Now that you’re a GSA contract holder you may have noticed that there’s quite a bit of red tape to work around. Certain performance orders issued under your GSA contract may require you to travel out of area. If this is the case for your organization, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to travel expenses and per diem charges.

Government contractors are painfully aware of the amount of time it takes to search for opportunities that are a good fit for their business. However, while research is an acknowledged key to success, rarely do contractors dedicate enough time for it. Why is this? Probably because knowing how much time to spend with each resource is a mystery to most.

During the GSA proposal process, your submitted contract may be subject to a review by a special branch of GSA, the Credit & Finance bureau. This third party is a separate entity from GSA and plays a unique role in the contracting process. Their main function is to conduct a pre-approval survey and analysis of a prospective contractor to ensure that they are financially viable, solvent and able to fulfill requirements under if a GSA contract is awarded.

Whether you are a current GSA contractor or you are thinking about preparing a proposal to obtain a GSA contract, it is important to monitor your commercial sales and make sure you remain consistent in how you discount your Most Favored Customer (MFC), or the customer that receives your best prices. In this blog I will discuss why pricing consistency is important and how to avoid violating the Price Reductions Clause (PRC).

For a GSA Schedule contractor, a contract extension is an important process that should be completed without any delay. The GSA Schedule is a five-year contract with three additional five-year option periods for a total of 20 years. After each five-year period, every GSA Schedule contractor has to complete a contract extension prior to their contract’s expiration date in order to extend their contract for another five years. Although it is common to have your contract extended, GSA Schedule contractors should be as proactive as possible during this process to make sure there is no delay in being awarded the next option period.

The ImmixGroup recently published an article that gave an overview of cooperative purchasing and some contract vehicles associated with it. In this overview they were able to touch on some points about the National Association of State Procurement Officers (NASPO) ValuePoint program. Immix, who has a very established presence in the federal market, highlighted advantages of utilizing cooperative purchasing contracts and the amount of dollars procured through NASPO ValuePoint. I will highlight NASPO ValuePoint from an inside perspective, as I have first-hand experience working in the program, working with State Procurement Officials and currently managing several companies within the program.