GSA Schedule Access Increasingly a Must-Have for Many GovCons
Justin Siken07/01/2024
Strategy
HigherGov
MAS Grows to $40 Billion A Year
Federal government use of GSA Schedules (formally known as the Multiple Award Schedules or MAS) has expanded rapidly over the past 10 years and is on course to reach $40 billion in awards in FY2024, up from less than $15 billion in 2014.
The MAS is a government-wide acquisition vehicle (GWAC) that allows agencies across the federal government to buy commercial products, services, and solutions at pre-negotiated prices. The MAS enables agencies to meet their goals of achieving savings, value, and efficiency, which has driven rapid growth in the use of the MAS over the past decade. MAS growth has also been driven by government delays in awarding other contract vehicles, limiting the availability of other best-in-class vehicles.
Many emerging contractors do not realize that tens of thousands of solicitations and direct purchases made annually are only available to holders of the MAS. Even many experienced contractors underestimate how much the MAS has grown in use over the past several years.
MAS Awards By Year ($ Billions)
HigherGov Analysis. FY2024 through March. Includes predecessor vehicles including Schedule IT 70 and PSS.
The MAS is a Must-Have For Many NAICS
There are 235 different "categories" on the MAS with highly varying usage levels. Access to the MAS is generally more important for companies selling IT, consulting, and certain commercial products than for companies focused on construction, research, major defense platforms, or highly specialized products. The chart below summarizes the NAICS where the highest percentage of work was awarded through the MAS in 2023.
Top MAS NAICS as Percent of Total Federal Awards (2023 Awards)
NAICS with More than 20% of Awards Through MAS Bolded
| NAICS | Description | MAS ($M) | Total ($M) | % |
| 541519 | Other Computer Related Services | $6,015 | $25,096 | 24.0% |
| 541511 | Custom Computer Programming Services | $5,465 | $10,682 | 51.2% |
| 541611 | Administrative Management and Consulting | $5,463 | $14,233 | 38.4% |
| 511210 | Software Publishers | $3,995 | $5,596 | 71.4% |
| 541512 | Computer Systems Design Services | $2,485 | $30,619 | 8.1% |
| 541330 | Engineering Services | $1,437 | $48,754 | 2.9% |
| 561210 | Facilities Support Services | $1,415 | $36,233 | 3.9% |
| 541614 | Process, Physical, and Logistics Consulting | $1,211 | $2,241 | 54.1% |
| 541211 | Offices of Certified Public Accountants | $1,043 | $1,458 | 71.6% |
| 334111 | Electronic Computer Manufacturing | $739 | $3,658 | 20.2% |
| 541620 | Environmental Consulting Services | $526 | $1,400 | 37.5% |
| 561612 | Security Guards and Patrol Services | $491 | $5,609 | 8.7% |
| 541513 | Computer Facilities Management Services | $410 | $3,351 | 12.2% |
| 561499 | All Other Business Support Services | $353 | $471 | 75.0% |
| 518210 | Computing Infrastructure Provider | $349 | $2,982 | 11.7% |
| 517410 | Satellite Telecommunications | $325 | $1,078 | 30.2% |
| 541810 | Advertising Agencies | $267 | $2,069 | 12.9% |
| 561599 | Travel Arrangement and Reservation | $225 | $244 | 92.3% |
| 337214 | Office Furniture Manufacturing | $219 | $465 | 47.1% |
| 541930 | Translation and Interpretation Services | $218 | $455 | 48.0% |
| 541712 | Research And Development | $173 | $11,016 | 1.6% |
| 334516 | Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing | $173 | $1,105 | 15.6% |
| 541613 | Marketing Consulting Services | $161 | $354 | 45.5% |
| 541715 | Research and Development | $155 | $42,578 | 0.4% |
| 541910 | Marketing Research and Public Polling | $152 | $313 | 48.4% |
HigherGov Analysis based on 2023 awards for top 25 MAS NAICS codes. Includes disclosed federal awards only.
Should Your Company Get a MAS?
To apply for the MAS, the General Service Administration (GSA) requires that a company be in business for at least 2 years, be financially stable, have past performance, and make services or products commercially available. The GSA also has a program called Startup Springboard that enables companies with fewer than 2 years of experience to get a MAS schedule under certain circumstances.
Since most companies hire a consultant to help with the MAS application and the MAS also requires that companies meet minimum sales requirements (usually $25,000 in the first two years, and then $25,000 per year afterward), HigherGov analysts have historically recommended that companies wait until they are fairly established in the government market before acquiring the MAS Schedule to avoid unnecessary cost and risk of being removed from the MAS. However, for companies focused on services and products in NAICS with heavy MAS usage, we increasingly recommend companies explore applying earlier in their GovCon lifecycle.
See the MAS Solicitations You're Missing
While MAS solicitations are not publicly released, HigherGov regularly obtains past MAS solicitations from GSA to support market research. Those can be viewed in our federal contract opportunity search here. If you are considering a MAS, we recommend searching for your NAICS and keywords with this tool to discover the types of solicitations you are missing by not having a MAS. You can also use our Market Analysis tool to understand the trends and composition of awards being made through the MAS.
