How do I respond to a bid?

Many of the bids in BidSync Classic allow vendors to respond electronically through the site; on these bids that allow (or possibly require) online submission, usually all of the documents, attachments, and details can be found on the bid. This article will take users through the process of placing an offer on a bid. For a more detailed webinar recording of this process, please click here.

1. Go to bidsync.com and click Sign In.
   
   

   
   
   

2. Enter the email address and click Next.
   
   
   
   
3. When the login page is displayed, enter the username and password and click Login.
4. From the displayed Home page, click the New search tab to search for the bid if it is not displayed in the existing results matching your account settings.
   
   
5. For more information on searching for bids, please click here.
   
   
6. When the search results are up, click the title of the bid to open the bid information page.
   
   On the bid information page, there are several tabs that need to be reviewed before a user can place an offer on the bid.

Bid Details

The Details tab displays the basic information about the bid as well as any system requirements and preferences (such as Bid Bonds or Digital Signature requirements). This tab contains comments and a brief description of the project in order to provide vendors with an idea of what the bid is for and what the requirements for participating are.

1. Carefully read through all of the information provided on the Details tab to ensure all requirements are known.
   
   

   
   
   

2. Below the bid details section, users can find any announcements regarding addenda or changes that have been released on the bid (when/if applicable).
   
   

   

Documents

The Documents tab has all of the attachments and files that have been uploaded by the agency for this particular bid. Any bid specifications, drawings, or Terms and Conditions are typically included in this documents section of the bid. Once the documents have been viewed or accepted, users can move forward to the Place Offer button, although it is recommended that users continue through the remaining tabs to ensure all information and requirements for the bid are known.

For more information on accepting documents on a bid, click here.

Line Items

The Line Items tab contains information for the individual line items on the bid; this section often includes information such as the quantity or the units of measure that must be submitted in the offer.

Q&A

The Questions and Answers tab is for vendors to post questions on a bid for the agency to respond. Please note that bid questions are intended to be anonymous and should not contain identifying information about a user's company. Also note, there often is a deadline for the Questions and Answers section that is separate from and earlier than the bid deadline.

Following the Q&A tab, there may be other tabs on the bid such as a Pre-Bid Conference, Planholder's List, or Vendor Ads tab; it is recommended that users review the information in all tabs before placing an offer on the bid.

Placing an Offer

Once all of the tabs have been reviewed, follow the instructions below to place an offer on the bid.

1. Click the Place Offer button at the bottom of the page.
   
   

   
   
   

2. The offer page may differ from bid to bid, but in general, users will normally find unit price and total price boxes as well as a link to upload attachments and a section for notes. In order to finalize and submit a bid to the agency, if there is only one line item on the bid, the unit price and total price boxes are required; if there are multiple line items, users must fill out at least one set of unit price and total price boxes. All the other line items can be considered optional; a blank line item will be considered a no bid. Review and complete each line item as appropriate to your specific offer.
   
   When attaching multiple documents, it is entirely the vendor's discretion as to which line item to associate those documents with. If there is ever any question about which section to use, contact the agency to learn if they have any preferences. Otherwise, all documents attached will be accessible to the agency who posted the bid opportunity.
   
   

   
   
   

3. When all pricing, attachments, and notes have been added, click the Review Response button at the bottom of the page, this will take the user to the confirmation page.
   
   
4. On the confirmation page, review the pricing, notes, and attachments that have been added to the offer. At the bottom of the confirmation page, users must type in their password and click Confirm & submit response; this will submit the offer to the agency. On most electronic response bids, the offers are sealed and cannot be viewed by anyone (including the agency) until after the bid has closed.
   
   

   
   
   

   Agencies may require that vendors accept addenda or a bid allowance amount before confirming the bid, but this will vary from agency to agency.
   
   If updates to an offer need to be made, so long as the bid duration has not expired, vendors may update as needed. Agencies will only receive details from the last time the Confirm & submit response option was selected.

Video Recording: