Government Contracting, Landing Government Bids with a GSA Contract

By: JD Evans Click author's name for more of his/her articles

If you want to take your business to the next level, or just weather the storm during the economic crisis, government contracting is the way. In order to do federal business, A GSA Contract is a must, also called getting a GSA Schedule. Once you have your GSA Contract, your business will have a very exclusive ticket to do business with every federal agency, including the military. The US government doesn't just buy airplanes and bombs, they need office furniture, office products, auto repair, plumbers, security systems, and more. Whatever your product or service, there is a good chance the government needs it. But first, why is a GSA Contract so important?
Getting your company on schedule with a GSA Contract is similar to building a house. Anyone can build a house if they stop everything their doing to learn carpentry, but it is better to let a professional carpenter build your house so you can work where your talents and experience are already developed. Some businesses try to acquire a GSA Contract in-house, and it usually takes too long or is never finished. This is because acquiring a GSA Contract is a big process. Going back to the house-building analogy, there are many tricks that carpenters use to build the house stronger and quicker. Also, a carpenter is very experienced in home-building. When a company tries to acquire a GSA Contract themselves, they do not know the logical or natural order of the process.
It is not cheap contracting a specialist to acquire your GSA Contract, but even the GSA recommends that you use a specialist. Still, many companies decide to do it themselves. I will now outline several ways in-house GSA Acquisition can be dangerous to your business.
Liability of making a mistake in the GSA Contract
The process is long and tedious, and very error-prone. It is certain that inexperience will show when someone a completing the GSA Contract. An error in your initial submission of the GSA Contract can leave you open to a huge liability. The mistake will not be set in stone, there are ways to reverse and error, but they take very long to correct. Meanwhile your company will be left exposed, possibly with a clause in the contract that was improperly completed. A mistake in your GSA Contract usually translates to big dollar losses or dissatisfied customers.
You may never get your GSA Contract
Commonly, businesses that set out to acquire their GSA Contract without a specialist will never finish. The process is long and tedious to those who have never completed a GSA Contract. The poor soul that has to learn this giant process, while also expected to manage their current job is doomed for failure. This may seem hyperbolic, but it is not. A GSA Contract is hundreds of pages with confusing questions about shipping terms, product categorization, Trade Act compliance, and many more. After a first timer finishes completing the GSA Contract, they will discover that they started in the middle of the process, and they are nowhere near being done. It is very frustrating working on a GSA Contract for the first time, and without experience it is nearly impossible.
It makes financial sense to have a company acquire your GSA Contract
If you or an employee are learning how to acquire a GSA Contract, then you are not focussing on what makes your company money. The time and efforts that go into acquiring a GSA Contract by an employee will be done inefficiently and slowly, and it is a learning process that will never be used again. Would you learn Japanese to use it once and never use it again? By using a GSA Acquisition company, you and your employees can focus on getting daily tasks completed, while the GSA Contract is handled by a professional. Also, every day you don't have your GSA Contract you are losing money. So, if an expert is working on getting your company on GSA schedule, then you will profit from the process much sooner. You should sit down and do the math. Take into account the salary or wage of the person you have working on the GSA Contract, then calculate the cost of having them work on the project part time for 6-9 months. After you figure out the dollar amount this is will cost you, getting your GSA Contract from an experienced company will be in the context it should be in.
If you are serious about federal marketing, then a GSA Contract is the first step, and you must go with a company with experience. Of course, it may seem expensive for their GSA Services, but after your GSA Contract is in hand then your company will have a very exclusive ticket to do business with the Federal Government.

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About The Author: GSA Schedule Services has over 5 years of experience in GSA Contract Services and federal proposal writing. Any business with a GSA Schedule has a great advantage when bidding on a federal project. GSA Contract Services can acquire a GSA Contract for a business in less than 3 months.