It is not too late to take advantage of the tax deduction that getting on to a GSA Schedule Contract can and will provide.
Tax Savings – Contracting with a consulting firm to complete your GSA Schedule is fully tax deductible in the year the expenditure was made. Contracting with a consulting firm now rather than in the first quarter is advisable because it returns a major portion of your cash flow to the firm in terms of reduced income tax a year sooner.
While most United States Businesses are in pandemic mode bracing themselves for what could be another great depression or atleast recession the Government spending is on the rise.
With the coronavirus pandemic exacerbating a slowdown in the global economy, governments around the world may have no choice but to increase spending to support businesses and households well into the next year, according to an economist from S&P Global Ratings.
Now more than ever is the time to be looking at Government Contracting especially if you are a small business.
GSA SCHEDULE Contracts also referred to MAS Contracts are the entry level into the Government Sector and will allow small business a consistent stream of revenue.
BKM Management Consulting has the knowledge to help your business gain a GSA Schedule Contract under the MAS Schedules.
Shame on small businesses for not learning more about Government Contracting in these uncertain economic times.
8(a) STARS II Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC)
A GWAC or Government wide acquisition vehicle is a contracting vehicle set forth to allow Government buyers a listing of pre-vetted businesses that meet their agencies contracting needs. Use of contracting vehicles is said to reduce time spent and also to allow a streamlined approach to purchasing.
With a $12 Billion program ceiling and a five-year base period with one five-year option, 8(a) STARS II allows for long-term planning of large-scale program requirements while strengthening opportunities for 8(a) small businesses.
The base period of the contract is August 31, 2011, to August 30, 2016. The option period of the contract is August 31, 2016, to August 30, 2021. Orders issued on or before August 30, 2021, may continue performance through August 30, 2024.
8(a) STARS II includes four functional areas based on NAICS codes:
8(a) STARS II allows for directed task orders up to $4 Million, including options. Orders more than $4 Million must be competed among the industry partners in your chosen constellation and functional area.
BKM Management Consulting can help your businesses get onto the 8A Stars GWAC.
Call us today: 1-800-506-7539
GSA Schedule 2018 Small Business Sales by Schedule
Achieving for your company a small business federal sales engine generally starts with a GSA Schedule Contract. A very consistent stream of revenue for small business growth.
By Aaron Boyd,
Senior Editor Next Gov
DHS Turns to Existing GSA, NIH Contracts to (Mostly) Replace EAGLE
As with a number of major IT vehicles this year, the Homeland Security Department is tossing out plans to recompete a central IT services contract and is instead opting to rely on governmentwide acquisition contracts beginning early next year.
Rather than recompete the Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading-Edge Solutions, or EAGLE II, for a third generation, Homeland Security officials announced this week a transition to a broader acquisition strategy they’re calling EAGLE Next Gen. The strategy will tap a set of existing contracts to build a suite of IT services offerings for use across the department. Homeland Security officials also expect to compete targeted contracts to supplement niche mission needs.
“DHS conducted a thorough and collaborative analysis across the information technology and procurement communities in identifying DHS’s IT priorities, evaluating the IT services requirements needed to support those priorities and in establishing an overarching acquisition strategy that enables continued mission success,” Correa said in the announcement, adding her appreciation for services provided by vendors under EAGLE II.
Correa said the department will continue to use the EAGLE II contract until it expires in September 2020.
At times when existing vehicles won’t meet the department’s needs, Homeland Security contracting officials will compete new contracts to supplement those areas.
“As requirements evolve for specialized IT services, the department will develop acquisition strategies tailored specifically to each distinct procurement,” a spokesperson for Correa’s office told Nextgov. “DHS will continue to maintain timely and open communication with industry throughout the process of implementing the DHS-specific contract vehicles.”
Those contracts might be full and open competitions or might rely on GSA Schedules, the spokesperson added.
Homeland Security’s decision mirrors that of other agencies that have given up on large, complicated competitions in favor of existing contract vehicles.
In October alone, three agencies shifted the procurement strategy on multibillion contracts from full and open competitions to buying off GSA’s IT Schedule 70: the FBI’s $5 billion IT Supplies and Support Services, or ITSSS; the Air Force’s $5.5 billion replacement for Network-Centric Solutions 2, or NETCETS-2, which will be called Second Generation Information Technology, or 2GIT; and the Pentagon’s $8 billion Defense Enterprise Office Solutions, or DEOS, contract.
Homeland Security’s move aligns with the administration’s call to use existing contract vehicles whenever possible, as well as the department’s goal to “re-conceptualize its IT delivery model.”
“We are thinking about the business of IT differently for DHS,” said Deputy Chief Information Officer Steve Rice. “Instead of thinking about ‘data centers’ and ‘cloud,’ we are thinking about ‘compute and storage.’ We are thinking about how IT can better enable headquarters and the component to execute the mission. EAGLE Next Gen will take us in this direction.”
Agencies propose rule change to cut burdens on small business
By: Jessie Bur 1 day ago
A proposed Federal Acquisition Regulation rule change would make it easier for small businesses to comply with sub-contracting allowances.
The Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and NASA have proposed a rule change to the Federal Acquisition Regulations that would standardize the limitations on subcontracting across agencies while reducing the burden on small businesses contractors.
The proposed rule change, issued in the Federal Register Dec. 4, would adopt the Small Business Administration’s approach to addressing requirements made by the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that limited the percentage of the contract that awardees could spend on a subcontractor.
“Prior to passage of section 1651 of the NDAA for FY2013, the limitations on subcontracting and the non-manufacturer rule were inconsistent across the small business programs,” the proposed rule states.
“For example, for awards under some small business programs, the prime contractor was required to perform a certain percentage of work itself, whereas under other programs, the prime contractor could include subcontracts to ‘similarly situated entities’ in the percentage of work it performed.” GSA Schedule Contracts require big business to sub-contract 23% of the work they receive.
The NDAA requirements, however, focus on limiting the award amount given to subcontractors, rather than percentages of work.
“As a result, the prime contractor no longer has to track the percentage of costs incurred that it spends performing work itself; it only has to track the percentage of the overall award amount (i.e., contract price) that it spends on subcontractors. For small businesses, this change will reduce a substantial burden associated with tracking and demonstrating compliance with the limitations on subcontracting,” the proposed rule says. Under a GSA Schedule Contract all large businesses are required to submit a small business sub-contracting plan.
“These important changes give small businesses greater flexibility on how they choose to comply with the limitations on subcontracting. Under the current FAR clauses, there is only one way for a small business to comply with the limitations: it must spend the required amount on work performed in-house. As proposed in this rule, there will be more than one way to comply with the limitations, and the small business will be able to choose how to comply.”
These limitations on subcontracting, however, do not apply to small business set-aside contracts valued at less than $150,000. The GSA Schedules are separate within these rules.
DECEMBER 3, 2018 01:56 PM ET
10 Problems DHS Wants Innovative Small Businesses to Solve in 2019
The department will be offering millions of dollars to small businesses able to offer solutions to these 10 tough technical problems.
By Aaron Boyd,Senior Editor
The Homeland Security Department released a list of 10 bleeding-edge research areas it plans to pursue in fiscal 2019 in partnership with innovative small businesses. Go to : https://www.gsaadvantage.gov/advantage
The department’s Science and Technology Directorate and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office announced Friday the tentative list of technical areas for this year’s Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, program. In the coming year, Homeland Security SBIR officials are proposing research into topics including using drones to detect radiological threats, sharing cyber threat data, using blockchain for forensic analysis, and advanced identity management—from DNA to cyberspace.
“The SBIR program provides an opportunity for innovative small businesses to find solutions that meet the technology needs of the department’s operational components and the nation’s first responders,” William Bryan, senior official performing the duties of the undersecretary for science and technology, said in the announcement.
Homeland Security’s SBIR program obligated almost $250 million across 805 awards from its start in 2004 through 2015, the latest year with data available on the www.SBIR.gov dashboard. The program hit its height in 2006 with almost $29.9 million in funds obligated to 95 projects.
In 2015, Homeland Security’s program obligated $20.7 million to 48 projects. This amount is relatively small when compared to the largest SBIR awarders that year: the Energy Department at $193.6 million, Health and Human Services at $714.4 million and the Defense Department at $956.9 million.
The list for 2019 includes eight topics under the Science and Technology Directorate and two more under the CWMD office’s program.
Reach-Back Capability for Fielded Rapid DNA Systems
Objective: Development of an accredited Homeland Security reach-back capability to review results from fielded Rapid DNA systems using the Office of Biometric Identity Management DNA store/match/share capability.