Kentucky government bids for small agencies

Where Kentucky, its cities and counties post their bids, how to register, and the open ones that suit a small web, software, video or marketing agency right now.

Open right now

No Kentucky bids on our vetted list at the moment. New ones turn up most weeks; the free Monday email brings the best five.

Where Kentucky posts its bids

State bids: Kentucky Vendor Self Service (VSS). The Finance and Administration Cabinet's eProcurement system for browsing current state bidding opportunities, viewing recent awards and bidding online when permitted. You register in VSS to manage a vendor account and respond.
Register as a vendor: Vendor Self Service (VSS) vendor registration. A VSS account lets you manage your vendor record, see current business opportunities and catalog items, and bid online. The eProcurement page links the registration guides and vendor contacts.
Technology buying: Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) Enterprise Contracts. COT holds statewide enterprise IT contracts, including IT staff augmentation, independent verification and validation (IV&V), a software reseller contract and IT training.
Small business certification: Minority & Women Business Enterprise Certification Program. Run by the Finance Cabinet's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Contract Compliance, it certifies Kentucky businesses owned by women and minorities. The state publishes a list of certified MWBE firms.
Free bid coaching: Kentucky APEX Accelerator: the state's APEX Accelerator helps small businesses with registrations and proposals at no cost.

Big city, county and agency buyers

Each of these runs its own bid page, and most want you registered in their system too.

Buyer	Bid page	Runs on
Louisville Metro Government	Open bids	Bonfire
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government	Open bids	Ionwave
Transit Authority of River City (TARC)	Open bids	Bonfire
City of Bowling Green	Open bids	Bonfire
Kenton County	Open bids	their own website

Good to know

Kentucky MWBE certification also lets minority- and women-owned firms compete for work in other states that require certification by a statewide body. source
TARC sends email notices of new bids only to vendors registered in its Bonfire system, and registration is free. source
The City of Bowling Green posts and manages bids at bgky.bonfirehub.com and does not accept paper submissions. source
The Kentucky APEX Accelerator offers free government contracting help to businesses in all 120 Kentucky counties. source

Before you bid

Registering takes time, so do it before you find the perfect bid: how to get registered, and how to write a capability statement (with a free template).