You've Been Awarded a GSA Schedule. What Happens Next?

Congratulations. Getting a GSA Schedule awarded is a real accomplishment. But the award is the start of the work, not the end. A few things have deadlines in the first 30 days, and a few ongoing requirements can cost you the contract if they're missed.

This is the checklist we walk our clients through right after award.

In the first 30 days

Register in the Vendor Support Center

Register your new contract in GSA's Vendor Support Center (VSC) right away. You need it to access the FAS Catalog Platform and eBuy, where agencies post opportunities.

Load your catalog in the FAS Catalog Platform

Your contract needs a published catalog before buyers can find you. Under clause I-FSS-600, you must publish your catalog data to GSA Advantage, eBuy and eLibrary within 30 calendar days of award.

New contracts publish through the FAS Catalog Platform (FCP), which replaced GSA's older SIP and EDI tools. Your first catalog load is a baseline: a complete record of exactly what was awarded. Depending on what you sell, you'll use:

• A Product File for products
• A Services Plus File for services, labor categories and training
• Both, if your contract includes products and services, in separate actions

The baseline must match your award exactly, with the same items, labor categories, SINs and prices. It isn't the time to add anything or change a price. We cover the details in The FCP Baseline Modification Explained.

Load your Terms and Conditions file

Every MAS contract also needs a Terms and Conditions (T&C) file: the document buyers see with your contract terms, such as ordering and payment information, delivery terms and warranties. After your baseline is approved, you load the T&C file so it publishes to eLibrary and GSA Advantage.

When your pricing is published through a Product File or Services Plus File, that FCP data becomes the official price source, and GSA's guidance is that the T&C file shouldn't repeat it. Some GSA pages describe this differently, so if you're unsure, confirm with your contracting officer.

Ongoing requirements

Report your sales every month

Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) is now mandatory for all MAS SINs. You report sales in GSA's FAS Sales Reporting Portal within 30 days after the end of each month, and you report every month, including months with no sales. Missed reports are one of the easiest compliance problems to avoid.

Pay the Industrial Funding Fee

The Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) is currently 0.75% of your schedule sales, unless the solicitation states otherwise. It's already built into your GSA prices, and you remit it to GSA, typically quarterly within 30 days after the quarter ends.

Accept mass modifications on time

GSA updates the MAS solicitation several times a year and pushes those changes to existing contracts through mass modifications. The general rule is to accept them within 90 days, though a specific refresh may set its own timeline. Don't let them pile up: GSA won't approve any other modification on your contract until overdue mass mods are accepted.

Keep SAM current

Your SAM.gov registration must stay active for the life of the contract. A lapsed registration can stop orders and payments.

Meet the minimum sales requirement

GSA expects schedules to be used. Under its contract sales criteria (clause I-FSS-639), you need:

• $100,000 in schedule sales in the first five-year period
• $125,000 in each five-year period after that

Only sales made through your MAS contract count. If you fall short, GSA may decline to exercise your option, and GSA has been paying closer attention to this at option time.

Be ready for a contractor assessment

GSA's Industrial Operations Analysts periodically review contractors' compliance. How often depends on factors including your sales volume. Good records of your reporting, pricing and orders make these straightforward.

Keeping your catalog current

Your catalog will change. You'll add products or labor categories, raise or lower prices, and remove discontinued items. Each change is a modification: you open the right mod type in eMod, then load the matching file in FCP. See:

• GSA MAS Product Modifications
• GSA MAS Services Modifications

Winning work on your schedule

GSA doesn't market your contract for you. The companies that do well on MAS:

• Watch eBuy for requests for quotes in their SINs
• Market directly to agencies, using the GSA logo only as GSA's logo policy allows and never implying government endorsement
• Pursue BPAs, which agencies set up under MAS for recurring needs
• Keep the catalog accurate, since buyers compare offerings on GSA Advantage

Your post-award checklist

1. Register the contract in the Vendor Support Center.
2. Complete the FCP baseline within 30 days of award.
3. Load the Terms and Conditions file after baseline approval.
4. Set up monthly TDR reporting, including zero-sales months.
5. Put IFF payments on the calendar.
6. Accept mass modifications promptly.
7. Keep SAM registration active.
8. Track schedule sales against the minimum.
9. Start watching eBuy and marketing to target agencies.