GSA Myth: GSA Only Buys Products
Over the years, I have been lucky to have taught many GSA and government contracting courses for the Small Business Administration (SBDC) and many other organizations. I love training, and I believe in the "no question is too dumb" rule. But there is one question that always surprises me:
"Does GSA buy services? I thought they only bought products".
This may be the largest myth about GSA. In fact GSA has several Schedules that are strictly for services, and many other schedules combine products and services. For example, Schedule 70 (IT Services) has categories for both products and high-end engineering services.
But I can understand the confusion. Pricing for products can be pretty straightforward. Services however, must be carefully priced with an eye on the market, the competition, and your cost structure. You do know your cost structure, right? But that's another topic.
Let's take a quick tour of the most common GSA services schedules. I work with these schedules all the time, and while they are similar, each has its "peculiarities". Also, each schedule is administered by a different GSA group, and each contracting officer has their own hot buttons. For now, let's talk about GSA services in general.
You can offer stand alone services or hourly professional rates. For example, you can offer "system integration" as a stand-alone service at a fixed price. You could also offer professional labor by the hour, such as "program manager" or "engineer" at a fixed price per labor hour. Pricing can be challenging, but that is where a good consultant can save you a lot of time and grief.
Any GSA schedule can be downloaded from http://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/ElibHome. Look under Quick Schedule and use the pull-down list. Select the schedule you want, and then click "Go". It will take you to FedBizOps where you will see a description of the schedule. You can then download the schedule.
Here are seven of my favorite schedules. They cover almost the full range of professional salary-based services. Note that hourly (non-salary) services are usually not offered unless they are in direct support of a product (installation, testing, etc.). When offering professional salaried labor hours, for each category you will need to include a description and duties, along with required years of experience and education. GSA typically defines a professional position as one that requires at least a BS college degree.
00CORP - The Consolidated Schedule. The Consolidated Schedule is a great contract that allows a company to offer a wide range of professional services found in other individual schedules. These include legal services, data collection, human resources, accounting, training, and so on. Instead of having several schedules, you can use the Consolidated Schedule to offer a range of services.
O3FAC - Facilities Maintenance and Management. This schedule covers a range of services required to maintain a large facility, including docks and warehouses. This is a good choice for companies offering environmental and conservation services.
871 - Professional Engineering Services (PES). This schedule includes a number of engineering disciplines, including strategic planning, program requirements analysis, system design and integration, and construction management.
874 - Mission oriented Business Integrated Services (MOBIS). Here is where you can find consulting, facilitation, survey, training, program management and many other high level professional services.
874V - Logistics Worldwide. This is a very common schedule for companies that provide transportation, importation, and material shipment tasks and services.
66 - Scientific Equipment and Services. This schedule allows for very technical and specialized services, such as electronics testing services, geophysical sciences, metrics, and so on.
70 - IT Services and Products. This comprehensive schedule allows you to offer products and/or services that relate to technology. You can offer just products, just services, or a combination.
So there you have it: GSA does buy services - and lots of them. In fact, if you are a products company, perhaps it is time to consider adding services to increase revenue. And if you are ready to play in the GSA market, remember that there are a lot of schedules to choose from. Which one is best for you? Call me and I'll help you decide. Take care, and good luck!
