Think of the last deadline you missed in your current position or back in school. It happens to the best of us, but either way, we all want to make things right so you can keep your GSA Schedule compliant. One deadline in particular that we stress to not lose track of is your company’s Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) certification. In the past, required contractors just needed to self-certify, but as of this year, you need to officially register and certify through the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Contractor Portal.

There are plenty of advantages to being certified as a small business. First off, the Small Business Administration (SBA) encourages government agencies to purchase from small businesses whenever possible, and the federal government maintains set-asides or sole-source contracts specifically for small businesses to give them a fair chance to win government contracts. These set-asides limit competition and increase odds by making a contract open to small businesses exclusively. So, if you qualify as a small business and want to become a government contractor, you’ll need to register. In this blog, we’ll cover how to qualify, what options are available to you, and how to register as a small business contractor.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes are an essential part of GSA Schedules—but did you know that GSA prohibits a few of them? We’ve talked about how NAICS Codes are important for identifying business size and opportunities and how you have the ability to choose your own NAICS Code, however, there are some exceptions. Recently, GSA did a sweep of all GSA contractors with the prohibited codes and notified companies that listed them on GSA eLibrary. Here’s what you need to know about the prohibited NAICS Codes and how to remove them from your contract by October 31, 2022.

The sheer amount of acronyms throughout the GSA Schedule acquisition process can have the potential to throw you into a lot of standstills if you keep having to stop to search for what each stands for. It certainly doesn't help when they all start to sound the same. Some of them may even appear next to each other or sound all too similar with prime examples of these being RFI (Request for Information) and RFP (Request for Proposal).

The government contracting world can be challenging—there are lots of rules and regulations to keep track of, billions of dollars being spent through various procurement methods, and tough competition among established contractors. We often hear the question “how do we make a name of ourselves amongst all of this?” from many new businesses who are wanting to break into the federal market.

As federal government Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 comes to an end on September 30, it's time to reflect on which industries the government was spending the most money on and what the funding looks like for the future. Just like you conduct annual recaps on sales and the market in your commercial market, it’s important to see trends in the federal marketplace whether you are a current contractor or plan to become one soon.