Buying Professional Services on a GSA Contract
Have you encountered an agency who wants to buy professional services from you, but doesn't know how to buy services off GSA Schedules. To help you and your clients understand this, we have prepared this brief whiteboard video entitled, “How do Agencies buy Services through our GSA Contract?”
GSA Contract Ordering Video: Key Takes
How agencies buy services off your GSA contract depends on the size and type of the order. Some services require the agency to issue a Statement of Work - or SOW - while others do not.
- If your services are based on hourly rates - - then an SOW is needed.
- If it is a fixed price service, such as a training program or a fixed price assessment, then no SOW is required.
GSA Services that Require a Statement of Work
For services that DO require a Statement of Work, then what the agency does depends on the dollar value of the order.
- If the order is below the micro-purchase threshold, currently set at $10,000 (as of January 1, 2018), then they can simply place the order with you.
[Note the above video mentioned a micro-purchase threshold of $3,000 which was in effect when the video was produced.] - If the order is exceeds this level but not the simplified acquisition threshold – currently $250,000 - as of January 1, 2018 - then they must prepare a Statement of Work and send it to at least 3 GSA contractors.
- Finally, if the order will be over the $250,000, then the SOW and RFQ must be posted on eBuy to allow many GSA contractors to respond.
GSA Services that Do Not Require a Statement of Work
For services that DO NOT require a Statement of Work, what agencies do is also based on the dollar value of the order.
- If it is less than $250,000, then the agency just needs to review the pricing of three GSA contractors
- If the order will exceed this threshold, then the Agency needs to
- Post an RFQ on eBuy, or
- OR send it to as many schedule contractors as practical.
GSA Best Value Determination
Remember, agencies do not base their decision on price. Rather, they use a Best Value determination to select the contractor. We will be doing another white board session on this topic soon (so subscribe to our blog to be notified), but basically it means that an agency can and should consider more than just price. For service companies, other factors that will be considered include:
- Past performance on similar assignments
- Unique technical ability
- Delivery and performance terms
- Guarantees
These and other factors are often more important than price.
Find out how to demonstrate your value to agencies.
More Resources on this Topic
GSA has information on its website that are useful to your government clients:
