The Government Purchase Card (GPC) program has been around since 1986. Over the past 30+ years, the federal government has experienced new generations of charge card contracts and every generation has benefited from innovative charge card offerings. Today, the GPC program operates under the General Services Administration (GSA) SmartPay program and is the largest charge card and payment solutions program in the world with over 556,000 accounts.

A Look at Small Business Utilization on Unison Marketplace in FY19

Directing spending dollars to American small businesses is a central goal of federal contracting. In 1953, Congress passed the Small Business Act which declared “the Government should aid, counsel, assist, and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns,” in order to "insure that a fair proportion of the total sales of Government property be made to such enterprises, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of the Nation".1 This directive serves to support a healthy and diverse supplier base of small businesses, which are the backbone of the American economy and job creators in communities across the country.

With the end of the fiscal year drawing to a close, the race is on for agencies to meet their yearly set-aside contracting goals. When it comes to meeting those small business goals, there is no better place to turn to than Unison Marketplace. Solicitations competed and awarded through the Marketplace far surpass federal set-aside goals each year. In FY18, Unison Marketplace awards out-performed in every federal small business utilization category.

Tips and Tricks for Buyers

As we step into the end of FY19, we know there are various types of requirements you may have and that deadlines are quickly approaching. Option Period contracts can be a great way to add value to service contracts throughout the government. While Option Period contracts can be used for both service and supply contracts, the government’s use of Option Periods for services is very common and provides great benefits to the acquisition process.