| Welcome to BidOnline Help Files specifically tailored to answer the commonly asked questions of CSU Channel Islands vendors. We have made every effort to list the most commonly questions right here, but if you still have a question that is un-answered, please contact us at BidsOnline Support. Thank you! |
| - What is BidsOnline
and how does it work? |
| - What is BidsOnline and how does it work? BidsOnline is a completely web enabled
procurement and electronic bidding system which CSU Channel Islands has decided to use inorder to
provide better service and convenience to its current and new vendors. In
order for BidsOnline to work effectively, you must register online following the
instruction below and let the system get to work for you. As a registered and
approved vendor on the BidsOnline system, you will be notified automatically of Bid
Alerts, changes, addendums, and any time you will be able to visit the contracting section
of CSU Channel Islands's web site to find the latest contracting opportunities available, request and
download documents, and bid electronically (if enabled) on all open requests. Best of all,
this service is offered to all of our vendors for free!
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| - How do I become a
registered vendor?
If you would like to become a registered vendor with California State University Channel Islands, please select "vendor registration" from the top navigation and follow these steps: Step 1: Select a Username and Password and enter it in the boxes. (Tip: write it down to remember them). Step 2 - Step 9: Enter your company information, your email and contact name so that you can be notified of the projects and for invitations out to bid, your payment terms, your Business Types (i.e. DVBE, Small Business, etc., if any), and most importantly, the primary category(s) your company is classified under.
Step 10: If you would like, provide additional information about your company. When you are done completing the vendor registration form, click "Submit" in
order to submit your registration to CSU Channel Islands. |
| - What happens after I register as a vendor online? Once you have completed the vendor registration form online, you should receive an email from CSUCI@planetbids.com confirming your online registration. The email will contain your selected username and password along with the link to the home page of CSU Channel Islands's contracting opprotunity section. You are always free to search, view and order documents from
the web site 24/7.
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| - Can I maintain my own profile on the web site? Yes, once you are registered as a vendor, you will be able to make any changes to your company profile at any time through our web site. Simply select "Edit bidder Profile" from the content navigation and follow these instructions:
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| - What if I forget my username and password? If you ever forget your password, you can have BidsOnline email it to you directly by
following clicking of "Forgot Your Password?" link on the content navigation. In order for BidsOnline to track your
password, you need to enter your username and email. If BidsOnline is unable to track your
information, please follow the three options or contact us at
BidsOnline Support.
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| - How will I know when there is a new bid request that matches the services we provide? Registered and approved vendors of CSU Channel Islands are notified automatically via email when a
new request is entered by CSU Channel Islands. If new request is entered by CSU Channel Islands that is matched with
the services you have registered for, then you are automatically notified via email with
subject "New Bid Alert". Furthermore, you are always free to visit the
contracting section of CSU Channel Islands's web site to search for open and past listings.
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| - How do I search for current or past bid listings? There are two ways to search for current and past listings on the CSU Channel Islands web site: 1. Enter Keyword(s) for Quick Search: To search by title of a RFP, RFQ, Bid, etc.,
and click on Go!. OR - The County in which the project is going to take place in. - Bid Date, is the date the bids or quotes are due. - Bid Status: Bidding means that it is still open, and you can bid.Closed means that it is no longer bidding. Awarded is when the project has been awarded.
When you click on title, you will be directed to the bid detail page where you can view
bid detail as well as project items list, addendums. Bid results and awards are available
at time of bid closing and awards are issued.
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| - How do I request bid documents? At the bottom of each OPEN bid detail page there is an Request Bid Documents OR Order Plans button.
Click on the either button and you will asked to login if you are not login already. If there is download available, enter your name and click the Download button. The next page will list all the available downloads as of the date of your download request. If there is no download available, then your request will be added to your cart. You may
request for several bidding documents at one time. Once you are finished with requesting
bidding documents, click on Check Out and enter your billing address and shipping
address (if different). Once you enter the information, your receipt will be seen on the
next page. Please be sure to pint this page for your records. An Order ID number will be
given to you for your records. If bidding documents are available to you in electronic
format, you will be able to download it immediately by clicking on the title of bid
request. Downloading instructions are made available to you on this page.
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| - How can I download electronic documents and addendums? If you have already registered as a vendor with CSU Channel Islands throug BidsOnline, then you can request and download electronic documents (if they are available) by clicking on the Request Bid Documents Nowbutton found at the bottom of each open bid request. You will be asked to login using your registered username and password and then you are able to request and download as many documents as you would like. Open Ordering documents, a confirmation page/receipt will appear. When the project title name is hyperlinked, clicking on it will initiate the downloading process. Futher downloading instructions are made avaialble on this page.Addendums are also available to
download on the bid detail page. Click on the "Addendums" hyperlink to see a
list of current addendums issued and click on filename under each download column to
initiate the downloading of addendum. If there is no electronic version of addendum
available, then "N/A" will appear instead. At that point, you need to
contact CSU Channel Islands directly to obtain a paper copy of addendum if you haven't received one in
the mail.
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- Are addendums available on the web site? Yes, a list of issued addendums are available on each bid detail page. Clicking on Addendums will further list the addendum number, the date it was issued, the title, and electronic version of the addendum (if available). 
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| - Are bid results posted to the web site, if so, how do we obtain them? Yes, bid results are posted to the web site automatically if request is bidding electronically and the bid date has already closed. Otherwise, they will be available at the time when CSU Channel Islands purchasing department reviews all bid results and enters them into the system. To check for bid results, simply search and navigate to the bid detail page of request you are interested, and click on the "Bid Results" hyperlink at bottom of page. Bid results are listed in order from lowest to highest bidder.
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| - How
do I know if a request is bidding electronically or by paper?
If
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| - How does electronic bidding work? In order to be able to bid electronically, you must be a registered and approved vendor with CSU Channel Islands through the BidsOnline system. If so, search and navigate to the bid detail page of your choice and click on Bid Online Now! Once you login with your username and password, then you will be forwarded to CSU Channel Islands's online bidding system where you will be asked to enter the Responder's name and title, applicable discount terms to the request. Once you "Continue", the following page will ask you to enter the unit prices for each item you are bidding for. When you are done entering individual unit prices, click on Calculate and your total bid amount will be calculated on the next page. To change any of the unit prices, click on recalculate and to re-enter any of the unit prices. When you are ready, click on Submit Bid button and your bid will be submitted to CSU Channel Islands. You will be given an eBid confirmation number as a reference.
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| - Can I overwrite my electronic bid? Yes, you can overwrite your electronic bid at any time as long as the bid request has not closed. Simply follow the same procedure you would as if you were submitting your electronic bid the first time, except your previous results will be appearing in the entries, which can be overwritten with your new entries. When you re-submit your electronic bid, your previous confirmation number will remain the same.
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next to each listing indicates whether the
bid submittal is accepted in a paper or electronic format. If a request is