Is a GSA Schedule right for you? A readiness checklist
Thinking about a GSA Schedule? Check GSA's eligibility rules, the steps GSA requires before you submit, and the questions only you can answer.
A GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract lets federal buyers order from you at prices GSA has already negotiated. It can open doors, but it takes real work to get and to keep. As GSA puts it, the program “offers no guaranteed sales for individual contractors.” Use this checklist to see whether you’re ready before you start.
1. GSA’s basic eligibility
GSA says that to be eligible for a Schedule contract, you must have:
☐ Been in business for two years
☐ Two years of financial statements
☐ Measurable past performance
Newer company? GSA’s Startup Springboard may waive these for eligible businesses. It lets a qualifying offeror provide other documents to show financial responsibility and corporate experience. As of Refresh 33 (October 2026), GSA says Startup Springboard is limited to FASt Lane offers sponsored by a federal agency. Check GSA’s Startup Springboard page for the current rules.
2. Steps GSA requires before you submit
From GSA’s “Roadmap to get a MAS contract”:
☐ Take GSA’s mandatory Pathways to Success training. It takes about 3–4 hours. You confirm in eOffer that it was done within the past year.
☐ Complete the Readiness Assessment. Your designated Authorized Negotiator, who must be a company employee, completes it. You also confirm this in eOffer, within the past year.
☐ Complete the required registrations, including your federal registration in SAM.gov.
☐ Get access to eOffer, GSA’s system for submitting offers.
☐ Download and read the MAS solicitation and the category attachment for what you sell. Use GSA’s new offeror checklist, which summarizes the minimum requirements.
3. Questions only you can answer
☐ Do federal buyers already buy what you sell? Can you name agencies or programs?
☐ Can you document your commercial sales and pricing? GSA reviews your prices during negotiation.
☐ Do you have time for upkeep after award? A Schedule comes with ongoing work:
monthly sales reporting (TDR);
quarterly fee payments;
contract changes;
accepting GSA’s refresh updates.
☐ Do you have a plan to find buyers? A Schedule makes it easier for agencies to buy from you, but it doesn’t bring orders by itself.
☐ Can you wait? GSA says the process “may take several weeks to months to complete.”
4. Free help
Your local APEX Accelerator offers free counseling on government contracting.
GSA publishes the roadmap, the new offeror checklist and Startup Springboard details on gsa.gov. Its MAS program office can be reached at maspmo@gsa.gov.
Already on a GSA Schedule? Our free monthly TDR checklist covers the reporting routine: AcqVerity.com/guides/gsa-tdr-mandatory
General information, not legal advice. AcqVerity is not affiliated with GSA. Based on GSA’s published pages as of October 28, 2026; GSA’s rules can change, so check its current pages before you apply.