Throughout the life of your GSA Schedule contract, it’s expected that your business will experience changes, especially since you can hold your contract for up to 20 years. These factors all tie into how you provide discounts to your commercial and federal customers. As a contractor, you have the ability to make changes to your GSA Schedule through an update known as the Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) modification.

When considering your company’s opportunities for growth, taking stock of your resources is important. Certain businesses, especially small businesses may feel like they do not qualify for a GSA Schedule contract due to a variety of reasons, such as a lack of marketing presence, or lack of employees and experience to meet federal demands, etc. Something that many businesses could benefit from is a Joint Venture. Throughout the course of this post, we will be going over what a Joint Venture is, what it means in terms of a GSA Schedule, and how to obtain one.

If your company is the manufacturer of the products you sell, it’s fairly straightforward to propose those products with your GSA schedule offer, or to add them onto your current GSA Schedule via an Addition Modification. However, if you are a reseller and are offering products that you do not manufacture, then you will need a Letter of Supply. Getting a Letter of Supply completed as soon as possible is an important step in successfully acquiring or maintaining your GSA Schedule.

Certifying as a small business is an important step for GSA contractors who qualify, and some small businesses can even go further to certify for one of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) socioeconomic programs. This includes the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) programs. This certification allows small businesses access to exclusive set-aside opportunities. Women Owned Small Businesses make up 5% of the government’s acquisition goals, and it’s important all businesses that qualify know how to certify.

When you are preparing your GSA Schedule offer, there’s a whole section dedicated to your past performance and experience selling your products and/or services called the technical section. Just like a resume and cover letter acts for a job interview, the government wants to know you have experience and success selling your solutions before you offer them through a GSA Schedule. Once you get your contract awarded, the evaluations don’t stop there.

With inflation rates rising and supply chains continuing to be disrupted, it may not seem like a great time to start a new business venture, but getting a General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) can be valuable for businesses looking to grow their sales even in this economy.