procure to pay

Procure to Pay

Using the Vendor Portal Website to Submit a Bid for an RFP

(Request for Proposal) Document version 1.5

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Revised: 12/11/2014

Procure to Pay Using the Vendor Portal Website to Submit a Bid for an RFP 3

Table of Contents

When Can A Bid Be Entered and Submitted? 4 Accessing An RFP Using the Bid Opportunity Email 4 Including A Comment With Your Bid Submission 5 Agreeing to Terms and Conditions and Answering The Potential Conflict of Interest Question 6 Step 1 - General Information Section 7 Step 2 - Attachments Section 7 Step 3 - Pre-Bid Meeting Details Section and Contact Information 8 Step 4 - Bid Response Submission Section 9 Step 5 - Pricing Template and Details Section 10 Attaching A File To The RFP 11 Asking and Responding to Questions 12 Downloading the RFP Document 13 Downloading Your Bid Responses 13 Submitting A Bid 14 Declining To Submit A Bid For An RFP 14


When Can A Bid Be Entered and Submitted?

You (a vendor contact) can enter and submit a bid for an RFP while the RFP has the status Published. After the RFP closes you will not be able to submit or change your bid. However, after the RFP has closed but before it is awarded, you can still access the RFP to view it and to answer any questions that your potential client (the property management company that published this RFP) may have sent to you in the Ask A Question feature.

Accessing An RFP Using the Bid Opportunity Email

When an RFP is published, you and other selected vendor contacts receive a Bid Opportunity email for that RFP. The Bid Opportunity email contains a link that you will use to access the RFP.

Note If your potential client has opted to require you to agree to a nondisclosure agreement (NDA)

before you are permitted to access the RFP at the Vendor Portal Website, then the RFP PDF document is not attached to the Bid Opportunity email. If you are not required to agree to an NDA when you first access the RFP at the Vendor Portal website, then the RFP PDF document is attached to the email.

Do not delete the Bid Opportunity email because the only way that you can access the RFP is by clicking the Procure to Pay Portal link, which displays in the Bid Opportunity email.

To access the RFP Vendor Portal website:

1. In your email service or program, access the Bid Opportunity email that you have received for the RFP that you are ready to enter a bid for.

Note The Subject line of the email displays the deadline for the RFP, which is the Close date.

2. In the Bid Opportunity email, click the Procure to Pay Portal link. In the screenshot above the link

is circled.

Note Depending on which email program you are using, in order to access the Vendor Portal

website you may need to hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard when you click the link.

When you click the Procure to Pay Portal link, a web browser automatically appears on screen. If this RFP requires you to agree to an NDA, the NDA displays in the screen.


3. You next action depends on whether or not an NDA is displaying in the screen:

If an NDA is not displaying, continue on to the next section.

If an NDA is displaying, read the NDA.

If you agree to the NDA, click the I Agree button and then continue on to the next section.

If you do not agree to the NDA, click the I Disagree button. If you click the I Disagree

button, the web browser closes and the system marks the RFP as declined by your company. However, if you change your mind you can access the RFP by clicking the Procure to Pay Portal link in the Bid Opportunity email and then clicking the I Agree button.

Including A Comment With Your Bid Submission

Optionally, you can enter a comment that will be included with your bid submission. Your potential client will not be able to view your comment until after the RFP closes. If you would like to ask your potential client a question and receive an answer for your question, use the Ask A Question feature. For more information, see Asking and Responding to Questions on page 12.

To enter a comment:

1. Enter text in the General comments field.

2. Click the Save button.

Note When you click the Save button, your potential client (the property management company)

will be able to see that your bid is now in progress.


Agreeing to Terms and Conditions and Answering The Potential Conflict of Interest Question

When the RFP Vendor Portal website first displays, fields appear at the top of the screen for you to accept the terms and conditions and for you to disclose potential conflicts of interest.

Note You can begin to work on the RFP before you click the terms and conditions check box or before

you disclose any conflicts of interest. However, the system will not allow you to submit your bid if you have not agreed to the terms and conditions and made the appropriate selection in the conflict of interest fields.

To agree to the terms and conditions:

1. Click the terms and conditions link. The terms and conditions display in a pop-up window.

2. Read the terms and conditions.

3. If you agree to the terms and conditions, click the check box next to the I agree to the terms and conditions of the online bid submission sentence.


If there are no potential conflicts of interest:

1. Click the There are no known conflicts of interest check box.


If there are potential conflicts of interest:

1. Click the We wish to disclose the following potential conflicts check box. Underneath the We wish to disclose the following potential conflicts check box a field becomes available for text

entry. As appropriate, enter text in this field that describes the potential conflict of interest.

2. Optionally, you can enter text in the Comments field.



Step 1 - General Information Section

The Step 1 - General Information tab displays the following information concerning the RFP:

RFP ID

Category

Market

Vendor Name

Description

Contract Start Date

Contract End Date

P2P user who published the RFP.

List of vendor contacts from your company who are associated with the selected category and market. If a listed vendor contact can access this RFP, “Yes” displays next to that vendor contact’s name in the Invited to RFP field.

To access the Step 1 - General Information section:

If the Step 1 - General Information section is not displaying, click the Step 1 - General Information

header. The Step 1 - General Information section displays and a minus sign now appears next to the Step 1 - General Information header. When a section is displaying, you can hide it by clicking the section header.

Step 2 - Attachments Section

Your potential client may have attached one or more documents to the RFP. If so, these documents are available in the Step 2 - Attachments section. You can also attach files to the RFP that your potential client will be able to access. If you do add a file to the RFP, that file displays in the Step 2 - Attachments section. For more information, see Attaching A File To The RFP on page 11.

To access the Step 2 - Attachments section:

Click the Step 2 - Attachments header. The Step 2 - Attachments section displays.

To open an attached file:

Click the icon that displays in the Attachment column. Click the Open button. The file opens in the

appropriate application.


Step 3 - Pre-Bid Meeting Details Section and Contact Information

The Step 3 - Pre-Bid Meeting Details section displays information about a pre-bid meeting that may be scheduled. Access the section to see if a meeting has been scheduled. The Step 3 - Pre-Bid Meeting Details section also displays contact information for this RFP. The Primary Contact and Secondary Contact sub sections display the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of the primary and secondary contacts at your potential client (the property management company) for this RFP.

To access the Step 3 - Pre-Bid Meeting Details section:

1. If the Step 3 - Pre-Bid Meeting Details section is not displaying, click the Step 3 – Pre-Bid Meeting Details header. The Step 3 - Pre-Bid Meeting Details section displays. If a meeting has been

scheduled, meeting details display in the Meeting sub section.

2. Look at the Is A Pre-Bid Meeting Going To Be Held and the Is Attendance Required fields to

see if a meeting is being held and, if a meeting is being held, to see if the meeting is required.


Step 4 - Bid Response Submission Section

Until the RFP closes, you can access the RFP screen as often as necessary to enter or change your bid.

To access the Step 4 - Bid Response Submission section:

1. If the Step 4 - Bid Response Submission section is not displaying, click the Step 4 - Bid Response Submission header. The Step 4 - Bid Response Submission section displays.

2. Answer the questions in the Step 4 - Bid Response Submission tab.

Note If a question field has a blue background, the question has been designated as mandatory

and you must answer the question before the system will allow you to submit your bid.

3. Click the Save button to save any information that you have entered.




Step 5 - Pricing Template and Details Section

You must enter pricing amount(s) before you submit your bid for the RFP.

To enter pricing amounts:

1. If the Step 5 - Pricing Template and Details section is not displaying, click the Step 5 – Pricing Template and Details header. The Step 5 - Pricing Template and Details section displays. In the

Step 5 - Pricing Template and Details section, there are typically two sub sections. One sub section lists questions that enable you to enter a breakout for your pricing. The questions in this sub section are unique for each RFP. The other sub section is a table that contains a row for each building in the RFP. This sub section enables you to enter your pricing on a building basis.

Note The contents of the Step 5 - Pricing Template and Details section for the RFP that you are

responding to may look different than the pricing sub section in the above screenshot.

2. In the pricing questions sub section, enter an amount in the Amount field for each pricing question

as appropriate. The total of the amounts entered for each pricing question displays in the Grand Total field. The amount from the Grand Total field also displays in the Bid Amount field, which displays at the top of the screen. Some points about the pricing questions sub section:

Depending on how your potential client has set up the pricing questions, the Frequency field may contain a number 0, a number 1, or some other number. The website will multiply the amount that you enter in the Amount field by the number displaying in the Frequency field. For example, if you enter $20.00 in the Amount field and the Frequency field for that pricing question displays the number 3, the system will display the amount $60.00 in the Total field.

Depending on the unit that your potential client has assigned to a listed pricing question, the Amount field for a pricing question may include more than two digits to the right of the decimal point.

In the pricing questions sub section you can enter a negative amount by entering a minus sign on the left side of the amount. One scenario for entering a negative amount is to indicate a discount amount that you are offering as part of your pricing plan.

3. In the building table sub section, enter an amount in each Bid Price field as appropriate for each of

the listed buildings. The total of the amounts that you enter in the building table are not required to equal the amount displaying in the Grand Total field for the pricing questions sub section.





Attaching A File To The RFP

If necessary, you can attach files to the RFP as part of your bid. After the bid closes, the bid reviewers will be able to access the documents that you attach.

To attach a file to an RFP:

1. Click the Add Attachments button. The Attachment Screen displays in a pop-up window.

2. In the Description field, enter a description for the document. This description displays in the

Description field in the Attachment section.

3. Next to the Attachment field, click the Browse button. The Choose File to Upload screen displays

in a pop-up window.

4. Use the Choose File to Upload screen to locate on your computer the document file that you will add to the RFP.

5. Select the file and then click the Open button. The Choose File to Upload screen closes.

6. In the Attachment Screen, click the Save button. The Attachment Screen closes and the file that

you attached can now be viewed in the Step 2 - Attachment section.


Asking and Responding to Questions

The Ask A Question feature enables you to send a question to your potential client (the property management company who issued the RFP). Your potential client can also use the Ask A Question feature to send a question to you and the other vendor contacts from your company who are invited to this RFP.

Before the RFP closes, you can use the Ask A Question feature to send a question to your potential client. You can ask your question before and after you submit your bid.

After the RFP closes but before it is awarded, you cannot ask a question about the RFP. However, your potential client can still ask you a question and you can respond to your potential client’s question.

To send a question about this RFP to your potential client:

1. Click the Ask a Question button. A pop-up window appears, displaying the RFP Vendor Questions

screen.

2. In the Question field, enter your question.

3. Click the Save button. The screen updates to show your question and another field appears on the

next row that you can use to enter another question.

4. When you have finished entering and saving your questions, click the X in the upper right-corner to

close the window.

5. You will receive email notification when your potential client answers your question. Click the Ask a Question button to view the answer to your question.


Downloading the RFP Document

You can view or download a copy of the RFP PDF document.

To view or download the RFP PDF:

Click the Download RFP button. You are prompted to open or save the PDF file.

If you would like to view the RFP document, click the Open button.

If you would like to save a copy of the RFP document to your computer, click the Save button.

Downloading Your Bid Responses

You can download a PDF that contains your responses to the RFP questions and the pricing information that you have entered. The PDF file contains the following information:

RFP ID

Title

Description

Category

Market

Bid Amount

RFP Questions

The answers that you entered for the RFP questions.

Pricing Rows

The amounts that you entered for the pricing rows.

To download an Bid Responses PDF:

Click the Download Bid Responses button. You are prompted to open or save the PDF file.

If you would like to view the RFP document, click the Open button.

If you would like to save a copy of the RFP document to your computer, click the Save button.


Submitting A Bid

Before you submit your bid, be sure that you have answered the questions in the Step 4 - Bid Response Submission section and entered amounts in the Step 5 - Pricing Template and Details section. Also, be sure that you have accepted the terms and conditions and disclosed (if applicable) any potential conflicts of interest.

To submit a bid:

Click the Submit button. After a few moments you will receive an email notification confirming that

you have submitted a bid for the RFP.

Note Even though you have submitted your bid, until the bid closes you can access the RFP and

change your entries for the questions in the Step 4 - Bid Response Submission section and change the amounts that you have entered in the Step 5 - Pricing Template and Details section.

Note When you click the Submit button your potential client (the property management company) can

see that you have submitted a bid. However, your potential client cannot open or review your bid until after the bid closes.

Declining To Submit A Bid For An RFP

If you decide that you do not wish to submit a bid for this RFP, you can decline the RFP. Declining the RFP notifies the company who issued the RFP that you have no intention of submitting a bid for the RFP.

To decline a bid:

Click the Decline button. After a few moments you will receive an email notification confirming that

you have declined to submit a bid for the RFP.

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