STARS III Offer Portal User Guide_v2.pdf

US General Services Administration

Telecommunications Services Category Portal

8(a) STARS lll GWAC Offer Portal User Guide

Revised July 2020

Important Notes:

Offer Portal registration may take up to 5 business day to complete. To submit your registration request use the link at the top of page 1 or paste the following url into your browser:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd2vL3T66j1kU_dbM1OPDJcknDZcV5_9MOTMh4m3Dd_gFYncQ/viewform

Please add tscportal@gsa.gov to your safe sender's list to ensure you receive your registration information.

GSA recommends each potential offeror only register a single representative.

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page ii

Table of Contents

1. 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal Account Set-up

2. Uploading Documents into the 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal

3. Proposal Management Tab

3.1. 8(a) STARS III Active Documents

3.2. To delete a document from the 8(a) STARS III Active Documents List

3.3. 8(a) STARS III Deleted Documents

4. 8(a) STARS III Audit Trail

5. Change Password

6. Solicitation Completion

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Table of Figures

Figure 1-1: Welcome Email

Figure 1-2: Password Email

Figure 1-3: Sign In Window

Figure 1-4: Change Password PopUp

Figure 1-5: Change Password

Figure 1-6: Invalid Password Error

Figure 1-7: Password Change Successful PopUp

Figure 1-8: Sign In with New Password

Figure 1-9: Pre-Solicitation PopUp

Figure 2-1: Solicitation Timer

Figure 2-2: Company Name Selection

Figure 2-3: Company Name Verification

Figure 2-4: Company Name Verified

Figure 2-5: Category Selection

Figure 2-6: Category Type Selection

Figure 2-7: Document Selection

Figure 2-8: Choosing a Document

Figure 2-9: Removing a Document

Figure 2-10: Company Confirmation

Figure 2-11: Upload File

Figure 2-12: Successful Upload

Figure 3-1: Proposal Management Menu

Figure 3-2: Active Documents Selection

Figure 3-3: Active Documents List

Figure 3-4: Delete Document Box

Figure 3-5: Delete Document Selected

Figure 3-6: Deleted Documents Drop Down

Figure 3-7: Deleted Documents List

Figure 4-1: Audit Trail

Figure 5-1: Change Password Window

Figure 6-1: Solicitation Ending

Figure 6-2: Returned to Home Page

Figure 6-3: Solicitation Closed PopUp

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 1

1. 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal Account Set-up

After completing the 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal registration, the individual will receive two emails from the TSC Portal (tscportal@gsa.gov). Please add tscportal@gsa.gov to your safe sender's list to ensure you receive your registration information and allow up to 5 days for processing.

● One email will contain a username (See Figure 1-1).

Figure 1-1: Welcome Email

● The other email will include a temporary password (See Figure 1-2). This temporary password is good for 24hrs. If the individual does not log in within this timeframe the account will be locked and the individual will need to email the Portal at tscportal@gsa.gov to have the account unlocked. An email will be sent stating the account is unlocked.

Note: It’s recommended that you copy (Ctrl + c) the password so the password can be more easily entered (Ctrl + v) in the temp/old password fields. Be sure to ONLY copy the password, no spaces.

Figure 1-2: Password Email https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd2vL3T66j1kU_dbM1OPDJcknDZcV5_9MOTMh4m3Dd_gFYncQ/viewform mailto:tscportal@gsa.gov

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1. Access the Portal at tscportal.fas.gsa.gov.

Note: The 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal is hosted on the Telecommunications

Services Category (TSC) Portal. When an individual logs into the TSC Portal, the user will automatically be directed to the 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal.

2. Enter the credentials from the two emails: username and temporary password

(See Figure 1-3).

Figure 1-3: Sign In Window

3. The individual will be prompted to change the temporary password to a more permanent 90 day password (See Figure 1-4).

Figure 1-4: Change Password PopUp

The individual will need to enter the current temporary password, new password, and confirm the new password (See Figure 1-5). The new password must conform to the following:

✔ Minimum password length is 8 characters

✔ Maximum password length is 12 characters

✔ Includes 1 lowercase character

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✔ Includes 1 uppercase character

✔ Includes 1 numeric character

✔ Includes 1 special character (!@#$%^&)

Figure 1-5: Change Password

4. As the password is being created the verbiage “Password is not in valid format” will appear until all the criteria are met (See Figure 1-6).

Figure 1-6: Invalid Password Error

5. Once the password has been successfully changed, a “Change Password” notice will pop up (See Figure 1-7) and confirm the password change - click “ok”. A notification will be sent to the individual’s email as well.

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Figure 1-7: Password Change Successful PopUp

6. After clicking “ok”, the individual is redirected to the TSC Portal main home page. The individual MUST enter the credentials to confirm account creation and click “SIGN IN” (See Figure 1-8).

Figure 1-8: Sign In with New Password

7. The individual will see a pop up (See Figure 1-9) confirming a successful portal account creation. A pop up will notify the individual that the 8(a) STARS III

GWAC Offer Portal will be available when the solicitation is open.

Note: Individuals registered in the 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal are assigned the role of “Offeror.”

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 5

Figure 1-9: Pre-Solicitation PopUp

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 6

2. Uploading Documents into the 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal

The 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal (the Portal) allows for a robust and secure way to safely upload proposal documents. This section will take you through a step-by-step guide for how to upload to the Portal. Although only one example will be demonstrated, all uploads will follow the same process.

IMPORTANT: Solicitation related questions should be directed to S3@gsa.gov. Technical

Portal related questions should be directed to tscportal@gsa.gov. Sending questions to the wrong email will cause a delay in response.

Solicitation Timer:

“The 8(a) STARS III Solicitation closes in:…” will display the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the solicitation closes. The countdown timer will be in bold red and once the timer reaches Eastern Time 0 days 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds (See Figure 2-1) the individual will NOT be permitted to upload documents.

Figure 2-1: Solicitation Timer

1. A registered portal user selects the company name provided during registration from the dropdown menu.

Note: Individuals representing more than one company (i.e. consultants) will have more than one company name listed. Select the company name for which documents will be uploaded. Only one company name can be selected (See Figure 2-2).

mailto:S3@gsa.gov mailto:tscportal@gsa.gov

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 7

Figure 2-2: Company Name Selection

2. Once the company name is selected, confirm by clicking the red “Verify

Company Selection” button (See Figure 2-3).

Note: If the user bypasses this step, the Portal will not allow documents to be uploaded.

Figure 2-3: Company Name Verification

The red Verify Company Selection will render green saying “Verified” (See Figure 2-4).

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 8

Figure 2-4: Company Name Verified

3. Select a Category: A user will need to choose one of the five options in order to upload a document (See Figure 2-5).

Figure 2-5: Category Selection

4. Once a Category is selected, the user will need to choose a Category Type from the dropdown menu (See Figure 2-6).

Note: Each “Category Type” has at least one mandatory upload noted with an asterisk (*). See Solicitation L.12 and L.13.

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 9

Figure 2-6: Category Type Selection

5. The user is now ready to upload a single document that relates to the

Category Type. Select “Choose File” (See Figure 2-7). There are five types of file formats authorized for the Solicitation: xlsx, xls, docx, doc, and pdf.

Figure 2-7: Document Selection

6. Search for the document to be uploaded. Select the document and click

“Open” (See Figure 2-8).

Note: The location of the document will be determined via the user’s computer, not the Portal.

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 10

Figure 2-8: Choosing a Document

7. If an incorrect document has been selected for upload, click on the red

“Remove” under “Actions” (See Figure 2-9).

Figure 2-9: Removing a Document

8. The user must select the “I confirm this upload is for the company selected above” box. This is a mandatory check box (See Figure 2-10).

Note: Take a moment to ensure the correct company name is selected.

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 11

Figure 2-10: Company Confirmation

9. Click “Upload File” (See Figure 2-11).

Figure 2-11: Upload File

Once the file has been uploaded to the Portal, a pop up will display: “Document Uploaded

Successfully” (See Figure 2-12).

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 12

Figure 2-12: Successful Upload

10. Repeat Steps 1 through 9 to upload additional documents.

Note: Once all documents have been uploaded, the submission is complete. There is no final “Submit” action. Offerors should review a list of documents in 8(a)

STARS III Active Documents under the Proposal Management Tab to ensure all proposal files have been uploaded.

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3. Proposal Management Tab

Clicking the Proposal Management Tab (See Figure 3-1) presents two drop down options:

● “8(a) STARS III Active Documents” (See Figure 3-2) where an Offeror can review/delete/manage the uploaded documents

● “8(a) STARS III Deleted Documents” (See Figure 3-6) where an Offeror can view the documents that were deleted

Figure 3-1: Proposal Management Menu

3.1. 8(a) STARS III Active Documents

Figure 3-2: Active Documents Selection

8(a) STARS III Active Documents Column Heading Definitions (See Figure 3-3)

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 14 o Delete Document – This gives the user the capability to mark an item for deletion.

The user has the capability to uncheck the item so it will not be deleted.

o Document Name – This shows the name of the document that was uploaded.

o Folder Name – This shows the unique folder name assigned to a company. The folder name is a system-assigned four digit number followed by the company’s

DUNS number. Uploaded files are stored in the named folder on the 8(a) STARS III

GWAC Offer Portal within GSA FAS Cloud Services (FCS).

o Category – This is based on the category selected.

o Category Type – This is based on the category type selected within the dropdowns.

o Vehicle Name – Internal, will always say 8(a) STARS III.

o DUNS Number – Company DUNS number.

o Vendor Name – Company Name.

o Size (MB) – Shows the size of the uploaded file.

o Uploaded By – Shows the User ID of the person who uploaded the document.

o Description – When a document is selected for upload, the name of the document will appear here.

o Upload Time – Provides the date (YYYY/MM/DD) and time (HH/MM/SS) in Eastern

Time zone for the upload.

Figure 3-3: Active Documents List

To see more columns in the display above, use the bottom scroll bar to move to the right.

Note: Offerors are strongly encouraged to use the Active Documents tab to check that all offer documents have been successfully uploaded to the Portal prior to the solicitation closing.

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3.2. To delete a document from the 8(a) STARS III Active Documents List

Check the “Delete Document” box (See Figure 3-4) next to the document to be deleted.

Figure 3-4: Delete Document Box

The box will turn red with a checkmark within the box (See Figure 3-5). The checked item will be deleted within 3 minutes. Once deleted, the document will be listed under the 8(a)

STARS III Deleted Documents list.

Figure 3-5: Delete Document Selected

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3.3. 8(a) STARS III Deleted Documents

Figure 3-6: Deleted Documents Drop Down

8(a) STARS III Deleted Documents Column (See Figure 3-7) Heading Definitions:

o Document Name – This shows the name of the document that was deleted.

o Folder Name – This shows the unique folder name assigned to a company. The folder name is a system assigned four digit number followed by the company’s

DUNS number. Files uploaded are stored in the named folder on the 8(a) STARS III

GWAC Offer Portal within GSA FAS Cloud Services (FCS) o Category – This is based on the category selected.

o Category Type – This is based on the category type selected within the dropdowns.

o Vehicle Name – Internal, will always say 8(a) STARS III.

o DUNS Number – Company DUNS number.

o Vendor Name – Company Name.

o Size (MB) – Shows the size of the deleted file.

o Uploaded By – Shows the User ID of the person who deleted the document.

o Description – When a document is deleted the name of the document will appear here.

o Upload Time – Provides the date (YYYY/MM/DD) and time (HH/MM/SS) in

Eastern Time zone for the upload

The 8(a) STARS III Deleted Documents (See Figure 3-7) will provide a list of documents that have been deleted. Documents listed are no longer available. If a user chooses to upload a new document under the same category type, the document name cannot be the same as the deleted document.

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 17

Figure 3-7: Deleted Documents List

TSC Portal – 8(a) STARS III GWAC Offer Portal User Guide Page 18

4. 8(a) STARS III Audit Trail

Audit Trail – This feature provides the in-depth list of all actions performed by a user within the Portal (See Figure 4-1) o User Name – The user name of the individual who took an action o Portal – Will always show 8(a) STARS III o Role – Displays the role of the logged in user o Event Name – Displays the logged action o Event time – Displays the logged time (YYYY-MM-DD HH/MM/SS) in the

Eastern time zone o Event Description – Offers more detail of the Event name where applicable o Email – Provides the email of user who completed an action

Figure 4-1: Audit Trail

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5. Change Password

If you need to change the password for your portal account, follow the steps below (See

Figure 5-1). The new password must conform to the following:

Minimum password length is 8 characters

Maximum password length is 12 characters

Includes 1 lowercase character

Includes 1 uppercase character

Includes 1 numeric character

Includes 1 special character (!@#$%^&)

1. Current Password – Enter the current Password

2. New Password – Enter a new password conforming to the Portal password guidelines

3. Confirm Password – Enter the new password again to verify password

4. Click SUBMIT

Figure 5-1: Change Password Window

Follow the steps starting from Figure 1-5 to complete the password reset.

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6. Solicitation Completion

Reminder: Offerors are strongly encouraged to use the Active Documents tab to check that all offer documents have been successfully uploaded to the Portal prior to the solicitation closing.

If an individual is logged into the Portal when the solicitation closes, a pop up will appear and the only permitted action will be to click the “Log Out” button

(See Figure 6-1). After the solicitation closes, users will no longer have access to the Portal.

Figure 6-1: Solicitation Ending

The individual will be redirected to the homepage (See Figure 6-2).

Figure 6-2: Returned to Home Page

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If a login is attempted, the following pop up will appear (See Figure 6-3). The individual will no longer have access to the Portal.

Figure 6-3: Solicitation Closed PopUp