In an age of competition fueled by the desire to get ahead of one’s competitor, studying trends in government spending could be the key to financial success. When it comes to government contracting, you should specifically look at the fourth quarter, where more federal contract dollars have been spent than in any other quarter over the past several years.

This is the seventh installment of our ten-part Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) series, written by Winvale’s Government Analysis team of experts. Every other week, we take a look at a different GWAC to keep you up to speed on changes, tips and any pertinent information. This week, we will discuss the Information Technology Enterprise Solution 3-Services (ITES-3s) GWAC.

In an effort to better align GSA Schedule labor regulations with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS), formerly known as the Service Contract Act, the GSA Federal Acquisition Service plans to update all GSA Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) to comply with SCLS. This update will ensure most recent wages are incorporated into individual task orders.

This year has been marked by a number of important changes and updated contracting procedures aimed at improving the U.S. Federal Government’s cybersecurity systems. Against the backdrop of President Obama’s Cybersecurity National Action Program, launched earlier this year, a new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rule has recently arrived which addresses basic safeguarding of contractor information systems. This may seem innocuous at first, but the change should not be taken for granted by the contractor community.

It’s that time of year again: quarterly sales reporting! Whether you are a federal or state and local contractor, you are required to submit a sales report to not only fulfill your contractual duty as a vendor, but also to pay an administrative fee.

The federal marketplace is a very competitive space to break into. The potential for government contractors is evident in the success of current sellers ranging in size and offerings. There is no magic formula for building a profitable government sales practice, but there are many ways to stand out. At Winvale, we’ve found one method of differentiation that truly works: building a curated blog that educates readers and converts to leads.