When submitting an offer to GSA, the overall process and interaction with GSA is typically consistent: 1) creation of offer, 2) submittal of the offer to GSA, 3) wait for the offer to be assigned to a GSA Contracting Officer, 4) engage in formal offer clarifications with the assigned CO, 5) negotiate offer terms and pricing with the Contracting Officer and, 6) receive a contract award!

One of the most common questions we get on a day to day basis has to be: "how soon will we have our Schedule in place?" The party line from GSA is that it takes a Contracting Officer, on average, 120 days to review, clarify, negotiate, and award a GSA contract. However, for many GSA Schedules and contractors, this is not always the case. What distinguishes a proposal that undergoes an "extended" review versus one that follows the traditional timeframe? It has everything to do with submitting a proposal that is fully responsive to a schedule solicitation, right? ....Well, not necessarily.

What is a Small business and how important are they to the US economy? Overshadowed every day by big business and constant media, Small businesses rarely get their share of attention and credit. Did you know Small businesses employ half of US workers and represent 99.7% of all employer firms? Yes, 99.7%! According to Office of Advocacy, there were 27.5 million Small businesses in the United States in 2009. Can you think of a more influential group?

For any of you out there pursuing the new COMSATCOM SIN's (132-54 &132-55) under Schedule 70, you may have noticed a pretty lengthy requirement called the 'Information Assurance Compliance Checklist'. Its 49 pages to be exact. At first glance, the form can seem pretty daunting and difficult to fill out. I've recently spent quite a bit of time on the phone with GSA in an attempt to figure out EXACTLY what they're looking for and it's pretty clear that they're still working through the requirements of the form, trying to determine precisely how they want to see the information requested.

GSA, the federal agency in charge of establishing per diem rates for federal travel, has released the reimbursement rates for fiscal year 2011, effective October 1st. Per Diem is essentially an allowance for daily expenses that are reset each fiscal year beginning on October 1. The federal per diem rate can be raised or lowered by a Per Diem Committee that surveys local meals and lodging rates. This committee uses local industry standards to ensure that taxpayer dollars aren't being misspent.

A public opinion poll that came out last week revealed that most Americans hold members of the armed service in higher regard than any other profession or line of work. I myself am not a member of the military but my stepbrother is a service disabled veteran. He served three tours in Iraq, quickly making his was from Private to Staff Sergeant. On his third tour his armored vehicle was hit by an IED, which eventually ended his military career – but certainly not his business career. He has since rehabilitated and has considered creating a business venture with other vets from Iraq. Given the current climate of public opinion, there is a strong appeal to sell to veteran owned small businesses that have helped defend our country, particularly those operating in the federal market. Did Executive Order 13360 work? (Part 1)