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.

The GSA Information Technology (IT) Schedule 70 is not a traditional government contract. The GSA Schedules Program is meant to screen and approve specific products and services sold by contractors at fair and reasonable prices to customer agencies. Being one of the larger contracts across the federal government, and as the top-grossing vehicle out of all the GSA Schedules, Schedule 70 is used by GSA customers to fulfill their IT product and service needs, because it significantly reduces time spent on the procurement process. Most IT product, software and/or service companies wanting to sell to government customers have heard of or considered obtaining a Schedule 70 contract, and Winvale is breaking down the To-Do List:

Every business has its own standard commercial sales practices that ensure the company remains competitive and successful within the marketplace. Many businesses have these successful commercial sales practices but do not track them in a way that easily translates to GSA’s requirements. Having a strong record of your commercial sales practices is a vital part of obtaining and maintaining a GSA Schedule. For companies considering entering the federal marketplace through the GSA Schedules Program, it is smart to start understanding the commercial sales practice disclosure requirements from the early stages.