How to Review and Accept a GSA MAS Mass Modification

As a GSA Schedule contractor, keeping up with Mass Modifications is one of the many contract compliance responsibilities you’ll have during the life of your contract. Mass Modifications can be a common source of confusion for contractors, especially when they receive one in their inbox without much context. Since these modifications are initiated by GSA, it can be unclear what their purpose or impact on your contract is, compared to traditional contractor-initiated modifications.

But just because you didn’t initiate the Mass Modification, it doesn’t mean you can ignore it – as a MAS contractor, you’re required to accept each Mass Modification within 90 days of its release. You should also review each Mass Modification prior to accepting it, in order to fully understand how it affects your contract. In this blog, we’ll break down how to review and accept a Mass Modification, so you can feel confident in this area of contract compliance going forward.

What is a Mass Modification?

GSA MAS Mass Modifications, or Mass Mods, are GSA-initiated modifications to your contract. GSA releases a Mass Mod whenever there is an update to the Multiple Award Solicitation. You may have seen a flurry of Solicitation updates, or “Solicitation Refreshes,” recently, with Refresh #28 released in June and Refresh #29 arriving in August. The Trump Administration’s recent changes to federal procurement are partially responsible for this increased frequency in Solicitation Refreshes. Each new Refresh generates a new Mass Mod for you to review and accept.

Mass Mods are released to all GSA contractors at once, and all contractors are required to accept them. Since Mass Mods have the potential to greatly impact your contract’s terms and conditions, it’s important to understand how to review the contents of a Mass Mod, as well as how to accept one in the Mass Mod system. We’ll share some tips below for reviewing a Mass Mod.

How to Review a Mass Modification

First, it’s worth noting that GSA always publishes a draft version of the Mass Mod, typically a few weeks in advance of the official release date. These Mass Mod advance notices are posted to GSA Interact. The key document to review from these notices is “Significant Changes for the MAS Solicitation,” which contains the draft of the Solicitation Refresh (i.e. the Mass Mod). While the final version may differ slightly from the draft, reviewing the draft is a great way to prepare for any changes to the MAS program and plan out any actions you’ll need to take.

This “Significant Changes” document can be confusing, however. Here is a brief guide to its structure:

• “Changes to Overall MAS Solicitation:” This section contains the changes that could affect all MAS offerors, regardless of Special Item Number (SIN). Make sure to give this section a thorough read, since any change here may affect your offer. Some examples of changes in this section from the past few Refreshes include changes to the Price Proposal Templates, updates on Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) expansion, and the retirement of certain SINs.
• “Changes to Specific Large Category, Subcategory, or SIN:” This section contains any changes to SIN descriptions or offeror instructions, broken down by the MAS program’s 12 Large Categories. Revisions to SIN descriptions often concern the scope of that SIN. These revisions could end up excluding your offering from that SIN altogether, so it’s important to review them carefully. Using Ctrl-F to search for your SIN is a helpful way to catch any small changes. Not every SIN will have changes in each Solicitation Refresh – if your SIN isn’t mentioned, you’re good to go.

Winvale also publishes a digestible summary of each Solicitation Refresh in the weeks prior to the Mass Mod release. Finally, GSA hosts a webinar, also publicized on GSA Interact, in which contractors can ask questions about the upcoming Solicitation Refresh.

How to Accept a Mass Modification

Now that you have some tips for reviewing a Mass Mod, let’s get into how to accept one. All of your authorized negotiators with signing authority will receive an email notification when a Mass Mod is released. The email will take you to the Mass Mod System, which is where you’ll review and sign the official Mass Mod.

After you follow the link to the Mass Mod System, you’ll select Contractor Login and enter your FAS ID. If you haven’t accessed the Mass Mod System before, you’ll need to click Register, even though you’ll be using your existing FAS ID credentials. Once you’re logged in, you’ll select your contract, and then select the Mass Mod to accept. You’ll be taken to a screen showing the contract terms that are unchanged, as well as those that have been modified.

Keep in mind that some details may have changed since the draft version, so read each term carefully before checking the box to accept it. At the end of the process, you’ll enter your company information. Once the Mass Mod has been accepted, all authorized negotiators on the contract will receive an SF30 via email.

Additionally, as part of accepting the Mass Mod, you should make sure that you’ve understood any changes the Mass Mod has on your contract or SIN and whether you’ll need to take specific actions to remain in compliance with the newly updated Solicitation. We recommend reaching out to your Contracting Officer if you have any confusion about what actions are needed from you as a result of the Mass Mod.

Solicitation Refreshes Prior to Contract Award

You might be wondering whether Mass Mods are relevant to you if you have submitted an MAS offer and are waiting on a contract award decision. If a Mass Mod is released after you submit an offer, you will receive an email letting you know that the Solicitation under which you submitted an offer has been updated. This email will take you to eOffer, where you’ll see a pop-up asking you to accept the latest Solicitation Refresh. After you click yes, you’ll need to submit your offer again. Don’t worry – this doesn’t mean you’ll lose your place in GSA’s queue.

Importance of Mass Modifications

By staying on top of Mass Mods, you are ensuring that your contract’s terms and conditions remain up to date. Keeping up with Mass Mods is also necessary to avoid serious consequences for your contract, including potential contract cancellation. On the less extreme end, GSA will not consider contractor-initiated modification requests from contractors who have overdue Mass Mods.

That said, we know that it can be overwhelming to keep up with GSA’s frequent Solicitation Refreshes and Mass Mods. To stay up to date on the latest Solicitation Refreshes, subscribe to our blog. If you need help managing Mass Mods and keeping up with other compliance requirements for your GSA Schedule contract, one of our consultants would be happy to help.