47QRAB25R0002_Completed_Questions_Answers-2025.07.23.pdf

47QRAB25R0002_Completed_Questions_Answers-2025.07.23.xlsx

Question # Section/Paragraph Number Question GSA Answer

1 1.2 CSO Pilot Program Benefits Section 1.2 of the solicitation states a "Preference for the vendor retaining core intellectual property.” There is anacknowledgment regarding data rights under Section 4.1.2.1(c)(ii); please confirm our understanding that all “Contractor Intellectual Property” (as defined in question 3) and data related thereto would remain the property of the contractor.

Specific intellectual property terms and conditions will be negotiated with the offerors who are invited to participate in Phase II of the solicitation. In accordance with Section 5.2.1(d) Phase II -

Commercial Solution , offerors who are invited to provide a Phase II Final Contract Solution shall identify any proprietary information or associated intellectual property within the final contract solution, including any associated data rights.

GSA has authority to negotiate terms and conditions that deviate from standard clauses used in

Federal procurement contracts. GSA may consider tailoring the data rights clauses in the

(Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to suit the needs of GSA and the contractor. Negotiations will also take into account the preference for companies to retain its core intellectual property when appropriate, as stated in Section 1.2 CSO Pilot Program Benefits .

The solicitation has been amended at this section to provide this clarification.

2 1.3 Project Overview and Goals What is the planned term length for the pilot? The government intends to award a contract(s) for this pilot project for a period not to exceed two years. This is based upon one year of transition activities (e.g., system integrations) and one year of transaction processing. The transaction processing timeframe may be longer or shorter, depending upon the actual time taken to complete transition activities (i.e., if transition activities are completed in six months, then the transaction processing timeframe may increase to one year and six months). The solicitation has been amended at Section 2.2 Potential Contract Award and

Period of Performance to summarize the anticipated period of performance to complete the pilot project.

3 1.3 Project Overview and Goals The overview section implies the use of overseas employees is allowed; however, the adherence to the security requirements would not allow this situation. How will non-compliance with overseas employees be evaluated?

Section 1.3 Project Over and Goals does not discuss or imply the allowance or use of overseas employees for this pilot project. However, Section 4.1.2 Phase I - Written Solution Brief Contents contains several questions for offerors to answer regarding the staffing approach and location of its personnel anticipated to support this pilot project. Responses to these questions will be evaluated as described in Section 4.1.3 Phase I - Written Solution Brief Evaluation and Criteria , Section 4.2.4 Phase I - Live Capabilities Demonstration Evaluation , and Section 5.3 Phase II -

Final Contract Solution Evaluation to determine if the offeror clearly demonstrates an ability to deliver commercial products and commercial services that meet the objectives in Section 1.5

Project and Performance Objectives and Section 7.0 Contract Award and Performance

Requirements (e.g., ability to obtain security clearance or suitability determination).

As stated in Section 7.2 Background Investigations , relevant contractor personnel are required to undergo a background investigation and security clearance or suitability determination that must be completed and favorably adjudicated before the contractor personnel can start work on any contract(s) awarded from this solicitation. GSA does not explicitly prohibit use of overseas personnel on this effort, however to the extent the background investigation, security clearance, and/or suitability determination require personnel to be in and/or travel to the United States (to include U.S. commonwealths and territories) the contractor will be required to comply with such policies.

The solicitation has been amended at Section 4.1.3 Phase I - Written Solution Brief Evaluation and Criteria c) Criterion III Capabilities and Related Experience to incorporate a reference to

Section 7.0 Contract Award and Performance Requirements . Additionally, Section 7.2

Background Investigations has been amended to provide a link to GSA’s policy for security clearance and suitability determinations.

4 1.4 Current Environment In Section 1.4 you reference FY 2025 YTD numbers for GSA

Purchase, Travel and Fleet. A) What month(s) do these YTD numbers include? B) Are there more updated YTD numbers you can share?

A) The data provided reflects October 1, 2024 to February 2025. B) Visit our website here to download the most recent Stats Tool.

The solicitation has been amended at this section to provide this clarification.

https://smartpay.gsa.gov/about/statistics/ https://smartpay.gsa.gov/about/statistics/ https://smartpay.gsa.gov/about/statistics/ https://smartpay.gsa.gov/about/statistics/ https://smartpay.gsa.gov/about/statistics/ https://smartpay.gsa.gov/about/statistics/ https://smartpay.gsa.gov/about/statistics/

5 1.4 Current Environment Will the GSA Purchase, Travel, or Internal Fleet programs include any cross-border spend or payouts?

GSA will require products and services that support international travel and international purchases.

6 1.5 Project and Performance

Objectives

Will the pilot be restricted to GSA internal employees only for the duration of the pilot, or will other agencies be considered for addition throughout the pilot?

In accordance with Section 1.3 Project Overview and Goals , the scope of this pilot project will be restricted to selected GSA internal accounts only.

7 1.5 Project and Performance

Objectives

What is GSA's anticipated timeline to begin the pilot? Will the pilot be conducted in phases, or will all business line solutions be piloted concurrently?

The government intends to evaluate solutions and subsequently award a contract(s), for each business line, if any solutions are determined eligible for award, around October 2025.

The contract(s) awarded from this solicitation will have a concurrent period of performance. The solicitation has been amended at Section 2.2 Potential Contract Award and Period of

Performance to summarize the anticipated period of performance intended to complete the pilot project.

8 1.5 Project and Performance

Objectives

How long will the pilot run, and how will pilot success be measured?

The government intends to award a contract(s) for this pilot project for a period not to exceed two years. This is based upon one year of transition activities (e.g. system integrations) and one year of transaction processing. The transaction processing timeframe may be longer or shorter than one year, depending upon the actual time taken to complete transition activities (e.g. if transition activities are completed in six months, then the transaction processing timeframe may increase to one year and six months).

The solicitation has been amended at Section 2.2 Potential Contract Award and Period of

Performance to summarize the anticipated period of performance intended to complete the pilot project.

9 1.5 Project and Performance

Objectives

What are the spend volumes GSA expects for the pilot, by business line?

GSA anticipates spend volume for each business line to be approximately $5 million to $25 million, but no more than $25 million.

Spend and transaction volume for GSA’s transactions for the last two fiscal years by business line was provided for historical reference in Section 1.4 Current Environment .

10 2.2 Potential Contract Award Understanding the government intends to award solutions at no cost during the period of permance, is a separate award limit allocated for the implementation work associated with this contract opportunity?

No, all effort associated with this government requirement/project described in this solicitation is intended to be at no cost to the government for the entire period of performance of any resulting contract(s). As described in Section 2.1 Government Obligation and Liability , no funds are available for this effort. The government will not pay a contractor(s) directly for any services rendered under any contract(s) resulting from this solicitation.

11 3.1 CSO Solicitation Process

3.2 Solution Evaluation Panels, and

3.3 Award Notification and

Technical Feedback

Can you provide a planned timeline for review, award, and implementation launch?

The government intends to evaluate solutions and subsequently award a contract(s), if any solutions are determined eligible for award, around October 2025.

12 4.1.1 Phase I - Written Solution

Brief Submission Requirements

Do the following count towards the 40 page limit? A) The Cover

Page, B) Any Table of Contents

The 40 page limit does not include a title page or table of contents. The solicitation has been amended at this section to provide this clarification.

13 4.1.2 Phase I - Written Solution

Brief Contents

Can the vendor reference branded products used in our solution solely for descriptive or technical accuracy, without promotional language or emphasis on brand value?

Yes, the offeror can reference branded products used in its solution solely for descriptive or technical accuracy, without promotional language or emphasis on brand value.

14 4.1.2 Phase I - Written Solution

Brief Contents (submitted as

General Question)

If only intending to service one business line, should the respondent answer the specific questions for all three in the response brief?

No, the offeror only needs to provide responses related to the business lines discussed in its

Written Solution Brief. If an offeror is not proposing on all business lines, please indicate clearly in the proposal, as appropriate, that the offeror will not be proposing specific business line(s), and thus the question does not apply.

The solicitation has been amended at Section 4.1.2 Phase I - Written Solution Brief Contents to provide this clarification.

15 4.1.2.1 2) General - Solution, Technology, and Approach,

4.1.2.4 Purchase Business Line

4.1.2.5 1) Travel Business Line -

Individual liability Accounts

Alternatives

4.1.3 b) Phase I - Written

Solution Brief Evaluation and

Criteria - Criterion II Transition

Will GSA be providing standard integration specifications, schema formats, or middleware (e.g., GSA API gateways, etc) to facilitate these connections?

Offerors invited to participate in Phase II, as described in Section 5.2.1 Phase II - Commercial

Solution , will be provided with specific information necessary for the Final Contract Solution. This may include information about specific integration specifications, schema formats, or middleware to facilitate integration.

16 4.1.2.1 2) General - Solution, Technology, and Approach,

4.1.2.4 Purchase Business Line

4.1.2.5 1) Travel Business Line -

Individual liability Accounts

Alternatives

4.1.3 b) Phase I - Written

Solution Brief Evaluation and

Criteria - Criterion II Transition

Does GSA intend to mandate integration with certain priority systems (e.g., Treasury-managed core financial systems, Concur, etc)? Will APIs/specs or test environments be shared?

The awarded contractor is expected to provide a solution that integrates with the systems stated in the answer to question 17 below.

Offerors invited to participate in Phase II, as described in Section 5.2.1 Phase II - Commercial

Solution , will be provided with specific information necessary for the Final Contract Solution. This may include information about specific integration with priority systems, specs, or test environments.

17 4.1.2.1 2) General - Solution, Technology, and Approach,

4.1.2.4 Purchase Business Line

4.1.2.5 1) Travel Business Line -

Individual liability Accounts

Alternatives

4.1.3 b) Phase I - Written

Solution Brief Evaluation and

Criteria - Criterion II Transition

Are there specific financial, travel, or fleet systems that GSA anticipates integrating with during the pilot or initial implementation phase? If so, could GSA identify those platforms and provide any available interface documentation or integration points?

GSA’s financial system is Pegasys, which is a Momentum-based core financial system. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA’s current travel system is SAP Concur, which integrates into Pegasys. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA's fleet system is GSAFleet.gov which integrates with Pegasys. For more information on

GSAFleet.gov, see the GSA website here.

Offerors who are invited to participate in Phase II, as described in Section 5.2.1 Phase II -

Commercial Solution , will be provided with specific information necessary for the Final Contract

Solution. This may include information specific interface documentation or integration points.

18 4.1.2.1 2) b) General - Solution, Technology, and Approach

Beyond technical language, what are the key performance improvements or benefits GSA is seeking through innovative solutions? Are there specific areas (e.g., security, efficiency, user experience) where innovation is particularly valued?

In accordance with Section 1.4 Current Environment , GSA believes there are more innovative solutions available in the marketplace today that are not currently available in the government payment space, such as: unified platform access, real-time automated spend management, automatic expense categorization, advanced machine learning algorithms, real-time insights and reporting, hands-free expense reconciliation, artificial intelligence driven spend analytics.

19 4.1.2.1 2) b) General - Solution, Technology, and Approach

4.1.2.1 3) a) General - Customer

Service, Training, and Transition

Will the Government provide details on current operating capacity

(e.g., number/types of systems, data flows, hosting, integration points, data volume/frequency) to inform solution sizing, scope, and transition risk?

Offerors invited to participate in Phase II, as described in Section 5.2.1 Phase II - Commercial

Solution – will be provided with additional specific information necessary for the Final Contract

Solution. This may include additional information about the current operating capacity (e.g., number/types of systems, data flows, hosting, integration points, data volume/frequency).

Spend and transaction volume for GSA’s transactions for the last two fiscal years by business line was provided for historical reference in Section 1.4 Current Environment.

https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services

20 4.1.2.1 2) c) General - Solution, Technology, and Approach

What specific rights does GSA require regarding intellectual property developed during the pilot? Will GSA have a license to use the solution beyond the pilot timeframe?

Specific intellectual property terms and conditions will be negotiated with the offerors who are invited to participate in Phase II of the solicitation. In accordance with Section 5.2.1(d) Phase II -

Commercial Solution , offerors who are invited to provide a Phase II Final Contract Solution shall identify any proprietary information or associated intellectual property within the final contract solution, including any associated data rights.

GSA has authority to negotiate terms and conditions that deviate from standard clauses used in

Federal procurement contracts. GSA may consider tailoring the data rights clauses in the Federal

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to suit the needs of GSA and the contractor. Negotiations will also take into account the preference for companies to retain its core intellectual property when appropriate, as stated in Section 1.2 CSO Pilot Program Benefits .

The solicitation has been amended at this section to provide clarification.

21 4.1.2.1 2) c) ii) General -

Solution, Technology, and

Approach

Could you clarify the definition of "all data"? Does GSA assert sole ownership over "Government Data" only, from the categories defined below?

(a) "Government Data": Raw, identifiable data provided by GSA or generated directly on its behalf during the pilot (e.g., specific transaction details, fleet information, user PII).

(b) "Derived Data": Aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified data that we create from Government Data for statistical analysis, reporting, or service improvement, which contains no PII or identifiable government information.

(c) "Contractor Intellectual Property" refers to our proprietary commercial software platform, including our source code, architecture, user interfaces, features, and all pre-existing technology and any improvements we make.

Section 4.1.2.1 General (2) Solution, Technology, and Approach (c)(ii) refers to government data owned and provided by GSA, to include data from government financial, travel, fleet systems, transactions details, and user personally identifiable information (PII). GSA asserts sole ownership of government data, including derived data created from government data, used or transmitted for this pilot project. Specific intellectual property terms and conditions will be negotiated with offerors who are invited to participate in Phase II.

In accordance with Section 5.2.1(d) Phase II - Commercial Solution, offerors who are invited to provide a Phase II Final Contract Solution shall identify any proprietary information or associated intellectual property within the final contract solution, including any associated data rights.

The solicitation has been amended at this section to provide this clarification.

22 4.1.2.1 2) c) iii) General -

Solution, Technology, and

Approach

Is the requirement to retain receipts for 6 years and 3 months applicable to mobile solutions?

Section 4.1.2.1 (2)(c)(iii) Solution, Technology, and Approach has been amended to state that the record retention requirements are 6 years instead of 6 years and 3 months.

The record retention requirements apply to all transactions (including those completed through a mobile device) created during the performance of any contract(s) awarded from this solicitation.

The contractor can retain the records outside of the mobile environment as long as GSA has the ability to access the records for a period of 6 years after the transaction.

23 4.1.2.1 2) c) iii) General -

Solution, Technology, and

Approach

What specific data elements must be retained for six years and three months? What format should the data be retained in, and what are GSA's requirements for data access during the retention period?

Section 4.1.2.1 (2)(c)(iii) Solution, Technology, and Approach has been amended to state that the record retention requirements are 6 years instead of 6 years and 3 months.

The record retention requirements apply to all transaction data created during the performance of any contract(s) awarded from this solicitation. The offeror may provide a solution as to where and how all data will be retained and how it will be accessible to GSA for a period of 6 years after the transaction date.

The solicitation has been amended at this section to provide this clarification.

24 4.1.2.1 3) General - Customer

Service, Training, and Transition

Is the GSA able to elaborate on what they mean by "transitioning from the legacy contract bank(s)" as part of question 3aiii?

This language was intended to refer to internal transition and learning that GSA employees may need in order to use a new contractor’s systems, forms, applications, etc. Specifically, the proposed approach to assisting agency employees through that transition. No contract transition or transition of data from the current contractor is necessary for performance of any contract(s) awarded as a result of this solicitation.

The solicitation has been amended at this paragraph to provide clarity of this question.

25 4.1.2.1 3) iii) General - Customer

Service, Training, and Transition

What role will GSA play in the change management process when transitioning from the legacy contractor bank(s), particularly in stakeholder coordination, communication planning, and system readiness?

The awarded contractor is responsible for stakeholder coordination, communication planning, and system readiness. Government personnel will be made available to support the implementation of the awarded contractor’s solution, specifically for integration with government systems.

Legacy data from the current GSA SmartPay 3 task order is not required for performance of any contract(s) awarded as a result of this solicitation.

26 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and

Services

Is the GSA able to elaborate on which systems they use today that a potential solution would need to integrate to (e.g. travel expense management, financial system, HR system)?

GSA’s financial system is Pegasys, which is a Momentum-based core financial system. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA’s current travel system is SAP Concur, which integrates into Pegasys. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA's fleet system is GSAFleet.gov which integrates with Pegasys. For more information on

GSAFleet.gov, see the GSA website here.

27 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and

Services

What is the extent of the functionality of the travel expense management system that the solution will need to integrate into as compared to the end to end expense management offering that the

GSA is sourcing in this proposal?

An awarded contractor(s) is expected to provide a solution that integrates with the systems stated in the answer to question 26 above.

Offerors invited to participate in Phase II, as described in Section 5.2.1 Phase II - Commercial

Solution , will be provided with specific information necessary for the Final Contract Solution. This may include information about specific integration requirements.

28 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and

Services

Will our solution be required to integrate with GSA’s existing identity management systems (e.g., Active Directory) for user provisioning and authentication?

Yes, since any contract(s) awarded for the pilot project from this solicitation will be for only GSA internal users/systems, the awarded contractor should expect to integrate via OpenID Connect

(OIDC) or Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) with GSA’s enterprise solutions for identity management, authentication, and access management.

29 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and

Services

Is a mobile application required for the core functionality of your solution?

GSA does not require a mobile application for the core functionality of the solution. The offeror is expected to propose a solution that best meets GSA’s needs, in accordance with Section 4.1.2

Phase I - Written Solution Brief Contents . If a mobile application is part of the proposed solution, the offeror should include it within the description of its “approach and process.”

30 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and

Services

If a mobile application is required, will it be deployed on existing government-issued devices, or will a new application be developed specifically for the GSA program?

Mobile applications utilized by GSA during this pilot shall be commercial (or have the appropriate modifications as described in the definitions of commercial product or commercial services in

FAR 2.101) and provided by the contractor. GSA anticipates any contractor-developed mobile applications to be utilized on government-issued mobile devices.

31 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and

Services

If GSA employees are unable to use a mobile application during the pilot, what alternative access methods or core functionalities will be provided?

The offeror is responsible for proposing alternative access or core functionalities if/when GSA employees are unable to use a mobile application for any reason.

32 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and

Services

Are there any specific mandates or processes for official registration of mobile applications with the government (e.g., central app store, internal directory, or required certifications)?

See the security and privacy requirements in section 6 of Section 8.0 Attachment 2 for mobile application.

33 4.1.2.2 1) Overall Products and

Services - Solution Overview

Which ERP, financial, and HR systems are currently used by the relevant agencies?

GSA’s financial system is Pegasys, which is a Momentum-based core financial system. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA’s current travel system is SAP Concur, which integrates into Pegasys. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA's fleet system is GSAFleet.gov which integrates with Pegasys. For more information on

GSAFleet.gov, see the GSA website here.

https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services https://www.gsa.gov/buy-through-us/purchasing-programs/shared-services/pegasys-financial-services

34 4.1.2.2 1) a) Overall Products and Services - Solution Overview

What enterprise resource planning system(s) or financial system(s) are in scope for this program?

GSA’s financial system is Pegasys, which is a Momentum-based core financial system. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA’s current travel system is SAP Concur, which integrates into Pegasys. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA's fleet system is GSAFleet.gov which integrates with Pegasys. For more information on

GSAFleet.gov, see the GSA website here.

35 4.1.2.2 1) a) Overall Products and Services - Solution Overview

With which systems is the solution expected to integrate? What are those systems’ current integration capabilities (full API, file upload, etc.)?

GSA’s financial system is Pegasys, which is a Momentum-based core financial system. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA’s current travel system is SAP Concur, which integrates into Pegasys. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA's fleet system is GSAFleet.gov which integrates with Pegasys. For more information on

GSAFleet.gov, see the GSA website here.

36 4.1.2.2 1) a) Overall Products and Services - Solution Overview

What ERP systems are used within GSA? What are the key integration points (e.g., financial reporting, procurement)?

GSA’s financial system is Pegasys, which is a Momentum-based core financial system. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA’s current travel system is SAP Concur, which integrates into Pegasys. For more information, see the GSA website here.

GSA's fleet system is GSAFleet.gov which integrates with Pegasys. For more information on

GSAFleet.gov, see the GSA website here.

37 4.1.2.2 1) a) iii) Overall Products and Services - Solution Overview

What level of automation is expected for the reconciliation process? What data sources should be reconciled (e.g., card transactions, statements, agency financial systems)?

GSA has not set a specific level of automation for the reconciliation process. GSA expects offerors to propose levels of reconciliation and elements included (e.g., card transactions, statements, agency financial systems) as offerors deem appropriate.

38 4.1.2.2 1) b) Overall Products and Services - Solution Overview

"Describe your approach for paying individuals and businesses who are outside of the government (i.e., non-government employees), that does not utilize convenience checks or prepaid solutions." - Can you please give an example of a non-charge card use case to be solved? Or is this simply in reference to charge card payments generally?

There may be instances where a government employee needs to make a payment to a vendor that does not accept charge card solutions. Currently, those payments can be made with convenience checks. For this pilot project, as noted in Section 4.1.2.4 Purchase Business Line 1)

Capabilities, GSA is requesting an alternative to convenience checks.

39 4.1.2.2 2) Overall Products and

Services - Issuance

How does GSA envision offerors working with traditional issuers, i.e. previous GSA SmartPay contractor banks or similar?

This section is referencing the ability and willingness of the potential awardee to partner with experienced issuers (e.g. previous GSA SmartPay contractor banks or similar) to issue its solutions through a partnership arrangement.

Offerors are not required to work with current or previous GSA SmartPay contractor banks; the question indicated “GSA SmartPay contractor banks or similar” as an example only. However, GSA has a preference for offerors who are willing to work with traditional and experienced issuers.

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40 4.1.2.2 2) a) Overall Products and Services - Issuance

"Describe your company’s current ability and willingness to work with traditional and experienced issuers, such as previous GSA

SmartPay contractor banks or similar" - Please describe what is being referenced here. Is this asking whether the company can issue its solution using the GSA's preferred banks, instead of the company's partner banks? Or are you asking about data integration and working alongside other offerings issuing other products concurrently for the government?

This section is referencing the ability and willingness of the potential awardee to partner with experienced issuers (e.g., previous GSA SmartPay contractor banks or similar) to issue its solutions through a partnership, teaming, subcontracting, or other similar arrangement solely established and managed by the awarded contractor.

Offerors are not required to work with current or previous GSA SmartPay contractor banks; the question indicated “GSA SmartPay contractor banks or similar” as an example only. However, GSA has a preference for offerors who are willing to work with traditional and experienced issuers to mitigate the risk of partnering with issuers that may not have the expertise to meet the demands of the scope and regulatory complexity of GSA’s requirements.

41 4.1.2.2 2) b) Overall Products and Services - Issuance

Is the GSA requiring the use of BIN prefixes under the existing

SmartPay contract or will the GSA be willing to accept a true commercial solution on a non-government BIN? There is a difference between card art versus numbers and product types used on both Visa and MasterCard’s networks.

The CSO solicitation does not require the use of BIN prefixes from the existing GSA SmartPay contract. Offerors are encouraged to provide their commercial solutions/offerings under the pilot program that may or may not use the BIN prefixes used in GSA SmartPay3. Note: in accordance with Section 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and Services question 2(b), offerors must “ensure only authorized users are able to access GSA strategically sourced services (e.g., City Pair rates, FedRoom rates, point of sale discounts, state sales tax exemption, GSA Advantage!).”

42 4.1.2.2 3) Overall Products and

Services - Spend Management

Is there a particular type of product such as Virtual Card or on plastic that the GSA requires for these requirements? Can we respond with one versus the other or are both required?

GSA does not mandate that offerors propose a particular type of product. GSA expects offerors to propose the most suitable solution(s) for spend management based on Section 1.3 Project

Overview and Goals , Section 1.5 Project and Performance Objectives , and Section 4.1.2.2

Overall Products and Services .

43 4.1.2.2 3) Overall Products and

Services - Spend Management

What does the GSA mean by Transaction close out? This language refers to the ability for the user to validate that the payment has been made to the contractor for the transaction.

The solicitation has been amended at this section to provide this clarification.

44 4.1.2.2 3) a) Overall Products and Services - Spend

Management

Please define the following terms as used in the RFP a) Pre-

Approval, b) Transaction Monitoring and c) Data Mining

a) Pre-Approval: Approval to allocate funding for a purchase by an authorized government official prior to completing the purchase. Cardholders are not authorized to make purchases until this approval takes place in accordance with 31 U.S.C. Section 1341, the Anti-Deficiency Act.

b) Transaction Monitoring: The ability for authorized government officials (e.g. Approving Officials

(AOs), Agency/Program Coordinators (AOPCs)) to review transactions and monitor for potential fraud, waste, and/or misuse of funds.

c) Data Mining: An automated process used to scan databases to detect patterns, trends, and/or anomalies for use in risk management, spend patterns, and other areas of analysis.

45 4.1.2.2 3) a) i) 5) Overall

Products and Services - Spend

Management

What does GSA have in mind for what Data Mining means to the

GSA in the context of spend management workflow?

In accordance with Section 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and Services question 6(e), data mining is expected to be addressed in the offeror’s data and reporting information.

The solicitation has been amended to remove data mining from Section 4.1.2.2 Overall Products and Services , question 3(a)(i).

46 4.1.2.2 4) Overall Products and

Services - Account and

Transaction Management

Is it the GSA’s intention to create multiple billing accounts under different hierarchies by business line or is this a new type of view where the goal is to consolidate the billing but under a single large hierarchy tree type of concept? What is the expectation for user entitlement if across multiple organizations within the GSA?

GSA has a need for multiple hierarchies, which may include multiple billing accounts, multiple lines of accounting, and various user entitlements within the different hierarchies.

Offerors invited to participate in Phase II as described in Section 5.2.1 Phase II - Commercial

Solution , will be provided with specific information necessary for the Final Contract Solution. This may include specific information about hierarchies, billing accounts, and/or user entitlement across multiple GSA organizations.

47 4.1.2.2 4) Overall Products and

Services - Account and

Transaction Management

What internal approval workflows, if any, must be completed before authorized users can create or modify hierarchy levels?

Offerors invited to participate in Phase II as described in Section 5.2.1 Phase II - Commercial

Solution , will be provided with specific information necessary for the Final Contract Solution. This may include information about specific internal approval workflows that must be completed before authorized users can create or modify hierarchy levels.

48 4.1.2.2 4) Overall Products and

Services - Account and

Transaction Management

Which levels within the GSA hierarchy (e.g., cardholder, supervisor, agency coordinator) will have authority to adjust dynamic spend controls?

Offerors invited to participate in Phase II as described in Section 5.2.1 Phase II - Commercial

Solution , will be provided with specific information necessary for the Final Contract Solution. This may include information about specific hierarchy levels and authority to adjust dynamic spend controls.

49 4.1.2.2 4) a) Overall Products and Services - Account and

Transaction Management

Does "hierarchy" refer to company hierarchy or user hierarchy? “Hierarchy” refers to the organizational structure of the agency/organization (“user”) which may be composed of multiple levels from the account holder to the top level of the agency/organization.

50 4.1.2.2 4) a) i) Overall Products and Services - Account and

Transaction Management

4.1.2.2 4) d) Overall Products and Services - Account and

Transaction Management

Does "authorized users" refer to the company program admin or the cardholder user throughout?

An “authorized user” refers to an agency employee that has been authorized to manage or monitor accounts and transactions (e.g., agency/organization program coordinator).

51 4.1.2.2 5) b) Overall Products and Services - Mitigating Fraud, Abuse, and Misuse

4.1.2.5 1) a) Overall Products and Services - Individual liability

Accounts Alternatives

If fraud or misuse happens, even if it's not the offeror’s fault or system-related, hopw does GSA plan to handle the situation?

The government is not liable for external fraudulent transactions. GSA has management processes to mitigate the risk of and remediate instances of misuse and abuse.

52 4.1.2.2 6) Overall Products and

Services - Data and Reporting

Are there specific types of trends or flags the GSA is seeking to data mine the spend data on (over and above MCCs and keywords, as mentioned)? If so, what are those trends and flags?

As described in Section 1.3 Project Overview and Goals , GSA is looking for industry to provide innovative commercial data mining and fraud detection solutions. After contract award, GSA will coordinate with the contractor to implement specific keywords to track trends or flags, based on the contractor’s recommendation and GSA policies.

53 4.1.2.2 6) Overall Products and

Services - Data and Reporting

Please define what "card usage complince rates" entails? "Card usage compliance" is a measure of card usage for purchases under the travel card – as compared to card usage requirements – as defined by federal travel regulations and GSA policies

(i.e., GSA employees are required to use a government-issued travel card when on official government travel rather than the employee’s personal card).

54 4.1.2.2 6) Overall Products and

Services - Data and Reporting

Are there specific naming conventions or data fields required for hierarchy levels or approvers?

Offerors invited to participate in Phase II as described in Section 5.2.1 Phase II - Commercial

Solution , will be provided with specific information necessary for the Final Contract Solution. This may include information about naming conventions or data fields required for hierarchy levels or approvers.

55 4.1.2.2 6) Overall Products and

Services - Data and Reporting

Will GSA be requiring coordination among awarded vendors (if multiple awards are made) to ensure consistent data outputs, reconciliation processes, and data management practices across agencies and business lines? Or, will the government require standardized reporting formats, data feeds, APIs? If so, will schema/dev specifications be provided?

GSA does not anticipate requiring coordination among awarded contractors; however GSA reserves the right to require coordination, should the need arise. GSA will make every effort to seek agreement between contractors to ensure consistency of data and data management practices.

56 4.1.2.3 Security Will all products and services proposed need to meet all security requirements as referenced in the Attachment 2?

Yes, however, post contract award, the specific security and privacy requirements depend on the type of system used to fulfill the contract. For example:

-If a contractor operates systems hosted externally (not directly integrated with or physically connected to GSA's internal network), the security and privacy requirements in Section 2 (of

Attachment 2) apply.

-If a contractor is a cloud solution provider offering Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a

Service (PaaS), or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) to GSA, the security and privacy requirements outlined in Section 5 (of Attachment 2) apply.

-If a contractor's services involve mobile solutions, the security requirements stipulated in Section

6 (of Attachment 2) apply.

Also see solicitation Section 7.3 Data and Information Security for other potential post-award security requirements.

57 4.1.2.3 2) a) Security - Authority to Operate (ATO)

If a product is not FedRAMP certified, will GSA be assisting vendors to expedite the certification process as part of pilot implementation?

If the proposed product is not FedRAMP authorized, GSA will not be assisting vendors to expedite the authorization process as part of pilot implementation. For additional information regarding FedRAMP authorization requirements, please see Rev5 Agency Authorization

Requirements at https://www.fedramp.gov/rev5/agency-authorization/.

Note: FedRAMP authorization will require an agency partner. GSA partnership must be approved by the GSA Chief Information Officer or the GSA Administrator.

58 4.1.2.4 Purchase Business Line Please describe the typical distribution or desired percentage mix of Centrally Billed Accounts (CBAs) vs. Individually Billed Accounts

(IBAs). Is a hybrid model preferred, and if so, what is the approximate breakdown?

For more information about the distribution of centrally billed and individually billed accounts, visit our website here to download the most recent Stats Tool.

Purchase business line does not include IBAs; this business line is strictly CBAs. However, in accordance with Section 4.1.2.5 Travel Business Line , question 1(a), GSA is requesting proposed solutions as alternatives to replace individual liability accounts. As such, GSA does not prefer a hybrid model with both CBAs and IBAs. GSA is looking for IBA alternatives to potentially shift the program from a CBA/IBA model to an alternative that aligns closer to commercial practices.

59 4.1.2.4 1) Purchase Business

Line - Capabilities

Please describe example purchasing scenarios in which agencies would pay an individual.

There may be instances where a government employee needs to make a payment to a merchant that does not accept charge card solutions. Currently, those payments can be made with convenience checks. For this pilot project, as noted in this section,GSA is requesting an alternative to convenience checks.

60 4.1.2.4 1) Purchase Business

Line - Capabilities

What percentage of purchases are currently made via card vs.

convenience checks or other methods?

GSA generally prohibits convenience check usage by its employees, however the agency has granted limited exceptions. In 2024, approximately 20 convenience checks were used by GSA employees totaling approximately $5,000.

61 4.1.2.4 1) Purchase Business

Line - Capabilities

Is GSA interested in utilizing other digital payment…