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      1. Knowledge Base
      2. User Guides

      PB System™ Contract Management User Guide

      I. Logging In

      A. Enter Username

      B. Enter Password

          • Click on the eye to see keystrokes
          • If password is unknown, click on Need Password Help?  to reset your password

      II. Home

                  A. Daily Calendar

                        Daily calendar contains a list of all of the agency's important solicitation deadlines for the day. Users will see the Pre-Bid meeting, Q&A, and bid deadlines. Click on any listing to open the solicitation. 

                 B. Stat Cards

                       Stat cards contain statistical data on the PB System™ general overall usage by both the agency and the public. Stat cards can be configured for user preference. 

                     Configuring stat cards:

          • Select edit
          • Select the delete icon within each card to remove
          • Select the + bar to add in a new card type or select any existing card to edit
            • Select Report Type to define the type of data to be shown
            • Select Timeframe for the frequency of data
            • Select the color bar to change the color of the card
            • Select Save, Cancel or Reset to Defaults
      •       News and Events can be found by clicking on the bell icon in the top right of the screen, and contains important information PlanetBids needs to share with its clients. It is highly recommended that Users take a quick look when entering the PB System™ to view updates. The Line Item Import Template and the Inside Scoop registration links have moved to the Help Center.  The Import template can be filled out by the Agency's internal client and provided to the PB User to upload line items into the bid record quickly.

         

      • D. Left Side Navigation Menu

        • Navigation menu navigates the user to the different areas of the PB System™. Access to each area is based upon the purchase of the module and User permission configurations.

          • Top right corner of the left-side navigation menu will either be an X or >. This will toggle the menu open and closed to optimize screen space.
          • Home: returns User to the home page.
          • Bid Management: quickly manage the process of issuing, monitoring, conducting evaluations, and awarding formal and informal bids.
          • Bid Spec Library: access to PlanetBids client solicitations to help Users find piggy-backable, cooperative bids and build specs using other agency bids.  
          • Project Evaluation: add-on that allows Users to manage the multi evaluator and/or consensus evaluation process on solicitations. Project Evaluation allows Users to use the RFP evaluation process on all solicitation types (Quotes, Bids, RFI, RFP, RFQual and IPWB).
          • Vendor Management: Gain access to Vendor records, run advanced searches on multiple sets of Vendor data, add a vendor, perform real-time verification of provided information (i.e., certifications and licenses) against third party databases, generate comprehensive reports with visual charts, and broadcast messages to selected Vendors.
          • Contract Management: maintain and retrieve up-to-date, relevant information regarding contracts.
          • Insurance Management: enables risk managers, procurement, public works, and contract administrators to automate, maintain, and retrieve up-to-date, relevant information regarding Vendor or contractor insurance certificates.
          • Emergency Operations: enables any Agency to manage, maintain and retrieve up-to-date information on Vendors that provide goods and services in the event of an emergency.
          • Business Certifications: enables an organization to manage its certification programs such as Small Business Enterprise, Minority, or Diversity as well as Contractor Prequalification(s).
          •  Reports: print or export comprehensive reports.
          • Calendar: calendar view of Agency and any other selected PB Agencies bid dates/deadlines. Users plan solicitation dates to enhance Vendor participation. Provides a quick link to the Agency bid information.
          • Admin: permission-based access to manage administrative areas of each module. (See Admin manual).
          •  Vendor Portal: quick access to the public side of the PB System™. 
          • User Settings: reset User information (name, title, phone, email, login).
          • Help Center: Access Knowledge Base, FAQs, create a support ticket, Support phone number, and feedback section.
          • Log Out: logs User out of the PB System™.

               E. Dark Mode/Light Mode               

      Found at the bottom right corner, Dark Mode / Light mode allows the user to change the background setting

       

      III. Contract Management

               Entering Contract Management, Users can search for contracts to view, create,                              manage, and export search results.  Access to different functions is permission-based.

             A. Searching for Contracts

                   PB System™ has default fields to search for Contracts. Select the "+" to add more fields.               Fields with a black square allows the User to choose multiple criteria within the field.  

                    Located in front of the “Clear” button will either be an  or  >.  This will toggle the                    search criteria open and closed to optimize screen space. 

        • Entering a multi chooser box
          •  Search box- search list by code, number, description 
          • Select all that apply 
          • Select Show only selected Vendor types to see selections.
          • Select Save.
          • Select Search .

            B. Managing Display Results

        • Select the cog icon located at the far right. 
        • Check or uncheck an item to hide or add to the search display. 
        • Drag the up/down arrow to change the display column order.

            C. Reports

        •  Business Utilization Report: Business Utilization Detail of Prime and Subcontractors by contract. 
          •  Select Starting Month .
          • Select Starting Year.
          • Select Ending Month .
          • Select Ending Year .
          • Select Term .
            • Monthly, Quarterly or Yearly.
          • Select Load to run report.
        • Diversity Summary Report: Reports payments made to subcontractors per vendor type with the total amount and amount paid to each contract type. 
          • Select Starting Month.
          • Select Starting Year.
          • Select Ending Month.
          • Select Ending Year.
          • Select Load to run report.
        • Subcontractor Payment Overview by Contract Report: Subcontractor payments per 
          contract with subcontractor diversity information.
          • Select Vendor Type .
          • Select Load .
        • Select Back to Contract Search to exit Reports.

            D. Export and Import

        • Export: ability to export is permission based and contains information on the contracts listed in the search results. 
        • Import: ability to import data into multiple contracts is permission based.  Contract Admins can import within the contract.   

                       Please exercise mass imports with caution as the imports cannot be undone. 

        • Select the Import icon .
        • Select Contract Payments (payment information) or Contract Updates (Amounts, 
          Expiration Dates and/or Status).
        •  Contract Payments Excel file data must contain items denoted with an asterisk. 
          •  *Enter Fiscal Year Start
          •  ID Number
          • *Enter Check Number:
          •  *Enter Check Date: 
          • Enter Amount: 
          • Enter or Select from PO List associated with the Contract and Payment.
          • Enter or Select from Invoice List associated with the Contract and Payment.
          • Enter Invoice Date
          • Select Funding Sources: funding source must exist on the Contract Tab.  If 
            the po contains multiple funding sources, repeat the data for each funding 
            source. 
          • Enter Retainage Amount
          • Comments
        • Contract Updates Excel file data must contain items denoted with an asterisk. 
          •  *Contract Number
          • Contract Amount
          • Expiration Date
          • Status
        •  Drag and drop or Browse files
        • Select Cancel or Continue .

            E. Add Contract

        • Select the document icon at the top right
        • Select Import at the top right to pull data from Bid Management or manually complete the fields listed below. 
          • Use the search field to find Awarded bids by Vendor Name, Project Title, 
            Invitation # or Award Amount.  Once selected, the system will automatically bring over any related fields from Bid Management, including files from Document Tab, files from custom emails and addenda, submitted awarded vendor files and awarded vendor subcontractor list if Advanced eBidding for Public Works is enabled for the Agency. 

               Contract Detail        Fields with an * are mandatory.   

        • Contract Title*:  when imported, the bid title will become the Contract title.  This can be edited.  
        • Vendor Name*:  when imported, this will be the awarding vendor profile.  User may 
          change this to another profile for the company if desired. Select Vendor Name and begin to type to search the database.   
          • Create Vendor: if the Vendor does not currently have a profile, User can 
            complete the mandatory fields at a minimum to create a profile.  Vendor 
            will receive an email with login information.   
        • Contract Type*: choose from a list of Agency configured contract types.  Contract Type list is configured in Admin, Contract Management. (See Admin manual). 
        • Contract Number*: when imported, this will be the Invitation Number.  This field can be edited.  
        • Reference ID: will populate if imported from Bid Management. This field can be edited.  User can use this field as an additional search field to group contracts.  
        • Status: allows the Agency to track the status of a contract.  
          •  Bidding: contract is currently out to bid.
          •  Pending: contract is currently under review and not yet awarded. 
          • Awarded: contract is awarded by not fully executed. 
          •  Legal: contract is under review by Legal. 
          • Open: contract is active. 
          •  Closed: contract is complete. 
          •  Dispute: contract is under dispute and needs resolution. 
          •  Pending Amendment: an amendment to the contract is pending.
          • Canceled: contract has been canceled.
        • Tag: Tag is an Agency created list of items in which to further search contracts by such as special clauses, guaranteed revenue generation amount, vendor performance rating, etc.  Agency can configure tags in Admin, Contract Management. (See Admin manual).
          • Select Add.
          • Select one or more tags.
          • Short Description: short tool tip to assist in finding the right contract.  This will display in the search results when hovering the mouse over the contract title.  

                Display 

        • Public: Displays limited information on the contract on the Vendor Portal. Agency must have Agency Contracts enabled.  There is no additional fee to enable.  Contact PlanetBids support.  
          •  Select Public. 

                                  Note: Information displayed within Agency Contracts- Contract Title, Contract                                 Type, Contract Number, Contract Award Date, Amount, Number of Bidders (if                                   imported from Bid Management), Contractor Name and Address, Agency                                          Contact Name and Email, Public Notes and Documents marked Public.  This                                        meets the Sunshine Act requirements for Public Information contract requests.  

        •  Collaborative Access: Allows agencies within a specified pool to share contract 
          information. Agencies within the pool will have access to all contract data and only the contract documents marked “Private and Collaborative” or “Public”. 
          • Select Collaborative Access. 

                  Contract Dates

        • Fiscal Year*:  originating fiscal year. 
        • Term: base terms of the contract.
        • Contract Date*: date contract goes into effect.
        • Expiration Date*: date contract is set to expire. 
          •  See Admin manual to set expiration reminder notices. 
        • Max Expiration Date: Final expiration date of all possible extension.  
          • Select Send max contract term reminder to the Internal Notification List 
          • Enter the number of days before Max Expiration Date to be notified.
        •  Notice to Proceed: enter date when notice was issued.
        • Contract Extension Duration: option years to extend the contract.
        • Early Termination Date: date in which contract was terminated. 
        • Termination Terms: brief description of termination clause that applies to the contract.  This field can be utilized even when a termination has not been issued.  
        • Updated: date the contract was last updated. 
        •  Award Date: date of award.  This date will populate if imported from Bid Management. 
        •  Issue Date: date of contract issuance.
        • Complete: date of contract completion. 
        •  Close Out Form:  allows Agency to record all deliverables have been completed. 

                Other Detail

        • Purchase Order #: allows Agency to record purchase order number in addition to contract number 
        • Invitation #: this will populate if imported from Bid Management. 
        • Funding Source: funding sources applied to contract.  (See Admin Manual for 
          configuration). 
        • Department: this will populate if imported from Bid Management.
        • Categories: this will populate if imported from Bid Management.
        • Prevailing Wage: tracks if the contract has prevailing wage requirements. This will populate if imported from Bid Management.
        • Davis Bacon: tracks if the contract has Davis Bacon requirements 
        • Cooperative Bid: tracks if the contract is a cooperative contract. This will populate if 
          imported from Bid Management. 
        • Piggy-Backable: tracks if the contract has a piggy-backable clause. This will populate if imported from Bid Management.

                Financial

        • Contract Amount: original contract amount.
        • Approved Change Total: the sum of approved Contract Change amount from the Contract Changes tab. 
        • Amount Approved to Date: the sum of Contract Amount and Approved Change Total. 
        • Payments: the sum of all payments from the Payments Tab. 
        • Unspent Balance: amount approved to date minus payments.
        • Final Amount: final contract amount. 
        • Fiscal PTD: amount paid to Vendor during the last fiscal year. This will auto calculate when Compliance is enabled.
        • Contingency: amount in contingency fund. 
        • Final Contingency: amount used from the contingency fund. 

                Audit

        • Hard Copy:  location where a hard copy is stored. 
        • File/Box: file or box # where a hard copy is stored.
        • Check Out: date hard copy was last checked out. 
        • Last Check Out Notes: notes regarding checkout.
        •  Check In: date hard copy was returned. 
        •  Last Check in Notes: notes regarding audit or returned copy.

                Contacts

        • Administrator Chooser: The PB System™ will send expiration notices to the person 
          selected and notice to review contract if the Contracted Vendor has made an update in My Contracts.   
          • Select from the list of all users at the Agency.  Selection will auto-populate 
            Contract Administrator field.  
        • Contract Administrator: high-level contract administrator overseeing the contract.  
        • Agency Project Coordinator: all Agency contacts on the contract. 
        • Vendor Project Coordinator: all Vendor contacts on the contract.
        • Other Key Contacts: any other contacts on the contract. 
        • Internal Notification Email List: list auto populates from Admin. (See Admin Manual).  
          Agency can remove from the default list and add additional persons. Those listed will 
          receive the same email notices as the contract administrator. 
          • Select Add.
          •  Enter Email address- one per box .
          • Select X to remove from the list.
            Note: Internal Notification List will receive the following emails:  
          • Contract Expiration Reminder Emails 
          • Max Contract Term Reminder Emails
          • Subcontractor add/edited by Contracted Vendor or Admin notification
          • Note entered by Contracted Vendor notification.
          • Invoice submitted by Contracted Vendor
          • Payment Acknowledgement Requests sent to subcontractors 
          • Milestone Reminder notifications. 

                Notes

        • Administrator Notes: internal agency notes not viewable in Agency Contracts. 
        •  Contractor Notes: any note entered by the Contracted Vendor via My Contracts.  Contract administrator selected from chooser will be notified when a note has been added. Not viewable in Agency Contracts 
        •  Public Notes: external notes from the Agency to the Public in Agency Contracts. 

            F. Documents
                All contract documents.  Project imported from Bid Management will automatically                       display all main bid documents, documents from custom emails and addenda and the                     awarding bidder’s submitted documents.  By default, imported documents will default to             Private.   

               Manually Attaching Documents

        • Select Drag and drop a file or Browse Files to attach one or more documents from the User's computer directory. 
          • Contract file title can be edited.
          •  Select Remove to remove the file. 
          • Select Private to change the document status from Private (Agency only) to 
            Public (Agency Contracts and Collaborative agencies) or Private and 
            Collaborative (share with collaborative agencies).  

                 Docusign  

                  Contract Management can be configured to include DocuSign integration.  Contact an                  Account Executive to learn more.  

        • Documents must be saved to the contract to enable Request Signature 
        •  Select Request Signature.
        • Select Document(s) .
          • Select Cancel Signature Request to stop this action. 
        • Select Send.
        • Sign in using your DocuSign account and complete process

                  The PB System™ will automatically attach the signed contract to the Documents tab                      under the Signature Status column as well as the Comments/History tab.

            G. Contract Changes

                 Agency can track all changes to a contract.  (See Admin Manual to configure Change                     Types).

       

                To Add Change Types

        • Select Add.
          • *Select Type.
          • *Enter Change Number (alpha/numeric/symbols) .
          • *Enter Change Date- can be back dated.
          •  Enter Change Amount if applicable. 
          • Enter Description if applicable.
          • Select Funding Sources to select one or more if applicable 
          • Select Start Date.  
          • Select End Date.  
          • Select Status – Approved, Pending or Denied .
          • Enter PO if applicable.
          • Select Done.

                            Note: Once a change has been added, the tab will provide a summary of all                                       Approved, Need Approval and Total changes in dollars. 

                To Remove a Change Type

        • Select X.  
          • Select Submit.

                To Import Multiple Change Types

        • Using Excel, create a column header for the fields to be imported.
          • At minimum, Excel must have a column for Type, Change # and Change Date. 
          • All other fields are optional.  Header must match field name. 
          • Change Type, Funding Source and Status must match fields used in Contract 
            Management. 

            H. Milestones

                 Agency can schedule milestone event notifications to anyone related to the contract. 

                To Add a Milestone

        •  Select Add.
          • *Date: defaults to the day the entry is made.  
          • Description: details to the action to be completed.  
          • *Status: status of the milestone can be set to: Draft, Issued, In Progress, Completed, 
            Canceled and Discrepancy.  Change to status is maintained by the Contract 
            Administrator.  
          • *Due Date: date milestone must be completed by 
            •  Send Notification # of days prior: set an automatic reminder to the 
              milestone holder and the internal notification list 
          •  *Name: name of the person assigned to complete the milestone
          • Title: of the person assigned to complete the milestone
          • Organization: of the person assigned to complete the milestone
          • Phone: of the person assigned to complete the milestone 
          • *Email: of the person assigned to complete the milestone
          • Select Done to save.  
        • Export: exports all milestone data

            I. Purchase Orders

               Agency can track all purchase orders. 

                To add a Purchase Order

        • Select Add.
          •  *Select PO # 
          • *Enter PO Date: can be back dated
          • *Enter PO Amount: grand total of the po 
          • Funding Sources: select from the funding sources listed on the Contract Tab 
          • Description: brief description of the items or services listed on the po 
          • Documents: drag and drop files or Browse Files related to the purchase order. 
          • Select Done. 

                  Note: Once a purchase order has been added, the tab will provide a total of all po’s in  
                  dollars.  

                To Display Purchase Orders in My Contracts

        • Select Display Purchase Orders in My Contracts. Agency must have My Contracts to 
          enable.

                Import/Export

        •  Select Export to export all PO information.  Does not include files.  
        • Select Import to import multiple PO data using MS Excel.  Column Headers must 
          contain items noted with an asterisk:
          •  *PO #
          • *PO Date 
          • *PO Amount 
          • Funding Sources: funding source must exist on the Contract Tab.  If the po contains multiple funding sources, repeat the data for each funding source. 
          • Description 

            J. Invoices

                 Agency can track all invoices related to the contract and their status.   

                To Add Invoices

        • Select Add. 
          •  *Select Date invoiced received.
          •  *Enter Invoice Number 
          • Enter or select from the list the PO related to the invoice.
          •  *Enter Amount 
          • *Enter Due Date 
          • Drag and Drop or Browse to attach the invoice documents 
          •  *Status: status of the invoice
            • Submitted 
            • Under Review 
            • Approved 
            • Paid 
            • Voided 
            • Re-Issued 
          • Select Done.

                Accept/Display Invoices in My Contracts

               Select Box to allow Contracted Vendor to submit invoices through My Contracts.  Contract 
               Administrator and Internal Notification List will receive an email when submitted.  

            K. Payments

                 Agency can track all payments made to the Contracted Vendor. 

                To Add Payment Information

        •  Select Add.
          • *Enter Fiscal Year Start
          • ID Number 
          •  *Enter Check Number:
          •  *Enter Check Date:
          • Enter Amount: 
          • Enter or Select from PO List associated with the Contract and Payment. 
          • Enter or Select from Invoice List associated with the Contract and Payment. 
          • Enter Invoice Date.
          • Select Funding Sources: funding source must exist on the Contract Tab.  If the po 
            contains multiple funding sources, repeat the data for each funding source.  
          • Enter Retainage Amount.
          • Comments.
          • Select Done.
            Note: Once a payment has been added, the tab will provide a total of all payments to date and by Fiscal Year in dollars. 

                To Display Payments in My Contracts

        •  Select Display Payments in My Contracts. Agency must have My Contracts to enable.  

               Import/Export

        • Select Export to export all payment information.   
        • Select Import to import multiple PO data using MS Excel.  Column Headers must 
          contain items noted with an asterisk.

            L. Subcontractor

                  Agency can track all Subcontractors on a contract, the amount of spend the Contracted 
                  Vendor/Prime anticipates doing with each Subcontractor, any participation goals, and                    with Compliance, actual dollars paid to the Subcontractor by the Prime.

        • Requirements: List of classification goals Agency is tracking
          • Select Add.
          • Type: Vendor classification (SBE, DVBE, etc.) to be tracked 
          •  Participation:  classification participation goal to be reached at the end of 
            the contract. 
          • Projected: Amount that should be reached based on the projected amounts 
            to each subcontractor listed. 
          • Actual:  percentage of goal reached based on actual payments to the 
            subcontractor listed.  Available with Compliance enabled.

                                 Note: Actual is calculated first off the contract amount, then Prime PTD if 
                                any, and finally Final Amount if entered.  

        • Subcontractors: Number of Employees on Project (Prime will enter in My Contracts when Compliance is enabled).   
          • Allow Subcontractor Reporting in My Contracts: if enabled, the Contracted 
            Vendor/Prime will be able to add subcontracts and report monthly payments to 
            each subcontractor.  Agency can override the default settings at the contract level. 
          • Request Subcontract Payment Verification: if enabled, after each monthly 
            reporting period all subcontractors listed on the project will receive an email 
            detailing the contract and the amount the Prime has claimed to have paid them. 
            Agency can override the default settings at the contract level.  
            From the email the subcontractor can mark the amount true or false and enter a 
            comment.  Agency can run the Detailed Subcontractor Compliance Payments report on the Report tab.
            • List subcontractors on a project.  
            • Select Add.
            • Select Name and type in at least 3 characters of the Subcontractor's name to search Agency vendor list.   
              • If the Subcontractor does not have a profile, select Create Vendor, 
                complete all mandatory fields at a minimum and select Submit.  
                Subcontractor will receive an email notifying them of their profile 
                creation.  Subcontract will be able to edit and maintain their profile.  
            • Enter Amount of potential dollars expect to go to the Subcontractor by the 
              end of the contract. 
            • Enter Description of work the Subcontractor will do on the project.
            • Select Classification to identify how the Subcontractor became a part of the 
              contract. 
            •  Select Type of Sub to track Subcontractor type, if applicable
            •  Authorized by will default to Admin when entered by the Agency or Prime 
              when entered by the Prime.  When set to Prime, the Agency will switch this designation to Admin to record they have reviewed and accepts the 
              Subcontractor.  
              Note: Once saved to the contract, Agency can update vendor classifications to reflect current changes.
            • Select Subcontractor .
            • Select Update.
            • Expand All: expands all Subcontractor details.
            • Collapse All: collapses all Subcontractor details.

            M. Insurance

                   This area will auto-populate if the Agency has the Insurance Certificate Management                     module. Insurance records are view only in Contract Management.  

            N. Comments and History

                   Records the name of each user who last updated the contract and when, any general                     comments as well as custom emails to the vendor.   

                    If the Agency has DocuSign enabled, the signed contract and DocuSign Certificate of                     Completion will be recorded.  

            O. Reports

                 Multiple reports and charts based on Subcontractor compliance reporting.  Reports tab               is available once the contract record has been saved. 

        • Participation Level Percentages Chart: Chart displaying participation level, as well 
          as projected and actual percent for each vendor classification. 
        • Compliance Payments Chart: A bar chart showing cumulative payments towards 
          Participation Level amounts by Vendor Type Code. 
          • Select Vendor Code. Changes from all vendor codes to specific target code. 
          • Select Show full contract span. Changes to display from the contract range in the search results. 
          • Subcontractor Compliance Payment Report: Shows payments to subcontractors 
            and acknowledgements for each month.  
          • Detailed Subcontractor Compliance Payments: Shows subcontractor’s contact, 
            payments, and acknowledgement details for a specific month.  (See Admin Manual to configure). 
            • Select Month.
            • Select Year.
            • Select Load to run report.
          • Subcontractor Compliance Monthly Update: Shows projected and actual payments to subcontractors for a specific month.  
            • Select Month.
            • Select Year.
            • Select Load to run report.

            P. Saving a Contract Record

                 Once the minimum requirements have been completed the contract record can be saved.

        • Select Submit. 

            Q. Viewing and Editing a Contract

                  Access to view and edit a contract are permission based.  View only rights allows the                     user to open all contract files.  Limited view only rights allow the user to view only                           contract files marked Public.  

                Editing a Contract

        • Select the contract to open. 
        • Select Edit to release the form.
        • Users may now edit any field.
          • Insurance certificates added to the contract will be read only.
          • Select Insurance Tab.
          • Select an insurance record listed to open the information in the Insurance 
            Certificate module. 
            Note: Certificate form is editable when the user has Insurance edit rights.
        • Select Submit once all edits have been made. 

            R. Print

                 Contract Print is available at the top of the contract record.

            S. Removing a Contract

                Remove a contract is available at the top of the contract record.  This action is final.