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Answers for vendors and institution staff.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an account to search?
No. Anyone can search and read every notice. An account lets you follow notices, register your business, and join interested vendor lists.
Does it cost anything?
Searching, registering, following, and bidding are free. If you win through sealed bidding on EdBid, you pay 1% of the final amount the school pays you, only after you're paid. Schools pay nothing during the pilot. Fee terms
How do I submit a bid or proposal?
If the notice says it takes bids on EdBid, use the Submit a Bid section on the notice. Your amount and files stay encrypted and sealed until the deadline. Otherwise, follow the notice's How to Respond instructions and send your response to the institution directly.
Can freelancers bid without an LLC?
Yes. Choose Sole proprietor / freelancer when you register and use your own legal name. You'll enter only the last 4 digits of your SSN. Your full SSN goes only on your encrypted W-9, which is shared only with a school that awards you a contract. Quick Quotes are small jobs sized for independents.
What do vendor badges mean?
EdBid staff review each uploaded W-9 (name and last 4 digits match the registration), insurance certificate (current, with an expiration date), and business document, then show a badge. Badges help schools compare bidders. Schools still make their own responsibility checks before awarding.
I work for a school. How do I post?
Sign in with your work email, then join your institution. Your administrator approves you and picks your role: requesters draft, purchasing agents publish, approvers approve and award. If your institution isn't listed, register it and you'll become its administrator.
What does “Unverified institution” mean?
The first person to register an institution becomes its admin. EdBid then calls the purchasing office at the number on the institution's official website to confirm. Until then, its notices carry this label and it can't get API keys. Other staff with the institution's email domain can only ask to join, and an admin approves them.
A notice looks wrong. What do I do?
Contact the notice's primary point of contact. The institution's official notice controls if there's any conflict. Institutions fix errors by publishing an amendment, which is recorded in the notice history.

Glossary

RFP (Request for Proposals)
The institution scores proposals on approach, qualifications, and price.
RFQ (Request for Quotes)
Price quotes for clearly defined goods or services.
IFB (Invitation for Bids)
Sealed bids. Award goes to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.
RFI (Request for Information)
Market research. No contract results from it.
Cooperative contract
A contract bid once by a cooperative that its member institutions can buy from without rebidding.
Sole source notice
The institution plans to buy from one vendor and invites objections or alternatives.
NAICS code
The North American Industry Classification System code for a type of business, like 561720 for janitorial services.
EdBid Vendor ID
The 12-character ID you get when you register your business on EdBid.