Qualify on the work first — then compete on price
Some buys are too important to hand to the lowest bidder who can't actually do the job. Two-step runs an unpriced technical round first: only vendors judged capable are let into the live reverse auction — where price competition takes over.
Price is not submitted or seen in Step 1.
Vendor B cannot bid — not qualified in Step 1.
The price of a reverse auction, the assurance of an RFP
A plain reverse auction rewards the lowest number; a scored RFP rewards merit but gives up live price pressure. Two-step gives you both — technical capability as the entry ticket, then real-time price competition among the vendors who earned it.
Unpriced technical gate
Step 1 proposals carry no price and stay sealed until the deadline — so acceptability is judged on the work, never colored by cost.
Pass/fail or scored
Judge each proposal acceptable-or-not, or score it against weighted criteria with a qualifying threshold — your call per solicitation.
Only the qualified bid
The live auction refuses anyone who wasn't found acceptable — and tells them why. No capable-on-paper-only vendor wins on price alone.
Revisions, on the record
Staff can request a revised technical proposal before the gate closes — the discussions step FAR two-step allows, fully logged.
Blind panel scoring
In scored mode each evaluator works independently; peer scores stay hidden until consensus.
One protest-ready file
Technical determinations, the qualified roster, and every auction tick land in a single timestamped record.
Two steps, one solicitation
Set up the two-step
Turn on two-step, choose pass/fail or scored, and set the Step-1 deadline before the auction opens.
Sealed technical intake
Vendors submit unpriced technical proposals into the sealed box — no price, hidden from all.
Review & determine
At close, staff open and judge each proposal acceptable or not; revisions can be requested.
Live price auction
Only qualified vendors enter the reverse auction and drive the price down in real time.
Screen & award
SAM.gov and insurance/bond/license checks run before the award is recorded.
Whichever way you buy, the award holds up
The same integrity layer runs under two-step as under every other method — one standard of documentation, from the technical gate to the final award.
Tamper-evident audit trail
Every proposal, determination, addendum, bid, and award decision timestamped to a record built for a protest or audit.
Binding addenda
Bidders must acknowledge each addendum; a new one flags active proposals and bids for one-click re-affirmation.
Not-debarred at award
SAM.gov exclusion screening plus insurance/bond/license status, checked before you record the award.
Statutory preferences
Local, MWBE, and veteran credits applied to the Step-2 ranking — contract price stays the raw bid.
Qualified vendors
NAICS and commodity-code classification with targeted opportunity notices to matching vendors.
Public records, handled
Vendor-marked confidential material, staff-decided, released with a redaction log — never auto-exposed.
See a two-step run from technical gate to price
We'll set up a scenario like your own on a demo site — the sealed technical round, the acceptability call, and the live auction among the vendors who qualified.
Bid Now Solutions · reverse auctions & sealed electronic bidding for government & organizational procurement · bidnowsolutions.com