How to Price Your GSA Schedule in 2025 (Without Losing Your Profit Margin)

Pricing under a GSA Schedule isn’t just about winning bids—it’s about protecting your bottom line while staying within the rules. Your GSA rates need to be competitive, but they also need to be compliant. If you don’t understand how GSA views your pricing, you could end up with rates that are unworkable, subject to mandatory reductions, or flagged during an audit. That’s why a strong GSA pricing strategy is more than just a number—it’s a defense plan.

What Makes GSA Pricing Different

Your GSA Schedule pricing is considered a ceiling rate—you can’t charge more than that number for the products or services listed in your contract. These rates are pre-negotiated with the government and intended to reflect the best value a federal agency could expect. But what makes GSA different from the commercial world is how that price is monitored, adjusted, and enforced.

Here are the key rules that govern GSA pricing:

• Ceiling rates are pre-negotiated and fixed at award. You can’t exceed these prices without a contract modification.
• You’ll be tied to a Basis of Award (BOA) customer. If you lower prices or give better discounts to that customer commercially, you may have to lower your GSA price too.
• Unless you opt into Transactional Data Reporting (TDR), you’ll be subject to the Price Reductions Clause (PRC)—and it’s enforceable retroactively.
• You’ll have limited options to raise prices using Economic Price Adjustments (EPA) clauses, which require justification and approval.

Clarifying BOA vs. MFC

Many contractors confuse the BOA customer with their Most Favored Customer (MFC). They’re not always the same. The BOA is the specific customer or category of customers that your GSA pricing is benchmarked against. It’s part of your initial negotiation and written into your contract. The PRC only applies if you change your discount relationship with that customer—not with just any buyer.

GSA’s Role in 2025 Federal Procurement

GSA is playing a bigger role in federal purchasing than ever before. Through its Schedules, GWACs, and Best-in-Class (BIC) contracts, it’s becoming a centralized hub for government buying. In recent years, GSA Schedule spending has topped $45 billion, and that figure continues to trend upward as category management policies push agencies toward consolidated purchasing. This doesn’t mean GSA is the only way to win contracts—but if you're not on a Schedule, you’re likely missing out on long-term, repeatable revenue.

Build a GSA Pricing Strategy That’s Compliant and Profitable

Research the Market—But Know GSA Does Too

Look at what similar vendors charge on GSA Advantage! and GSA eLibrary. Understand how your competitors package their services, what their terms are, and how pricing varies by SIN or labor category. But don’t stop there. GSA Contracting Officers also conduct their own independent market research—and they won’t approve your pricing just because it matches someone else’s. Be ready to explain why your rates are fair and reasonable for the government.

Build Discount Tiers That Protect Your BOA Relationship

The PRC doesn’t stop you from offering commercial discounts—but it does bind you to the terms of your BOA customer. If your commercial pricing shifts in a way that gives your BOA better terms, your GSA price may need to drop too. To manage this, you should:

• Define discount structures clearly (volume, prompt payment, etc.)
• Avoid across-the-board or undocumented discounts in the commercial space
• Document exceptions and non-comparable sales to protect against PRC triggers

If you opt into TDR, the PRC no longer applies—but you’ll have to report transactional data regularly instead. TDR shifts the burden from pricing audits to data transparency.

Control Your Price Increases Strategically

Your ability to raise prices under a GSA contract is limited and often misunderstood. EPA clauses—like 552.216-70 for products or I-FSS-969 for services—set rules for when and how you can request increases. Typically, you must wait 12 months from contract award and provide cost-based evidence (e.g., inflation indexes, labor cost changes). GSA often caps increases to a specific percentage per year and may reject your request if the justification isn’t solid.

Key tip: You can’t just “build in inflation” up front. GSA pricing must still meet the fair and reasonable test at the time of award. However, you can design your rates with future EPA windows in mind.

Stay Audit-Ready and Documentation Strong

Whether you’re under the PRC or TDR, the GSA expects you to be able to back up every price and discount. Audits and Contractor Assistance Visits (CAVs) happen regularly—especially for larger contractors or those with unusual sales patterns. You’ll need to show:

• How your pricing was established (BOA definition, commercial sales data, cost structure)
• Commercial invoices and discount records that align with your disclosures
• EPA documentation for any approved increases
• Consistency between what’s on paper and what you’re actually billing

Remember: the more consistent your internal policies are, the easier it is to survive an audit.

Dig Defence’s GSA Success

Dig Defence, LLC—a woman-owned small business with a niche product—worked with USFCR to get listed on the GSA Schedule. Their product didn’t fit a standard pricing model, so they used volume-based discounting and performance justifications in their submission. USFCR helped them structure a proposal that made sense both commercially and for GSA review. The result: approval faster than the government’s own processing system could keep.

What’s Next?

Whether you're new to the GSA Schedule or already on it and struggling to manage pricing changes, now’s the time to tighten your strategy. As the government leans further into centralized buying, contractors with smart, sustainable pricing will have the edge. USFCR helps you structure pricing that wins contracts, passes audits, and protects your margins over time.

Want to learn more about GSA requirements and how they can benefit your business? Schedule a one-on-one session with a GSA specialist today to get customized insights and answers to your questions.

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