SERVING KENTUCKY GOVERNMENT & EDUCATION AGENCIES
THE EPROCUREMENT PLATFORM KENTUCKY AGENCIES CHOOSE TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT
Built to help cities, counties, schools, and special districts streamline general bidding processes and meet the sealed bid, responsive/responsible bidder requirements of Local Model Procurement Code, with documentation structured to hold up to Auditor of Public Accounts review. Contact us to learn about cooperative purchasing options available to Kentucky agencies, like the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS).
Kentucky agencies Cooperative 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 SOUTH
From the Kentucky bluegrass to the Florida Everglades and from the big skies of Texas to the peach trees of Georgia, public agencies across the south rely on PlanetBids to run compliant, transparent, modern procurement.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
HOW REWA EMBRACED DIGITAL PROCUREMENT
- Eliminated paper costs and travel to the ReWa offices to submit proposals and hear bid awards – replaced 1,000- to 2,000-page construction solicitations and large paper bid submissions
- All information related to a bid is stored and tracked in one place, with a central vendor portal for questions and answers and addenda release
- When issues arise, research can be conducted within PlanetBids – every step of the procurement process is tracked, helping defend a decision with hard facts
- PlanetBids handles all agency and vendor customer support, with a U.S.-based, in-house team of former procurement professionals and technical experts
"Customer service became a very important benefit for us. Some eProcurement systems might outsource or minimize this in their offering, but it's an important reason for our success. PlanetBids has tremendous customer support and has been there from the beginning for user adoption through ongoing support as issues might arise."
Stephanie Selman
Senior Purchasing Agent, Renewable Water Resources
KENTUCKY PROCUREMENT COMPLIANCE
BUILT FOR HOW KENTUCKY AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED TO BUY
Kentucky's local procurement follows either the Kentucky Model Procurement Code (KRS 45A.343 to 45A.460) or defaults to the General Bidding Statute (KRS 424.26), with recurring, statutorily required audits from the Auditor of Public Accounts. Regardless of which track applies to your jurisdiction, PlanetBids designed to produce a complete, timestamped, exportable record of every step of the procurement process, for every solicitation, every time.
General Bid Advertisement
PlanetBids documents the public notice, Q&A and addenda release and acknowledgement, bid submission and opening, and award process for every solicitation, giving your agency a record that demonstrates compliance.
Kentucky Model Procurement Code
For the roughly one in four cities operating under the KMPC, PlanetBids structures the sealed bid, responsive/responsible bidder process into a consistent, documented workflow with a defensible evaluation and award record.
Auditor of Public Accounts Audits
Centralize every solicitation notice, addendum, and bid opening into one exportable file to quickly and easily submit an automatically compiled and complete procurement trail, not one recreated from paper and email.
Interlocal Cooperation Act
Maintain a clear solicitation record for jointly procured contracts under KRS 45A.300 and the Interlocal Cooperation Act (KRS 65.210-65.300), supporting the documentation a multi-jurisdictional agreement needs on file.
Federal DBE Outreach
Automated vendor outreach logs and vendor-submitted business certification tracking demonstrate good faith effort for federally-funded highway, transit, or airport projects under the USDOT-mandated DBE program.
Open Records & Fiscal Court Presentation
Keep solicitation activity and bid results centralized for easy access and presentable for fiscal court or board meetings or public records requests.
COOPERATIVE PURCHASING
Cooperative Purchasing Options
Kentucky agencies may be able to purchase PlanetBids through an existing cooperative contract like the Interlocal Purchasing System (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® (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 NIGP Annual Forum, as well as attending annual American Public Works Association and Government Finance Officers Association events nationwide.
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 Kentucky'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
-
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 Kentucky'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 KENTUCKY PROCUREMENT TEAMS ASK US MOST
Can our Kentucky 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 Kentucky agencies to execute a contract without issuing a new competitive solicitation. 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 including General Municipal Law 103 authorization and cooperative purchasing authority.
We haven't adopted the Kentucky Model Procurement Code. Does that mean we can't use eProcurement software?
No. KRS 424.260, the default general bidding statute, governs advertisement and bid opening mechanics on its own, and PlanetBids supports compliant electronic bid notice and documentation under either track.
Does PlanetBids replace our KRS Chapter 24 newspaper legal notice requirement?
No. If your local requirements state that you must publish your solicitations in the local newspaper, you must still follow that directive. However, PlanetBids allows you to post solicitations in a dedicated vendor portal for public access as well, expanding your potential vendor reach and allowing you to accept secure digital bid submissions as well as paper responses. Confirm with legal counsel whether your specific notice statute still requires newspaper publication alongside electronic posting.
Our clerk-treasurer already does everything procurement-related by hand. Will PlanetBids add work to her responsibilities?
The goal is the opposite. PlanetBids is designed to automate vendor outreach and notification, streamline request approval and solicitation creation, digitalize RFP posting and bid submission, and standardize evaluation and award processes for your procurement professional. The platform is intended to eliminate manual tasks and reduce hours for a one- to two-person office, not add more work.
Can our fiscal court still see everything for the public record and open meeting requirement?
Yes! All solicitation activity and bid results remain centralized, visible, and easily exportable for fiscal court or board presentation and for public records requests.
Do state Master Agreements through the Finance and Administration Cabinet still work if we use PlanetBids?
Yes. PlanetBids doesn't replace optional participation in state Master Agreements under KRS 45A.050(3). It manages the solicitations your jurisdiction runs on its own.
How does PlanetBids help with our Auditor of Public Accounts audits?
PlanetBids provides a documented, timestamped, easily accessible solicitation trail that supports the procurement testing that county fiscal court and city audits perform.
We're a special district with no dedicated purchasing software today. Is PlanetBids right for an office our size?
Absolutely. PlanetBids is perfectly engineered for agencies wanting to transition from manual and paper processes to a digitally managed procurement workflow. It is designed to work for offices with minimal dedicated procurement staff, which describes many of Kentucky's water, fire, and sanitation districts, as much as it does smaller cities and counties, but it also scales to support large cities and agencies in metropolitan areas.
How long does implementation take?
Most agencies are up and running within a few weeks, including implementation, integration, vendor migration, customization, and training. There is no need to add or move around staff to manage the transition. In some cases, agencies with tight federal deadlines for new solicitation release can be live in just a few days.
PlanetBids does charge a one-time setup fee that covers all implementation, customization, and training.
How much does PlanetBids cost?
PlanetBids is priced as a SaaS subscription, with no per-bid, vendor, or transaction fees. Pricing is tiered based on desired features and functionality, number of full user licenses required, and number of solicitations released each year. Because of the custom nature of our pricing, we suggest speaking to a member of our sales team for a quote tailored to your agency.
READY TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT FOR YOUR KENTUCKY 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
Documents every step of the procurement workflow from request to award to meet whatever statutory requirements your agency follows
US-based in-house support with extensive procurement expertise
Pricing is tiered, with options for any agency size and budget
99% client retention means our clients love us