When you enter into a contract with the federal government such as a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), you might be wondering—what are the consequences if something goes wrong, and how do I prevent anything bad from happening? We get these concerns a lot, and you’re not alone. While there are different ways the government deals with violation of contract terms, suspension and debarment is often used if there is fraud involved or a falsification of records, among other reasons.

If you are looking into getting a GSA Schedule contract, you’re probably excited about the prospect of selling to government customers, but also wary of some of the less favorable elements of government contracting, like processing times and regulatory requirements. While having a GSA contract does not free you of all the burdens of federal government contracting, it does mean that you can take care of the pricing and terms from the outset so that future contracting is streamlined.

With an increasing market in Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems, GSA wants to make sure your system is secure enough to support a potential threat. Even if you are not competing in the IT and Information Systems market, it’s important to make sure your entity and server is protected from cybersecurity attacks. We have seen an increase in harmful cyberattacks the past few years, and the federal government is focused now more than ever on improving the nation’s cybersecurity.

So you have decided to get a GSA Schedule—what’s next? While having a GSA Schedule will certainly be very beneficial for your company, it’s quite an undertaking. A lot of prospective and current GSA contractors decide to hire a consultant to handle their GSA Schedule contract acquisition and maintenance. Should you consider hiring one too?

A GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract is no doubt a great business opportunity—not only does it open doors to a huge pool of government agencies, but the ability to sell directly to the largest buyer of goods and services in the world at pre-negotiated rates and shorter lead times is not something you can find in the commercial market. However, it’s not without effort. If you are interested in becoming a GSA contractor, or if you have recently been awarded a contract, it’s important you are aware of the requirements it takes to maintain a GSA Schedule contract. One of the main requirements is identifying what a GSA sale is and reporting it regularly to GSA. Several clients have come to us wondering what constitutes a GSA sale, so we have created a blog with everything you need to know.

As you may be aware, government agencies cannot make decisions on a whim. There are several rules, regulations, precedents, and processes that are put in place, so each decision is made carefully and methodically. This is especially true for federal procurement. Whenever a government agency has the need for a particular product or service, they often conduct market research to make sure they are surveying all the possibilities and finding the one that works the best for them. This doesn’t always mean the cheapest or the fastest, but these can be factors in determining what the best value is.