Get On The GSA Supply Schedule Now!

Many governmental agencies purchase needed goods and services through the GSA.   Many government agencies purchase directly from vendors but they may also purchase goods and services through the GSA -- for good reason. The government has regulations and guidelines which they must follow when purchasing from any vendor.  The GSA makes sure that those vendors are compliant with these regulations.  Therefore many agencies look to the GSA Schedules as a central compliance resource for approved vendors.

The GSA Schedules
There are three Business Line Schedules maintained by the GSA.  They are the Public Buildings Service; the Federal Technology Service; and the Federal Supply Service.  It can be very important for you to know which schedule you should fill out.  The following summary can help:

   Public Buildings Service
For companies that deal in equipment leasing, construction, building services and facilities management.

   Federal Technology Service
For companies in such sectors as telecommunications services and equipment, network services, information technology solutions.

   Federal Supply Service
For companies providing office supplies and equipment, paper products, scientific equipment, paints and chemicals, automated data processing equipment and services (Software, training and integration), motor vehicles, furniture (office and household), hand tools and appliances, office furnishings, services (EEO, travel and transportation), organizational management, financial management, temporary clerical support, conference planning, temporary professional support, health care cost recovery and asset management.

More and more government agencies search the Schedules to locate the products and services they intend to purchase and for the suitable vendors from which they will purchase.

How Do You Get On The Schedules?
The GSA uses the term solicitation when referring to the Schedule.   A solicitation is a form that you fill out which contains your company’s pricing information and technical writing.  There are different solicitations for each schedule. In order to find out which one is right for your products go to:  www.fss.gsa.gov/schedules.  On that website click on “Getting on Schedule” and from that link go to “Review GSA Solicitation”.  The solicitations are broken up into various categories.  Find the category that fits your service and/or product and click on that category to download the solicitation.  

There are many sections of the solicitation that must be filled out.  Among the more important sections is the recently added Open Ratings Past Performance Evaluation Form (formerly Dun and Bradstreet).  Once completed, this form and the processing fee of $125.00 is sent to Open Ratings.  Once the evaluated Open Ratings form has been returned to you, you include that form with the completed solicitation and send that package to the address printed on the cover page of the solicitation.

Benefits of Being On The Schedule
Once you have been approved for listing on the Schedule, you are given a “GSA number” by the Administration.  The principal advantage to being a scheduled vendor is that it takes approximately two weeks for Schedules Contracting as compared with 268 days for Regular Contracting.  This is because Federal agencies can place orders directly with Schedules Contractors.

A second major advantage is that Schedules contracts are five-year contracts, with one five-year option for approved vendors to provide products/services to any Federal agency.  That means that your company can be contracted for ten years.  Most direct federal contracts are one year in length, with a four-year renewal option.

If you are considering whether it is worth your time to get your company on the Schedule, consider this:  There are approximately 9,000 small businesses on the Federal Supply Schedule at present.  Plus 8% of holders are woman-owned businesses and 5% are minority-owned businesses.  Clearly there are great opportunities available for those businesses that are on the Schedule.