It’s almost that time of year again when contractors begin preparing for the fourth quarter of the federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. For many agencies, FY Q4 continues to represent the busiest spending period of the year, which accounts for a significant portion of annual federal procurement activity. As a reminder, the federal government’s Q4 begins on July 1 and runs through September 30. With such a large surge in purchasing activity, agencies are working to obligate their remaining fiscal-year funds before budgets expire. As a result, there is increased demand for activity, which creates greater opportunities for GSA Schedule contract holders.

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably started your search to get a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), and you’ve recognized that you’re going to need some expert help. You may need help with the whole process, or if you have your contract already, you may just be looking for comprehensive or as-needed maintenance support. Either way, we understand if you’re already overwhelmed with which firm to go with.

As we are now halfway through the government fiscal year, it’s important to review changes to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). One of the key updates is that GSA made Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) mandatory for all contractors with the release of MAS Solicitation Refresh #31 in April. Before Refresh #31, contractors without TDR-eligible Special Item Numbers (SINs) fell under the Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) reporting structure and were required to monitor their compliance with the Price Reductions Clause.

One of the most essential parts of maintaining your GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract is ensuring your pricing is up to date. GSA contracts can last for up to 20 years, so it’s likely that your commercial rates will increase during the life of your contract.

GSA announced its “OneGov Strategy” for modernizing procurement in the federal government in April 2025, making it one year since it was initially launched. OneGov is intended to align with Executive Order 14240 Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement and EO 14271 Ensuring Commercial, Cost-Effective Solutions in Federal Contracts that came out early 2025 and direct how the government should be organizing procurement and cost-saving efforts.

While often thought of as out of date in terms of its technology, the federal government spends billions on new information technology (IT) solutions and services each year in support of various legacy system modernization efforts, cybersecurity initiatives, and other technology-focused programs. The GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program allows contractors to sell various commercial IT products and services to the federal government through its Information Technology Category, or Category F. For the 2025 government fiscal year (FY), the IT Category experienced over $26 billion in sales, demonstrating a highly competitive marketplace for IT services and products under GSA MAS.