SERVING LOUISIANA GOVERNMENT & EDUCATION AGENCIES
THE EPROCUREMENT PLATFORM LOUISIANA AGENCIES CAN TRUST TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT
Built for the Louisiana Public Bid Law's three-tier structure, with documentation designed to hold up under Louisiana Legislative Auditor compliance review. Whether you're a parish police jury, a city-parish government, or a school board, PlanetBids is engineered to help you eliminate manual work and automate processes. Contact us to learn about cooperative purchasing options available to Louisiana agencies.
Louisiana 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, like the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS).
TRUSTED BY AGENCIES ACROSS THE SOUTH
From the Lone Star State to the Florida Everglades, from Arkansas to Georgia, government agencies in the deep south count on PlanetBids to run compliant, transparent, modern procurement.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
HOW CAP METRO ACHIEVED 100% AUTOMATION
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Eliminated all paper processes and manual work – going fully automated during the remote work transition of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
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Additional modules and functionality implemented quickly under tight deadline without major additional training or complicated customization
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Emergency purchasing managed within the PlanetBids system, allowing the agency to quickly issue bids to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) and support the IT division with additional computers and software
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Updated existing contracts and migrated all employees to the fully automated system at no extra cost to the agency or hit to the budget
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Improved vendor engagement for more consistent and competitive responses with automated bid notifications, a robust database, and digital bid submissions
"When the workforce transferred to offsite environments, our process needed to quickly move to 100% electronic. We examined the remaining components to question how they could be automated. Additional needs were addressed with new features and modules, as well as updating existing policies to reflect the new online procedures."
Muhammad Abdullah
Senior Director and Chief Contracting Officer, Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority
LOUISIANA PROCUREMENT COMPLIANCE
BUILT FOR HOW LOUISIANA AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED TO BUY
Louisiana's Public Bid Law sets three thresholds for purchases, depending on dollar amounts and goods or services procurement. PlanetBids is designed to manage all three – documented quotes for materials and supplies, public advertisement and bid above $60,000, and public works bidding above $250,000 – producing a complete, timestamped, exportable record that supports compliance for whichever tier requirements your agency is following.
Three-Quote Documentation
Document the three quotes required for materials and supplies between $30,000-$60,000 in this tier to give your agency a defensible record of the solicitation process and subsequent outreach.
Public Advertisement Compliance
Centralize public advertisement, digital bid submission, and award records for materials and supplies purchases above $60,000, ensuring all bidding regulations are met.
Public Works Bidding
For public works projects over $250,000, PlanetBids documents the public advertisement, Q&A and addenda release, encrypted bid submission, sealed-bid opening, and lowest responsible bidder award record in accordance with Public Bid Law.
Louisiana Legislative Auditor Documentation
Provide a complete, comprehensive, and timestamped record of every quote, notice, addendum, and bid opening, centralized for easy access to defend your processes and decision making.
Levee, Drainage, & Fire Districts
PlanetBids supports small special districts with independent procurement authority by automating repetitive and manual tasks, streamlining document management and reporting, and improving vendor outreach, giving your minimally staffed agency a defensible process without additional headcount.
Federal DBE Outreach
Automated vendor outreach logs generate the good faith effort records required for FHWA, FTA, or FAA-funded roadwork, transit, levee, or drainage projects under federal DBE rules.
COOPERATIVE PURCHASING
Cooperative Purchasing Options
Louisiana 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 Louisiana'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 Louisiana'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 LOUISIANA PROCUREMENT TEAMS ASK US MOST
Can our Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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.
Does PlanetBids satisfy the advertising requirements of Public Bid Law?
Yes, PlanetBids provides the public-facing posting and documented timestamp trail agencies use alongside any statutorily required newspaper advertisement under R.S. 38:2212 and 38:2212.1. It supplements, rather than replaces, that statutory notice unless your legal counsel confirms otherwise. Request quotes from specific vendors for goods and services purchases under $60,000, release solicitations to the entire network for purchases above $60,000, or post line-item RFPs for public works bids over $250,000, all in the same vendor portal.
We're a small parish with one purchasing clerk. Is PlanetBids too large a system for us?
Absolutely not. PlanetBids is designed to scale based on your agency size and requirements, helping small agencies like rural parishes automate routine manual tasks while releasing solicitations and accepting bids, or helping larger metro areas streamline the entire purchasing process from request to award.
How does PlanetBids handle the three-quote requirement for goods and services purchases between $30,000 and $60,000?
PlanetBids structures your quote solicitation and documentation specifically for whichever tier your purchase falls under, so you can provide clear, complete, defensible documentation that all regulations were followed.
Can our parish school district or city school board use PlanetBids separately from the city or parish?
Yes, PlanetBids makes solicitation simple for school boards, regardless of size, helping them purchase all the goods, services, and projects required for students, staff, and faculty. You can use PlanetBids independent of your local government or legislative body. Each entity operates its own account and profile.
How does PlanetBids support our Legislative Auditor engagement?
PlanetBids provides a documented, timestamped record of all procurement activities from request through award, centralized to be easily accessible in the case of an audit request from the Legislative Auditor. This report directly supports the procurement testing LLA performs during compliance and financial audits.
Can our levee, drainage, or fire protection district use PlanetBids even though we're not a parish or city?
Absolutely. Special districts with independent procurement authority under Public Bid Law often have small procurement teams who can benefit from the automation, documentation, and reporting of PlanetBids' easy-to-use system.
Is PlanetBids compliant with federal DBE good faith effort documentation for our FHWA- and FTA-funded projects?
Yes, PlanetBids' vendor outreach and reporting tools support federally required documentation, tracking the certifications of the vendors you solicit pricing from, accepting business certification documentation directly from those vendors, and maintaining it all in a centralized database for easy reporting.
How long does implementation take?
Most agencies are up and running in a few weeks, including implementation, customization, integration, vendor migration, and training. In special cases, agencies on tight deadlines for key solicitations can be live in just a few days.
How much does PlanetBids cost?
PlanetBis is a SaaS subscription platform, with no per-bid, vendor, or transaction fees. Pricing is tiered based on desired features and functionality, number of full user licenses, and number of solicitations released per year. Because our pricing is customized to each agency, we recommend reaching out to our sales team for a quote tailored to your needs.
READY TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT FOR YOUR LOUISIANA 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
Document compliance with Public Bid Law for all tiers and state or federal requirements
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