When a contractor is submitting a GSA Schedule contract offer, there are several components to complete, one of which is the Price Proposal Template (PPT). This template is a crucial part of the pricing section, where the majority of your offer will be presented. The Services and Training Price Proposal Template outlines your entire schedule in a spreadsheet format. Contractors should be aware that there are different versions of the PPT, specifically the products version and the services version. This blog focuses on everything you need to know regarding the services PPT, which differs significantly from the products version.
Let’s dive deep into what you’ll need to know when you start working on a PPT for the first time or the hundredth time, as the following information will provide you with context and reminders on what you’ll expect in each version of the spreadsheet’s endless list of tabs, rows, and columns.
The Services Price Proposal Template is a detailed and complex Excel spreadsheet that goes beyond a simple pricing chart that shows your rates to GSA. This template includes a number of key elements that outlines the terms and conditions of your Schedule offerings. The services version is designed to display a contractor’s rates and includes columns outlining the terms and conditions within each tab. Whether you are an existing offeror or a new offeror for a contract, all contractors need to complete this template as part of the pricing section of the MAS Solicitation.
For existing Schedule holders looking to modify their contracts, a Modification Price Proposal Template is required. If you’ve worked with this template in the past, you’ll notice that it resembles an offer, but includes different tabs designed explicitly for applying changes to the existing Schedule’s terms and conditions. We’ll discuss more of that later in this blog post. For now, let’s go through what you’ll expect from this spreadsheet once you have it downloaded and opened.
Whether you’re opening a PPT for the first time or the hundredth time, you will notice a variety of columns with headers. Below is a breakdown of some key elements that needs to be filled and completed when submitting offers or modifications (mods):
If this is your first time submitting an offer to GSA, completing the Services Price Proposal Template can feel overwhelming. We highly recommend taking the time to familiarize yourself with the spreadsheet before you begin working on the template itself. The PPT can be found on the Required templates for a MAS offer page. As you prepare, please be sure that you consider the following questions to help you stay organized:
If you notice mistakes or issues after submitting your offer, don’t be alarmed. In most cases, GSA Contracting Specialists are unlikely to reject an offer outright; instead, they will request that contractors revise and resubmit. However, GSA is cracking down on contracts that are not in compliance, so it’s important when revising your template, make sure that you address every issue the contracting specialist highlights. It’s also imperative that you stay in communication with them and ask questions if anything is unclear.
If you already have a GSA Schedule and need to make modifications, you are still required to submit Price Proposal Templates. You also need to make sure that you are using the modification version rather than the offer version. Price Proposal Templates are updated periodically through GSA refreshes, so it's essential to download the latest version from GSA’s mod templates page. The most recent refresh number will be displayed on the instructions page of the PPT itself.
The primary distinction between offer PPTs and modification PPTs is the use of the "changes" tab on the modification PPT. Tab A of the PPT should always display the finalized list of Labor Categories, regardless of whether you are adding titles or changing pricing; it will always reflect the final version of your contract. In contrast, Tab B shows only the changes that have been made. For example, if you are increasing the pricing for a Project Manager, you will need to list the Project Manager on Tab A with the new pricing, as well as include the new price on Tab B. Any labor categories that are not undergoing changes should remain on Tab A, so avoid listing them on Tab B.
GSA is currently in the process of transitioning all MAS Schedule holders onto the FAS Catalog Platform (FCP). Services vendors onboarded to FCP will use a new template called the Services Plus File (SPF) to establish and manage their catalog. The Services Plus File is designed to replace the Services and Training PPT, the 541930 Translation and Interpretation Services PPT, and the 611630 Linguistic Training and Education PPT. The SPF contains fields for labor categories, fixed price services and solutions, courses and training, and Other Direct Costs (ODCs).
As mentioned earlier in this blog post, working with a PPT can be a lot to handle, especially if this is the first time you’ve worked with the template and are on a tight deadline to get contracts submitted. As mentioned, creating a GSA Schedule offer takes more than just a pricing sheet to complete. There are many more documents that are required to submit. If you are in need of any assistance in working with an offer or managing an existing Schedule that requires you to submit updated Services and Training PPTs, we highly recommend that you reach out to one of our consultants and we can assist you in areas of your offer or mods that you need help with!