Government Contracting Blog

The General Services Administration (GSA) manages the federal acquisition and award processes using 10 websites. In August 2017, beta.SAM.gov went live and will eventually serve as a replacement for the 10 legacy acquisition websites that GSA maintains. Christy Hermansen, the Integrated Award Environment (IAE) Design Lead, says “We will be continually adding functionality to the site over time, making improvements based on feedback we receive from users. We are not shutting down any of our 10 legacy applications yet. These will be turned off one at a time, once all of the features have been transitioned and we’ve validated that that functionality is ready to be the authoritative system.”

The General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) Program houses a unique variety of contract vehicles spanning across several industries. With over thirty (30) different Schedule contracts all geared towards different supply and service types, it is almost certain that your company’s offering could fit the scope of one of these contract vehicles. Understanding the scope of each GSA Schedule is an important factor when determining if pursuing a GSA Schedule is right for your business.

Schedule 84: Total Solutions for Law Enforcement, Security, Facilities Management, Fire, Rescue, Clothing, Marine Craft and Emergency/Disaster Response is one of most successful and highly sought-after Schedules in the GSA MAS program, thanks in part to its expansive nature. Based solely on the name of the Schedule, you can gather just how wide the scope of this particular Schedule is.

In 2017, U.S. Senators Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Adam Smith (D-WA) proposed a bill known as the Saving Federal Dollars Through Better Use of Government Purchase and Travel Cards Act of 2017 that concentrated on reducing waste, fraud, and abuse of Government spending on travel and when using purchase cards. This bill passed through the House and Senate when it was incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (or NDAA 2018). The Saving Federal Dollars Through Better Use of Government Purchase and Travel Cards Act of 2017 addressed three key issues with Government spends: (1) improper payments, (2) questionable transactions, and (3) strategic sourcing. Our focus today will be strategic sourcing.

The GSA Schedules Program provides expansive new opportunities and tools to help companies successfully sell to the government. Having a GSA Schedule opens a whole new world of contracting and networking opportunities that could help expand your business and may be your ticket into the government space. However, with new business opportunity comes new responsibility. It is important to realize the compliance and maintenance factors attached to the award of a GSA Schedule. While the advantages are clear, companies should ensure they have the bandwidth to keep up with the maintenance of a GSA contract.

The short answer to this question? Yes, you’re able to sell to the Federal Government without being a GSA Schedule holder, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should due to a multitude of reasons.