Massachusetts government bids for small agencies

Where Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts bids on our vetted list at the moment. New ones turn up most weeks; the free Monday email brings the best five.

Where Massachusetts posts its bids

State bids: COMMBUYS. COMMBUYS is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts e-procurement platform for state bids and statewide contracts; many cities and authorities also post there. The public page has an Open Bids link for browsing without logging in.
Register as a vendor: COMMBUYS supplier registration (free). Registering gives you access to bid opportunities and lets you respond to state and participating local bids. The City of Springfield, which advertises its bids on COMMBUYS, states that registration is free.
Technology buying: Statewide Contract Index (Operational Services Division). Index of Massachusetts statewide contracts, including IT categories such as ITS86 Software and Service, ITS78 Data and Cybersecurity, ITS81 Project Services and GIS and ITS87 IT Staff Augmentation. New categories are scheduled on the statewide contract procurement schedule linked from COMMBUYS.
Small business certification: Supplier Diversity Office (SDO). The state office that certifies diverse businesses (such as minority-, women- and veteran-owned) for Commonwealth contracting. The state also runs a Small Business Purchasing Program for small firms.
Free bid coaching: Massachusetts 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
City of Boston	Open bids	their own website
City of Worcester	Open bids	their own website
City of Springfield	Open bids	COMMBUYS
City of Cambridge	Open bids	OpenGov Procurement
City of Lowell	Open bids	their own website
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)	Open bids	COMMBUYS and Fairmarkit

Good to know

For small goods and services contracts under $50,000, the MBTA uses the Fairmarkit bidding platform, and you can bid without registering. source
The City of Springfield advertises its bid opportunities on COMMBUYS, and COMMBUYS registration is free. source
Statewide IT contract categories include ITS86 Software and Service, ITS78 Data and Cybersecurity, ITS82 IT Accessibility Services and ITS87 IT Staff Augmentation. 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).