Is Consulting for GSA Schedules Expensive?

GSA consulting services are less expensive than you would assume.

This article is for you if you're still undecided about whether to conduct the complete GSA Schedule preparation and proposal submission in-house or employ a third-party GSA Schedule consulting business. We've gathered all of the data you'll need to decide. A common misconception is that GSA Consulting is prohibitively expensive for small businesses. We're going to show you that this isn't true. Continue reading!

GSA CONSULTING FIRM TYPES

Let's be honest: not all GSA consulting firms are created equal. Costs, services offered, delivery timeframes, and reliability vary widely among agencies. In general, all GSA Contract consultants fall into one of two categories: 

• GSA consulting firms that provide only a portion of their services
• Full-service Consulting businesses that work with the GSA

HOW MUCH DOES CONSULTING FOR THE GSA SCHEDULE COST?

After reading the foregoing, you may believe that hiring a GSA consulting firm is out of your price range. Don't put your faith in it. Let's do a quick calculation to determine if it's better to stick to in-house GSA contract preparation or outsource this task to an agency.

In-house

If you opt to handle everything related to your GSA Schedule contract in-house, you'll need to delegate this responsibility to one of your workers, either part-time or full-time. She or he would need a place to work.

If this individual works part-time for the GSA, he or she will presumably have to dedicate a portion of his or her time to other responsibilities. That is not the best option unless you are prepared for some of your major responsibilities to be jeopardized as a result. Furthermore, your in-house staff may not be fully conversant with the government purchasing system. As a result, there's a chance that supplied documents may contain errors, that chances will be missed, that forms will be incorrectly filled, that compliance concerns will arise, and so on. Of course, we are not claiming that all of these will occur. However, based on our previous experience, that is a very likely consequence.

Overall, the GSA Schedule costs about $15,000-$17,000 if done in-house.

Companies that provide only a portion of their services

Even if you only want to delegate a portion of the process to a third-party business, hiring GSA Schedule consultants is a good option. Because the GSA's standards are so high, even minor assistance is appreciated. This approach will undoubtedly save you money, but keep in mind that you are still responsible for numerous areas that the partial-service agency does not cover. This essentially indicates that you must still appoint a person to that task; however, a part-time solution is acceptable in this circumstance.

The cost of engaging a partial-help GSA consulting firm, plus the cost of part-time in-house staff, is roughly $5000.

Firms that provide a complete service

When it comes to all-inclusive organizations, how much does GSA consultancy cost? Let's see what happens. In all interactions and communications with the GSA, a full-cycle GSA consulting organization acts entirely on your side and legally represents you. This indicates that only a small portion of GSA contractual activity, such as signing agreements, making crucial decisions, establishing strategies, and so on, cannot be delegated. The full-service firm assists you with document preparation, form completion, contract negotiation, and (if necessary) clarification of certain GSA contract terms and conditions. The costs of such services appear to be higher. In general, you may anticipate paying between $20,000 and $25,000.

Does it appear to be more expensive than doing it in-house? Not so fast, my friend. Keep in mind that you're getting an all-inclusive package! Because 90 percent of first GSA applications are rejected, the penalty of a single error is prohibitively expensive. Surely, your in-house expert can devote his time examining the Federal Acquisition Regulation, creating perfect documentation for GSA submission, and securing a GSA contract with flying colors for you. But what are the possibilities that you currently have such an individual on your payroll?

A full-service firm, on the other hand, ensures a faster application, a higher likelihood of approval due to zero errors in the submission documents, lower rates as a consequence of negotiation, and a positive connection with the GSA contracting officer (this bonus will pay off in the future). Furthermore, a full-service firm will maintain your GSA contract long after it has been awarded (see below), promptly resolving any issues that arise.

Keep in mind that the cost of a GSA schedule consultation is determined by a variety of criteria, including your industry, competition in your GSA category on the federal market, the structure of your company, labor categories, commercial practices, and so on.