The General Service Admission (GSA) established in 1949. Its purpose is to help manage government buildings and real estate as well as service and product support and developing policies and regulations.


The GSA is most known for the GSA multiple award schedule, which was created to help the process of the government purchasing of commercial products and services while leveraging the federal government’s buying power in the process. These purchases help the United States’ government to gather discounts for commercial supplies and services.

Under the GSA multiple award schedule, the GSA will supply government contracts to multiple companies that supply multiple services or products at different costs. It determines which company receives the contract by seeing which one offers fair and reasonable pricing.

To be eligible for a GSA contract you must have financial stability, have at least two years of business experience, and commercially available products, such as organizational clothing and individual equipment or fire and emergency services equipment. The contracts will not cover weapon components or special operational equipment. Your product also must be compliant with the trademark act.


It can take one to two years to obtain a GSA multiple award schedule. It will usually take someone around a year to complete drafting and preparing a proposal for the schedule and the review process will take anywhere from four months to a year. It’s important during the proposal process to be as frank about your company as possible while still showing all of the excellent work you have produced. Make sure you clearly state how your prices are fair and reasonable and how they benefit your target customers.


Once you have been approved and have negotiated the contractual terms and conditions of the contract, the officer in charge of reviewing your proposal will award you the GSA contract.

Having a GSA multiple awards contract will help your business thrive. Coming out of the intense process will show that any local, state or federal buyer that you are a respectable business that will produce high-quality items and will be able to ensure high-quality delivery. Although the process can be long and tedious, it is worth the time and effort to have the contract supporting you.