General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule

The General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule is the U.S. Federal Supply Schedule program. It is also known as the GSA Schedules Program or the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program. The U.S. General Services Administration directs and manages it. The program gives federal agencies a simplified process for obtaining commercial supplies and commercial services at prices associated with volume buying, as set out in Federal Acquisition Regulation 8.402.

The GSA Schedule is a United States contract vehicle, not a Canadian one. The Government of Canada's Trade Commissioner Service covers it in its guidance for Canadian exporters pursuing U.S. government business, describing it as a way for commercial suppliers to sell to U.S. federal customers. Canadian bid teams will meet the term in export planning and in teaming discussions with U.S. partners.

How the GSA Schedule program works

GSA Schedule contracts are indefinite-delivery contracts. They provide supplies and services at stated prices for given periods. GSA awards the contract to a commercial supplier first. Eligible government agencies then order the listed products or services under the terms of the applicable schedule. The U.S. regulations that govern this approach are in Subpart 8.4 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

The Trade Commissioner Service explains that GSA Schedules establish long-term, government-wide contracts. Customers acquire products and services directly from commercial suppliers. Its guidance on points of entry to U.S. government procurement adds that GSA provides equipment, supplies, telecommunications and information-technology acquisition solutions for the U.S. military and other government organizations.

Related U.S. terms you will see alongside it

• Federal Supply Schedule (FSS): the regulatory name for the program.
• Multiple Award Schedule (MAS): the name GSA uses for the schedules it administers.
• Indefinite-delivery contract: the contract type used for schedule awards.
• Commercial supplies and services: the category of goods and services the schedules cover.

Schedule pricing and the offer process

Pricing is negotiated with GSA. According to the Trade Commissioner Service's guidance on evaluating market potential, a supplier applies to GSA and agrees on pricing, including a significant discount, in return for potential volume purchasing. Products or services must be placed on a schedule before agencies can buy them at the offered schedule price.

To become a GSA Schedule contractor, a vendor must first submit an offer in response to the applicable GSA Schedule solicitation. The offer is the entry point. A supplier cannot sell at schedule prices until its products or services are on the schedule.

What a GSA Schedule means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

A GSA Schedule is not a Canadian procurement instrument. It does not replace or feed into the way Canadian federal, provincial or municipal buyers award contracts, so it has no place in a bid to a Canadian department. It matters if your company also wants U.S. federal customers.

For a Canadian supplier, the first step is to check whether the relevant GSA Schedule solicitation covers your products or services. If it does, the next step is to submit an offer under that solicitation and negotiate pricing with GSA. Canadian tenders are published separately, so keep your Canadian bid tracking and any U.S. schedule work as distinct workstreams.