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Tag: Economic Price Adjustment

GSA steps up in the nick of time

GSA temporarily lifted restrictions on economic price adjustments (EPAs) in its contracts in March of this year, to fight inflation. With prices still rising, the agency this month extended the flexibilities through March 2023 and said officers can now make adjustment decisions without the need for approval from a more senior official. (Federal Times September 20, 2022)

As more and more contractors feel the crushing effects of supply chain shortages, price volatility, rising costs, and fixed income impact, a need for immediate relief for contractors couldn’t come quickly enough. The latest memo takes power that was tied up in the request and approval process and puts it into the hands of contractors and procurement officers to evaluate, make decisions and keep business uninterrupted. (ibid)

“Inflation and uncertain economic market conditions erode scarce contracting dollars, cause severe hardship on federal partners, and discourage new entrants from pursuing federal acquisition,” said GSA in the memo announcing the extension. “The acquisition workforce has both the authority and the tools to take action to mitigate the impact of inflation in federal contracts.” (ibid)

Contractors no longer have to hold their contracts for a minimum of a year before submitting price increases. The new guidance also temporarily does away with the limit of three increases per year and the 30-day waiting period between requests. (ibid)

Contractors might consider the following:

  • Request adjustments to contracts if non-price changes to the terms offer some relief to the problems caused by inflation.
  • Determine whether their current situation with once-in-a-generation inflation warrants contractual relief.
  • File a formal request to the contracting officer even if the chances of success are low, so DOD can obtain quantitative data on the scope of the issue.
  • Encourage contracting officers to amend solicitations to include EPA clauses when preparing bids. (JDSupra September 21,2023))

Is your current contract not keeping up with inflation? Give us a call, we can help.

Dates to Mark on your GSA Schedule Contract Calendar

One-year point

If you have recently been awarded your GSA contract, congratulations. You are now on the clock. You have two years to generate $25,000 in GSA contract sales, a hard deadline which arrives more quickly than you’d expect (!).  Begin executing your marketing plan immediately, and at the one-year point, we suggest you  re-assess: Has your marketing plan generated the expected outcomes? Do you have enough potential business in the pipeline to meet your sales goal? It can take 12 months before you begin to see if a business development plan takes hold.   Mark the one-year point, and reassess your current trajectory. Your contracting officer will reach out to you several months before your two-year anniversary to indicate the government’s intention to either continue their contract or to cancel it due to lack of sales. Be prepared.

EPA Date

After having a GSA Schedule contract for 12 months, contractors may be eligible for an Economic Price Adjustment. For many Schedules, you can submit three price increases per 12 month period, so long as the combined  increases do not exceed the 12-month percentage cap.

Know the date you can submit your next EPA, and be forewarned. You are not able to recover missing a year’s EPA by doubling up on a request in subsequent years.  

Contract End

Note your contract end date. Approximately 210 days (seven months) before that date, you’ll receive information regarding an option to extend your contract. Prepare, and expect  this letter, as you have 45 days to respond.

Sunset Date

After your fourth and final renewal period goes into effect, you should begin to prepare a new GSA Schedule contract submission. Your current contract is still valid for the next five years, but every day past the renewal date shortens the length of time that a contract can be written against your GSA Schedule. If your company often wins one year BPAs with four year options, there’s bad news: when your  BPA doesn’t span five FULL years, you won’t be eligible to compete for 1+4 contracts. It is imperative, then, to be preparing your new GSA Contract as soon as possible after your final option to extend has been exercised.

For more information, contact EZGSA at 301-913-5000 or Iwohner@ezgsa.com.