What Is GSA Advantage!?
GSA Advantage! Is an online catalog ran by the GSA, where GSA Certified Companies can upload their products for direct purchasing by federal buyers. The GSA Advantage! catalog is best compared to a giant e-commerce site which only GSA Schedule Holders can upload to.
Benefits Of GSA Advantage #
GSA Advantage! is a very strategic tool for any GSA Schedule Holder offering products. This is because federal buyers can purchase on this web-based system with a government purchase card. Most product purchases take place through the GSA Advantage! website long before the need is posted publicly. So, the benefit of having this early touch-point is invaluable.
For Service providers, the benefit of GSA Advantage! is as a search engine. Many Federal buyers will go to this website catalog to search for Contractors to bid on their projects. Again, this takes place before the need is publicly posted.”
Further down this page, you will see the total 2018 GSA Advantage sales broken down by GSA Schedule (or category).
How To Get On GSA Advantage! #
Getting approved for a GSA Schedule Contract involves a lengthy proposal process. Initially, a document package, called an “”offer”” is prepared and submitted electronically to the GSA for review. After the GSA has had time to review the large group of documents, they commonly respond with several clarification items. These must be addressed ASAP.
Once the offer documents are deemed acceptable by the GSA, negotiations are scheduled. Negotiations determine final GSA Contract Pricing. The final terms and conditions agree upon in Negotiations are wrapped-up in the Final Proposal Revisions document. Then the GSA Contract is awarded. GSA Advantage! uploads can now take place, and the GSA Number can be used to conduct federal business.
Uploading Products To GSA Advantage! #
The primary method to upload products and service files to GSA Advantage! is through the Schedules Input Program (SIP). This application can be downloaded for free from the Vendor Support Center of the GSA website (Download). The learning curve for SIP is usually steep, as it was developed over ten years ago, and is not intuitive or easy to navigate (Training).
The process to upload products is as follows:
(1) Contractor File is generated
(2) input a sampling of products
(3) export to excel and copy/paste the remaining offerings into the spreadsheets
(4) import into SIP using the Import Tool and troubleshoot errors
(5) complete the upload through the “”communications”” drop-down.
After the upload is completed through SIP, it is then be reviewed by the Contracting Officer, and may be rejected. If the GSA Advantage Catalog file is approved, the items will usually go live within 24-48 hours.
GSA Advantage! Sales #
In FY2018, over $10 Billion in products were sold through GSA Schedules, and the lions share were on the GSAAdvantage catalog. Below is a breakdown of the GSA Advantage sales by GSA Schedule:
| GSA Schedule | Sales Amount |
| Schedule 00CORP | Professional Services Schedule | $115,099,906 |
| Schedule 23V | Automotive Superstore | $169,876,066 |
| Schedule 36 | Imaging & Document Solution | $233,430,808 |
| Schedule 51 V | Hardware Superstore | $833,932,401 |
| Schedule 56 | Buildings and Building Materials | $232,337,550 |
| Schedule 58 I | Professional Audio/Video | $102,855,807 |
| Schedule 66 | Scientific Equipment & Services | $565,228,583 |
| Schedule 67 | Photographic Supplies & Services | $32,172,974 |
| Schedule 70 | Information Technology Equipment, Software and Services | $5,348,463,287 |
| Schedule 71 | Furniture | $865,700,787 |
| Schedule 71 II K | CFMS | $11,999,749 |
| Schedule 72 | Furnishings and Floor Coverings | $24,258,314 |
| Schedule 73 | Cleaning Supplies & Food Service | $148,741,362 |
| Schedule 75 | Office Supplies & Services | $348,644,422 |
| Schedule 76 | Publication Media | $68,660,293 |
| Schedule 78 | Sports, Promotional, Outdoor, Recreation Trophies and Signs (SPORTS) | $139,604,067 |
| Schedule 81 I B | Shipping & Packaging | $78,228,216 |
| Schedule 84 | Security, Fire, Law Enforcement | $717,477,051 |
| Schedule 751 | Leasing of Automobiles and Light Trucks | $1,103,581 |
GSA Advantage Links #
GSA Advantage website – Play around with the search feature to see what your competitors are offering and at what price.
