GSA Schedule Pack

Real session, run 2026-10-04 with Claude Sonnet. The company is made up for the test. The rate figures are live GSA CALC+ data pulled that day.

Do now: Skip the CSP-1 and the Most Favored Customer pick. GSA removed both from the MAS offer requirements in Refresh 31 (issued 2026-04-02), so your consultant's checklist is out of date. You don't need either before pricing. Confirm that in the current solicitation (see the last line).

Your pricing path, 5 steps. Step 2 is done. Step 1 needs answers from you. Steps 3 to 5 are open.

1. Gate check: two requirements look fine on what you told me, three need your answers.
2. Rate check against awarded rates in GSA's CALC+ database: done.
3. Decide the Senior Software Engineer rate: $185.00 is above the 75th percentile.
4. Fill GSA's price proposal template.
5. Have a second person check every figure.

What replaced the CSP-1 and the Most Favored Customer

You don't have to submit pricing support with the offer. GSA says it will use government data it already has before it asks you for more.
2. The contracting officer compares your rates with government data: awarded Schedule rates (CALC+ for labor), prior purchases, and market research. Step 2 is the CALC+ part.
3.

The old Price Reductions Clause is replaced by a version consistent with Transactional Data Reporting (TDR). Read the current clause for what applies to you.
4.

TDR is mandatory for all SINs, including 54151S. After award you report monthly, due within 30 days of month end, and the Industrial Funding Fee applies to reported sales.
5.

Keep support ready anyway. GSA may ask for it later. Have invoices showing hourly billings at $185.00 and $160.00, a dated rate sheet, and any quotes.

Step 1: Gate check (answers needed)

Run this before other offer work. If a row fails, the offer can't be awarded yet and the price work waits.

Also required before the offer: SAM.gov active with a UEI (your offer's data must match SAM), Pathways to Success and the Readiness Assessment both completed within the past year, and a FAS ID with multi-factor authentication for eOffer.

Step 2: Rate check (done)

I compared your rates with awarded small-business rates in CALC+, BA minimum education. The experience band brackets each category's minimum: 5 to 10 years for your 8-year category, 4 to 8 for your 6-year one. Each category ran twice: across all SINs, then limited to rates listed under 54151S. "Distinct rates" counts the same vendor, title and rate once, even when it is listed under several SINs.

Senior Software Engineer, commercial rate $185.00

Project Manager, commercial rate $160.00

How to read it

Rule of thumb, not a GSA threshold: a rate above the 75th percentile of a fair comparison set needs a stated reason, or a lower number.
2.

Project Manager at $160.00 is under the 75th percentile in both runs. No stated reason is needed under that rule of thumb.
3.

Senior Software Engineer at $185.00 is above the 75th percentile in both runs: $2.66 over the $182.34 line (all SINs) and $5.45 over the $179.55 line (54151S only). Expect the contracting officer to ask why.
4.

Same-work check. The Senior Software Engineer titles are the same work as yours. The most common in the all-SINs run are "Senior Software Engineer" (96), "Senior Software Engineer II" (9) and "IT Senior Software Engineer" (6). "Project Manager" is a generic title, and its all-SINs run includes rates listed under other SINs (after 54151S, the most common are 541611 and 541330ENG). Treat the 54151S-only run as the narrower set. Both runs put $160.00 in the same band.
5.

Limits. These are awarded ceiling rates (fully burdened, hourly). They show what firms list and at what price. They do not show how much agencies buy. CALC+ is one input for the contracting officer, so this shows where your rates fall and does not predict acceptance. CALC+ refreshes daily: rerun the check the week you submit.

Step 3: Decide the Senior Software Engineer rate

The number is your call. Narrowing to 54151S did not move $185.00 out of the 75th-to-90th band, so there are two routes:

Keep $185.00 and state the reason in the price narrative. The reasons that fit are a scarce skill, a clearance, or a high-cost location. Use one only if it is true of the people who would fill the category.
2. Propose a lower GSA rate. The 75th percentile is $182.34 (all SINs) and $179.55 (54151S only).

Whatever you choose, rerun the comparison with the new rate. The percentile moves with it.

Step 4: Fill the price proposal

Template. Use GSA's current price proposal template from the "Required templates for a MAS offer" page on gsa.gov. Upload it in eOffer.
2.

Categories. For each one, enter a description, minimum education, minimum experience, your commercial rate, and the proposed GSA rate per year. Start with Senior Software Engineer (BA, 8 years) and Project Manager (BA, 6 years). Each description has to match the people who would fill the category. List every category you sell under 54151S: GSA expects a full and broad array of what you sell under each SIN, and a token offer of one item can be rejected. Each added category needs the same comparison.
3.

Rates include the Industrial Funding Fee. Decide whether $185.00 and $160.00 work as GSA rates with the fee inside. Rerun the comparison for any rate that changes.
4.

Price adjustment. Choose an economic price adjustment method under GSAR 552.238-120. A commercial price list is required only if you choose adjustments based on established pricing.
5. Price narrative. Put each rate's percentile in it. Starter lines are below.

Also check two attachments that first-time offerors miss: the uncompensated overtime policy (needed when you propose professional employees) and the Service Contract Labor Standards matrix (needed when you offer covered labor).

Starter lines for the price narrative, from the 54151S-only runs. They assume you propose your commercial rates. If you change a rate, change its percentile sentence too.

Senior Software Engineer (BA, 8 years). Proposed rate $185.00/hr. GSA's CALC+ database (searched 2026-10-04) lists 125 distinct awarded small-business rates from 97 vendors under SIN 54151S for Senior Software Engineer titles with a BA and a 5 to 10 year experience minimum. Median $155.99. 75th percentile $179.55. At $185.00 the rate falls between the 75th and 90th percentiles, with 77% of these rates at or below it. [Reason this rate is above the 75th percentile.]

Project Manager (BA, 6 years). Proposed rate $160.00/hr. CALC+ (searched 2026-10-04) lists 2291 distinct awarded small-business rates from 1507 vendors under SIN 54151S for Project Manager titles with a BA and a 4 to 8 year experience minimum. Median $152.55. 75th percentile $177.44. At $160.00 the rate falls between the 50th and 75th percentiles, with 58% of these rates at or below it.

Step 5: Second-person check

Have a second person check every figure: rates, minimums, percentiles, and template entries. Offers are certified submissions, and errors can lead to False Claims Act exposure. Get counsel for anything you are unsure of.

Confirm in the current solicitation before you rely on this

The refresh. GSA issues a refresh about every two months. Refresh 33 was scheduled for October 2026 and had not been issued as of 2026-10-04. Check SAM.gov (solicitation 47QSMD20R0001) and the GSA Interact MAS community for the current one before you submit. The current solicitation and refresh govern over everything here.
2.

The pricing rules above. That covers the CSP-1 and Most Favored Customer removal, the replacement price clause, the no-pricing-support rule, the price adjustment clause, and fee-inclusive rates. These rules were last checked on 2026-10-04 against the June 2026 offeror instructions (SCP-FSS-001). I did not read the live solicitation.
3.

SIN 54151S. I did not check its title or scope against GSA's current "Available Offerings" attachment, or look for SIN-specific requirements. GSA offers a free scope review if the fit is unclear.
4. Past performance. The solicitation's recency window, and how it treats commercial references.

Done: both rates checked against awarded CALC+ rates.

Open, needs you: gate rows 3 to 5, the Senior Software Engineer rate, rates per year and the price adjustment method, your other labor categories, and a second reader.

Next: open solicitation 47QSMD20R0001 on SAM.gov and search the offeror instructions (SCP-FSS-001) for "CSP-1" and "Most Favored Customer". If either is still required, the solicitation wins.