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Sometimes called the “Amazon of the government,” GSA Advantage! is a web platform where government purchasers can shop for products at pre-approved rates. Contractors on the General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program can list their products on GSA Advantage!, which is a major factor for business development for participating vendors.
There is a learning curve to using GSA Advantage!, and even more to know to optimize your use of the platform. This blog will cover the essential things to know for new contractors getting started, or for existing contractors to improve their use of the platform.
SIP to FCP Transition
The Schedule Input Program, or SIP, is the legacy catalog management software that allows contractors to set up and maintain their MAS catalogs on GSA eLibrary and GSA Advantage!. GSA is in the process of moving all contracts over to the FAS Catalog Platform (FCP), a newer, web-based catalog management system. While some contractors still use SIP, every MAS contract will eventually be transitioned to the FCP. In September 2025, GSA began onboarding newly awarded contracts straight to the FCP, cutting out the transition process from SIP entirely for new vendors.
This transition is a positive thing for vendors’ use of the GSA Advantage! platform, as the FCP improves upon many of SIP’s flaws such as its age and poor user interface, which made it difficult to navigate. The FCP does have its own learning curve, but there is a wealth of resources on how to use the platform effectively. In addition to the FCP’s resources page, GSA’s Youtube profile has a playlist of FCP training guides, and you can read about common FCP pitfalls and how to avoid them on our blog.
Learning the catalog management platforms that provide functionality to GSA Advantage! are important beyond your initial contract set-up, because as vendors modify their Schedule through product additions, deletions, and price increases, they will need to update their GSA Advantage! through SIP or FCP.
Rules for Product Names and Descriptions On GSA Advantage
Just like any other online marketplace, the more descriptive and appealing your product is on GSA Advantage!, the better chance it will have to attract the attention of an interested buyer. Product names and descriptions should be detailed, with the right keywords. For example, a better product name for a headset than “Wireless headset” would be “Dell WH1022 Headset Wired Headband for Calls/Music”.
There are some key requirements vendors must follow to have a compliant GSA product listing, as follows:
- Product descriptions must be at least 10 words in length
- Product descriptions must be between 150 and 1,000 characters
- Product descriptions should avoid promotional language (e.g. “Best Deal” or “Limited Time Offer”)
- Product names must be at least 3 words in length
Best Practices for Uploading Photos
Photos are the first impression potential buyers will have of your product, making them a critical component of your GSA Advantage! listing. GSA Advantage! allows for up to four photos per product listing. Depending on what Special Item Number (SIN) your product falls under, photos may be required. GSA encourages contractors to not use manufacturer or company logos in place of a product photo.
There are formatting requirements for product photos in order to be accepted by the SIP or FCP catalog platforms. This list of requirements is as follows:
- Photos must be in either JPEG or GIF format
- Maximum photo size is 1MB
- Maximum file name size is 80 characters and cannot contain special characters (only letters, numbers, and underscores are accepted)
- Up to 4 photos can be uploaded for each product
Pay Attention to Extra Product Specifications
There are some additional differentiators you can attach to your product listings, as applicable. These include unique identifiers, such as National Stock Numbers (NSNs) and Universal Product Codes. There are also environmental program designators, including BioPreferred Compliant, CPG Compliant, FEMP Energy Efficient, and Energy Star Certified, among others. These identifiers can be filtered in the advanced search options of GSA Advantage!.
Utilizing the Purchase Order (PO) Portal
GSA Advantage! utilizes the Purchase Order (PO) Portal to give GSA contractors quick and easy access to orders placed by government agencies through GSA Advantage! and GSA eBuy systems. Through the PO portal, contractors can view the orders placed against their GSA Schedule. They can also change the status of the order to reflect the progress of delivery, from received, shipped, backordered, or cancelled. In the case that one order contains multiple items, vendors can update the shipping status per item or for the entire order. As a rule, vendors utilizing GSA Advantage! should update the PO portal to track the status of an order.
Keeping Your Pricelist Updated
Probably the most critical factors of success on GSA Advantage! is regularly updating your pricelist. Every time you make a modification to your GSA Schedule pricelist, including adding or deleting products, or adjusting the price of a product, that change must be reflected in GSA Advantage!. More than just a compliance concern, maintaining your pricelist with regular updates ensures a better interface with customers. Buyers will be able to view and purchase new products as they’re added, and you don’t have to deal with the administrative burden of cancelling orders that were placed for incorrect prices or products that are no longer offered.
Are You Making the Best Use of GSA Advantage?
Navigating GSA Advantage! and the platforms that back it is a key part of not just having a compliant Schedule contract, but also a successful one. Whether you’re a new or prospective vendor building your knowledge of the MAS platforms, or you’ve had your GSA contract for a while and are transitioning your pricelist from SIP to FCP, you’ve likely had more than a couple challenges keeping your pricelist compliant and up to date. Winvale has blogs based on the frequently asked questions of contractors learning and using GSA Advantage!; we also have a team of expert consultants that assist directly with questions on the catalog platforms. Reach out today to learn more.
