How to Get on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS)

Cost to submit an offer

Free

Industrial Funding Fee

0.75% of schedule sales

GSA review time

About 45 to 110 days

Required training

Pathways to Success, 3 to 4 hours

Company experience

2 years, or Startup Springboard

Contract length

5-year base + three 5-year options

Minimum sales

$100,000 in the first 5 years

What the GSA Schedule Is

The Multiple Award Schedule, often called the GSA Schedule or MAS, is a long-term contract run by the General Services Administration. It lets federal agencies buy products and services from pre-approved companies at prices GSA has already negotiated. State and local governments can also use it for some categories, such as IT and disaster recovery purchases.

Think of it as a hunting license rather than a sale. Getting on the schedule does not guarantee any orders. It puts your company on a list that buyers can order from quickly, without running a full open competition each time. Thousands of companies hold MAS contracts, and many of them are small businesses.

The schedule is organized into large categories, such as IT, professional services, facilities and office supplies. Each category is split into Special Item Numbers, or SINs. You pick the SINs that match what you sell, and your offer is reviewed against the rules for those SINs.

Who Can Get on the Schedule

Any company that sells a commercial product or service in one of the schedule's categories can apply. You need an active registration in SAM.gov, which gives you a Unique Entity ID. You also need a track record, financial statements and pricing you can support with sales records or published price lists.

GSA's standard rule asks for at least two years of corporate experience. Newer companies can use the Startup Springboard path instead. Under Springboard, you can substitute other proof of financial responsibility for the missing years of statements. You can also rely on the project and management experience of your company's leaders.

Small business status helps once you are on the schedule. Contracting officers can set aside schedule orders and blanket purchase agreements for small businesses and for socioeconomic groups such as women-owned or HUBZone firms. They do this when market research shows at least three capable firms in that group.

Training and the Readiness Assessment

Before you can submit an offer, GSA requires two things. The first is the Pathways to Success training, a free course that takes about three to four hours. It explains how the schedule works and what it takes to win orders. You confirm in your offer that you finished it within the past year.

The second is the Readiness Assessment, a free online questionnaire. It must be completed by your Authorized Negotiator, who has to be an employee of your company. The assessment helps you judge whether your business is ready for the schedule. You also confirm in your offer that it was completed within the past year.

The Steps to Submit an Offer

GSA lays out a clear roadmap. First, take the training and the Readiness Assessment. Next, read the full MAS solicitation and the attachments for your category. The solicitation is open all the time, so you can apply whenever you are ready.

Then review GSA's new offeror checklist. It is a spreadsheet that lists the minimum documents for each category. Make sure your SAM.gov registration is active and lists the NAICS codes that match your SINs. Gather your financial statements, past performance information, a narrative of your corporate experience and your proposed price list.

Pricing is the heart of the offer. GSA asks you to disclose your commercial pricing practices and discounts. It then negotiates for prices that are fair and reasonable compared with what you charge your best customers. For services, you will propose hourly rates for labor categories with set education and experience levels.

When everything is ready, log in to GSA's eOffer system with your FAS ID. Fill in the required fields, upload your documents and sign the offer electronically. A GSA contracting officer will review it, ask questions if needed and then negotiate with you. Free help is available from the GSA National Customer Service Center and from your local APEX Accelerator.

How Long It Takes

GSA has said that a new schedule offer takes about 45 to 110 days to process. The time depends on how complex your offer is and how complete it is when you send it. Offers with every document in place and clear pricing support move fastest.

Plan for some time before you submit as well. Most small companies spend several weeks gathering documents and building a price list. Doing the checklist carefully at the start is the best way to keep the review on the short end of GSA's range.

The Industrial Funding Fee and Sales Reporting

GSA pays for the schedule program through the Industrial Funding Fee, or IFF. The fee is currently 0.75 percent of your schedule sales, unless the solicitation states a different rate. You build the fee into your prices, so the agency is the one that pays it in the end.

You report your sales to GSA online through the FAS Sales Reporting Portal. Under the standard clause, you report each quarter's sales and send the fee within 30 calendar days after the quarter ends. Under the Transactional Data Reporting version of the clause, you report order details every month within 30 days after the month ends. You still pay the fee quarterly. If you had no sales in a period, you file a report showing zero.

eBuy and GSA Advantage

Once you hold a schedule contract, two GSA tools help you find buyers. eBuy is an online system where agencies post requests for quotes only to schedule holders in the matching SINs. You log in, see the requests and send your quote electronically. Many small schedule holders win their first orders through eBuy.

GSA Advantage is GSA's online store. Your approved products or services and prices are uploaded as a catalog, and agency buyers can search, compare and order directly. Keeping your catalog current and your descriptions clear makes it easier for buyers to find you.

Keeping Your Contract

A MAS contract has a five-year base period and three five-year option periods, for up to 20 years in all. GSA expects each contract to produce sales. The current sales criteria call for $100,000 in schedule sales in the first five years and $125,000 in each five-year option period after that.

Staying active also means keeping your SAM.gov registration current, updating prices through contract modifications and reporting sales on time. Your local APEX Accelerator can help at no cost. Marketing directly to agencies, answering eBuy requests and teaming with other schedule holders all help you reach those sales goals.

Sources

https://www.gsa.gov/node/89293
https://vsc.gsa.gov/drupal/node/203
https://www.acquisition.gov/gsam/552.238-801
https://www.acquisition.gov/gsam/552.238-116
https://www.gsa.gov/system/files/TwitterChat_FAQ_2020.pdf
https://vsc.gsa.gov/drupal/sites/default/files/internal-files/Significant%20Changes%20Attachment%20for%20MAS%20Refresh%20%23%2018%20-%20December%202023%20(11.27.23).pdf
https://gsa.gov/system/files/23-00320_SS_23_PSS_General_Overview_Slipsheet_508C.pdf

Checked October 2026. Thresholds and rules change; each source above is the official page.