We live in a world where it may be as simple as picking up the phone and asking a prospective client if they’d like to purchase what you have to offer. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like this when selling to the federal government. You need to abide by certain rules and regulations, and go through a formal process to sell your products and services. So, how do commercial companies sell to the government?

When government agencies purchase goods and services, they often have to go through a series of hoops to make sure they are abiding by the proper rules and regulations. But what if they have a need to purchase recurring solutions such as electrician services, office supplies, or repair parts? By establishing Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs), government agencies and contractors can set up more efficient contracts that allows them to repeatedly purchase a particular good and service.

In the world of government contracting, one of the most confusing elements to navigate is all the acronyms. From government agencies to GSA Schedule terms, it seems as if there's an acronym for everything--and they aren't always spelled out. As a current or prospective GSA contractor, it's important you begin to learn government jargon because these terms will come up when you submit your GSA Schedule proposal, during GSA Schedule maintenance, and when you are communicating with government buyers.

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 you’ve managed to find yourself reading Winvale’s regular blog series, odds are you’ve got an idea of what the General Services Administration (GSA) is by this point (if not, that’s okay, we have some articles on that too), but you may be wondering what the differences between a Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract are. They’re both federal government contracting vehicles administered by GSA as a whole but they vary in many ways in terms of structure, scope, and usage. This article will provide some answers to your most burning questions.

Selling products and services to the U.S. government means adhering to several established rules and regulations. For potential and current GSA Schedule holders, complying with regulations outlined in the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) is one of the many requirements. While preparing an initial GSA Schedule proposal, most schedule holders become vaguely familiar with required trade laws and regulations. However, after their contract is awarded many make the mistake of not broadening their understanding and fail to regularly monitor their contract to maintain TAA compliant. In this blog, we will define what TAA compliance means and discuss 5 ways to stay TAA compliant.