The General Services Administration, or GSA, is a central buying authority for the U.S. Federal government.
To make Federal buying more efficient and less costly, GSA identified over 12 million products and services that it regularly buys. GSA then divided all these commercial items into logical groupings, which they refer to as GSA schedules with GSA help. In other words, GSA Schedules are groupings of like items that the federal agencies routinely buy.
GSA then created GSA contract solicitations so that commercial firms could submit an offer and negotiate a GSA contract. If a company successfully completes the GSA negotiation, it is awarded a GSA Contract with GSA help. Some people refer to this process as a GSA Application, however, it is far more complex than a simple application.
Best of all, it enables your business to receive orders for products or services without the need to respond to complex government requests for proposal since GSA will negotiate your pricing terms and conditions in advance, making it easier for agencies to buy form you. Traditional federal RFPs contain confusing federal contract requirements and are costly to prepare, so getting a GSA contract with GSA help saves you time and money over the long haul.
GSA Contract start with a five-year term and have three five-year option periods.
A GSA contract is also a government-wide contract, which means you can sell to any Federal agency. Without this contract, you would need to bid on and negotiate with agencies separately.
Synonymous Terms
Many synonymous terms are used to describe the program, such as:
· Multiple Award Schedule
· GSA Schedule
· GSA Contract
· Federal Supply Schedule
· Multiple Award Schedule or MAS
· GSA Listing
· GSA Number
· Preferred Contract
GSA Schedule contracts have become the contracting vehicle of choice for procurement officers. Obtaining a GSA Schedule contract with GSA help enables your firm to be listed on GSA eLibrary and provides you with access to GSA eBuy, an exclusive database of requests for quotations reserved only for GSA contractors.
Countless firms have pursued opportunities with agencies and convinced technical staff that their product or service was great, only to be asked, “Do you have a Schedule?” If the answer is yes, those firms are in business; if not, they are out of luck.
Small Businesses Size Standard
Congress requires agencies to issue 23% of its prime contracts to small businesses with GSA help. The Small Business Administration publishes standards that define small business by either the number of employees or average annual revenues.
GSA Magazine 