Montana government bids for small agencies

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

Where Montana posts its bids

State bids: Montana Acquisition & Contracting System (eMACS). Public list of Invitation for Bid (IFB) and Request for Proposal (RFP) opportunities from all state agencies and universities. You can browse open, upcoming and awarded events without logging in.
Register as a vendor: eMACS Vendor Portal (Profile 1 registration). Profile 1 is a basic registration that adds you to the vendor list, so you get notices of state bidding opportunities and can respond online. A Profile 2 registration is required only once you are awarded a contract.
Technology buying: State Information Technology Services Division (SITSD). Montana's central state IT agency. Its site has no separate vendor bid portal; it publishes IT plans and an accessibility resource center for state web content.
Small business certification: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise & Small Business Enterprise (Montana Department of Transportation). MDT certifies firms for its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Small Business Enterprise (SBE) programs, which promote small business participation in transportation contracts. Montana has no state bid preference for small, minority- or woman-owned businesses.
Free bid coaching: Montana 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 Billings	Open bids	own website (CivicPlus bid postings)
Yellowstone County	Open bids	own website
City of Missoula	Open bids	own website (CivicPlus bid postings); construction bids via QuestCDN
Missoula County	Open bids	own website
City of Great Falls	Open bids	own website (CivicPlus bid postings)
Gallatin County	Open bids	own website

Good to know

Montana law does not grant a bid preference to small businesses or disadvantaged businesses, including women- or minority-owned companies. source
The state publishes a procurement forecast of anticipated agency solicitations of $10,000 or more; those over $100,000 are posted to the public bid site. source
Montana's state accessibility guidance asks agencies and web developers to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA for web content and mobile apps under ADA Title II. 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).