SERVING NEBRASKA GOVERNMENT & EDUCATION AGENCIES
THE EPROCUREMENT PLATFORM NEBRASKA AGENCIES CHOOSE TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT
Built for cities, counties, natural resources districts, educational service units, and every other entity Nebraska's patchwork statutory landscape produces. Compliant with the County Purchasing Act, Chapters 14-19 for cities, and with the documentation standards of the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts. Cooperative purchasing options available.
Nebraska agencies Cooperative purchasing options are available to allow your agency to purchase PlanetBids without a new competitive solicitation, like the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS). Ask our team about options for your agency type.
TRUSTED BY AGENCIES ACROSS AMERICA'S HEARTLAND
From the Dakotas to the Great Plains to the Great Lakes, PlanetBids helps government agencies in the Midwest and nationwide run compliant, transparent, modern procurement.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
HOW JEFFERSON COUNTY TRANSFORMED
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Eliminated stacks of paper and manual spreadsheet tracking – replaced with a centralized digital system that gives staff real-time visibility into every bid and contract in the pipeline
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Completed the County's first fully paperless procurement project in December 2025, just months after go-live – including electronic bid submission, scoring, and award
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Vendors now self-register and receive automatic notifications for new opportunities, eliminating missed outreach from manual email lists and spreadsheets
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Solicitation templates cut time from request to release – no more switching between programs or rebuilding documents from scratch for each purchase
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18 months in, there is full team buy-in, including a 26-year veteran who now "loves working with PlanetBids"
"I tell my team all the time that when they go home, they shouldn't be taking all the stress of work with them. You shouldn't have to be overwhelmed Monday through Friday with how much work you have and then go home and be stressed because all you see in your mind are all these stacks of paper."
Mike Bagley
Purchasing Director, Jefferson County
NEBRASKA PROCUREMENT COMPLIANCE
BUILT FOR HOW NEBRASKA AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED TO BUY
Nebraska's procurement rules are a patchwork of counties operating under the County Purchasing Act, cities governed by class-specific chapters of the Nebraska Revised Statutes, and unique entities like natural resources districts and educational service units that don't fit in a mold. PlanetBids helps streamline and automate that work, which typically falls to a clear, purchasing agent, or business manager who wears other hats, helping them stay compliant with local government procurement practices statewide.
County Purchasing Act Compliance
PlanetBids structures the public advertisement and competitive bidding process to the CPA's procedure so your county's bid file matches the statute without a manual workaround.
Class-Specific City Bidding Compliance
PlanetBids configures to the advertisement-for-bid provisions that apply to your city's statutory class under Chapters 14 through 19, so a metropolitan-class city and a small village each run the process their own chapter requires.
Audit-Ready Documentation
Every solicitation posting, communication, addendum, and bid receipt, and opening is timestamped and centralized for easy access to provide a complete, exportable bid file to the Auditor of Public Accounts for review.
NDEE State Revolving Fund Compliance
Audit-ready procurement documentation built for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund-financed infrastructure projects, protecting reimbursement eligibility during review.
NDOT Federal DBE Documentation
Automated vendor outreach logs generate the good faith effort record federally-funded highway and transit work requires under NDOT's DBE program, helping surface DBE-certified subcontractors without extra effort.
Thin Bidder Pool Expansion
A shared vendor network extends bid reach beyond the handful of contractors a rural clerk or NRD already knows, helping solicitations reach competitive bid expectations the first time.
NO NEW BID REQUIRED
Cooperative Purchasing Options
Nebraska 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 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 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 Nebraska'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 Nebraska'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 NEBRASKA PROCUREMENT TEAMS ASK US MOST
Does PlanetBids satisfy Nebraska's public advertisement and notice requirements for competitive bids?
PlanetBids publishes and timestamps public notices and distributes bid documents in a way that supports the advertisement-for-bid obligations found in the County Purchasing Act and the applicable city-class chapters. Final compliance sign-off rests with your county attorney or city attorney.
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.
Can our office keep using Nebraska DAS or Sourcewell/OMNIA cooperative contracts alongside PlanetBids?
Absolutely. PlanetBids manages solicitations and vendor communication for bids you run yourself, and it also tracks projects awarded through cooperative or piggyback contracts. It doesn't replace cooperative contract usage, and many agencies use both depending on the purchase.
Will the Auditor of Public Accounts accept PlanetBids records as our bid file?
Usually, yes. PlanetBids retains a complete, exportable audit trail of notices, addenda, bid submissions, and communications that agencies commonly provide during APA engagements. The Auditor's office determines sufficiency on a case-by-case basis, but agencies generally find this report acceptable.
Can a small, two-person purchasing staff realistically manage PlanetBids?
Absolutely. That's the primary use case in Nebraska, where most jurisdictions have minimal purchasing staff and need automation for distribution and tracking, not a large administrative build-out. And it's a very common use case for PlanetBids, which automates many of the manual processes in your workflow to reduce administrative load, expand vendor reach, and improve compliance.
Does PlanetBids support natural resources districts and ESUs?
Yes, PlanetBids is entity-agnostic and is used by school districts, higher education, utilities, airports and ports, and special purpose districts, in addition to general purpose cities, counties, and municipalities.
Does PlanetBids integrate with our Tyler Munis or Incode financial system?
PlanetBids operates as the front-end solicitation and vendor management layer of your procurement operations. It handles everything from purchase request and solicitation creation to posting, bid acceptance, and evaluation. Award data is typically exported or integrated via API into your ERP system for contract and financial management.
Does PlanetBids help with NDEE SRF or NDOT DBE-funded project documentation?
Yes, PlanetBids centralizes the procurement record that grantors and auditors request for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund-financed projects, and it generates the good faith effort record NDOT's federal DBE program requires on federally-funded transportation work.
How long does implementation take?
Most agencies are up and running within a few weeks, including implementation, training, integration, customization, and vendor migration. No added staff is necessary to manage the transition. In certain cases, agencies facing tight deadlines can be live in just a few days.
PlanetBids does charge a one-time setup fee that covers all implementation, training, and integration as necessary. All in-house agency and vendor support are always free.
How much does PlanetBids cost?
PlanetBids is billed as an annual SaaS subscription, with no per-bid, vendor, or transaction fees. Pricing is tiered based on features and functionality, as well as agency size, number of bids released annually, and number of full users. Because of the tailored nature of our pricing, we suggest speaking to a sales team member for a custom quote.
READY TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT FOR YOUR NEBRASKA 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 inside your existing workflows and statutes with no rewrites required
US-based in-house support with extensive procurement expertise
Pricing is tiered based on features and functionality, designed to meet any agency size and budget
99% client retention means our agencies love us