Appealing to Federal Buyers on GSA Advantage!

Many of the GSA Contract holders on GSAAdvantage! are not reaching their full potential, and their sales suffer as a result. Think about what you go through when you make an online purchase, this is very similar to the process a government buyer goes through on GSAdvantage! They use the search feature to narrow down to the product they are after, and then compare prices.

When your product is on the short list before a federal buyer, you want to make absolute certain that they have access to more than enough information. Here are the major ways your product is well represented on GSAdvantage!

• Linking to company website, with product-specific pages
• Include picture(s) on product, now you can show multiple images on GSAdvantage!
• Consice description on GSAdvantage! including important specifications
• Competetively proces on GSAdvantage!
• The shipping terms on your GSA Contract are appealing
• Include warranty information on GSAdvantage! product desccription

This is quite a list, but the more effort you put into representing your products on GSAdvantage!, the more your federal sales will increase.

Eliminating Government Waste – is this a Sham?

Recently on the Office of Managemet and Budget (OMB) Blog, Director Peter R. Orszag wrote:

one of the steps we are taking to cut waste in government and boost performance is establishing a Do Not Pay List, a single source through which all agencies can check the status of a potential contractor or individual, so that a barred or ineligible individual or organization is not paid erroneously.

He cited the $100 Billion dollars that the US Government loses from improper payments, the vast majority of which is in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The website www.PaymentAccuracy.gov was launched as a resource for government buyers and payment processors to check-up on contractors, but since over 95% of the issues with improper payments happen within th HHS, government contractors aren’t really the issue. The real issue, I speculate, is with erroneous entitlement payments and federal programs that seem to be bleeding money.

Federal Contractors may get tighter scrutiny as a result of this site, and it certainly seems that they are getting thrown under the bus. The true issue, when you view the website is in the broken federal programs, not dishonest government contractors.

Collecting from the Federal Government

Many people I talk to are discouraged from getting into the federal market because they say it takes forever for the fed to pay. This is a half-misconception, it can take a long time to collect on a federal invoice if there is improper payment information submitted. And since we are talking about the government, you will rarely be contacted to fix any problems, so it is important to follow-up and make absolutely certain that the invoicing is complete and the payment is scheduled.

There is a LAW in place that binds the government to pay within 30 days or pay you interest. This makes the government a no-risk customer. Here is a brief description of the Prompt Payment Act:

The Prompt Payment rule ensures that that federal agencies pay vendors in a timely manner. Prompt Payment assesses late interest penalties against agencies that pay vendors after a payment due date. This rate was established under the Contract Disputes Act and is referred to as the “Renegotiation Board Interest Rate,” the “Contract Disputes Act Interest Rate,” and the “Prompt Payment Act Interest Rate.”

Right now, in 2010, the current interest payment is 3.25%, but you can check if it has changed by clicking HERE.

So, if you are holding back on getting a GSA Contract and diving into the federal market because you are uncertain about getting paid on time, then you need not worry. The government is bound by law to pay on time, the only uncertainty is your ability to file the payment paperwork properly and follow through to verify it is complete.

GSA Invests $4 Billion to Go Green With Federal Buildings

To transform federal buildings into higher performing, greener buildings, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that it awarded construction projects to more than 500 companies creating jobs in all 50 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia by investing $4 billion in Recovery Act funds.

This means there are, and will be, more projects relating to several GSA Schedules:

• Schedule 56 – Buildings and Building Materials/Industrial Services and Supplies
• Schedule 03FAC – Facilities Maintenance and Management
• Schedule 51 V – Hardware SuperStore

“GSA’s aggressive Recovery Act obligations put people back to work across the country and leverage our buying power to invest in green jobs, energy efficient technologies, and both traditional construction and emerging green markets,” said Martha Johnson, Administrator of General Services. “By creating a greener, higher performing federal buildings portfolio, GSA’s Recovery Act investments will save taxpayer dollars in energy efficiencies and build a more sustainable economy.”

The GSA manages 8,600 government-owned or leased buildings from many different federal agencies, and this $4 billion effort to retrofit and improve energy efficiency has created many contracting and subcontracting opportunities.

How Do I Get Involved?

Only a GSA Contract holding company can work under a prime contractor that has been processed through the GSA channel. Therefore, you will need to acquire your GSA Contract, fast. In the vast majority of cases, a company that submits an in-house GSA Contract completed by an employee will be rejected, and ultimately never get their GSA Contract. On the other hand, a company using an experienced specialist will acquire their GSA Contract quickly and get involved in federal projects much sooner. For more information CLICK HERE or call us at (760) 550-9320

Comparing the Top 8 Federal Bid Services

So, you want to break into the federal market, but where do you start? Federal projects are posted on FedBizOpps, but this is a very competitive bidding pool. Also, each agency website also has a Business Opportunities section. It is daunting to keep up on federal bids and often times der if all this trouble is worth the effort.

There are several third party companies that are a clearing-house for posted federal bids, and can greatly automate the process. Almost all services offer a free version of their service, but free trials are only to showcase the paid service and are not a practical option.

As a service to my readers and customers, I am pulling together information and commentary on the top bidding services.

Free Registration, 6 months for $389, 12 months for $499
BidSync sections their bids by region and agency. With the paid service, called BidLync, with a number of beneficial services. BidLync offers Customer Relationship Management software (CRM), links to the agency pages for bids, Email notifications, and an unlimited number of users. BidSync also has automation services for government buyers.

Free Trial, Quotes Upon Request
GovEdge pulls bid data from FedBizOpps, state and local websites and makes the information very easy to manage. Features allow users to build and organize sales territories, receive automatic notification of new opportunities, and access competitor information. Input also offers support and training for paid customers.

Free Trial, Single User for $19/month
Bidspeed  is web-based software that manages federal opportunities by holding all documents in one place, offering follow-up reminders, and keeping notes on projects. Bidspeed offeres direct integration with FBO, but does not mention Agency, State or local government opportunity integration. No long term contract required.

Offered Free from the Federal Government
FBO is the major place that third party services gather their opportunities from. If you spend some time to learn the filtering, you can receive interval emails to notify you of prospective projects for your company. It is good practice to look out for signs that a project is “claimed,” where a company is already a heavy favorite, and the purchasing agent is only going through the legal process as a formality.

Various Packages, $41/month for federal, State & Local
Their most popular package notifies you of the most recently released bid opportunities from Federal, State, City and County governments as well as special agencies. Their focus is on being the best at gathering the bids, and organizing the information by either industry or region.

5 Free Leads, Custom Pricing for Regions/Industries
With the Onvia Online Database you will receive daily notification of government, commercial, and residential project opportunities and leads related to your business. Annual subscriptions are based on geographic region and are fully customized to ensure that the information you receive is timely, some training included.

Free Bids Account, $39/month, $97/quarter, $350/year
Their Free Bids Account gives you access to federal government bids updated daily. Our Paid Bids Account gives you access to the federal government bids plus all the state and local government bids. They also allow you to search the database of bids, which is likely the most helpful feature if you are looking to target a small niche market.

Free Market Analysis, No Prices Posted
BidNet’ s specialty is tracking government buying and planning at the local, state, and federal level. Much like Onvia, BidNet creates custom profiles and email alerts, which contain the opportunities which match a company’s specific needs. BidNet services offer a function to identify which agencies are buyers of your products or services.

This was definitely an interesting project. I highly recommend using some form of a bid matching service, even if you just use the free FBO notifications. State and Local opportunities might be helpful, and if you are interested in them these services can save a good deal of time and grief. Services that include organizational features are interesting, because they weren’t around a few years ago. Keeping track of the projects you have bid on is a real value-add. Hope you find this helpful, and please post your thoughts and opinions.

2009 Federal Spending on IT Review

In many ways 2009 was a difficult year that could not end fast enough. This holds true for government contractors in the IT products and services industry. There was a 21% drop in federal spending on IT compared to 2009, after 3 years of procurement  increases.

There are two possible explanations for these statistics. The first explanation is the most obvious, we are in a horrendous recession. However, with trillions of dollars available for stimulus spending, there should not have been a dip. The second explanation is that there was a change in executive office, therefore many top level positions changed leaders as well. This slows down any spending and/or budgeting activity because things are unsettled.

With the combination of these two explanations, we may be looking at the largest year in federal IT spending in history. Especially because President Obama has stated publicly that a major objective of his is the improvement and updating of government technology infrastructure.

VA Will Boost IT Infrastructure in 2010

“Despite the anticipated belt-tightening under the Obama administration, technology opportunities will emerge in FY2010,” according to Input, a company devoted to federal marketing and government business analysis. Input cited the Department of Veterans Affairs with the most potential for federal spending on IT products and services. It makes a good deal of sense, with the growth in VA claims from returning military personnel. There is no information available about how antiquated the current VA systems are. But, with the expected increase of use, the VA is projected to account for 20% of IT products and serves spending in 2010.

Stimulus and modernization dollars are expected to drive many federal purchases this year as well. The Department of Defense has some big procurement plans  for the Air Force’s Expeditionary Combat Support System in the tune of around $350 million. The Army’s Warfighter Information Network is earmarked at $1 Billion to develop and  install a Mobile, tactical communications system for delivering video, data, imagery, and voice services.

Federal Contracts are Keeping Many California Businesses Alive

It is common knowledge that government contracts are for companies located around Washington DC, because that is where the majority of government business takes place. However, this is a large misconception, because California receives over 11% of government contracting dollars. It makes sense when you consider that 41 military bases, and hundreds of federal agency offices are located in California.

There are hundreds of GSA Contract holding small businesses in California, who put a large marketing investment and focus on the federal government. And their foresight has given them a large advantage over their competitors in a time where many small businesses are folding from lack of work.

It has been calculated that over 400,000 jobs have been created from government contracting in 2009. If 11.3% of federal spending has been in California, then over 45,000 people have remained employed in California by working for federal contractors.

Now is the time for many California businesses to consider finding their way into the federal market. From couriers to staffing companies to electricians to security integrators, there are opportunities in federal contracting. Moreover, the Obama administrations use of recovery funds to finance federal projects is a key strategy to keep Americans Employed.

Reason.tv: Budget Deficits for Dummies or, How I learned to stop worrying and love $1.4 trillion

The U.S. budget deficit for fiscal year 2009, which ended in
September, was a
record-shattering $1.4 trillion, equal to about 10 percent of
Gross Domestic Product. In case you’re wondering, the previous
record had been set in…2008.

$1.4 trillion dollars is a lot of money and it’s hard to get your
mind around that figure. One way to appreciate the sum is to
think of it in terms of all the things that you could buy with
that dough. The budget deficit, for instance, would pay for more
than 1.2 billion nights at Rep. Charles Rangel’s vacation condo
in the Dominican Republic. And that’s just for starters.

Don’t worry if you have trouble doing the math, because
you’ll get another chance next year. The Obama administration has
just released its estimate for the fiscal year 2010 budget
deficit. The number?
Another $1.4 trillion.

Approximately 1.30 seconds. Written and produced by Meredith
Bragg and Nick Gillespie.

Congress Strips New Funding for Mexican Border Fence

In a move being cheered by environmentalists and community groups, Congress on Tuesday sent the White House a spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security which, for the first time, excluded mandatory funding for new construction of the controversial fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Although the Senate in July passed an amendment to build an additional 300 miles of pedestrian fence at the border, that provision, sponsored by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), was stripped during subsequent negotiations with the House. The Senate passed the altered bill Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 79 to 19. DeMint voted against the measure.

Michael Degnan, Washington representative for the Sierra Club, a long-time opponent of the fence, issued this statement following the Senate vote:

Our government has already poured billions of dollars into building walls and barriers across 600 miles of the U.S./Mexico border. Although the effectiveness of these walls has never been measured, the negative impacts to communities and wildlife is clear. Border walls have separated families, caused damaging floods and erosion, and fractured habitat and migration corridors vital to wildlife that has been pushed to the brink of extinction.

We hope that this historic action signals a readiness to permanently move our country’s border policy beyond construction of costly and destructive border walls.