Many of my clients, who have a GSA Schedule but are new to the government market, ask me about government invoicing and payment schedules – for obvious reasons. In the commercial market, a seller will identify their invoice schedule and the buyer will normally oblige. However in the government market, they don’t pay for something until they receive it. Specifically, 31 U.S.C. 3324 says: “(a) Except as provided in this section, a payment under a contract to provide a service or deliver an article for the United States Government may not be more than the value of the service already provided or the article already delivered.” Furthermore, the Prompt Payment Act at 31 U.S.C. 3903 says: “(1) (B) provide that the required payment date is 30 days after a proper invoice for the amount due is received if a specific payment date is not established by contract”. So for all government contractors, after you understand that the government doesn’t pay for something until they receive it (there are a few exceptions) and their payment terms are Net 30 Days, you should also understand when you can invoice and when those 30 days start.

As a consultant to companies applying for a GSA Schedule contract, we work closely with our clients to gather the information that I know the solicitation (and contracting officers) requires. When we start talking about financial statements, a few of my clients ask me “what if we’ve operated in the red last year?” Knowing my client’s strengths are equally important as knowing any weakness, so we can prepare for and address issues beforehand. Demonstrating financial viability can certainly be a challenge. Every company submitting a new Offer under a GSA Schedule will have to, and I’ll quote the Solicitation, “Provide a copy of offeror's most current, complete, audited (if available) two years of financial statements (at a minimum, balance sheets and income statements). GSA uses balance sheet and income statement information to determine financial responsibility. Provide an explanation for any negative financial information disclosed, including negative equity or income. You may be required to provide letters of credit or other documentation to demonstrate that adequate financial resources are available.”

GSA has recently amended the Multiple Award Schedule program to include an important new clause in each of the schedule contract solicitations. The FAR clause 52.203-13 “Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct” has been incorporated into every GSA MAS contract. This clause requires GSA contractors to develop a “Code of Business Ethics and Conduct” that all employees (engaged in performance of the contract) have access to and follow. GSA contractors are required to exercise due diligence to prevent and detect criminal conduct and promote an organizational culture that encourages ethical conduct and a commitment to compliance with the law. As a trusted consultant for many GSA contractors, we encounter a lot of companies who do not have a written Code of Business Ethics and Conduct. Some companies will have a corporate business ethics and policy document, but it does not cover how to deal with the federal government and its employees. As a government contractor, you’re required to address specific subject areas like Contract Negotiation, Hiring of Federal Employees, Supplier and Subcontractor Relationships, Kickbacks, Use of Lobbyists, and Political Activities. Some of these subject areas are covered in FAR 9.5: Organizational Conflicts of Interest, Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA), and FAR 52.203-13: Contractor Code of Business Ethics & Conduct.

Supporting the world’s desire to create a cleaner environment, President Obama recently ordered agencies to limit their fuel use. He outlined this objective by demanding agencies to buy more alternative-fuel vehicles and in some cases even decrease the size of their fleets. Obama issued the memo recently when GSA announced plans to spend $4.3 million to purchase 116 electric vehicles. GSA will rent the cars —precisely 101 Chevrolet Volts, 10 Nissan Leafs and 5 Think City EVs — to 20 federal agencies in 5 cities across the country. They have even outlined plans to have charging stations for powering those cars in Washington, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit—the cities were those 20 federal agencies are located. The only exemption of this rule includes law enforcement vehicles. But to further support the objective, the memo directs GSA to work with agencies to help issue guidance for alternative fuel vehicles for law enforcement. Looking to the future, Obama even ordered all fleet purchases starting in 2015 to be alternative-fuel vehicles.

If you’re a government contractor chances are you are fully aware of the myriad registrations and systems you are required to maintain throughout the year. From annual updates to your Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) to periodic subcontractor reporting through the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) or opportunity searching through Federal Business Opportunities (FBO), contractors must consistently monitor several disparate systems in order to continue to partner with Uncle Sam. In a recent BLOG we profiled the FAPIIS System, which consolidated several long standing databases already in use by the procurement community in making contract award determinations. While, from an ease of use standpoint, this is a step in the right direction for Contracting Officers, little has been done to streamline activities for vendors. Well things are about to change.

There’s BIG news for GSA Schedule 84 contractors looking to add new products to their pricelist. GSA recently started requiring additional documentation for modifications to add new products or to increase the price of products already on your awarded pricelist. Contractors are now required to submit a listing of comparable products, either listed on GSA Advantage.gov or elsewhere on the internet. The comparisons can be of exact products or of similar products. This competitive documentation will be used by GSA contracting officers to substantiate the commerciality of your product and determine if the price you offer GSA is fair and reasonable. For some contractors, it may be relatively easy to find products that are comparable to your products. If you are a reseller, there may be other contractors on GSA Advantage that sell the exact same item from the same manufacturer. Or perhaps another company sells the exact same item, but not to GSA. As long as their pricing is listed somewhere on the internet, that should be sufficient for the comparisons.