City and County Registration
Why are they important?
When positioning your business for government opportunities the best way to be seen by those involved is registering your business with your local city or county departments and agencies. Almost every municipality has an online registration and bid system these days as technology continues to advance. These municipal governments on the city/county level publish all upcoming bids and projects they’re working on via these online registration systems. You can register for most of these without even having your business in the municipal area you’re registering with. By registering locally your business information will be viewed by contracting officers as a viable option for local work, plus you can view hundreds of contracts at the state level and lower that will not be found on federal bid sites.
Where do you find your local or other municipal registration portals?
These registration portals are usually easy to find, and their instructions are clear. Let’s look together and see what options are available. Let’s say we live in the sunny state of Florida, where Select GCR is headquartered. Let’s open a browser and search for the portal and information that we need. When searching, it’s recommended you add the city/county name in the search and confirm it is the correct city/county for the state in which you’re searching. Here are a few examples of how you can search: You can use the (City/County Name) Supplier Registration or (City/County Name) Vendor Registration.
Each City/County options can vary but here are the results for “Pinellas County Vendor Registration”.
https://pinellas.gov/services/apply-as-a-pinellas-county-vendor/ – The Purchasing and Risk Management Division for the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners uses OpenGov Procurement for their contractor/vendor registration, and for posting, submitting, and receiving bids, quotes and proposals for active solicitations. Contractors/Vendors must register with OpenGov Procurement. Contractors/vendors can register for free to receive notifications, download solicitations, and submit proposals electronically at no cost.
Becoming a vendor with Pinellas County opens doors to additional business and sales opportunities and a new working relationship is created. Doing business with the County is a fair, competitive process and dollars are not always the only criteria for success. Other considerations may be responsiveness, responsibility, quality, service, timeliness, past performance, and stability. Many factors are considered in arriving at the best offer for goods and services for the County.
https://www.pced.org/sbe/ – Pinellas County Economic Development (PCED) works with existing businesses to encourage expansion and seeks to attract new companies with high-wage careers to Central Florida’s Gulf Coast. Through investment tools, professional courses and business counseling sessions, trade missions to open new markets, as well as local, regional and statewide partnerships, PCED fosters a pro-business climate in Pinellas County, Florida.
The following example is from the Google search for “St. Petersburg Vendor Registration”
https://www.stpete.org/business/procurement/supplier_resources.php – The City of St. Petersburg relies on outside suppliers and services to power its programs and initiatives and is especially interested in working with local businesses. Large or small businesses are eligible to partner with the City.
The City of St. Petersburg uses OpenGov for all quotes and formal solicitations for an easier and more efficient way to do business. Access the application below or at procurement.opengov.com/portal/stpete. Vendors must register with Open Gov to view official solicitation documents. Open Gov registration is free for all vendors.
The following example is from the Google search for “Pinellas Park Vendor Application”
Example of a city vendor application
As we mentioned the city of St. Petersburg and the county of Pinellas use Open Gov as their registration portal. Here is an example of going through the registration process:
Most registration platforms are similar and request the same information. If you would like to be sure that you have the correct information before you start to look for and perform these registrations, here are some of the most common requirements:
- Signed W9
- TAX ID Number
- Company/Contact Information
- Copies of Insurance Certificates (General Liability etc.)
- Copies of Diversity Certificates (e.g., MBE, WOSB, VOSB)
With the above information, you should be able to register with most of the municipal governments.