hello, i'm houston taylor, assistant commissioner for acquisition management in fas. and i'm jennifer smith, from the public buildings service office of acquisition management. welcome to the fifth and final gsa business breakthrough webinar, entitled contract administration and compliance in this seminar, we'll guide you through gsa's expectations of you as a contract holder.
we'll talk about administering your contract, and we'll prepare you for the contractor assistance visits we'll conduct periodically to review your compliance processes. we'll also make sure you know what to expect if the inspector general decides to audit your contract.
houston: whether you're responsible for maintaining your company's contracts, or you spend your workdays in sales or marketing, this seminar will give you a better understanding of the "rules of the road," gsa, and your potential government customers. thank you for participating! welcome to gsa's business breakthrough webinar series. this webinar will show you how to work effectively as a government contractor through gsa. this webinar will focus on contract administration and compliance. we will discuss details of contract administration and how to be compliant with government contracting regulations. we will review how to prepare
for mandatory contractor assistance visits. we will provide instructions on how to cooperate with the gsa office of the inspector general if your business is chosen for an audit. by the end of this webinar, you will know how to administer your business's contract with the government and how to keep your contract in compliance. this information will also help you understand the rules by which gsa and your potential government customers do business. let's start with the general compliance requirements. there are some general requirements you must follow in order to maintain compliance. the first is e-verify, which is mandatory for any employer working on a federal contract.
e-verify will help you confirm that your employees are u.s. citizens. the whistleblower act is included in every government contract. it provides protection to a person so he or she can't be sued for reporting a business for inappropriate behavior. your company must also follow equal employment opportunity commission and affirmative action plans to ensure that you are providing equal opportunities for the socially and economically disadvantaged. regardless of business size, all gsa schedule contractors are required to have eeoc and affirmative action plans. large businesses are required to have small business subcontracting plans.
there are different types of subcontracting plans but all should display the company's good faith effort to meet subcontracting goals. depending on the subcontracting plan type, the company will be required to submit reports periodically. for example, a large business with an individual subcontracting plan would submit the individual subcontracting report, or isr, two times a year (one for october 1 to march 31 and one for april 1 to september 30). the summary subcontracting report, or ssr, would be submitted once a year. this webinar will explore these topics in detail later. if your business is going to be supporting the government inside
government facilities and installations, your employees will be subject to background investigations prior to gaining access to the facilities. if the contract dollar value is under $150,000 dollars, your employees will not have to go through the hspd-12 identity check. however, they may be escorted on and off the facility and supervised as they work. if the contract dollar value is above the $150,000 dollar threshold, each employee on the contract will have to undergo an hspd-12 investigation. hspd-12 stands for homeland security presidential directive 12. it's the federal standard used to independently verify an individual's identity.
this process is not a clearance check such as the ones required for a high-level security contract. after this verification process, your employees can be issued credentials like security badges and building passes. now that we've talked about the general contract compliance, let's discuss the specifics for the public buildings service (pbs) and the multiple award schedules (mas). there are unique compliance requirements depending on the type of contract your company has signed. here is a list of requirements used for indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, or idiq contracts. the walsh-healey act establishes overtime pay for hours worked by contractor employees
in excess of 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. it sets the minimum wage equal to the prevailing wage as determined by the secretary of labor the law prohibits the employment of youths less than 16 years of age and convicts, except under certain conditions. the service contract act sets standards for the use of convict labor, and job health and safety standards. service contracts over $2,500 shall contain mandatory provisions regarding minimum wages and fringe benefits, safe and sanitary working conditions, notification to employees of the minimum allowable compensation, and equivalent federal employee classifications
and wage rates. under 41 u.s.c. 353(d), service contracts may not exceed 5 years. cost accounting standards, or cas are a set of 19 standards and rules promulgated by the united states government for use in determining costs on negotiated procurements. if this applies to your company you will be required to have a cas-compliant accounting system. the davis bacon act established the requirement for paying prevailing wages on public works projects. all federal government construction contracts, and most contracts for federally assisted construction over $2,000, must include provisions for paying workers on-site no less than the locally prevailing wages and benefits paid on similar projects. the brooks act requires that the us federal government select engineering and
architecture firms based upon their competency, qualifications and experience rather than by price. we will talk more about that in a moment. lastly, the miller act requires prime contractors on some government construction contracts to post bonds guaranteeing both the performance of their contractual duties and the payment of their subcontractors and material suppliers. if your company is an architecture or engineering firm, it is important to know that price is not the most important factor in selecting contractors for these services. the brooks act ensures that the source selection is based on the vendor's competency, qualifications, design backgrounds, and past performance.
the far requires that federal contractors must follow applicable labor laws. all workers must be paid the minimum wage required, adhering to the equal opportunity standards, and observing the contract work hours safety standards act. the government has the right to make site visits to ensure labor laws are being followed. all organizations must provide commercial sales information as part of their response to the gsa schedule contract solicitation. the commercial sales practices format includes information that relates to the terms and conditions offered to your commercial, non-federal customers. gsa and potential contractors use this information to start pricing negotiations
for the future schedule contract. the basis of award, or boa customer relationship, results from the final negotiations. gsa and all schedule contractors agree to a basis of award customer relationship when the gsa schedule contract is finalized. this boa pricing relationship is usually explained on the standard form 1449 in the first pages of your signed gsa contract. some contracts refer to the boa relationship as the pricing relationship tied to the price reductions clause of the contract. other contracts may use some other similar language to explain the boa relationship. please review your gsa contract to ensure you are aware of the boa relationship in your contract.
it is important to review the price reductions clause in your contract. the price reductions clause requires contractors to maintain the boa pricing relationship throughout the life of the contract. the trade agreements act governs agreements negotiated between the u.s. and other countries under the trade act of 1974. in general, a product is "taa compliant" if it's made in the united states or a "designated country." designated countries include countries with a free trade agreement with the us such as canada, mexico, australia, and singapore; countries that participate in the world trade organization government procurement agreement, or wto gpa, including japan and many countries in europe;
least developed countries like afghanistan, bangladesh, laos, and others; and caribbean basin countries like aruba, costa rica, haiti and others. mass modifications are government-initiated modifications that occur when a uniform change occurs across an entire schedule. a prime example of this occurrence is when changes to the terms and conditions of a solicitation are issued. mass mods allow acquisition centers to access large segments of the contractor population with ease. when a mass mod is issued, your contract administrator is notified via email. the email contains a unique pin that allows you to access and accept the modification, and a direct hyperlink to a portion of the vendor support center website
where the mass modification can be found. the website contains detailed information on the background, purpose and implications of each modification. at the conclusion, you will be asked to enter your pin, and other verification information, to accept or decline the modification. upon execution, a confirmation email, containing a printable standard form 30, is sent to you. a copy is also sent to your principal contracting officer, or pco and authorized contracting officer, or aco. there are situations in which your company may wish to modify the contract. there are 4 basic types of modifications.
first, there are administrative changes. these include changes of address or phone number, or changes to your product descriptions or part numbers. second are additions and deletions of products and services. if your company has developed other areas of expertise and wants to add them to your schedule services, you may need add a new special item number, or sin, if it doesn't fit under a sin you already have. economic price adjustments are the third type of modification. with services, your labor categories are tied to the index for the department of labor. however, you can provide proof that your prices have risen to match that index.
you would also ask for a contract modification. emod is a web-based application that allows mas contractors to electronically prepare and submit contract modifications to fas. currently all modifications have to be completed through emod. on the eoffer/emod website you will be able to view multiple user guides, frequently asked questions, and training. one of the best links is the eoffer/emod user guide. this guide will provide you step-by-step instructions on how to complete the various modifications in emod. you would use emod for eight types of modification requests; additions, administrative changes,
cancellations or terminations, deletions, legal, pricing changes, technical changes, and terms and conditions. gsa's guides, getting started, creating and submitting an emod, and the signature process are documents that show the basic steps required to complete the emod process. getting started will walk you through the authentication process including everything you need to know about digital certificates. creating and submitting an emod provides directions on how to complete the modification request, submit the modification, and the negotiation. the signature process shows how to complete and accept your modification.
the first step for any modification process is the digital certificate. if you don't already have one, you need to visit the digital certificate information page. basic questions about this process, regardless of whether you are a u.s. company or a foreign company, are answered here. to access emod, visit www.eoffer.gsa.gov. the emod system authenticates your digital signature and confirms that you are the authorized negotiator. then, choose the modification type administrative, additions or deletions of products or services, etcetera. fill out the required information with supporting documents and submit your information electronically.
there will be the standard proposal process steps clarification, negotiation, and award or denial of the modification. if the modification is awarded, you can also sign it through emod. every gsa vendor must participate on gsa advantage, the online mall for gsa's products and services. the company must post its price list on gsa advantage within 6 months of contract award. participation is a contractual requirement this will allow potential federal customers to see exactly what the company has to offer. after the price list has been uploaded, it should be reviewed to ensure that
all products and services are part of the gsa contract. all companies must update their pricelists at least once within two years, or it will become inactive and no longer available on gsa advantage. here, we have summarized some of the reporting requirements, the links needed to report online, and when those reports are due. every company must report its sales and industrial funding fees, or iff, under reporting 72a quarterly. we will talk more about the iff shortly. if the company is a large business, the type of subcontracting plan it has on file determines how often summary reports are filed. small business subcontracting summaries
are filed annually. subcontracting individual reports are submitted twice yearly. affirmative action reports are filed annually, as well as your vets 100. if your federal business exceeds $25,000, you will need to report how many veterans you employ via vets 100 even if you don't have any veterans on the payroll. every gsa vendor company must report its sales online quarterly. the 72a quarterly reporting system can be accessed at the vendor support center website under the main tab "reporting sales." the website contains a wealth of information about sales reporting, including answers to frequently asked questions. reporting sales is easy, but the contract must be registered
in order to access the reporting system. after a company reports its sales for the quarter, the industrial funding fee, or iff, is automatically calculated. since the remittance of the iff payment is due within 30 days of the end of the quarter, just like the sales report, it's more efficient to do them both at the same time.currently, the iff is 0.75%. federal customers who use the schedules program pay the fee, which is already included in the contract award prices. the company simply serves as the collection agent. it is up to each company to determine when orders are counted as sales, usually either upon shipment or delivery. orders can even be counted as a sale
when an invoice is issued or payment is received. whichever your company chooses, it is important to remain consistent throughout the life of the contract. also remember that you must complete 72a reporting every quarter, even if no sales were made through the contract. in accordance with clause i-fss-639, all schedules contractors are required to generate $25,000 in sales within the first two years of their contracts, and to maintain $25,000 in sales per contract year thereafter. averages sales are not taken into consideration when determining whether or not you've met the sales requirement, and the government may cancel your contract
unless the reported sales reach the specified levels. the contracting officer may also inquire about zero or low sales within specific sins that may lead to removal of those sins from your contracts. for services contracts, under labor description requirements, each company must set forth the minimum educational requirements, the minimum years of experience and any certifications employees must hold. in order to maintain compliance, the employees used in the fulfillment of contracts must continue to meet those standards. under the trade agreements act, or taa, all products sold to the government must be made in taa-designated countries.
they must be manufactured or "substantially transformed" in a country that falls under the trade agreements act. "substantially transformed" refers to pieces from a non-taa country that are made into a new product in a taa-designated country. as a company, you must maintain the pricing discount relationship between your boa and the government. your boa was built around the customer or customer class that most closely resembles the buying habits of the government. gsa highly recommends having a system or process in place to monitor the boa discount relationship in the contract to ensure
our customers are being charged the correct contract pricing throughout the contract. during the contractor assistance visit, your industrial operations analyst will verify that you understand your boa relationship and the price reductions clause. he or she will also verify that you have a system in place to maintain the discount relationship between the boa customer, or customers identified in your contract, and the discount to your gsa contract customers. the price reductions clause, or prc, is triggered when you change your commercial catalog, price list, schedule, or other documents upon which contract award was predicated. be aware of discount relationships. should a commercial customer receive a better discount
than the one proposed to the government, the price reductions clause says you must match that price in your gsa schedule. here is a list of records that must be kept for three years after the final payment of any order relating to any gsa contract. the three-year time frame does not start running until the order is completed. companies must also store these records for three years after the end of the gsa schedule contract. if you get an order on the last day of your schedule and complete it 30 days after that, you must retain those records for 3 years after the final completion date.
gsa recommends storing all of these documents electronically. we will now review oversight procedures. the first one is contractor assistance visits. there are a number of objectives associated with these visits. one of these is to ensure that you understand the terms and conditions of your gsa schedule contract. these visits also provide you with the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarifications on any confusing issues. if your company is having problems, they can be identified during the visit. in addition, these visits also provide the industrial operations analyst, or ioa, with the opportunity to review the contractor's systems and processes and validate the adequacy
of your sales tracking system. an ioa will be contacting the contract administrator to set up a contractor assistance visit, either by phone, email, or both. the ioa will provide the contract administrator with information, documents and individuals he or she will need to have available to ensure a successful visit. if you have any questions regarding what you need to provide, contact your ioa. he or she will be more than happy to assist you in this process. here are a few sample items you may be required to provide during the contractor assistance visit. companies should try to have the designated contract administrator present, as well as other personnel who are responsible for the identification, creation,
and submission of sales data. if the ioa has sales or marketing information to disseminate, sales and/or marketing personnel should be made available as well. if products are on your contract, employees, with knowledge of the country of origin as well as environmental attributes for the products you sell, should be present. you should do everything possible to ensure that the ioa is able to perform a comprehensive visit while at your location. this can be accomplished by making sure that your subject matter experts are close at hand. your visit will also run more smoothly if you have information pertinent to your contract readily available for review.
your ioa will let you know what will be covered and how the visit will be conducted in advance of the actual visit. you will receive a visit by an ioa at least twice during each 5-year contract term. one visit will occur between 24 and 36 months into the contract term, and another will occur 6 to 12 months before the expiration of the contract term. although this is the norm, there are some circumstances that may require additional visits. the second oversight procedure we will discuss is preparing for an audit from the gsa office of the inspector general, or oig. preparation involves having copies of everything the auditors might need available
for them to take with them at the time of the initial onsite visit. the on-site portion of the audit generally lasts a week. during that time, the oig expects you and your records to be available to the auditors. this is where having most or all of your records stored electronically are beneficial. keep in mind, the audit lasts 6-8 months after they physically leave your business. during that time, they will be looking at the records they have asked you to retain, including the contract price list, sales tracking system, iff, and invoicing. auditors will check to make sure you are making your reports on time and accurately. remember the oig may audit any type of government contract at any time.
here is a bulleted list, from the oig standardized letter, of the items most likely included in an audit. remember, the inspector is doing his or her job, and making sure that you are doing your job to the best of your ability, so you can continue to be successful as a gsa contractor. in closing, if you are being compliant with all the requirements covered in this webinar, you should be fully prepared for anything, including an audit. this concludes gsa's business breakthrough webinar, contract administration and compliance. gsa has developed four other modules to help you compete and succeed in the federal marketplace: introduction to gsa, accessing the federal marketplace,
gsa's culture of innovation and sustainability, and proposal strategies for subcontracting and teaming.
servicemembers civil relief act centralized verification service,we encourage you to view these webinars. the information they provide is invaluable. we'd like to hear your feedback about this webinar. please go to the link on the interact web page to take a short survey and complete the corresponding knowledge check exercise. thank you in advance for your participation.
