With over 135 federal agencies in existence, the government has tremendous purchasing power in the federal marketplace. Some agencies may be purchasing your products and services in bulk, and some maybe not so much. It’s up to you to ensure that you’re doing your part in conducting market research to identify potential buyers in agencies. Thankfully, GSA has some tools to help you conduct market research. SAM.gov’s Data Bank tool helps you focus your marketing efforts and understand federal purchasing trends.

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.

One of the requirements GSA Schedule contractors tend to worry about the most is the minimum sales requirement. Under this requirement, contractors must generate $25,000 in sales within the first 2 years, and $25,000 every year thereafter. This can seem like an intimidating number, especially for some smaller businesses that aren’t used to reporting $1 million in commercial sales each quarter. So, what can you do to stay on top of this and successfully meet the minimum sales requirement? One thing to do is study spending trends and identify the top government customers. Which government agency is spending the most through government contracts, and what are they spending it on? Here’s what you need to know.

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.

Successfully qualifying government opportunities for your organizations pipeline is a vital step in becoming a successful government contractor. Like many things in life, the qualification stage in the government contracting process requires due diligence on your part to ensure that you can meet all of the stated requirements.

As your company searches for contracting opportunities in the federal marketplace, you have most likely come across a Request for Proposal (RFP). An RFP is a solicitation document to communicate the requirements and parameters of a government agency's needs, both products and services. An RFP often requires companies to convey the technical aspects of the proposal and address how their company will meet the government’s needs while offering the best value. Your response to the RFP needs to be highly detailed and precise, as RFPs are considered formal requests that could result in contract award. However, this is is easier said than done. There are a number of common mistakes that contractors fall into as they hunt for government contracts. Here’s what they are and how to avoid them.