Contractor portals eOffer and eMod will be offline for two days as the General Services Administration switches to a new log-in method with added security.
Federal contractors working with the General Services Administration will have a new sign-on process for eOffer and eMod starting next week. But before the switch is finalized, both services will be down for two days, prompting GSA to urge vendors to plan accordingly.
Starting Monday, contractors will need a FAS ID account to log in to eOffer and eMod, the web portals for digitally managing contract offers and modifications under GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule. Users who already have FAS ID will be able to use those credentials starting Monday; those without will be able to follow the prompts to create an account after the transition.
FAS ID—a relatively new secure log-in system developed by GSA—gives vendors a single set of log-in credentials for several contract management sites. The system was created to make the sign-in process easier, as well as add more security measures like multifactor authentication.
Before FAS ID was implemented, vendors would sign in to GSA portals using their contract number and password. Now, users enter their email and password, then go through the multifactor authentication process.
The added security measures were implemented “in order to comply with the mandates of the Cybersecurity National Action Plan” issued during the Obama administration, GSA officials said in a September message announcing FAS ID would be used for the eBuy platform.
GSA transitioned eBuy log in to FAS ID in October, having previously been implemented on the FAS Sales Reporting Portal, GSA Advantage Purchase Order Portal, GSA Vendor Portal and the Mass Mod Portal.
Ahead of Monday’s transition, the eOffer and eMod sites will be offline and unavailable to users March 6 and 7.
“Please plan ahead to ensure you do not need to access eOffer/eMod during the transition period,” GSA officials urged contract holders in a post on Interact, the agency’s industry outreach site.
The post notes contractors will no longer need digital certificates to log in to eOffer and eMod after the transition, though it recommends vendors keep those certificates handy for other applications.
“While digital certificates won’t be needed for these applications after the transition, contractors may still need to maintain their digital certificates for other government and non-government customers,” the post states.
The transition to FAS ID is the latest in a set of modernization moves for eOffer and eMod. In November, both systems transitioned to digital signatures using DocuSign as the primary method for signing offers and modifications.
