GSA Renewal Overview
A GSA Option to Renew is an invitation to apply to extend your GSA contract extension for another five years after the initial 5-year GSA contract expires.
When does the GSA Renewal Process Start?
An Option to Renew is the process that you undergo to extend a contract after the initial 5-year contract expires. Approximately 7 months before the expiration of your contract, GSA will request that you submit:
- latest pricing,
- commercial sales practices and
- related certifications in order to be considered for a renewal.
While in most cases, the volume of information is not as extensive as when you initially applied, the requirements are significant and important.
TurboGSA provides services and training to help you through this process.
GSA Contract Renewal Process
The GSA Schedules Option to renew process requires various documents and justifications as to why GSA should renew your GSA contract, including:
Different GSA Acquisiton centers and schedules may ask for more or fewer documents.
When Should I Start the GSA Renewal Process?
While GSA may contact you about 7 months beforehand, TurboGSA recommends that you begin preparation 1 year before your contract expires.
This will give you ample time to address:
- CAV audit concerns,
- make final modifications before the renewal freeze (when GSA will not accept any changes) and
- begin preparing documents without the pressure of short GSA deadlines.
Why Wouldn't GSA renew my Contract?
If you are a good contractor under the GSA schedule program, then you should not fear this renewal process. But then again, you should not take it for granted. GSA is tougher than ever with renewals.
Some of the more common reasons for GSA not renewing a GSA contract include:
- Lack of GSA sales - if your contract has not generated an average of $25,000 per year (GSA's sales criteria), they will likely not exercise the option to renew.
- Low sales on a competitive GSA schedule - Even if you generate sales, you could have your contract canceled if there are many other contractors generating greater sales.
- Agency complaints - If doing business with your firm has become difficult and the CO has received complaints, GSA may not exercise the renewal.
- Audit or CAV Report Card Deficiencies - If you have had bad reports and not promptly remedied the problems in a timely manner, GSA may not renew.
- Changes in your Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) - If your CSP have changed dramatically, it may affect how GSA views the contract, so presenting this information appropriately is essential.
These are but a few of the more common problems that prevent contracts from being renewed.