Blanket Purchase Agreement or simply BPA is a way federal entities can simplify recurring procurement of products and services. Establishing BPA within a GSA Schedule is a good way of minimizing paperwork associated with selling to the government, increasing revenue, and promoting a faster turnaround of funds. Here is what you need to know about BPA.

BPAs under the MAS contract

Establishing a Blanket Purchase Agreement is regulated by FAR 8.405-3 and stipulates that the government BPA can be of three types:

1. Single-award BPA that cannot and must not exceed one year with optional renewals.
2. Multiple-award BPA that cannot exceed five years.
3. Government-wide schedule BPA where agencies can purchase products directly from BPA contractors.

The GSA Schedule Blanket Purchase Agreement is subject to the Simplified Acquisition Threshold in the following way: if the amount of the BPA does not exceed the SAT value, the GSA contracting officer is required to review at least three contractors and then assign the Schedule BPA to one of them. When the price of the agreement exceeds the SAT limit, the contracting officer posts an RFQ on the eBuy platform and gets as many bids from GSA BPA contractors as possible.

Importantly, as soon as conditions of the BPA government contract are negotiated and settled, there is no need for further agreements during the entire period of validity of the BPA. That is exactly what makes BPAs so powerful and advantageous to government contractors.

How to create Blanket Purchase Agreements for GSA contractors

First of all, BPAs are only available to exist and certified GSA contractors, which means you need to get onto a GSA Schedule first. This in turn requires completion of a number of obligatory steps, such as providing a clean financial record, proving a positive past performance report, registering at SAM.gov, and many more. Overall, getting onto a Schedule is a time- and effort-consuming process, so you may need to get an expert at your side to simplify it. Finally, you must also make sure your company satisfies BPA requirements, and that too is easier to do with the help of a seasoned GSA expert.