Updates to the FAS Catalog Platform (FCP)

Whether you’ve been a GSA Schedule contractor for a few months or a few years, you’ve probably noticed that GSA regularly makes changes to the Multiple Award Schedule program, from Solicitation refreshes to system updates. One major change from the last few years is the launch of the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Catalog Platform, more commonly known as FCP. GSA has rolled out FCP gradually since 2023, releasing periodic updates on the timeline for onboarding contractors and sharing information on the platform’s functions. Let’s go over GSA’s recent FCP updates, so you can be well prepared to transition your contract to the new platform.

What is the FAS Catalog Platform (FCP)?

The FAS Catalog Platform (FCP) is the new catalog management system for GSA Schedule contractors. As the replacement for the Schedule Input Program (SIP), FCP enhances the user experience of managing a GSA Schedule catalog. With FCP, contractors can more easily upload catalog and contract data to GSA eLibrary and GSA Advantage!, the sites where government buyers browse for products and services.

Below are FCP’s key improvements to the catalog management process:

• FCP replaces SIP’s desktop software with a web-based program, providing contractors with easier access to the platform.
• While SIP requires its users to enter contract data across multiple tabs, FCP’s streamlined interface has just two tabs, a seller profile and a catalog overview.
• FCP consolidates the templates involved in making catalog modifications by combining the Price Proposal Template (PPT) and Catalog File into a single Product File. FCP’s newly released Services Plus File (SPF) also consolidates several templates, as we’ll discuss.
• FCP integrates with GSA Advantage! and eMod, meaning catalog modifications are automatically published to GSA Advantage! without requiring a separate upload in SIP.
• FCP gives contractors access to a Compliance & Pricing (C&P) Report prior to submitting a modification for review. The C&P Report provides market analysis and flags line items to help contractors with pricing strategies and compliance issues.

Recent FCP Updates for 2025

Timeline for Transitioning Contracts to FCP

GSA plans to resume transitioning product catalogs to FCP early this year. This roll-out will proceed in phases according to contract type. Contractors can expect to receive an email notification from GSA in advance of their FCP onboarding date.

GSA plans to begin transitioning services catalogs to FCP early this year as well. So far, the only services vendors with access to FCP are those with the Professional Engineering Special Item Number (SIN) who participated in last summer’s pilot. All other services vendors can expect to hear more about FCP from GSA in the coming months.

If you’re a products vendor and existing FCP user who needs to add your services catalog to FCP, you can learn more about that process in our discussion of the Services Plus File (SPF) below.

How to Prepare for the Transition to FCP

If your contract hasn’t been transitioned to FCP yet, you can make the future transition smoother by completing a few preparatory steps. First, we recommend making sure your contract’s authorized negotiators are up to date. Notifications from GSA about FCP are only sent to authorized negotiators, and only authorized negotiators will have login access to the platform.

It’s also a good idea to make sure that your GSA Advantage! information is accurate. Your GSA Advantage! page should display only the products awarded to your contract. The FCP onboarding process discussed below will be easier to complete if your GSA Advantage! page is up to date.

Steps to Begin Using FCP

Once you have access to FCP, you’ll need to complete a three-step process before your catalog is up and running. First, your authorized negotiators will need to register for FCP on the GSA FCP site. You’ll then need to verify your seller profile information in FCP is correct. The seller profile includes information on ordering, shipping, and other terms and conditions of your contract.

Finally, you’ll need to “baseline” your contract’s catalog in FCP. The baseline process serves to establish an accurate record of your contract’s currently awarded products or services. Product vendors will review and complete a Product File prepopulated with data from GSA Advantage!. Similarly, services vendors will fill out a blank Services Plus File, described below, with the details of their services. You can find step-by-step instructions on the baseline process within the Getting Started in FCP Vendor User Guide on GSA’s page for FCP FAQs.

Recent Updates on the Services Plus File

Services vendors onboarded to FCP will use a new template called the Services Plus File (SPF) to establish and manage their catalog. The Services Plus File is designed to replace the Services and Training PPT, the 541930 Translation and Interpretation Services PPT, and 611630 Linguistic Training and Education PPT. The SPF contains fields for labor categories, fixed price services and solutions, courses and training, and Other Direct Costs (ODCs).

Timeline for Using the Services Plus File

Vendors in the Professional Engineering SIN pilot group have already been using the SPF to manage their catalogs in FCP. While GSA planned to introduce the SPF and service catalog functionality to other existing FCP users last November, that launch has been rescheduled to early this year. In addition to existing FCP users, any services vendors onboarded to FCP this year can expect to use the SPF to establish and manage their services catalogs in FCP.

Advantages of Using the Services Plus File

For contractors, the SPF streamlines the process of publishing their finalized GSA pricing. FCP automatically generates and publishes a formatted pricelist to GSA Advantage!, GSA eLibrary and GSA eBuy based on the data contractors enter in the SPF. Thanks to this feature, contractors can be assured that their public pricelist always contains their most recent pricing updates and is appropriately formatted.

This auto-published pricelist will be separate from the Terms and Conditions (T&C) file where contractors previously listed their pricing. As a result, contractors won’t need to revise their T&C file every time they make a pricing modification. Contractors will now only need to update their T&C file when contractual information changes.

Successfully Transitioning Your Contract to FCP

Transitioning to a new catalog management platform is more manageable when you have resources close at hand. GSA has published several helpful user guides, located on their FCP FAQs page, explaining how to use FCP. The FAQs and user guides have recently been updated to include guidance for services offerors on using FCP.

If you encounter technical issues with the platform, we encourage you to reach out to the Vendor Support Center’s helpdesk. And if you have additional questions about transitioning from SIP to FCP, or if you need help with other aspects of managing your GSA Schedule contract, one of our consultants would be happy to assist.