Do You Need a GSA Schedule?
After registering in the System for Award Management, many new small business government contractors receive calls and emails from third-party consulting firms promising to help them “get on a schedule” with the GSA. While GSA Schedules are lucrative due to the high-value, multi-year contracts for which contractors can compete, it is important to realize that not every small business government contractor needs to get onto a GSA Schedule.
One easy way to determine whether a GSA Schedule is worth pursuing is to ask your PTAC Counselor to help you do some market research, using tools like USASpending.gov or the Schedule Sales Query Plus System. If the total amount of money that the government spends on your primary NAICS code falls into the billions, but only a small portion of that total is procured using a GSA Schedule, it may not be in your best interest to invest the time and energy it takes to get on a schedule. Another way to determine if a GSA Schedule is right for your business is by asking federal small business liaison officers how exactly their agencies prefer to procure your type of goods or services. If the majority of procurements for your items are accomplished via task orders on a GSA schedule, then it may be worth your while to pursue becoming a schedule holder.
Keep in mind that having a GSA Schedule grants you only a “license to hunt.” You will need to indicate in your marketing collateral that you have a GSA schedule so that agencies know that they can procure items via that contract vehicle.
Finally, be aware that the GSA allows contractors two years after they initially obtain a schedule contract to make their first $25,000 via their schedule. Every year after that, the GSA requires you to make a minimum of $25,000 annually in schedule sales. If you fail to meet this threshold, you risk being removed from your schedule contract.
Tag: GSA Schedules
