GSA also announced early last year that the frequency of visits would be based on risk factors such as “amount of sales, number of included sales, number of sales adjustments, issues with sales tracking, prompt payment discount, and/or basis of award.” This “compliance based assessment” would replace the traditional “MAS Schedule Contractor Visits.” In layman’s terms this means that GSA will be primarily focused on compliance rather than education during their visits. The onus is on contractors to fully prepare for the session by reviewing their contract documentation, supporting sales data, and other pertinent information requested by the IOA. Unfortunately, GSA was short in providing further specifics around what thresholds would need to be met to trigger an IOA assessment.
The format of GSA’s visit will change as well. GSA will now conduct “virtual visits” more frequently in lieu of in-person visits.
Finally, IOA’s will now start requesting individual resumes to substantiate professional labor category qualifications and timesheets to substantiate invoicing during their visits! The purpose of this “labor qualifications review” is to ensure that contractors are not providing unqualified labor on projects, and that they are properly adhering to the labor category descriptions outlined for offered professional services categories on their MAS contract. Any discrepancies will be noted and communicated to your Procurement Contracting Officer (PCO) for further investigation. Given this change, it is extremely important that you conduct a due diligence check to ensure that the individuals who have worked on your GSA projects fall within the qualifications listed for each of your labor category descriptions.
We hope that by clearly delineating the four changes that Contractor Assistance Visits have undergone will allow you to best prepare for these visits, strenthen yoiur relationship with GSA, and continue to grow your firm.