Get Your GSA Schedule

In March, 2005, the owners of two online businesses that sell thermal underwear, cargo pants and team sports apparel contacted me with questions about obtaining a GSA Schedule from the federal government. I reviewed the needs of one of the businesses, the goods they wanted to sell to the government and determined the category and solicitation number to be used for the contract.

This GSA Contract website will show you how to obtain a GSA Contract and provide you links to attorneys who can get your business a GSA contract.

The Application Process
The process, as always, was long and tedious (it took about 10 months total). It began with filling out the appropriate application. There were a number of potential categories the goods fit under and a corresponding application for each category. If you have a question as to what category your goods or services fit under you should contact a GSA Contract Specialist. Outersports' Contract Specialist was Teresa Hill based in Fort Worth, Texas. She is assigned to the southwestern United States region. She was able to help narrow down the category their goods fell under.

The particular application the goods fell under was about 60 pages long. It required extensive information about Outersports' suppliers (American made products are highly favored), its shipping practices, price lists, references and a background check. Once the application was completed it was submitted to GSA for approval. It is rare that an application is accepted by the GSA without revision. Outersports' application was no exception to the rule.

About two weeks after the application was submitted I received a request from the GSA for revisions to the contract. Do not be surprised if you are required to submit revisions to the application multiple times before it is finally accepted. GSA has several different individuals who review the applications and each individual has his or her own preferences about how a response should be worded. Do not get upset with the GSA specialists. This will most likely lead to your application being rejected as is their right to do if your application has an invalid response to a question. Instead, request that the GSA specialist allow you to just submit revisions to the specific pages of your application that are not completed correctly. This will save you time and money in the long run.

Remember, when the GSA sends you a written request for revisions they will put a deadline for responding to the request. Failure to meet the deadline can result in the application being deemed "Abandoned" and you may be required to start all over again. If you are unable to completely respond to the request within the timeframe set by the GSA contact them for an extension of time. If they agree to grant the extension make sure you confirm it in writing (i.e. "This confirms that you have agreed to grant an extension of time...).

Final Award
In February, 2006, GSA issued the business selling cargo pants a final award. This was not the end of the process. After final award, you will be required to submit a final price list along with other documents. Make sure you provide the requested documentation or your contract may be cancelled.

I would specifically invite the following businesses to consider submitting a GSA schedule legal form filing: "Travel Nurse Jobs," the "Nursing Uniform" Shop, the "Scrubs" Store, "Discount Medical Scrubs," the "Consumer Protection" website, the "New York Nurse News" website, the "Tungsten Wedding Rings" Store, the "Scrapbook Supplies" Store, the "Greencard" website, and the "Wedding Invitations" Store.