SERVING VIRGINIA GOVERNMENT & EDUCATION AGENCIES
THE EPROCUREMENT PLATFORM VIRGINIA AGENCIES CHOOSE TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT
Built for cities, counties, service authorities, school divisions, and regional planning district commissions. Compliant with Virginia Public Procurement Act (Code of Virginia 2.2-4300) and complementary to eVA. Contact us to learn about cooperative purchasing options available to Virginia agencies, including The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS).
Virginia 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 MID-ATLANTIC
From the mountains and the Piedmont to the Coastal Plains and the DMV, PlanetBids helps government agencies in Virginia and the entire region run compliant, transparent, modern procurement.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
HOW HOWARD COUNTY INCREASED EFFICIENCY & VENDOR PARTICIPATION
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Clear solicitation templates and automated workflows eliminated scheduling conflicts and improved accuracy while making bid submissions easier, eliminating logistical issues from manual procurement and paper-based documentation.
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Automated registration and onboarding processes reduced the workload on staff while offering vendors a simple, intuitive user experience. Procurement staff could easily access vendor data, verify qualifications, and send real-time updates or clarifications while accepting digital submissions.
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Evaluators can securely review and score bids without manual calculation or in-person coordination – weighted and rubric-based scoring and multiple-round digital evaluation enables accurate, impartial assessments and multiple-round evaluations without the need to coordinate schedules.
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A user-friendly vendor portal and simple bid submission workflows offer a more intuitive vendor experience, which has increased participation and reduced confusion.
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Digital data tracking, certification management, and evaluations provide greater transparency, ensuring impartiality and efficient use of public funds.
"When we first began, occasionally a vendor would call and say, ‘That was too easy… I must have done something wrong,’” said Rittenhouse. “Our team has been very pleased with the ability to increase vendor participation, which results in greater competition and transparency within our bid processes."
Jennifer Rittenhouse
Senior Contract Analyst, Howard County
VIRGINIA PROCUREMENT COMPLIANCE
BUILT FOR HOW VIRGINIA AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED TO BUY
The Virginia Public Procurement Act governs competitive sealed bidding and competitive negotiation for Virginia state and local public bodies, with automated SWaM (Small, Women-owned, and Minority-owned business) outreach expectations under executive order and DMBE certification verification. PlanetBids is engineered for every layer of Virginia procurement law, including bid protest exposure under 2.2-4364, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for procurement records, IIJA-funded infrastructure grant compliance from VDOT and DRPT, and dual governance oversight for service authorities from appointed boards and county structures.
SWaM & DMBE Certification Tracking
Vendors submit business certifications directly to your agency to verify through the DMBE database, with automated demographic reporting and goal-tracking dashboards built for annual reporting and JLARC audit response preparation.
VPPA Competitive Bidding & Negotiation Compliance
Automated vendor notification, sealed bid opening with timestamp verification, and evaluation scoring documentation is built to satisfy Code of Virginia 2.2-4302.1 and 2.2-4364 protest-defense requirements.
eVA-Complementary Workflow
Solicitation management, vendor portal, bid tabulation, and contract management operate alongside eVA vendor registration rather than replacing it, with vendor pulls from eVA into PlanetBids solicitations.
Cooperative Procurement-Ready
Streamlined workflows for documenting cooperative procurement authority among Virginia public bodies per Code of Virginia 2.2-4304, including lead-agency solicitation publishing for member agencies, with a repository of piggyback contracts available from other agencies.
IIJA & VDOT Grant Compliance
Documentation workflows are built for VDOT SMART SCALE and DRPT-funded infrastructure grant readiness, including DBE outreach tracking for federally funded projects.
Service Authority Governance Independence
Procurement workflows operate independently from county ERP systems, supporting service authorities and special districts that need to demonstrate VPPA compliance directly to appointed governing boards.
NO NEW BID REQUIRED
Cooperative Purchasing Available
Virginia public bodies can purchase PlanetBids by documenting cooperative procurement authority under Code of Virginia 2.2-4304 — without running a new bid process of their own.
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 Virginia'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 Virginia'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 VIRGINIA PROCUREMENT TEAMS ASK US MOST
Can our Virginia 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 your agency to execute a contract without issuing a new competitive solicitation. Contact our team to discuss the procurement paths available for your specific agency.
PlanetBids is also available on TIPS, The Interlocal Purchasing System.
If a direct procurement path is preferred, our team can provide pre-approved legal resolution language addressing common counsel concerns.
Does PlanetBids integrate with Tyler Munis or Oracle?
Yes, PlanetBids provides API integration with Tyler Technologies platforms including Munis and Tyler ERP, as well as Oracle PeopleSoft and CGI Advantage. 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 Tyler or Oracle 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.
Does PlanetBids replace eVA or integrate with it?
PlanetBids complements eVA by handling solicitation workflow, vendor portal, bid tabulation, and contract management, while eVA remains your vendor registration system. Agencies can require eVA registration as a solicitation prerequisite, and vendor pulls from eVA into PlanetBids solicitations are automatic.
Can we use PlanetBids for VASCUPP-style cooperative purchasing?
Yes. PlanetBids supports lead-agency solicitation publishing with automatic distribution to participating member agencies, allowing cooperative contract setups where member agencies issue purchase orders against a lead agency's award while maintaining their own procurement documentation.
The platform also handles sealed bid procedures, best value evaluation scoring matrices, and complete procurement documentation, satisfying the full range of Virginia competitive bidding requirements in a single system.
Does PlanetBids track SWaM participation for DMBE reporting?
Yes. The platform includes SWaM certification verification, automated demographic reporting, and goal-tracking dashboards matching DMBE annual reporting requirements, and tracks both prime contractor SWaM status and subcontractor participation commitments.
How quickly can we go live, and what does implementation cost?
Because most of the customization is done by users within the system, most Virginia agencies are up and running within a few weeks, including eVA 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.
What happens during a bid protest under Code of Virginia 2.2-4364?
PlanetBids provides a complete audit trail, including timestamped vendor notifications, bid opening logs, evaluation scoring worksheets, and a communications archive that reduces legal defense preparation time and demonstrates procedural compliance for FOIA requests.
What 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 VIRGINIA 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 with cooperative procurement authority under Code of Virginia 2.2-4304 with no new RFP required
VPPA compliance and with built-in documentation ready for protest defense
eVA-complementary with no vendor registration disruption
US-based support with procurement expertise
Pricing is tier-based, with options for any agency size or budget
99% client retention means our agencies love us