SEAO: supplier guide

About SEAO

• SEAO (Système électronique d'appel d'offres) is the Government of Québec's electronic tendering system, used to publish and consult public calls for tenders issued by government bodies and other public entities in Québec.^[1]
• Calls for tenders on SEAO are issued by public bodies such as governments, municipalities and public institutions. Any business or supplier interested in bidding on public contracts in Québec can use it.^[1]

How to register

1. Create a professional account with the Government of Québec's authentication service (Service d'authentification gouvernementale). SEAO requires a professional email address; a personal address must not be used.^[2]
2. You provide a user name, your professional email address, a password and a security code sent to you by email.^[2]
3. The first user from your company creates its organization in SEAO. The organization's SEAO coordinator then manages user profiles and roles.^[2]
4. Set up personalised alerts and notifications for new calls for tenders that match your criteria.^[1]

Fees

• Registration on SEAO is free, and its free basic services give access to the main features.^[1][3]
• Optional monthly subscriptions cost $6.95 per Specialist user and $3.00 per Reader. With a subscription, some pay-per-use costs are lower.^[3]
• Ordering a notice's documents is paid: for example $0.03 per page for an electronic standard document, plus a $20.00 occasional-order fee per order for organizations on the basic services.^[3]
• Electronic bid submission (STVE) costs $30.00 per bid filed on the basic services, or $20.00 with a subscription.^[3]

Before you bid

• Addenda issued after you order a notice's documents are sent to you at no extra charge.^[3]
• Electronic submission is generally optional: a paper bid by mail or in person is still accepted unless the buyer requires electronic submission.^[3]
• If you used the former SEAO, sign in with the same professional email address as your old account to keep your history; your former coordinator can recover the old profiles.^[2]

Help and support

• SEAO's FAQ directs technical support requests to the contact form on its website.^[1]