Although each Procurement Project will always be a little different, their life path through the RFP / Procurement Module is almost always the same.

Create a Project

1. Create a new Project by going to the main RFP page (or going to Admin Panel > Manage RFP) and clicking on the green New Project button.
2. Fill in the Name, Type, and all other information, including a long description. Pay close attention to the various dates and times associated with the project. At a minimum you should enter in the Publication Date and Due Date. Don't forget adding a nice photo to represent the project, whether it's a photo of the place involved, or the logo of the department. Make sure to also choose which skills most apply to this project, as over time vendors will indicate which skills most apply to them.
3. Once that's done, add all files you have for the project, whether PDF or XLS or DOC or what have you. Keep in mind that not all people have Microsoft products, and if they do there's the potential that they'll edit the files. You should try to upload only PDF files.

Once you've got the project all set with all the information vendors and the public will need to be notified.

Announce the Project

1. Go to the project in question, and mouse-over the white ... button to reveal the manage tool bar, then mouse-over the Share button and select Send by Email.
2. You will now be in the Contact Module's Send Email page, with all the public information about the project displayed, including the attached photo and the long description. You can change any of the text in here without effecting the original project page.
3. You should ensure the Publication Date has arrived before you send the email. If it hasen't, you can change the sending date and time in the fields above the big edit area.
4. Scroll below the edit area to the Recipients list, below.
   • If the project has been assigned to one or more Skills, they will be bolded here, and checked. You will see how many vendors have subscribed to each skill.
   • You can also select any of the regular Contact Lists, shown just above. If you are a Town and there's a Procurement contact list, that would be a good one to check as well. If you have a media list, check that, too.
5. Click the green Send Email button to send the email.

Once it's been sent, vendors should start logging in to see if it's something they're interested in.

Project Bidding Period / Vendors Request Access

1. Vendors (or the public) who receive the announcement email can simply click the link in the email to get to the project page. They can see all the publicly available information, but must click the green Request Access to this RFP button to see any attached files or announcements.
   • Vendors requesting access to a project for the first time must set up an account.
   • Setting up an account requires all contact information, and clicking on a verification link in an email they receive to complete the registration process
   • Returning vendors may simply log in with their email address and password to request access to another project, or any projects they already have requested access to.
2. In the period of time between the Publication date and the Q&A Close Date, vendors may also post questions on the project page.
   • If an admin responds to a question, the answer is emailed to all registered vendors of that project.
3. Additional files may be uploaded, and an email can be sent to all registered vendors of that project.
4. Additional news announcements may also be posted, and emailed.

At any time, a logged-in vendor can click a big blue Manage Your Account button to update their contact info, see a list of all projects they're associated with, and their list of skills, which will be used by you to contact them if a future project uses any of those skills.

Project Due Date, and More...

1. Once the Due date and time transpires, the project is locked down and the files, news and questions are hidden from view (except for website admins).
2. The project stays in "Closed" status until a website admin edits the project and selects the vendor in the Awarded To drop-down field. This is a list of all the vendors who have registered access for this project. Please note: ONLY VENDORS REGISTERED ON THE PROJECT APPEAR IN THE AWARDED-TO LIST.
3. You should also enter in the Contract Fee
4. Once Save Changes is clicked, the project will now appear in the bottom "Awarded Projects" box on the main RFP page of your website, and all assets become available again, even without logging in.
5. The very last thing to be done with a project is to edit it one last time and enter the "Completed Date" so people can see the project is now truly done and done.

During all this time, you are able to view the list of registered vendors per project and can also export them as a spreadsheet. You can also view and export the complete list of all vendors.