5 FAQs on GSA Schedule Contract You Should Know

As a business owner it is your foremost duty and responsibility to ensure the foundation of your enterprise. By that we mean the financial stability and it can only be achieved if you have a trusted group of clients to bank on. But unfortunately this is not the case for most businesses, given the current economic scenario. However if you have federal government agencies as your trusted clients and customers, the situation would be entirely different for your business. At this point you would definitely ask “how do I sell my products/ offer my services to the government agencies?” now that can be a bit tricky, as because, the federal government and its agencies only approve companies/agencies/suppliers those are accredited under the GSA schedule contracts program. Businesses having a GSA Contracts number are given this chance to conduct long-term business deals with federal departments and agencies. Herein we will focus on the 5 most frequently asked questions on the GSA contract. Read on-

 Q 1: How to get a GSA certification number/ schedule number?

 Ans: GSA Contract numbers are ‘unique’ and awarded to all businesses that undergo a lengthy process of evaluation by the GSA authority. When a business applies for GSA schedule contract, their application is scrutinized and deemed as eligible. After successfully passing through the GSA scanner, only eligible applications are granted the schedule contract; moreover a unique “number” is given to each of them. This is called the GSA certification number. This accredited number should be quoted by the approved company in all future business dealings with federal clients.

 Q2: Who are the purchasers from GSA schedule approved companies?

 Ans: The purchasers are all federal customers which again includes departments and agencies from The federal Department of Defence or the ‘DOD’, all the Executive and the Federal Agencies of the US government, the govt. contractors who are authorized to spend federal money for consolidation and procurement of resources, the govt. of the dist. of Columbia, and finally the US government recognized institutions and noted international organizations funded by the United States government.

 Q3: What are the limitations in the types of commercial products and services that are offered under GSA schedule contracts?

 Ans: As per the latest stat, more than 11 million services and products are being offered under the GSA schedule contract. But, there are certain restrictions imposed upon the type and nature of one or more products and services as well. For example, ammunition and firearms are not allowed for sale under GSA schedules contract. Construction service and architectural service are also not included under the schedules contract offerings.

 Q4: Can a GSA schedule contract help me sell my products and services to the government?

 Ans: Yes, it does! But in order to get unlimited access to long-term business opportunities with federal government funded agencies and turn into their trusted suppliers and service providers, you ought to have a GSA schedule contract number at first.

 Q5: How do I find out if my company is eligible for a schedule contract at all?

Ans: In order to figure out if your company is at all eligible for the schedule contract, you must comply with the following criteria – a minimum 2 years in the same business field, good track record of customer service and satisfaction, commercially available products and services, the products are and should be compliant with the US Trade Agreements Act.

 These are just a few primers among several other frequently asked questions on GSA Schedule Contract. Hope you have got your basics cleared!