GSA Delivery Orders under the SAT

GSA Federal Supply Schedules (also called Multiple Award Schedules or MAS) are pre-competed, pre-priced contracts between GSA and commercial vendors. When you order from a GSA schedule, you are not conducting a new procurement — you are placing an order against an existing contract.

The schedule contract already established that the prices are fair and reasonable at the contract level. Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO), FAR 8.4 now points directly to GSA's own ordering procedures at GSAM 538.71. The current Simplified Acquisition Threshold is $350,000.

The critical thing to understand: GSA schedules are a contract vehicle, not a procurement method. Ordering from a GSA schedule still requires you to follow the ordering procedures established by GSA at GSAM subpart 538.71.

A few conditions must be met before you can place a GSA schedule order:

The requirement must be a commercial product or service. If it's available on a GSA schedule, it's commercial. If it's not commercial, it won't be on a schedule.

You must confirm the vendor has a current, active schedule contract. Check GSA Advantage or GSA eLibrary. Schedules expire. Always verify the contract is still in force before you place the order.

What you're ordering must be on the contractor's schedule. If it's listed on their schedule contract, you're good. You can verify this on GSA Advantage or eLibrary.

Ordering from GSA schedules satisfies the competition requirement. You do not need a separate J&A or competitive action on the open market. The pre-competition at the schedule level is your competition.

Per GSAM 538.7103-1, for orders at or below the micro-purchase threshold (MPT), you can place the order directly with any schedule contractor that can meet the need. No additional competition is required beyond the competition already inherent in the schedule program.

You still need to verify that the contractor has an active schedule and the item or service is on their schedule. You should also try to distribute orders among FSS contractors when possible. Document the file: what you bought, who you bought it from, the schedule contract number, and the price.

This is the core of GSA ordering. Per GSAM 538.7103-2, for orders in this range, you must seek competition among schedule holders. How you do it depends on whether the requirement is clearly defined.

If the product or service is clearly defined and available at a fixed price (538.7103-2(a)), you have four options — use any one:

1. Survey at least three FSS contractors on GSA Advantage — look up the pricing, screenshot it, and document your selection. This is the simplest path for clearly defined, fixed-price items.
2. Review FSS contract catalogs of at least three contractors
3. Publish an RFQ on GSA eBuy
4. Issue an RFQ directly to at least three FSS contractors

If the product or service is NOT clearly defined — it involves a statement of work/objectives, order-level materials, or is not available at a fixed price (538.7103-2(b)) — you must either:

1. Publish an RFQ on GSA eBuy, or
2. Issue an RFQ to at least three FSS contractors

In either case, evaluate the quotes, award to the contractor offering best value, and notify unsuccessful quoters.

GSA schedule orders under the SAT don't require heavy documentation. Your contract file just needs:

• Funding — PR&C, MIPR, or other funding authorization
• Requirement description — what you're buying (SOW, specs, or a clear written description)
• Market research — evidence the item is on the contractor's schedule and the schedule is active
• Quotes / pricing — quotes received or screenshots from your GSA Advantage survey
• Abstract / award documentation — your best value rationale
• Delivery order / PO — the actual order referencing the schedule contract number

Check out the File Checklist tab to track these as you build your file.

• Ordering something that's not on the contractor's schedule. Verify it's actually available on their schedule contract before placing the order.
• Not verifying the schedule contract is still active. Schedules expire. Always check GSA Advantage or eLibrary.
• Skipping competition for orders above the MPT. "It's GSA, I don't need to compete" is wrong. GSAM 538.7103-2 still requires you to survey or solicit at least three FSS contractors.
• Doing too much paperwork. An under-SAT GSA order is not a source selection. Don't create work that the GSAM doesn't require.
• Treating quotations like offers. FSS quotations are not offers. You don't need evaluation plans, scoring sheets, or competitive ranges. Keep it simple.
• Overcomplicating a clearly defined requirement. If you can find it on GSA Advantage at a fixed price, you just need to survey three contractors — not publish an RFQ. Use the simplest method that fits your situation.