subject: Qualifying For A GSA Contract [print this page] Qualifying For A GSA Contract Qualifying For A GSA Contract
Obtaining a GSA Schedule contract is difficult. You must determine which Federal Supply Schedule best represents your products and services, download the GSA solicitation, prepare a GSA proposal including your proposed GSA pricing.
Business owners wishing to obtain Federal GSA contracts have their work cut out for them. The first step is to choose the Schedule that is the best fit for the services or products that are offered. The solicitation is downloaded from the official website and a proposal is prepared with the pricing structure.
To qualify for a Schedule, an evaluation is conducted to determine if the business can provide a needed service or product. The company must exhibit financial stability. It will also be analyzed for response time. The quality of customer service must be up to par. Every Schedule is different and each will have its own individual criteria that must be met. There are several things to think about before filling out an application.
Does your firm qualify for a GSA Contract? To be considered for a schedule, a company will be evaluated against a range of criteria having to do with the Government's need for the firm's products or services, financial stability, responsiveness and past performance with other clients, ethics and responsibility, and the firm's willingness to make the Government its most favored customer. There are scores of different Schedules, and some may have slightly different criteria, but consider the following before applying for a Schedule:
* Have you already sold your product or service in the commercial marketplace?
* Does the company have at least 4 customer references?
* Can you document past sales practices through product or labor rate sheets, proposals, internal pricing policies or similar documentation?
* Is the firm financially able to support task orders should the Government approve your Schedule proposal?
* For service firms, do you have written job descriptions, quality control plans, and employment and compensation policies?
* For resellers, can you obtain a letter from manufacturers authorizing you to sell their products?
* Has your firm or its principals been disbarred from doing business with the Federal government or, within the last three years, or had a criminal or civil judgment against it with regard to Federal, state, or local government contracting?
If you answered yes to all but the last question, then your firm can be awarded a schedule.
