelming at first, but don’t worry, we will walk you through what you need to know before you get a GSA contract.

Your company may now qualify as a small business under the Small Business Administration’s (SBAs) revised size standards. The SBA recently issued 4 final rules to modify revenues-based size standards in 16 industry sectors. These sectors directly tie to 16 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sectors and will increase small business eligibility for the SBA’s federal contracting and loan programs for approximately 59,000 businesses. The revised size standards will become effective on May 2, 2022.

Small businesses play an integral role in federal procurement, and in 2022, there has been a strong push to focus on small business prioritization. One of the recent initiatives to improve the procurement process for small businesses is the PRICE Act. President Biden recently signed the Promoting Rigorous and Innovative Cost Efficiencies for Federal Procurement and Acquisitions Act (PRICE) Act, which would expand opportunities for small businesses to work with the federal government.

Another Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation Refresh is on the horizon—on March 31, 2022, GSA plans to release the MAS Solicitation 47QSMD20R0001 - Refresh # 10 to all existing GSA contracts. Once the Refresh is issued, GSA will release an accompanying Mass Modification (Mass Mod) which must be accepted by all contractors within 90 days. It’s important you are aware of all the changes in the Refresh, even if it may seem like they won’t greatly affect your GSA contract. We’ll break down everything you need to know about this Solicitation Refresh, so you are prepared to accept the Mass Mod.

Now that you have just been awarded a GSA Schedule--what's next? Preparing your GSA Schedule offer was no small feat, but it was only the beginning. As a GSA Schedule contract holder, you have important sales and compliance responsibilities throughout the life of your contract. We know it can be overwhelming to make sense of all the rules and regulations you need to follow now, so we'll just start small with the most important steps you need to take. To help get your company off on the right path, here are the top 5 things to do after you are awarded a GSA Schedule.