When you enter the world of government contracting, you'll quickly notice it's filled with a series of capitalized letters--IFF, CSP, TAA, TDR what do they all mean? You're not alone if you have no idea what most of these acronyms mean in the beginning, but it'll make your life a lot easier if you start to familiarize yourself with the most frequently used ones. In this blog, we created a cheat sheet for you with10 acronyms that are used most often in the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program and are important for you to know.
1. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code
Your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes are a standard used by federal statistical agencies to classify business establishments for the collection, tabulation, presentation, and analysis of statistical data associated with the U.S. economy. In other words, your NAICS Code identifies your primary industry and helps the government collect data to help make future decisions. NAICS Codes are more than just a identifier, however. They also help you determine whether you qualify as a small business using NAICS size standards, and help you identify contracting opportunities that are relevant to your offerings.
2. Contractor and Government Entity (CAGE) Code
Your Contractor and Government Entity (CAGE) Code is a five-digit number that represents your company's physical address for General Service Administration (GSA) mailings, payments and administrative records. CAGE Codes are assigned by the Department of Defense's Logistics Agency (DLA). Agencies may also use CAGE Codes to verify a security clearance or identify companies for a pre-award survey. A vendor can’t do business through GSA without a CAGE Code.
3. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)
Your Unique Entity Identifier, or UEI is a 12-character alphanumeric code you receive when you register your business through the System for Award Management (SAM), which we'll cover next. This identifier has replaced the DUNS Number and provides a unique code to every business in the public sector. UEIs confirm your business does in fact exist and gives you a unique identifier for selling to the government. Registering on SAM and obtaining a UEI is one of the first steps to getting a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS).
You may be wondering what the difference is between UEIs and CAGE Codes. CAGE Codes allow the DLA to identify and track physical locations of businesses, and UEIs provide a way to identify your business digitally without having to use your business name (since there could be a lot of businesses with similar names out there). Both codes are generally requested in responding to contracting opportunities.
4. System for Award Management (SAM)
The System for Award Management, or SAM.gov is the official site for people who make, receive, and manage federal awards. On this site, you can register your entity and receive a UEI (which is required to do business with the government), search for contract opportunities, search for wage determinations, view contract data, and conduct entity reporting. As mentioned above, registering in SAM is the first step to getting a GSA Schedule. You must also ensure you renew your SAM registration annually to keep it from expiring and to remain compliant with your GSA contract.
5. Trade Agreements Act (TAA)
The Trade Agreements Act (TAA) is an important regulation to follow with your GSA Schedule. This act prohibits contractors from selling products that are "substantially transformed" in a non-TAA country, such as China or India. The final products you sell whether you are the product manufacturer or reseller must come from TAA compliant countries. There are a lot of nuances to this regulation, so if you have a complicated situation, you may want to consult a legal team. We suggest you also take a look at the list of TAA-compliant countries to determine if your products can be sold through a GSA Schedule, or if you are currently in line with these regulations.
6. Industrial Funding Fee (IFF)
A unique feature of the General Services Administration (GSA) is that it's self-funded and does not necessarily cease operations during a government shutdown. This is because the Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) covers GSA’s cost of operating the Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) program. This fee is a fixed percentage of reported sales (usually 0.75%) under GSA Schedule contracts that contractors pay quarterly. Quarterly IFF reporting and payments are due by the 30th day of January, April, July, and October. It's important you understand what a GSA sale is to properly calculate your IFF.
7. Commercial Sales Practices (CSP)
Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) are used to determine your Most Favored Customer (MFC) by disclosing your pricing, terms, and conditions you offer to your commercial customers. GSA uses this information to negotiate a “fair and reasonable” discount during the GSA Schedule offer process. Not all contractors are subject to CSP. Contractors who opt into Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) seen below do not have to disclose their MFC.
8. Transactional Data Reporting (TDR)
Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) provides market intelligence to government agencies, by collecting transaction-level data on products and services purchased through GSA Schedules. If you opt into TDR, you must report the commercial and government prices of your products and services once a month (instead of once a quarter with CSP) through the Federal Acquisition Service Sales Reporting Portal (FAS SRP).
While TDR requires more frequent and comprehensive reporting compared to Commercial Sales Practices, it doesn't require you to disclose your MFC. However, not all contractors are eligible for TDR. GSA recently opened TDR up to an additional 67 Special Item Numbers (SINs), but it still only covers less than half the SINs overall. If one SIN on your contract is eligible, then you can use it.
9. Special Item Number (SIN)
A Special Item Number (SIN) classifies products and services you offer through your GSA Schedule. The Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation is broken down in 12 Large Categories, subcategories, and then 315 SINs. SINs make it easier for government agencies to find what they are looking for, and make it easier for contractors to narrow down contracting opportunities that are relevant to them. For example, if you are offering IT Professional Services through your contract, then you would be selling under the IT Large Category, IT Services subcategory, and the IT Professional Services SIN, also labeled as 54151S. You can use GSA eLibrary to browse all the SINs available.
10. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contains the primary rules and regulations for the federal acquisition process. Federal government agencies have to consult the FAR when looking to acquire goods and services, and if you ever have a question about contracting you can find all the answers in there as well. The FAR also has several supplemental sections for different agencies/sectors such as the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation (DFARS) and General Services Acquisition Manual (GSAM).
Want to Learn More About Government Contracting?
Whether you're a new or prospective contractor, or even a contracting veteran, there's always something new to learn in federal procurement. You might need to learn about the latest Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation update, how to respond successfully to proposal opportunities, or how to effectively market your solutions to government agencies. Whatever it is, we are here to help guide you in the right direction.
If you want the latest government contracting news and insights, or to educate yourself on more government industry terms, check out our blog and our monthly newsletter. If you have any questions about getting a GSA Schedule or maintaining your current GSA contract, please contact us below. 
