You might have heard the term “DFARS” come up a lot recently, especially with the federal government's initiatives to heighten cybersecurity and defense measures. But what is DFARS and how does it relate to GSA contractors? You’ll find it’s a very important set of regulations for you to follow and understand. DFARS stands for Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. It’s managed by the Department of Defense (DoD) to supplement the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The defense supplement was launched to as a government effort to guard national security concerns from cybersecurity attacks.

Pulling together a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) proposal can be a lot of work. If you’ve been following our blog, you may have a good understanding of the overall process as we’ve discussed the process from start to finish on previous posts. You do your research, pull together the administrative, technical, and pricing sections, then you’re done, right? Maybe not. Working with our clients, we know that a lot of people have problems finishing their GSA proposal and bringing it across the finish line to contract award. Let’s dive in and see how to dot your I’s and cross your T’s and get that GSA Schedule proposal to award.

As a result of social media, the traditional news cycle has accelerated, and now many people receive most, if not all, their news from the major social media networks. This dramatic shift in consumption has increased both the speed and accessibility of information, and now anyone with an internet connection has the ability to either knowingly or unknowingly spread a false narrative. As a result, misinformation, as well as disinformation, have become more prevalent.

Just like with commercial transactions, pricing is an important part of your GSA Schedule contract. Government agencies often prefer to purchase from GSA Schedules because they know they are getting their products and services at the best value and prices. This means that GSA contractors have to follow specific pricing rules and requirements, like reporting your Commercial Sales Practices.

2021 is expected to be a strong year for mergers and acquisitions. Since mergers and acquisition (M&A) trends took a hit during the pandemic, M&A activity is starting to ramp up, and 2021 is already proving to be a busy year. In the high-financed, fast-paced world of mergers and acquisitions, one aspect of the deal that is often over-looked or misunderstood, is contract novation. Many people unfamiliar with the federal market don’t realize that if you buy a government contractor, their federal contracts may not transfer to the acquirer or new entity. And this can represent a BIG problem if the valuation formula was based on the revenue from those federal contracts.

More updates are coming for GSA contractors—on May 17, 2021, GSA released the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation 47QSMD20R0001 - Refresh # 6. This Solicitation will be accompanied by a Mass Modification (Mass Mod) for all GSA Schedule contractors. Action is required on this Mass Mod, so it’s important you understand what these upcoming changes mean to you as a contractor. Here's what you need to know: