Getting Ready for a GSA Schedule Contract

This course gets you ready to send GSA an offer for a Schedule contract yourself, on the government's own site. A Schedule lets agencies order from you at prices agreed in advance. You learn whether it fits your business, the two things GSA makes you complete first, what goes in the offer, how pricing works now, and what you must do to keep the contract.

What holding it opens up

Federal agencies can order from you without running a full open contest each time. Your prices and terms are already agreed with GSA.
State, local and tribal governments can buy through the Schedule in many cases too.
Your products or services are listed where government buyers shop, including GSA Advantage.
Some agency purchases are open only to companies that hold a Schedule contract.
A Schedule lets agencies order from you. It does not bring orders by itself, and it does not guarantee any sales.

Where you apply

GSA eOffer (opens in a new tab), the government's own site. You apply there yourself.

Government fee

No fee to send an offer

GSA does not charge to send an offer. After award, you pay GSA a fee on what you sell through the contract.

Decision time

No fixed time

GSA publishes no fixed time. Expect weeks to months, depending on your offer and the questions GSA asks.

How long it lasts

5 years, up to 20

Five years, with three more five-year periods GSA can add, for up to 20 years. You must reach minimum sales to keep it.

Who decides

GSA

The General Services Administration (GSA). A GSA contracting officer reviews your offer and negotiates with you.

Watch out

This is preparation, not certification.

You apply yourself, in your own account. We never sign in, apply or send anything for you.
The government decides. Finishing this course is not a certification. OpenBid cannot guarantee results.
Answer with your own true facts. An application is your legal statement to the government.
We never ask for a taxpayer ID, a Social Security number, a bank number or a password. Cover them in screenshots.

Rules as of October 2026. Rules change. The government's own instructions are what count.

No refunds once a course is opened.

A course counts as opened as soon as you open any lesson in it after paying. If you paid and have not opened it yet, contact us and we will refund it. See the terms.

Lesson 1 · Free

What a GSA Schedule is

About 7 minutes

GSA is the General Services Administration, the agency that buys for the rest of the government. Its Schedule program is called the Multiple Award Schedule, or MAS.
A Schedule contract is a long-term contract between your company and GSA. It lists what you sell, at prices and terms agreed in advance.
Agencies then order from that contract. Because the prices are already agreed, an order takes them far less time than an open contest.
It is for commercial products and services, the kind you already sell to other customers.
The Schedule is split into categories. Inside each one are Special Item Numbers, called SINs, each covering one kind of product or service. You offer under the SINs that fit what you sell.
This is a contract, not a certification. You get it by sending GSA an offer, which a contracting officer reviews and negotiates.
GSA does not charge to send an offer, and it takes offers all year. There is no closing date.
GSA decides, not OpenBid. OpenBid does not send an offer for you, and this course only helps you get ready.

Watch out

A Schedule is a way to be ordered from. It is not an order. Many companies win the contract and then sell nothing through it.
The real sites end in .gov. GSA charges nothing to send an offer, so be careful with any site that says you must pay to "register" for a Schedule.

What is in the rest of the course

6 more lessons

Lesson 2: Is a Schedule right for your business?
Lesson 3: What changed in 2026, and why older guides are wrong
Lesson 4: The two things GSA makes you do first
Lesson 5: What goes in your offer
Lesson 6: Pricing: the part that matters most
Lesson 7: After you send it, and keeping the contract

Am I ready? 12 questions the rules turn on, and what each answer means for you.
What to gather. 16 documents and facts to have in hand, ticked off as you go.
The application. 10 steps in order, and where people get stuck.
Sabrina, our AI assistant, to answer your questions and look at your screenshots.
Your readiness packet to print or save as a PDF.

The government's own pages

GSA Multiple Award Schedule (opens in a new tab)GSA's own page about the Schedule program.
Roadmap to get a MAS contract (opens in a new tab)GSA's seven steps, with the training, the readiness assessment and the checklist for new offers.
Help with MAS contracts (opens in a new tab)GSA's page of templates, the solicitation, sales reporting and what to do after award.
Startup Springboard (opens in a new tab)GSA's route for companies with less than two years of experience, and its limits.
GSA eOffer (opens in a new tab)The official site where you fill in and send your offer.
GSA eLibrary (opens in a new tab)Look up the Schedule's categories and see which companies already hold contracts in yours.
GSA Vendor Support Center (opens in a new tab)GSA's help site for sellers, with notices about each refresh and help with reporting.
SAM.gov (opens in a new tab)Where the Schedule solicitation is posted, and the registration you must have before you send an offer.

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