How To Prepare A GSA Schedule Tim Linker NC PTAC What Are GSA Schedules? Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts Contracting vehicles allow contracting officers to buy goods and services quickly without going through the traditional solicitation process Contracts where prices and offerings have been agreed to in advance and are considered “fair and reasonable” What Can A GSA Schedule Do For Your Company? Provides contracting officers a way of buying from your company in amounts above $25,000 without going to open solicitation Allows your sales staff to close the deal quicker because GSA schedules are a preferred method of contracting Offers new teaming possibilities with other schedule holders Creates sales opportunities through the establishment of Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA) Assumptions That you are registered and current in Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and the Online Representation and Certification Application (ORCA) That you have a base knowledge of federal contracting, i.e. the FAR That your company has been in business at least two years That your company has actual sales on the products & services you are offering What Type of Products & Services Are Included In The Schedules? Environmental Services (899) Medical Equipment and Supplies (65 II A) Office Furniture (71 I) Mission Orientated Business Integrated Services, MOBIS (874) Information Technology and Services (70) Shipping, Packing, and Packaging Supplies Language Services (738 II) (81 1 B) Office Products Supplies and Services (75) Building and Building Materials (56) Publication Media (76) Hardware Superstore (51V) Getting Started Main GSA web page Convenient access to GSA E-Library web page www.gsa.gov GSA E-Library One-Stop-Information web page Search by contractor, keyword, schedule, or Special Item Number (SIN) Quick Schedule link www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov Identifying What Schedule Fits Your Company Locate the schedule that best fits your offerings Companies that offer products or services on two different schedules can use the consolidated schedule, 00CORP The Schedule Summary Identify which SIN(s) your company would like to offer Review your competition already on schedule Who’s Your Competition & What’s Their Offerings and Pricing? Each contractor that is a particular schedule is listed You can review their SIN(s), corresponding prices, and other pertinent information Remember that not all pricing is created equally Schedule Sales Query (SSQ), Who’s Selling and How Much? Enables you to create various GSA sales reports You can search GSA sales by: Schedule SIN Contractor Fiscal Quarter/Year(s) http://ssq.gsa.gov/ The Schedule Summary… Again After reviewing your competition return to the schedule summary web page Link to the schedule solicitation on FedBizOpps to download the document FedBizOpps Solicitation Linked from the GSA web page Solicitations are ongoing, with no closing date Solicitations may be taken down periodically for refreshment Downloading The Solicitation Click on “all files” to ensure that you get all the necessary materials Keep a paper copy and electronic copy of the solicitation for your records Getting Down To Business, How To Prepare A Service Proposal Schedule Sections I. Administrative Section - Fill in the blanks II. Experience Section - Describes your business and what services you are offering III. Pricing Section - Details your pricing structure and how it was established IV. Attachments Important Points Read the entire solicitation at least twice - Most mistakes made during the proposal preparation process are made because individuals did not read the entire solicitation package first Instructions are provided in the solicitation package for almost all questions - When in doubt, review the solicitation Type requested information in Bold Italics Standard Form 1449 - Only fill out boxes 12, 17a, 17b, 30a, 30b, and 30c Remember to adhere to all stated page limits If the section does not apply to you, write in N/A I. Administrative Section (899) Proposal Checklist Delivery & Times Standard Form 1449 Payment Address Basic Company Information Place of Performance Accounting System Credit Card Acceptance Industrial Funding Fee Certification SIN(s) Offered Contact for Contract Administration Representations and Certifications 8(a) Representation Service Contract Act Determination (Attachment 3) Filling In The Blanks Offeror’s Name and Address Business Size Authorized Negotiators Company’s TIN Security Clearances Accounting System Credit Cars Acceptance SIN(s) Provided II. Experience Section (899) A. Financial Capacity - Provides the contracting officer with evidence that your company is financially solvent B. Executive Summary - Details your company’s expertise, services, organizational controls, etc C. Corporate Experience - Details your company’s past projects D. Past Performance - Open Ratings requirement (Attachment 2) A. Financial Capacity Provide two years of financial statements - Profit/loss statements, balance sheets You must explain all negative financial information shown, including negative equity and/or income Often a Dunn & Bradstreet financial report or GSA Form 527 will be required B. Executive Summary Provides a “snapshot” of your company to the contracting officer Explains your field of expertise and specific services offered for each SIN Defines your plan for accomplishing any work Describes your organizational & accounting controls, quality control, man-power abilities, types of personnel, and use of subcontractors C. Corporate Experience You must provide three related and similar projects for each SIN offered that the client found acceptable, usually within a certain period of time (899, 2-3 years) Each project must detail: 1. Name 2. Description 3. Dollar Amount 4. Project Duration (actual versus planned) 5. Contact Information (name, phone, email, address, etc) Services often must provide a professional compensation plan and letter addressing uncompensated overtime Dunn & Bradstreet Open Ratings Report (Attachment 2) Provides a third-party assessment of your company You must provide at least six references (up to 20) Make sure that you notify your references and that they love your products/services Submit your request three weeks before proposal submission Cost: $125.00 A copy of your request is usually required in your solicitation package Questions 1. Overall, how satisfied do you feel about the performance of this company during this transaction? 2. How reliably do you think this company follows through on its commitments? 3. How closely did your final total costs correspond to your expectations at the beginning of the transaction? 4. How well do you think the product/service delivered matched your order specifications? 5. How satisfied do you feel about the timeliness of the product/service delivery? 6. How satisfied do you feel about the quality of the product/service provided by this company? 7. How easy do you think this company is to do business with? 8. How satisfied do you feel about the attitude, courtesy, and professionalism of this company’s staff? 9. How satisfied do you feel about the customer support you received from this company? 10 How responsive do you think this company was to information requests, issues, or problems that arose in the course of the transaction? 11. What is the average purchase amount you made with this supplier in the past 12 months? (US$) 12. How long have you been doing business with this company? III. Pricing Section (899) Prices must be “fully burdened” and include the Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) - Currently ¾ of 1 percent (.0075%) - VA (medical supplies) ½ of 1 percent (.005%) Provide SIN labor categories with corresponding duties, education, experience, etc Offerors may provide both onsite and offsite rates There are different pricing requirements based on whether you are using a commercial price or market price Commercial Price List Requirements Two copies of your Commercial Price List (CPL) - must be dated One copy of your GSA pricing that contains your first year pricing only - increase is subject to the Economic Price Clause Adjustment (552.216.70) Submit the Commercial Sales Practices Format -CSP-1 (Attachment 4) Invoices supporting your Commercial Price List prices Notation describing why your prices are fair and reasonable and how it relates to your “Most Favored Customers” Rationale of your proposed annual sales through the schedule Commercial Sales Practice Format (CSP-1, Attachment 4) Offeror & SIN(s) Sales in previous year and the dates Estimated GSA schedule sales Pricing better than or equal to your Most Favored Customer (MFC)? Any other discounts or concessions? CSP-1 Pricing Example GSA Price List January 1, 2007 Commercial Labor Category Commercial Rates Per Hour Most Favored Customer(s) MFC Labor Categories MFC Rates Per Hour MFC Commercial Discount GSA Labor Categories GSA Rates Per Hour GSA Discount off MFC Rates Biologist $60.00 Wake County Parks Biologist I $54.00 10% Biologist $48.6 10% Senior Biologist $80.00 Wake County Parks Biologist II $72.00 10% Senior Biologist $64.8 10% Hydrologist $45.00 Wake County Parks Hydrologist I $41.50 10% Hydrologist $37.35 10% Senior Hydrologist $65.00 Wake County Parks Hydrologist II $58.85 10% Senior Hydrologist $52.65 10% Environmental Technician $35.00 Wake County Parks Environmental Technician $31.50 10% Environmental Technician $28.35 10% Survey Technician $28.00 Wake County Parks Survey Technician $25.20 10% Survey Technician $22.68 10% Soil Analyzer $60.00 Per Day Wake County Parks Soil Analyzer $48.00 Per Day 20% Soil Analyzer $45.6 Per Day 5% The Service Contract Act (SCA) Wage Determinations McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act of 1965 Provides a minimum wage rate and fringe benefits for federal service contracts provided through service employees All service contracts above $2,500 must provide the minimum wage and fringe benefits as detailed by the applicable wage determination Consider what areas you feel that your GSA schedule work will take place and find the highest wage determination for that area The Service Contract Act (SCA) Wage Determinations Search by category or alphabetically for similar titles or jobs You may also search for wage determinations on-line, as your area may have been updated since the GSA solicitation was last posted www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/wage/main.htm The Service Contract Act, Doing The Math 30090: Environmental Technician Wage Determination: Mecklenburg County, NC US Dept. of Labor: No. 205-2391, 11-21-06 Wage: $19.09 Health & Welfare: $3.01 Vacation: ¢.85 (10 days per year) Holidays: + ¢.85 (10 days per year) Total Hourly Rate:$23.80 GSA Hourly Rate:$28.35 Attachments 1. Proposal Checklist - required for submission in many schedules 2. Dunn & Bradstreet Open Ratings Report 3. Wage Determinations (SCA) 4. Commercial Sales Practice Format (CSP-1) 5. Small Business Subcontracting Plan - not required for small businesses Putting It All Together Follow all the instructions in the solicitation, often multiple copies of various sections are required Write a cover letter that introduces your company and any unforeseen issues that are lurking in your proposal Create a table of contents and appendix Put your proposal in a three-ring binder, unless you are told not to do so Ship your proposal by courier and make sure that you get a notice of receipt Got Questions? Tim Linker 919.424.4453 tlinker@sbtdc.org