How To Prepare A GSA Schedule
Tim LinkerNC PTAC
What Are GSA Schedules?
Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts
Contracting vehicles allow contracting officers to buy goods and services quickly without going through the traditional solicitation process
Contracts where prices and offerings have been agreed to in advance and are considered “fair and reasonable”
What Can A GSA Schedule Do For Your Company?
Provides contracting officers a way of buying from your company in amounts above $25,000 without going to open solicitation
Allows your sales staff to close the deal quicker because GSA schedules are a preferred method of contracting
Offers new teaming possibilities with other schedule holders
Creates sales opportunities through the establishment of Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA)
Assumptions
That you are registered and current in Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and the Online Representation and Certification Application (ORCA)
That you have a base knowledge of federal contracting, i.e. the FAR
That your company has been in business at least two years
That your company has actual sales on the products & services you are offering
What Type of Products & Services Are Included In The Schedules?
Environmental Services(899)Office Furniture (71 I)Information Technology and Services (70)Shipping, Packing, and Packaging Supplies (81 1 B)Building and Building Materials (56)
Medical Equipment and Supplies (65 II A)Mission Orientated Business Integrated Services, MOBIS (874)Language Services (738 II)Publication Media (76)Office Products Supplies and Services (75)Hardware Superstore (51V)
Getting Started
Main GSA web page
Convenient access to GSA E-Library web page
www.gsa.gov
GSA E-Library
One-Stop-Information web page
Search by contractor, keyword, schedule, or Special Item Number (SIN)
Quick Schedule link
www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov
Identifying What Schedule Fits Your CompanyLocate the schedule that best fits your offerings
Companies that offer products or services on two different schedules can use the consolidated schedule, 00CORP
The Schedule Summary
Identify which SIN(s) your company would like to offer
Review your competition already on schedule
Who’s Your Competition & What’s Their Offerings and Pricing?
Each contractor that is a particular schedule is listed
You can review their SIN(s), corresponding prices, and other pertinent information
Remember that not all pricing is created equally
Schedule Sales Query (SSQ), Who’s Selling and How Much?
Enables you to create various GSA sales reports
You can search GSA sales by:
Schedule
SIN
Contractor
Fiscal Quarter/Year(s)
http://ssq.gsa.gov/
The Schedule Summary… Again
After reviewing your competition return to the schedule summary web page
Link to the schedule solicitation on FedBizOpps to download the document
FedBizOpps Solicitation
Linked from the GSA web page
Solicitations are on-going, with no closing date
Solicitations may be taken down periodically for refreshment
Downloading The Solicitation
Click on “all files” to ensure that you get all the necessary materials
Keep a paper copy and electronic copy of the solicitation for your records
Getting Down To Business, How To Prepare A Service Proposal
Schedule SectionsI. Administrative Section
- Fill in the blanksII. Experience Section
- Describes your business and what services you are offering
III. Pricing Section- Details your pricing structure and how it was established
IV. Attachments
Important PointsRead the entire solicitation at least twice
- Most mistakes made during the proposal preparation process are made because individuals did not read the entire solicitation package first
Instructions are provided in the solicitation package for almost all questions- When in doubt, review the solicitation
Type requested information in Bold ItalicsStandard Form 1449
- Only fill out boxes 12, 17a, 17b, 30a, 30b, and 30cRemember to adhere to all stated page limitsIf the section does not apply to you, write in N/A
I. Administrative Section (899)
Proposal Checklist Standard Form 1449 Basic Company InformationAccounting SystemCredit Card AcceptanceIndustrial Funding Fee CertificationSIN(s) Offered
Delivery & TimesPayment AddressPlace of PerformanceContact for Contract AdministrationRepresentations and Certifications8(a) RepresentationService Contract Act Determination (Attachment 3)
Filling In The Blanks
Offeror’s Name and Address
Business Size
Authorized Negotiators
Company’s TIN
Security Clearances
Accounting System
Credit Cars Acceptance
SIN(s) Provided
II. Experience Section (899)A. Financial Capacity
- Provides the contracting officer with evidence that your company is financially solvent
B. Executive Summary- Details your company’s expertise, services, organizational controls, etc
C. Corporate Experience- Details your company’s past projects
D. Past Performance - Open Ratings requirement (Attachment 2)
A. Financial Capacity
Provide two years of financial statements- Profit/loss statements, balance sheets
You must explain all negative financial information shown, including negative equity and/or income
Often a Dunn & Bradstreet financial report or GSA Form 527 will be required
B. Executive Summary
Provides a “snapshot” of your company to the contracting officer
Explains your field of expertise and specific services offered for each SIN
Defines your plan for accomplishing any workDescribes your organizational & accounting
controls, quality control, man-power abilities, types of personnel, and use of subcontractors
C. Corporate Experience
You must provide three related and similar projects for each SIN offered that the client found acceptable, usually within a certain period of time (899, 2-3 years)
Each project must detail:1. Name2. Description3. Dollar Amount4. Project Duration (actual versus planned)5. Contact Information (name, phone, email, address, etc)
Services often must provide a professional compensation plan and letter addressing uncompensated overtime
Dunn & Bradstreet Open Ratings Report (Attachment 2)
1. Overall, how satisfied do you feel about the performance of this company during this transaction?
2. How reliably do you think this company follows through on its commitments?
3. How closely did your final total costs correspond to your expectations at the beginning of the transaction?
4. How well do you think the product/service delivered matched your order specifications?
5. How satisfied do you feel about the timeliness of the product/service delivery?
6. How satisfied do you feel about the quality of the product/service provided by this company?
7. How easy do you think this company is to do business with?8. How satisfied do you feel about the attitude, courtesy, and
professionalism of this company’s staff?9. How satisfied do you feel about the customer support you
received from this company?10 How responsive do you think this company was to
information requests, issues, or problems that arose in the course of the transaction?
11. What is the average purchase amount you made with this supplier in the past 12 months? (US$)
12. How long have you been doing business with this company?
QuestionsProvides a third-party assessment of your company
You must provide at least six references (up to 20)
Make sure that you notify your references and that they love your products/services
Submit your request three weeks before proposal submission
Cost: $125.00
A copy of your request is usually required in your solicitation package
III. Pricing Section (899)Prices must be “fully burdened” and include the
Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) - Currently ¾ of 1 percent (.0075%)- VA (medical supplies) ½ of 1 percent (.005%)
Provide SIN labor categories with corresponding duties, education, experience, etc
Offerors may provide both onsite and offsite ratesThere are different pricing requirements based on
whether you are using a commercial price or market price
Commercial Price List Requirements
Two copies of your Commercial Price List (CPL)- must be dated
One copy of your GSA pricing that contains your first year pricing only- increase is subject to the Economic Price Clause Adjustment (552.216.70)
Submit the Commercial Sales Practices Format-CSP-1 (Attachment 4)
Invoices supporting your Commercial Price List pricesNotation describing why your prices are fair and reasonable and
how it relates to your “Most Favored Customers”Rationale of your proposed annual sales through the schedule
Commercial Sales Practice Format (CSP-1, Attachment 4)
Offeror & SIN(s)
Sales in previous year and the dates
Estimated GSA schedule sales
Pricing better than or equal to your Most Favored Customer (MFC)?
Any other discounts or concessions?
CSP-1 Pricing Example
Commercial Labor Category
CommercialRates Per Hour
Most Favored Customer(s)
MFC Labor Categories
MFC Rates Per Hour
MFCCommercialDiscount
GSA Labor Categories
GSA Rates Per Hour
GSA Discount off MFC Rates
Biologist $60.00 Wake County Parks
Biologist I $54.00 10% Biologist $48.6 10%
Senior Biologist $80.00 Wake County Parks
Biologist II $72.00 10% Senior Biologist $64.8 10%
Hydrologist $45.00 Wake County Parks
Hydrologist I $41.50 10% Hydrologist $37.35 10%
Senior Hydrologist
$65.00 Wake County Parks
HydrologistII
$58.85 10% SeniorHydrologist
$52.65 10%
Environmental Technician
$35.00 Wake County Parks
Environmental Technician
$31.50 10% Environmental Technician
$28.35 10%
SurveyTechnician
$28.00 Wake County Parks
SurveyTechnician
$25.20 10% SurveyTechnician
$22.68 10%
Soil Analyzer
$60.00 Per Day
Wake County Parks
Soil Analyzer
$48.00 Per Day
20% Soil Analyzer
$45.6 Per Day
5%
GSA Price List
January 1, 2007
The Service Contract Act (SCA) Wage Determinations
McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act of 1965Provides a minimum wage rate and fringe
benefits for federal service contracts provided through service employees
All service contracts above $2,500 must provide the minimum wage and fringe benefits as detailed by the applicable wage determination
Consider what areas you feel that your GSA schedule work will take place and find the highest wage determination for that area
The Service Contract Act (SCA) Wage Determinations
www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/wage/main.htm
Search by category or alphabetically for similar titles or jobs
You may also search for wage determinations on-line, as your area may have been updated since the GSA solicitation was last posted
The Service Contract Act, Doing The Math
30090: Environmental Technician Wage Determination: Mecklenburg County, NC
US Dept. of Labor: No. 205-2391, 11-21-06
Wage: $19.09 Health & Welfare: $3.01Vacation: ¢.85 (10 days per year)Holidays: + ¢.85 (10 days per year)Total Hourly Rate:$23.80GSA Hourly Rate:$28.35
Attachments
1. Proposal Checklist- required for submission in many schedules
2. Dunn & Bradstreet Open Ratings Report3. Wage Determinations (SCA)4. Commercial Sales Practice Format (CSP-1)5. Small Business Subcontracting Plan
- not required for small businesses
Putting It All Together
Follow all the instructions in the solicitation, often multiple copies of various sections are required
Write a cover letter that introduces your company and any unforeseen issues that are lurking in your proposal
Create a table of contents and appendixPut your proposal in a three-ring binder, unless
you are told not to do soShip your proposal by courier and make sure
that you get a notice of receipt