If your family is as competitive as mine when playing games, you may have to bring out the rule book. The rule book outlines a set of instructions and is the ultimate authority on what rules must be followed for success. Well, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the General Services Acquisition Manual (GSAM) and Acquisition Regulation (GSAR), and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), are like the rule books that GSA contractors must reference when it comes to their GSA Schedule. Many of our clients ask us how to make sense of it all because it can be overwhelming. In this blog, we are going to outline the FAR, DFARS, GSAM/GSAR, and explain what they are, how you can understand them, and a few important clauses to follow.

After a break from what seemed like a deluge of Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation Refreshes, GSA has announced MAS Refresh #15. On January 18, 2023, GSA plans to release Solicitation 47QSMD20R0001 - Refresh # 15 and subsequent Mass Modification (Mass Mod). Once the Mass Mod is released, contractors will have 90 days to review and accept this modification.

2023 is going to be the year—your company is looking for ways to expand its network and customer base and you have recently stumbled across government contracting, more specifically the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. Is it the right choice for your company? How do you get started? You may have been immediately overwhelmed by the amount of government contracting terms, regulations, and confusing information surrounding GSA Schedules. In this blog, we’ll cover what you need to know if you are thinking about getting a GSA Schedule for your company.

With government spending on a steady incline year over year, increasing your company’s footprint in the public sector with a GSA Schedule and other government contracts can help to grow your business’ revenue—but how do you actually invoice and receive payment from these agencies? In the private sector, it can be relatively straightforward in most cases, where the seller will specify the invoicing and payment schedule, and the buyer will (normally) oblige the established schedule for payment. However, in the government market, payment functions differently. Government buyers will reserve payment for something until it’s received.

If you’re a new GSA contractor or new to reporting your GSA sales, you may be wondering what TDR is, and how it can fit into your contract. Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) is a GSA Schedule pilot program for reporting sales that was first rolled out in 2016. TDR is a way for GSA and its partner agencies to collect transaction-level data on solutions purchased through the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. Ultimately, the purpose is to equip the government’s acquisition workforce with the information needed to make data-driven decisions that save taxpayer dollars. TDR also allows contractors to opt out of Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) and reporting, which could be a benefit for your company.

Once you are awarded a GSA Schedule contract, you are granted access to many platforms and resources to assist in growing your company’s presence in the public sector. As a GSA Schedule contractor, websites like SAM.gov, GSA Advantage!, GSA eLibrary, and more become important assets for success in the federal market. The issue is contractors and government buyers aren’t the only ones that see these resources as valuable. While these sites are crucial for contractors, it also makes their company highly visible with non-confidential information such as email address, numbers, address, and therefore susceptible to a cybersecurity breach.