SERVING RHODE ISLAND GOVERNMENT & EDUCATION AGENCIES
THE EPROCUREMENT PLATFORM RHODE ISLAND AGENCIES CHOOSE TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT
Engineered for cities and towns, school districts, higher education, water and sewer authorities, and special districts, and compliant with the Award of Municipal Contracts law (RI Gen. Laws Chapter 45-55). Built to support DEDI/MBECO utilization reporting. Contact us to learn about cooperative purchasing options available to your agency, including the Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS).
Rhode Island 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 NORTHEAST
From New York and New Jersey to Connecticut and Massachusetts, PlanetBids helps government agencies in the Northeast 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
RHODE ISLAND PROCUREMENT COMPLIANCE
BUILT FOR HOW RHODE ISLAND AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED TO BUY
Rhode Island has no operating county governments. All local procurement authority sits with the state's cities and towns, their school departments, and a dense layer of independent fire and water districts and quasi-public authorities, all governed by the Award of Municipal Contracts law. PlanetBids is designed to handle compliance, as well as to reduce the administrative strain on an already thin purchasing team.
Chapter 45-55 Documentation
PlanetBids timestamps every step of small purchase, sole source, and emergency procurement decisions so the record matches the statutes requirements.
MBE/WBE/VBE Tracking
Built to support the Minority Business Enterprise Compliance Office (MBECO) certification framework under 220-RICR-80-10-1, including city disadvantaged business requirements layered on top of state and federal.
Independent Fire and Water Districts
PlanetBids is structured for separately incorporated, independently taxing bodies that face the same statutory risk as full cities without the staff to handle the workload.
Federal Grant Documentation
Audit-ready procurement records are built for IIJA-backed Infrastructure Bank SRF loans and FTA/HUD funding conditions tied to RIPTA and RIHousing.
Lead Service Line Replacement
Ready to handle accelerated procurement timelines under the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act for water utilities running lead-line replacement work.
RIVIP & BidNet Direct Cross-Posting
Solicitations can cross-post to Rhode Island's mandated RIVIP bid notice site and BidNet Direct, rather than requiring agencies to choose one platform over another.
NO NEW BID REQUIRED
Cooperative Purchasing Options
Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island'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 Rhode Island'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 RHODE ISLAND PROCUREMENT TEAMS ASK US MOST
Does PlanetBids replace RIVIP or our Tyler Munis system?
No. RIVIP remains the state's mandated bid notice posting site under RI Gen. Laws 37-2-17.1, and your ERP stays the financial system of record. PlanetBids sits alongside both as the solicitation, vendor management, and evaluation layer and can cross-post notices to RIVIP and BidNet Direct.
How does PlanetBids help with Chapter 45-55 documentation?
PlanetBids timestamps every step of small purchase, sole purchase, and emergency procurement decisions so the record matches the statute's requirements. PlanetBids' Emergency Operations functionality pre-qualifies any vendors who want to be considered an emergency contact so they can be quickly called on when the pressure is on.
Can PlanetBids support our DEDI/MBECO reporting?
Yes, vendor certification fields and outreach logs map directly to MBE/WBE/VBE utilization reporting.
We're a small or two-person fire district. Is PlanetBids right for us?
Smaller agencies often see the fastest and most noticeable time and administrative relief since PlanetBids absorbs the manual processes like solicitation posting, communication and addenda release, insurance and certification gathering, and reporting work that bogs down a small staff.
Does PlanetBids integrate with Tyler Munis or other ERPs.
Yes, PlanetBids provides API integration with Tyler Technologies platforms including Munis and Tyler ERP, as well as other ERPs and financial systems. The integration passes awarded contract data, vendor information, and purchase requisitions between systems, eliminating duplicate entry while maintaining your ERP as the financial system of record.
PlanetBids operates as your procurement front-end, with award data flowing to the ERP for contract setup and invoice processing. No replacement of your financial system is required. PlanetBids handles VPPA procurement compliance workflow while your ERP handles financial compliance.
PlanetBids handles the vendor-facing competitive bidding process, vendor management, bid solicitation, evaluation, and award, then pushes clean contract and vendor data into your ERP for encumbrance and payment processing. Most clients keep Tyler or Oracle for accounting while using PlanetBids for the public procurement workflow.
How quickly can we go live, and what does implementation cost?
Because most of the customization is done by users within the system, most Rhode Island agencies are up and running within a few weeks, including integration, setup, and staff training. Expedited implementation is available for agencies facing urgent project deadlines.
There is a one-time setup fee associated with your PlanetBids purchase. This fee will cover all implementation, training, and necessary custom programming that will set your agency users up for success.
How much does PlanetBids cost?
PlanetBids is a SaaS subscription-based platform, with no per-bid, vendor, or transaction fees. Pricing is tiered based on functionality and features desired as well as the number of full user licenses required. Packages are designed to fit any agency size and budget. Because pricing is customized to your agency, we recommend speaking directly with a sales manager to get your tailored package.
READY TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT FOR YOUR RHODE ISLAND 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
Chapter 45-55 documentation built in
MBE/WBE/VBE tracking built for state and federal reporting
US-based in-house support with deep procurement experience
99% client retention means our agencies love us
Pricing is tiered based and can fit any agency size and budget