What is the GSA Multiple Award Schedule?

The short version

The General Services Administration (GSA) runs the Multiple Award Schedule, often just called "the MAS" or "the GSA Schedule." Instead of awarding one contract to one winner, GSA awards contracts to many qualified vendors at once. Each contract is an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) agreement, meaning GSA does not promise a specific dollar amount of work. It promises something different: any federal buyer can order from you, at prices and terms already negotiated and approved.

That pre-approval is the whole point. GSA has reviewed your financials, your past performance, your commercial pricing, and your compliance with trade rules. Agencies that buy from the schedule can rely on that vetting and skip much of the paperwork they would face in a standalone competition.

How federal buyers use it

Buyers reach schedule holders in three main ways, each with a different level of effort on their side and yours:

• GSA Advantage! is the online catalog and ordering system. Buyers search products and services, compare prices, and order, often with a government purchase card.
• GSA eLibrary is the searchable directory of contracts and price lists. Contracting officers use it to research who can deliver a service and what they charge.
• GSA eBuy is the request-for-quote (RFQ) board. Buyers post a requirement and limit it to schedule holders, so you compete against a much smaller field than on the open market.

Federal buyers generally must document market research before larger purchases. The schedule tools make that research quick, which is a big reason agencies default to them.

Contract length and what it costs to keep

A MAS contract is awarded for an initial five-year base period with three five-year options, for a possible total of twenty years. During that time you owe GSA an Industrial Funding Fee of 0.75% on schedule sales, reported quarterly, and you are expected to reach a minimum sales threshold (currently $25,000 within the first two years and each year after). Price changes, new products, and new SINs are handled through contract modifications.

What you can sell

The MAS covers roughly eleven million products and services, organized into categories and then into Special Item Numbers (SINs). IT and professional services dominate the schedule, but you will also find facilities, security, logistics, human capital, industrial products, office supplies, medical supplies, and more. Two groups are generally not eligible: architecture firms and general building contractors, because federal law handles those purchases separately.

What it takes to qualify

GSA looks at five things: whether your offering fits an existing SIN, financial stability, commercial availability of what you sell, consistent pricing, and the integrity of the company and its owners. Products must also comply with the Trade Agreements Act. The old two-years-in-business rule no longer applies: GSA's Springboard approach lets newer firms apply, though they should expect extra attention on financials and past performance. We walk through every requirement on our eligibility page, and you can test yourself with the qualification tool.

Should you do it yourself?

Some firms do. If you are comfortable with government proposals and can spend focused time on it, it is possible. The reality is that the eOffer system marks only a handful of documents as required while the package typically needs twenty or more, the pricing narrative decides how much room you have to earn a profit, and mistakes cost months. That is where a specialist earns the fee. Read more on choosing a MAS consultant.

Common questions