As one of the most widely recognized contracts from GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program, the Professional Services Schedule (PSS) offers vast opportunities for both contractors and federal agencies. With a plethora of options to explore, potential contractors have a lot of questions in mind. We will be tackling 7 of the most frequently asked questions surrounding GSA PSS. It is integral that you carefully read this through before crafting your proposal to set your expectations and discover where to begin.

Some common FAQs for GSA Professional Services (PSS) Schedule

1. Why use the Professional Services Schedule (PSS)?

As an extension to the Multiple Award Schedule program, the GSA Professional Services Schedule provides a streamlined approach to the procurement of numerous federal supply schedules. The GSA PSS contract’s main objective is to provide a unified, government-wide solution used to various competencies within the GSA. In other words, businesses can receive a single contract to offer a scope of services and products.

Here are the benefits of GSA PSS that are worth considering:

• Acceptance onto the GSA Schedule subjects contractors to FAR compliance. It is integral that they adhere to its terms and conditions as part of the contract’s provisions.
• Utilizing GSA PSS helps businesses save time managing a Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Contract.
• GSA Schedule holders can offer a complete solution integrated into a single GSA contract.

With more than 4,000 contractors under the GSA Professional Services Schedule, there are more benefits even for small businesses. Hence, federal agencies are beginning to leverage GSA PSS to simplify negotiations for service contracts.

2. Do my Services Qualify Under the PSS?

The services that come under GSA PSS get identified by their Special Item Numbers (SINs). That said, the GSA Professional Services Schedule contract entails the following disciplines:

1. Advertising and Integrated Marketing Services

2. (AIMS)Complimentary Services

These are the integrated services that fulfill a complete solution. As Complementary Services supplement another service, its Special Item Number (SIN) cannot be utilized by itself.

3. Environmental Services

These are the services for solving all your environmental needs. Providing a streamlined contracting vehicle, agencies can guarantee that their environmental projects get accomplished quickly and cost-efficiently.

4. Financial and Business Solutions (FABS)

The primary goal of FABS is to provide end-to-end financial solutions such as auditing, financial management, financial asset, business information, and credit monitoring services.

5. Language Services

From the translation and interpretation of different languages worldwide, they can provide it for those in need.

6. Logistics Worldwide Services

Offering worldwide logistic services, they take on planning, consulting, management, and operational support when deploying supplies, equipment, materials, and associated personnel.

7. Mission-Oriented Business Integrated Services

Often, these services focus on acquisition management, which involves training and advisory.

8. Professional Engineering Services

GSA Schedules are at service for various engineering disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, chemical, software, aerospace engineering, nuclear engineering, and bio-engineering.

3. What do I need to get a PSS Contract?

Any business entity should be able to meet the minimum qualifications set by GSA. Before you prepare your application, you must meet these criteria first. These are the mandatory requirements that apply to all the GSA Schedules.

• The business must be actively operating over the last two years. They should provide financial statements that support their claims. It must include a balance sheet and income statement that discloses negative financial information (if any).
• Businesses with their GSA contracts canceled in the last 12 months due to low sales are ineligible to re-apply. Those who have previously expired contracts are also not qualified.
• Businesses that offer services must provide at least two project experiences completed within the last two years. Each service provided to the federal government requires two project experiences.
• Products must show TAA compliance certification and must get manufactured in a designated country.
• If you are not the manufacturer of your products, submit a letter of supply from your supplier. The letter must express the terms of how they can deliver supplies without any delays throughout the contract.
• Submit a Supply Pricing Sheet, which consists of invoices, commercial price list, catalog, quote sheets, etc.
• Obtain a digital certificate for the GSA contract negotiations.
• Businesses should be able to provide 5 to 10 references of their previous performance.
• Acquired a DUNs number and have completed registration for SAM.gov

4. How do I get my GSA PSS?

Before you can acquire your GSA PSS, you must first get awarded a contract. Businesses must craft a comprehensive proposal that includes all the requirements from GSA. GSA officials carefully analyze applications looking at their track record, pricing, products, and offerings.

Businesses must disclose complete information about their business practices to further the application. They prioritize examining whether your offers are priced fairly by comparing your offering to your commercial products. If the contracting officers find your application worthy, you will receive a GSA contract that is effective over five years.

5. How much does it cost to get a GSA PSS?

Different factors come into play when it comes to the costs of getting a GSA PSS. More often than not, companies work with GSA Schedule consultants to get an expert that can walk them through the lengthy process.

In this case, you can expect to pay between $15,000 and $24,000 to avail of a full range of services from consultants. GSA Schedule consultants offering these services will help you throughout the application process and until the negotiation stages. As for partial services, you are looking into paying approximately $10,000 to $15,000. They do not provide full assistance and leave you most of the work. More often than not, they might also charge extra for additional services.

6. How do I know if my prices will be competitive for GSA?

The key to determining how you can leverage your products and services within the government market is comprehensive market research. Market research involves researching current federal contracting opportunities, scoping out competitors, and understanding agency historical spending. Businesses can utilize the Contract-Awarded Labor Category (CALC) tool to determine the products’ awarded prices equivalent to theirs. It can help during the negotiation and deliberation of the ceiling prices in the GSA market. Nevertheless, it helps businesses stay updated on the latest market trends and opportunities in the government landscape. They can use their findings to tailor their offerings according to what their target market wants.

7. How long does it take to get on the GSA PSS?

As soon as the proposal gets submitted to GSA, the evaluation process can take as long as 12 months. Of course, it is dependent on the assigned contracting officer, together with the quality of the offer. Recently, GSA is making extra efforts to minimize the amount of time before a company gets awarded a contract. For instance, they reduced the number of the required project per SIN to one instead of two. They also started consolidating SINs to streamline the evaluation as much as possible.

Conclusion

Federal agencies have access to a plethora of products and services through GSA.

The Multiple Award Schedule program introduced a contract environment that aims to consolidate professional services and streamline procurement. This option benefits the agencies and the contractors with reduced contract duplication and workload associated with handling multiple contracts. The GSA Professional Services Schedule allows companies to provide a complete solution across government-wide entities. With the government market bringing $20 billion in sales each year, this is an opportunity that businesses cannot turn down.