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Bidx.com Knowledge Center

Online bidding with a Digital ID™

Contractors who prepare electronic bids using AASHTOWare Project Bids™ Bid component can securely submit them over the internet when subscribed to Internet Bidding at bidx.com.

Brand new to Bidx.com? Start here.

Welcome to internet bidding with Bid Express® at Bidx.com. There are three main steps you must take after you create an account and before you can start bidding. Expand the following sections to learn about each step.

1. Download the bidding software and set up your user profile.

The AASHTOWare Project Bids™ Bid Component helps you fill out your bid using the file posted by the agency on the Bid Express® site. You will need to know your bidder ID before filling out your bid information.

Find your bidder ID and install the bidding software

  1. On Bidx.com, click the Search tab and then select Bidders.
  2. Enter your bidder name in the Bidder Keywords field.
    3. Note: If you don't see your business name in the results, you may need to request a bidder ID from the agency you bid with.
  3. Once you have your bidder ID, go to Settings and select Online Bidding. Then click Install Project Bids.
  4. Read and agree to the license agreement and click Install Bid Component. Follow the installation instructions.

When the installation is complete, the Bids component will open. You may have to click on the Bids icon.

Add your user profile in the Bid Component

Your user profile helps identify you and your company in the submitted bid.

  1. Select Options from the Bids opening window.
  2. Select User Profiles if the tab is not already displayed.
  3. Click the plus sign to open the User Profile Entry window.
  4. Enter your company name, address, and contact information in the available fields.
  5. Enter the bidder ID associated with the profile in the Bidder ID field. Click Add new Bidder ID.
  6. When you are finished, click Save. Click Yes in the save confirmation window.

Close the Bid component and return to the Bid Express service.

Expand the next section to learn how to set up your Digital ID.

2. Create your Infotech® Digital ID™.

To securely submit bids over the internet using the Bid Express service at bidx.com, you must verify your identity by creating an Infotech® Digital ID™ for use with the AASHTOWare Project Bids™ Bid component.

Follow these steps to create your Digital ID. This process can be done on any modern browser.

  1. Sign into your account on bidx.com and go to Settings.
  2. Click the Online Bidding tab.
  3. You will see a screen explaining what a Digital ID is and that it comes with a one-time processing fee of $100.
  4. Click Get Digital ID.

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From here, a setup wizard will guide you through the process of generating a Digital ID.

Most users get approved immediately upon completion thanks to a secure, automated identity verification method.

Once approved, you will see a confirmation screen that your Infotech Digital ID has been created.

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Click Let's keep going to request to bid with an agency, or click I'll do this later to return to the Online Bidding tab of Settings.

Either way, you have to complete the next step before you can bid. Expand the section below to learn about requesting to bid with an agency.

3. Request to bid with an agency.

Once you have an approved Infotech Digital ID but before you can start bidding on work, you have to submit a request to bid with every agency where you want to bid.

Submit Request to Bid

  1. Go to your Settings page and click on the Online Bidding tab.
  2. Click Request to Bid.
  3. From here, a wizard will guide you through the Request to bid process, where you will choose the eligible bidder from a dropdown, select the agency you want to bid with, and enter your company name or Vendor ID associated with that agency.
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Search for a company using either the business name or Vendor ID. If your company name isn't pre-populated by the service, double check that you have entered the name or Vendor ID correctly. If it still doesn't show up, verify that your user profile is properly set up in AASHTOWare Project Bids.
  1. Select the check box to authorize the monthly Internet bidding fee and click Save.

When you submit the request, both you and the agency receive an email with the request information. You'll get another email when the agency approves, rejects, or puts the request on hold.

Bonus Points -- Test your Digital ID

You can start working with the bid files in the Bid component even if your request to bid hasn't been approved yet.

But once your request has been approved, you can test your Digital ID in the Bid component. Here's how:

  1. Download a .ebsx file from a proposal in the Bid Express service.
  2. Open the Bid component and select Open Other Proposal.
  3. Find and select the .ebsx file. Click Open.
  4. Click Submit Bid from the Tools menu and go through the process of submitting your bid.
  5. Select your ID and enter your password.
  6. Click Next, then click Finish.

If the site lets you click Finish, you have successfully tested your ID for bidding purposes.

Already have a Digital ID? Renew or replace it here.

If you've been bidding for a while, you may need to renew or replace your Digital ID.

Your Infotech Digital ID for use with the AASHTOWare Project Bids software must be regenerated once every two years. There is no charge to regenerate the Digital ID during the renewal process.

If you don't renew your ID before the expiration date, you will have to create a new ID, pay any associated fees, and submit new requests to bid to each agency. You won't be able to submit bids using the Bid component until you have a new ID.

Expand each section below to renew or replace your Digital ID.

Renew your Digital ID

You must renew your Digital ID every two years to continue to bid without interruption. The service will notify you when it's time to renew. A helpful wizard will guide you through the process, but here's what to expect.

1. Select and verify your existing ID

First, you'll have to verify your existing ID by uploading the backup file you saved to your machine or external storage device during the ID creation process.

When searching your file explorer for the Digital ID backup, if you didn't rename the file, it will be named like this:

FirstName_LastName_[40-character string of numbers and letters]_DigitalID.cer

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2. Create a new password

The next screen will ask you to enter a new password.

Do not forget this password. There is no way for the Bid Express service to retrieve it once lost, and you will need to go through the creation process again, request to bid with agencies again, and pay all of the associated fees again.

Once you're happy with your password, move on to the next step.

3. Generate a new Digital ID

When you click Generate a Digital ID, you will be asked to enter your new password and click Next. Your Digital ID file should download automatically.

4. Remove your old Digital ID file from Project Bids

You'll have to go into the Project Bids Bid component for this step, but the in-app prompt will tell you what to do. When you're finished, you'll return to the website to acknowledge that you've deleted your old Digital ID and click Next to continue.

5. Import your new Digital ID

Follow the instructions to go back into the Project Bids Bid component and upload your Digital ID file there. Then you'll return to the site and click Next.

6. Backup your new Digital ID

Finally, you'll be prompted to create a backup of your Digital ID file from the Project Bids Bid component. When you have finished, return to the site and click Next to finish.

Congratulations!

You're good to bid for another two years! Just remember that if you use other devices to submit bids, you'll have to go through the same process of removing the old Digital ID file and importing the renewed ID file to your Project Bids Bid component on each of those devices.

Replace your Digital ID

Ideally, you won't ever need to replace your Digital ID, but here are a few of the reasons you might have to:
  • You did not renew your existing ID before the expiration period.
  • You forgot your password.
  • You changed computers and don't have access to the backup file for the original ID.
By replacing your ID through this process, your requests to bid with agencies will remain active. However, you will have to pay the processing fee of $100 to replace your Digital ID.
Things to know
  • You have unlimited password attempts, so before you replace your ID make sure you try every variation on what you think the password might be (like capitalizing different letters or using different numbers).
  • Once you replace your ID, don't lose your new password! We have no way to recover a lost password and you will have to replace your ID again.
  • Create a backup of your Digital ID and store it somewhere other than your computer.

When you are ready to replace your Digital ID, follow the steps below.

  1. While logged into Bidx.com, go to the Settings tab.
  2. Click on Online Bidding.
  3. When you see the Digital ID you want to replace, click the three dot action menu and click Replace.
  4. From here, a wizard will guide you through the process.