As part of Winvale's new guest blogger series, Andrea Davis, Director of Contracts at Govplace and a Winvale client, is sharing the top 15 tips about government contracting that she's learned in her 20 years working for government contractors, in no particular order:

Back in April of 2000, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that Digital Signature Trust Company has received the first interim approval to operate on the Access Certificates for Electronic Services (ACES) contract. This breakthrough was phenomenal because it rapidly sped up the processes of schedule acquisition, maintenance, and compliance more broadly. The ACES contract is currently managed by the Office of Information Security in GSA's Federal Technology Service.

The General Services Administration (GSA) provides the leading contract vehicle for government acquisition. GSA Schedule contracts, also known as GSA Schedules or Federal Supply Schedules, are indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ), long-term contracts under the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program. The GSA Schedule Program continuously accounts for approximately $45 billion of government spending. Businesses, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions can obtain a GSA Schedule Contract to sell products and services to government customers.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has just announced its findings on the Federal Government’s 2018 fiscal year, and it is great news for American small businesses. 2018 marks the 6th consecutive year the Federal Government has met their small business contracting goals. Not only did the federal government meet this goal in 2018, they surpassed it by $15 billion.

There are numerous solicitations available under the General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple-Award Schedules (MAS) Program, each representing a different industry. GSA’s IT Schedule 70 includes Information Technology products and services that have been negotiated and awarded under a GSA schedule contract. Under the GSA MAS Program, the Federal government -- and in some cases, State and Local government -- entities can meet virtually every single purchasing need by buying products and services directly from GSA-approved vendors at pre-negotiated prices. GSA contracts offer government customers direct delivery of high-quality commercial supplies and services at discount pricing.

Background New bills working their way through congress can signal incredible opportunities for government contractors. The House has passed a series of bills related to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) management in the past month. Perhaps most prominent is H.R. 2083 which, if turned into law, will benefit small businesses tremendously. First introduced by California Democrat Correa Luis in April 2019, the bill has three main goals: to increase the share of equipment for DHS personnel procured by U.S. manufacturers, enhance regulation of delivery timelines, and determine whether to raise uniform allowances.