Wayforce Standard Forms

The General Services Administration is an agency under the US government that was created to manage the basic necessities of different federal agencies. It is the duty of the GSA to provide commodities, offices, transportation, and other needs of federal employees. Private businesses, both small-scale and big-scale, can become suppliers for the US government under the GSA Schedule program.

Under the GSA Schedules program, the government gets supplies and services directly from the suppliers under a GSA contract. This can be a very profitable venture for vendors provided that they pass all GSA requirements for selling to the government. Since it is the duty of the General Services Administration to provide services, supplies, telecommunications, and equipment to various government agencies, they will need a wide-range of suppliers to take care of these needs. The GSA is also responsible for managing the construction of federal buildings and as well as providing office spaces for such agencies. This is why private contractors are offered a wide-range of GSA jobs.

Anyone who wants to sell to the General Services Administration must first look for opportunities that are in line with interests and the needs of the government. Businesses that focus on telecommunications, information technology, construction services and other such specializations that cater to the needs of the government can apply for a contract under the GSA. It is worth noting, however, that any private enterprise interested in supplying goods and services to the General Services Administration has to bid on GSA contract, as there are many interested parties involved. Once you have submitted your offer, it will be processed by the agency.

Interested parties may look for available opportunities from the Fed Biz Ops or Federal Business Opportunities website to find out if there is anything in store for them. You will benefit a lot from registering, as you will learn about new opportunities and will be constantly updated on any changes made by the General Services Administration about getting suppliers.

Since the General Services Administration encourages competition, it offers programs even to small businesses. If current suppliers cannot keep up with new necessities, the General Services Administration will look for more flexible suppliers. If you are interested in supplying for the government but there is no available GSA business opportunity for your business, you can opt to participate in a subcontract with a GSA schedules contract holder. A lot of contract holders also look for suppliers of other necessities that they cannot take care of. This is a great opportunity for smaller businesses who cannot necessarily compete with their bigger competitors. Small businesses who wish to participate in subcontracting opportunities can find available opportunities on the GSA subcontracting directory

If you wish to apply for a contract with the General Services Administration, you will have to find out how to respond to solicitation so that you know what to do once your offer has been processed. Keep in mind that you will have to undergo negotiations first and with the amount of competition you have, you have to learn how to negotiate properly. Doing business with the GSA is a great opportunity for your business to profit while providing for the needs of the government.

Recommended reading: How to Apply for and Win Federal and GSA Schedule Contracts (Winning Government Contracts)

The Federal Business Opportunities is where you can search for contracting opportunities on a wide range of business niches. The FedBizOpps.gov site has a number of features that allows you to locate and apply for specific Federal contracts. With over 24,000 listed opportunities listed the site offers vendors a direct connection with both big and small contracts.

The site is vast and can be a bit difficult to use at first but instructional videos have now been added in order to facility the use of fbo.gov.

The following is just a outline of some of the services provided onsite. You can search for projects and procurement by:

• keyword search
• opportunity/procurement type
• posting date
• response deadline
• last modified date
• set-aside code (“set aside” solicitations allow only specified business concerns)
• classification code’
• NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) code
• agency/Office(s)

If you are a contractor looking for gov and mil business opportunities, the site is a goldmine. For more information visit www.fbo.gov

Recommended reading:

This Standard Form 368 is a fillable PDF form. Use of the SF368 Product Quality Deficiency Report concerns reporting of deficiencies, malfunction, problematic trends, etc. Use the PQDR form to provide a detailed description of the deficiency with related information such as the circumstance prior to the difficulty, cause, packaging conditions, condition of merchandise when unpacked, etc. Attach any related documents.

The SF-368 contains detailed instructions on how to complete it.

You can download the form or use the fillable SF-368 online for direct printout.