GSA Schedule ROI

GSA Schedules on average produce a high rate of return for small businesses. This is because the average small business on schedule selling more than $1.1 million per year in goods and services to the federal government. With this said there is a best time of year to begin the process for obtaining a GSA Schedule and that time is now. This is due to the four points listed below:

Part A – Timing

Point 1: In terms of timing if we start today it will take between 4-6 months to obtain a GSA Schedule Contract, March, April, May time frame depending upon the schedule.

Point 2: The fiscal year for the federal government ends September 30th every year. The fourth quarter is therefore Jul-Aug-Sept.

Point 3: Federal Acquisition Spending by Quarter

  • Q1 has accounted for 17.2% of total fiscal year spending. (Oct-Dec)
  • Q2 has accounted for 20.4% of total fiscal year spending. (Jan-Mar)
  • Q3 has accounted for 22.5% of total fiscal year spending (Apr-Jun)
  • Q4 has accounted for 39.9% of total fiscal year spending. (Jul-Sep)

Point 4: Generally it is easier to make your first sale to the federal government in the 4th quarter opening up future sales in the other three quarters. So now is a good time to get ready to prepare for Q3 and Q4 when federal spending really picks up.

Part B – GSA Schedule Advantage

Small Business Picture

  • There are 28MM small businesses in the United States.
  • There are 224K small businesses that are registered to do business with the federal government.
  • 1 in 125 small businesses are registered to do business with the federal government.
  • Last year the federal government spent $132.9B with small business.
  • 10,900 of these small businesses are GSA Schedule holders.
  • GSA Schedule holders average 3x the sales of Small Businesses without GSA Schedule Contracts. (This does not take into consideration other contracting vehicles the GSA Schedule holders maybe utilizing)
Small Business Contractor Type Federal Revenue Number of Firms Average
GSA Schedule 12.6B 10,900 $1.1MM
Small Business (non-GSA) 78.9B 212,600 $.371MM

 

Conclusion: Now maybe and excellent time for your business to revisit obtaining a GSA Schedule Contract.