The federal government’s busiest buying season is upon us. Federal fiscal year-end (FFYE) is one of the most stressful times of the year for anyone in the government contracting community, including procurement officials and vendors, with approximately $100 billion spent in the mad rush before budgets expire. 

The month of September marks the busiest buying season for the federal government. In the final month of fiscal year 2018, an astonishing $97 billion was spent on 509, 828 contracts. On average, this equates to $3.2 billion per day.

September is also getting busier and busier. Between 2015 and 2018 spending increased by 39%.

The old business adage runs, “Nothing happens until somebody sells something.” To which you might add this corollary: nothing good happens in the absence of strong requirements.

With Federal Fiscal Year End rapidly approaching, government buyers can breathe a sigh of relief that the spending frenzy is almost over. But, you’re probably reading stories and anecdotes in the media about examples of wasteful spending that occurred during the last few weeks of the fiscal year as agencies rushed to spend their “use it or lose it” dollars.

Congress first enacted federal appropriations law in 1809. It’s kept lawyers, contractors, and judges busy ever since. A question arising in many sellers’ minds at this time of year is, what money is available for contracts in more than one fiscal year?

If you’re a technology solutions provider, we hope you had a great summer and managed to squeeze in some time off, because the busy season is here, and September has already been a frenzy.

Work is already a top source of stress for many Americans, but right now government procurement teams face enormous pressure as they rush to negotiate and award contracts while ensuring regulatory compliance before the federal fiscal year ends on September 30^th.