On July 1, 2020, The General Services Administration (GSA) issued Refresh #3 to its MAS Solicitation 47QSMD20R0001, which may affect your Office Management or Human Capital contracts. Based on feedback from customers, GSA is changing the Special Item Numbers (SINS) in the Office Management and Human Capital large categories on the new consolidated Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). What will these changes look like and what do they mean for your contracts in the future?

After years in the making, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced in late June that it has awarded contracts to three major e-marketplace platform providers to support implementation efforts for the Commercial Platforms program and Section 846 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The chosen providers—Amazon Business, Fisher Scientific, and Overstock.com, Inc.—were selected for a three-year pilot program where GSA will test the use of commercial e-commerce portals for purchases below the Micro-Purchase Threshold (MPT) of $10,000.  (Note: This is a different Micro-Purchase Threshold than the recent update regarding the COVID-19 response that we discussed in an earlier blog.) What does this mean for GSA contractors in the future? Let’s dive in to better understand GSA’s upcoming E-Marketplace Platform.

A GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract can give your company access to a whole new marketplace. As a GSA Schedule contractor, you can sell to federal agencies, several international entities, and state and local governments under certain programs. While the GSA MAS program provides a multitude of opportunities to companies, it’s not for everyone. If you are considering whether your company should pursue a GSA MAS contract, you should first make sure that you can meet all the GSA contractor requirements. We have  helped several clients through the requirements stage so we know it can seem overwhelming at first, but don’t worry, we will walk you through what you need to know before you get a GSA Schedule contract.

It can be difficult to keep up in the world of government contracting because there are so many codes and number combinations that contractors need to know. There’s your contract number, CAGE code, DUNS number, your NAICS codes--and the list doesn’t stop there. It’s like learning a new language full of numbers and acronyms. As both a government contractor and consultant, we know NAICS codes are an important identifier for your business, but what exactly is a NAICS code and why is it relevant to GSA Schedule contractors? Let’s dive into FAQs about NAICS codes.

If you’re interested in selling to the government through a GSA Schedule contract, you might be wondering how government agencies will find your products and services and what the buying process will look like. If a government buyer wants to purchase a product, they can’t just hop onto one of the mega online retailers to find what they need because there are several requirements that need to be met. Instead, they use government online shopping and ordering sites like GSA Advantage!®.

So you have decided you want to sell to the government—what’s next? You’ll need to prepare a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS Offer) before you can be awarded a GSA Schedule contract. Here at Winvale, we prepare GSA MAS offers every day, so we know it's not necessarily an easy task. The GSA MAS program can open several doors for businesses, but acquiring a MAS contract requires effort and commitment to succeed in the federal marketplace.  We’ve discussed the pros and cons of getting a GSA contract, but now let’s dive into some tips to make the preparation of your MAS offer a little easier!