Is a GSA Consultant worth the Price?

Most of my clients use my services because they don’t have the time to dedicate an employee for 6+ months to learn the process. Many call me after receiving a Letter of Rejection. This is a specialized process, with only a small handful of capable GSA consultants out there.

There are companies that successfully acquire a GSA Contract in-house, but many regret the resource expense and would recommend spending $4,500 to assure it gets done rather than devote an employee for months. The biggest benefit to my services is that you don’t have to learn this complicated process with only government workers available to navigate you through it. It can be very confusing and frustrating to a newcomer.

I don’t know the nature of your business, but unless there is expected down-time coming up, it will be very difficult to budget your time to learn this involved process. About 75% of the document preparation is similar from one GSA Contract to another, so GSA Consultants know well how to handle the basics of a GSA Contract acquisition. This redundancy also allows for automation and project planning strategies that a newcomer just won’t be capable of utilizing.

Everyone must start somewhere, and I was an in-house GSA Contract manager at one time. I am my best testimonial for GSA Consulting services, because I know how much I const that company, and that bringing in an outside GSA expert would have saved a tremendous amount of time and money. Some owners or managers just don’t think that way, though.

GSA Schedule Contracts for Dummies

Let me start by explaining a little bit about GSA Schedule Contracts. There are 31 different GSA Schedules, and they each have their own number. Under each schedule is a list of sub-categories to describe the different possible products and services under each GSA Schedule, these subcategories are called Special Item Numbers (SINs). For Example, A software company may fall under Schedule 70, and SIN 132 51 (IT Services).

When a company applies for a GSA Schedule, they can also apply for as many of the SINs describe their products or services. If a company has their GSA Contract in place, then they can add products or services to an existing SIN, or even ass another SIN to their GSA Schedule. This is called the Modification Process. It is very important to keep a GSA Contract up-to-date or profits will start to drop.

A very important question is if your company qualifies for a GSA Contract. In order to qualify for a GSA Schedule, a company must have a history in the industry that corresponds to a GSA Schedule. The Contractor must have at least 4 customers to rate their performance (it’s part of the process). And if they are a manufacturer, distributor or reseller, then the products they wish offer on their GSA Contract must be an American End Product and meet the Fair Trade Act guidelines.

I am sure many of the people reading this will have a slough of questions, so don’t hesitate to call us and get them answered. (760) 550-9320

Does Getting a GSA Schedule Contract Compromise a Companies Privacy?

Along the process you will have to provide customer information, financial documents, an org. chart, and much more information that is very personal to a business. I am often asked how secure the documents submitted in a GSA package are kept. Many of my customers cringe at the idea of their tightly-held trade secrets released to the public because they want to get into the federal market. Many businesses have even opted to exclude themselves from a huge potential in federal sales because of the misconcieved notion that their information will be broadcast for all of their competitors to see.

Well, here is the truth. The only information about your company that is publicly released is information relating to your GSA Schedule Contract. Your financials, invoices, customer list, etc. will not be accessible to the public. What will be accessible are your product prices offered to the government, the general terms of your GSA Contract, warranty information, etc. Anything that a federal buyer would look at to make their purchasing decision will be public information. It is noteworthy, at this point, to say that this information is buried so deep in the GSA website that only a very small group of civilians even know where to look.

If you are still worried about your privacy getting stepped on during the GSA Schedule Contract submission process, then I suggest calling us to gain a good understanding of how the process works. (760) 550-9320

How the GSA Purchases

GSA uses a variety of contracting vehicles to effectively manage procurement for both its own operations and its government customers.

1) GSA Schedules

GSA Schedules are also known as Multiple Award Schedules (MAS). In a GSA Contract there is a long-term federal contract established with contractors for their products and/or services. GSA Schedules are the most preferred for commercial products and services.

More Info:  www.gsa.gov/schedules.

2) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)

A GSA Schedule BPA is an agreement between a federal agency and a contractor with a GSA Schedule to fulfill reoccurring requirements for supplies or services. A BPA is great for all involved, the government takes advantage of quantity discounts and GSA Contractors enjoy a steady flow of business. The cut-down in paperwork is also great for all involved.

More Info: www.gsa.gov/bpa.

3) Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs)

“GSA is also authorized to establish task orders or delivery order contracts for information technology for use by other agencies. These GWACs have unique contracting features and specialized benefits for GSA customers.” From GSA Website

More Info: www.gsa.gov/gwacs.

4) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)

GSA Multiple Award IDIQ contracts are used to procure technical expertise in special areas.

More Info:  GSA’s Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) List (XLS)

What is the "Buy American Act" and What Does it Say?

The most important objective of the Buy American Act is to assure that American goods are prioritized when the US government purchases products. The important question is: What is the definition of an American Good? This is found in the text of the actual Legislation, and the important aspects are in the definition of a Domestic End Product. Lets look directly into the text of the legislation for this:

“Domestic end product” means—

(1) An unmanufactured end product mined or produced in the United States; or

(2) An end product manufactured in the United States, if the cost of its components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States exceeds 50 percent of the cost of all its components (see below). Components of foreign origin of the same class or kind as those that the agency determines are not mined, produced, or manufactured in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality are treated as domestic. Scrap generated, collected, and prepared for processing in the United States is considered domestic.

“Cost of components” means—

(1) For components purchased by the contractor, the acquisition cost, including transportation costs to the place of incorporation into the end product or construction material (whether or not such costs are paid to a domestic firm), and any applicable duty (whether or not a duty-free entry certificate is issued); or

(2) For components manufactured by the contractor, all costs associated with the manufacture of the component, including transportation costs as described in paragraph (1) of this definition, plus allocable overhead costs, but excluding profit. Cost of components does not include any costs associated with the manufacture of the end product.

In short, over 50% of the cost in the manufacturing process must be in incurred in the United States. If you are looking to offer your products to the federal government, then you will want to get a GSA Contract, and offer your products on your schedule. We advise that you look into any modifications or amendments to the law before taking action on the information provided in this blog post.

Watch for Growth in GSA IT Arena

“There are plenty of [agencies] who look past us there,” said Ed O’Hare, assistant commissioner for the Federal Acquisition Service’s Office of Integrated Technology Services (ITS). “Absolutely, we’re losing market share. I’m incredibly concerned.”

O’Hare wants to significantly increase the approximately 30% of federal IT purchases being made through GSA. He will be focusing on the expansion of the use of GSA Contracts for Integrated Technology purchases (Schedule 70).

Federal agencies spend about $22 billion annually on IT purchases made through GSA IT Schedule 70, and several other government-wide contract vehicles. However, that number has remained static over the last several years while the overall federal IT budget has gone up. The GSA will be putting programs into place to increase the use of their IT Schedule 70, and the results will likely show by next year.

A Guide through the GSA's Websites

You just went through all the trouble to get a GSA Contract, now you can compete with a smaller pool of companies for a larger pool of money. You want to get the most out of your GSA Contract and be the top product or service provider in your GSA Schedule. So, why is it so confusing trying to navigate through the GSA websites to figure out how to market to the GSA. 

 

First, there is the primary website, www.gsa.gov. This website is for all involved, remember that contracting officers use this too, and that’s why contractors are only given so much real estate on the main page. To the left, you will see the navigation based on your place in the GSA’s procurement process. You will see an accordion section for Citizens, Businesses and Government Customers.

You will find most of the GSA Contract information in the Businesses section, however, it wouldn’t hurt to peek at the Government Customers section just to get a feel of their experience with the GSA. There is also a Search field in the top right corner of the GSA website, if you have any specific research you are doing. Otherwise, the Businesses section will offer you anything you need.

Once your GSA Contract is in hand, there are some other websites that you will need to know about. GSA Advantage is a giant eBay-like website for government customers to shop for your products. You can either upload your pricelist onto GSA Advantage directly, or you can use the GSA Schedule Input Program (SIP). I recommend learning SIP if you have more than 100 products. 

Another GSA website that is important after you have your GSA Contract is Ebuy, which is a posting board of government projects exclusively available to businesses with a GSA Contract. This is where you can bid on jobs, or make all of the arrangements to complete the contracting officers Request for Quote (RFQ).

Obama Expected to support Green Buildings

President Obama should back a $500 billion plan to make U.S. buildings more energy-efficient because it would aid the economic recovery, increase energy security and reduce global warming. The plan would increase the energy efficiency of 40 percent of commercial and residential buildings by 2020, generating about 625,000 full-time jobs, and saving families $300 to $1,200 a year in energy costs, according to the proposal today by the Center for American Progress. “National policy leadership is required immediately to launch a nationwide energy-efficient retrofit industry,” according to the report.

GSA Schedule 56 covers several energy efficiency categories under building maintenance. The official title of GSA Schedule 56 is “Buildings and Building Materials / Industrial Services and Supplies,” and the sub-category is titled “Solar Energy Systems, Energy Saving Lighting Products & Specialty Lighting.”

There are two distinct ways the Obama Administration will likely grow this industry. The first way is by outfitting the tens of thousands of government buildings that are “energy wasters.” Almost every new federal building constructed after 2005 has been a green building, but there are still so many old buildings that Obama will likely throw billions of dollars into retro-fitting with energy efficient features. By far, the best way to get this government business is to become a government contractor with a GSA Contract.

The second way that Obama will likle y help the energy efficiency industry is through legislation offering tax credits to businesses with energy efficint buildings and homeowners with energy efficient homes. The economic recovery is definietly the top priority right now, however, Obama has hinted that the recovery may include the increase of American jobs through energy efficiency retrofitting. This way he would be killing two birds with one stone.

Getting on Schedule with the GSA

It’s easy, first you need to find your company’s particular schedule. You can navigate through the GSA website, or you can use the simple organization I’ve created on my website, GSA Schedule Services. your choice.