SERVING IDAHO GOVERNMENT & EDUCATION AGENCIES
THE EPROCUREMENT PLATFORM IDAHO AGENCIES CHOOSE TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT
Built for cities, counties, school districts, higher education, utilities, and special districts, from small clerk's offices to full purchasing departments. Designed to adapt to the requirements your agency operates under and keep a complete, timestamped record of every solicitation, notice, bid, and award. Contact us to learn about cooperative purchasing options available to Idaho agencies, like the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS).
Idaho agenciesCooperative purchasing options are available to allow your agency to purchase PlanetBids without a new competitive solicitation. Ask our team about options for your agency type.
TRUSTED BY AGENCIES ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
From the Puget Sound and the Pacific Coast to the Cascade Range and the Northern Rockies, government agencies across the Northwest count on PlanetBids to run compliant, transparent, modern procurement.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
HOW THE PORT OF PORTLAND BOOSTED EFFICIENCY & TRANSPARENCY
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Eliminated manual-heavy processes – like email exchanges with suppliers and hard-copy contract award letters
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Reduced server support with a cloud-hosted SaaS system that required little to no IT intervention
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Procurements became easier for both the Port staff and the supplier community, with an intuitive system that allowed staff to acclimate quickly
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Vendors register for free and get automatic notifications for new opportunities, while giving the Port digital access to vendor records and certifications
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Evaluations were moved entirely online, allowing the Port to interactively conduct fair, confidential, and impartial evaluation processes.
"We set up a main number with PlanetBids that we could refer to any supplier needing assistance. Their customer service was outstanding and significantly helped with the transition. I can't think of a single time when a vendor was not assisted successfully and quickly."
Michael Smelser
Procurement Strategist, Port of Portland
TRI-STATE PROCUREMENT COMPLIANCE
BUILT FOR HOW TRI-STATE AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED TO BUY
Idaho's purchasing law for political subdivisions, Title 67, Chapter 28, runs on a single structure for both public works and goods and services: written solicitations to at least three vendors in the middle, and competitive sealed bidding with two published newspaper notices above it. PlanetBids is designed to help you meet compliance requirements no matter the threshold, with a complete, timestamped, exportable record of the solicitation, notice, bid, and award for auditing and reporting.
Public Works Documentation
PlanetBids documents the written solicitations, sealed bids, and awards for public works projects, including Category A and Category B processes, giving your agency a defensible record of the process followed.
Goods and Services Documentation
PlanetBids centralizes the solicitation, bid receipt, and award record for goods and services purchases compliant with Idaho Code 67-2806, maintaining purchase records in an organized and easily accessible file.
Written Solicitation & Three-Bid Records
Keep the record of written solicitations sent to at least three vendors or licensed public works contractors, including the response window and the documented effort agencies are required to retain.
Published Notice & Bid Opening Records
Keep the date of published notices and the bid opening with the solicitation file, supplementing rather than replacing statutorily-required newspaper postings.
Award Explanation & Bidder Objection Records
Document the written explanation for an award to other than the lowest bidder, the notice to bidders, and the board's review of any objection and keep it together with the rest of the award record.
Federal DBE & Procurement Method Documentation
Support good faith effort documentation for DOT-assisted projects under the ITD-administered Unified Certification Program and keep a record of informal and formal methods used on federally-funded purchases.
COOPERATIVE PURCHASING
COOPERATIVE PURCHASING OPTIONS
Oregon agencies may be able to purchase PlanetBids through an existing cooperative contract like TIPS, eliminating the need for a new competitive solicitation. Ask your PlanetBids rep about available cooperative vehicles for your agency type.
PROCUREMENT EXPERTISE
NPI-CERTIFIED
PlanetBids is certified as an Achievement in Excellence in Procurement® (AEP) eProcurement Certified platform by the National Procurement Institute, meeting critical standards for Electronic Sourcing (AEP Criteria 7b) and Electronic Evaluations and Automatic Scorecarding (7c).
EVENT PRESENCE
INDUSTRY EVENT SPONSOR
PlanetBids is a proud member of NIGP and a regular attendee and sponsor of the annual NIGP Annual Forum, as well as attending annual American Public Works Association and Government Finance Officers Association event.
THE PLATFORM
EVERYTHING YOUR PROCUREMENT TEAM NEEDS, NOTHING YOU DON'T.
PlanetBids is a modular, end-to-end procurement lifecycle platform. Start with what you need and add modules as your agency grows.
Requests & Solicitations
Create, publish, and manage IFBs, RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs from guided templates. Get live countdowns, drag-and-drop documents, and real-time status tracking.
Vendor Management
Create a centralized vendor registry with real-time Empire State Development MWBE and SDVOB certification verification. Automated outreach by commodity code generates good-faith effort documentation for State Comptroller pre-audit packages and Empire State Development utilization reports.
Compliance & Audit Trails
Every action is timestamped and logged, with automatic bid tabulation, sealed bid verification, and complete documentation trails that hold up to protests – $50B+ processed, zero valid protests.
Contract Management
Centralize awarded contracts with automated expiration alerts, amendment tracking, and insurance certificate management so you ever miss a renewal or compliance deadline.
Project Evaluation
Multi-round scoring with unlimited evaluators, consensus or individual scoring modes, and exportable matrices supports complex RFP evaluations for capital projects and bond programs.
AI with Guardrails
AI tools are built specifically for public procurement, with the compliance controls government agencies require. Get faster drafting and smarter vendor matching, within the boundaries your policies demand.
Requests & Solicitations
Create, publish, and manage IFBs, RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs from guided templates. Get live countdowns, drag-and-drop documents, and real-time status tracking.
Vendor Management
Create a centralized vendor registry with real-time Empire State Development MWBE and SDVOB certification verification. Automated outreach by commodity code generates good-faith effort documentation for State Comptroller pre-audit packages and Empire State Development utilization reports.
Compliance & Audit Trails
Every action is timestamped and logged, with automatic bid tabulation, sealed bid verification, and complete documentation trails that hold up to protests – $50B+ processed, zero valid protests.
Contract Management
Centralize awarded contracts with automated expiration alerts, amendment tracking, and insurance certificate management so you ever miss a renewal or compliance deadline.
Project Evaluation
Multi-round scoring with unlimited evaluators, consensus or individual scoring modes, and exportable matrices supports complex RFP evaluations for capital projects and bond programs.
AI with Guardrails
AI tools are built specifically for public procurement, with the compliance controls government agencies require. Get faster drafting and smarter vendor matching, within the boundaries your policies demand.
THE VENDOR ADVANTAGE
MORE QUALIFIED BIDDERS, ZERO VENDOR PHONE CALLS TO YOUR TEAM.
A deep, pre-qualified vendor network and a dedicated support team handles vendors for you, so your purchasing office can focus on procurement, not vendor phone calls.
VENDOR
NETWORK
40K+ qualified vendors ready to bid on your solicitations
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Vendors are matched to your bids by commodity code, no manual outreach lists required
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Agencies typically jump from 3-4 responses to 10-12 submittals per bid after switching to PlanetBids
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Empire State Development MWBE and SDVOB classifications are built in to meet Idaho's 30% MWBE utilization goals for state-funded projects
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Vendors can register and bid for free, removing the friction that keeps small businesses out
EXCLUSIVE
DEDICATED
VENDOR SUPPORT
We help your vendors so you don't have to
When a vendor has a question about your solicitation, how to upload documents, or how to register, they call us, not your purchasing office. Our dedicated vendor support team handles it directly so your team stays focused on procurement. For you, this means no more:
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Vendor registration help calls
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Document upload questions
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Bid submission troubleshooting
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Addenda & notification questions
Results: Fewer incomplete bids, more competitive responses, and hours back in your team's week, every single procurement cycle.
VENDOR NETWORK
40K+ qualified vendors ready to bid on your solicitations
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Vendors are matched to your bids by commodity code, no manual outreach lists required
-
Agencies typically jump from 3-4 responses to 10-12 submittals per bid after switching to PlanetBids
-
Empire State Development MWBE and SDVOB classifications are built in to meet Idaho's 30% MWBE utilization goals for state-funded projects
-
Vendors can register and bid for free, removing the friction that keeps small businesses out
DEDICATED VENDOR SUPPORT
We help your vendors so you don't have to
When a vendor has a question about your solicitation, how to upload documents, or how to register, they call us, not your purchasing office. Our dedicated vendor support team handles it directly so your team stays focused on procurement. For you, this means no more:
-
Vendor registration help calls
-
Document upload questions
-
Bid submission troubleshooting
-
Addenda & notification questions
Results: Fewer incomplete bids, more competitive responses, and hours back in your team's week, every single procurement cycle.
WHO WE ARE
Built by procurement professionals, for procurement professionals
PlanetBids was founded specifically for the public procurement industry, and we understand the needs of procurement professionals. That origin matters, as every feature, every workflow, and every support interaction are designed to reflect how actual purchasing teams manage work under budget pressure, public scrutiny, and legal compliance requirements.
Designed for public procurement since 2000
We're not an ERP company that added a procurement module. We're not a startup that pivoted into GovTech. We're not a big conglomerate chasing a new market. We are a 25-year-old company whose entire business is built around making procurement professionals more effective.
100% US-based support staff with procurement backgrounds
Our in-house support team includes people with real public procurement backgrounds. When you call with a question about sealed bid procedures or vendor protest prevention, you're talking to someone who has managed that process themselves and understands your issues.
A solid foundation of PlanetBids agencies
550+ agencies. 1,000+ users. 99% retention. Zero valid bid protests across $50B+ in contracts processed. Our company has stayed focused on one thing for 25 years, and we have the track record to prove it.
WHAT IDAHO PROCUREMENT TEAMS ASK US MOST
Can our Idaho agency purchase PlanetBids without going through a new bid process?
Potentially yes. Depending on your agency type and purchasing thresholds, cooperative purchasing options may be available that allow Idaho agencies to execute a contract without issuing a new competitive solicitation. PlanetBids is already available on the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) as a cooperative contract. Contact our team to discuss the procurement paths available for your specific agency.
If a direct procurement path is preferred, our team can provide pre-approved legal resolution language addressing common counsel concerns.
Can PlanetBids work with the way we already run written solicitations to three vendors?
Yes, PlanetBids is set up around your agency's process, so the solicitations you send, the responses you receive, and the documentation you retain are recorded throughout the process, not compiled after the fact.
Does PlanetBids replace our newspaper notices?
No, the published notices stay as the statute requires, and PlanetBids keeps the notice dates, the bid openings, and the rest of the solicitation record together in one file. PlanetBids also supplements the newspaper posting with a vendor portal, in which all solicitations are posted and publicly accessible to vendors, with free registration and bid document downloading and historical contract records.
When we award to other than the lowest bidder, can PlanetBids keep the explanation and the notice to bidders with the file?
Yes, PlanetBids keeps the written explanation, the notice to bidders, and any objection and board review alongside the rest of the award record to provide defensible, audit-worthy documentation of award decisions.
Idaho's regulatory requirements changed in 2025 and may change again. Does PlanetBids need to be rebuilt each time?
No. PlanetBids is built to adapt to and document compliance with whatever your agency's regulatory requirements are. Updates to thresholds or workflows do not impact the way PlanetBids works. The system helps you build and release solicitations, notify and communicate with vendors, and accept and award bids, regardless of regulations.
How quickly can we go live, and what does implementation cost?
Most agencies can go live in just a few days, including implementation, training, integration, customization, and vendor migration. In rare cases in which agencies are under tight deadline requirements, they can go live in just a few days. No additional IT support is usually required. PlanetBids does charge a one-time setup fee that covers all implementation and training.
We're a small clerk's office or a highway district with limited staff. Is PlanetBids too large or complicated for us?
Absolutely not. PlanetBids is designed to be scalable for agencies of all sizes, from one-person offices to full procurement teams. PlanetBids automates the time-consuming manual process involved with solicitation creation and posting, vendor notification and communication, and record keeping that would otherwise be done by hand.
How much does PlanetBids cost?
PlanetBids is an annual SaaS subscription pricing model with no per-bid, vendor, or transaction fees. Pricing is tiered based on desired features and functionality, the number of full users, and the number of solicitations posted per year. Pricing varies based on agency size, bid requirements, and budget. We recommend speaking with our sales team for a customized quote.
READY TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT FOR YOUR IDAHO AGENCY?
Book a 30-minute demo with a member of our dedicated public sector sales team. We'll show you the platform, walk through the TIPS contract process, and answer questions specific to your agency type.
Available on TIPS cooperative with no new RFP required
Works with your own agency processes and requirements and adapts as regulations change
US-based in-house support with extensive procurement expertise
Pricing is tiered, with options for any agency size and budget
99% client retention means