The FreeBalance eProcurement Portal is a web-based application that promotes economic development as it increases vendor awareness and participation. Now, all RFIs and RFPs are listed in one location, ensuring vendors a fair and transparent opportunity to bid on government proposals. Vendors sign up with the FreeBalance eProcurement Portal and create alerts when an RFI or RFP is listed that matches their criteria. Bid post dates, RFP due dates, procurement officer contact information, and more is all posted to ensure a fair and open bid process. As more vendors bid on projects, the result is better prices and quality, helping reduce overall procurement costs.
The the listed help topics are for registered Administrator use. The E-Procurement Portal Administration FreeBalance Help covers topics regarding administrative functionality and maintenance of the E-Procurement Portal.
1 | Home Icon |
2 | News Articles |
3 | Blog Posts |
4 | Site Directory |
5 | User Login |
6 | Language Preferences |
7 | Business Opportunities |
8 | Blacklisted Vendors |
9 | Awards |
10 | Additional Content |
11 | Statistics |
1. Home Icon - Clicking the Home Icon will return the user to the main page view.
2. News Articles - News article links are listed in the order they were created.
3. Blog Posts - Blog Post links are listed in the order they were created.
4. Site Directory - Directional links to specific Portal entities or additional information.
5. User Login - For Administrators. Used to login with unique administrator username and password.
6. Language Preferences - Select the displayed language of the portal.
7. Business Opportunities - Displays a list of current procurement opportunities.
8. Blacklisted Vendors - View a list of vendors ineligible to participate in the procurement process. View a listings in the following ways:
9. Awards - View Bid Awards in the following ways:
10. Additional Content - A collection of additional links available.
11. Statistics - View Procurement statistics in the following ways:
Overview
The Portal Permission page is accessed via the FreeBalance Accountability Suite. This entity contains all the available functions for each user. Include just the allowed functions for a specific user. All these user roles must be configured in the Admin Module under the User Options in the FreeBalance platform.
Navigation
The Portal Permission screen includes the following fields:
Report Fields | Description |
ID | This is a unique Identifier |
Active | Active Status - if checked, Portal Permission is available |
Has Read | If checked, the User can perform read/view actions |
Has Insert | If checked,the User can perform insert transactions |
Has Update | If checked, the User can perform update/modify transactions |
Has Delete | If checked, the User can perform delete transactions |
Language | Language used |
Description | Detailed description of the Portal Permission |
To Create a Portal Permission that refers to a user’s specified level of access rights to the system functionality, follow the steps below
Navigation
By default, you will be in Search Mode.
Select the Scope from the drop-down menu.
Select the Source from the drop-down menu
Has Read: If false, this cannot be selected in new transaction.
Has Insert: If false, this cannot be selected in new transaction.
Has Update: If false, this cannot be selected in new transaction.
Has Delete: If false, this cannot be selected in new transaction.
Click on Save and Return icon in order to save individual features or Save and Propagate Changes icon in order to save parent and child access rights. The Function window will close.
Click on Save icon at the bottom of the screen to save your new Portal Permission.
A window will appear to confirm your Portal Permission has been created.
The Portal Permission window allows a system administrator or other authorized user, to define Portal Permission. To MODIFY a Portal Permission, follow the steps below:
Navigation
To MODIFY a Portal Permission, follow the steps below:
By default, you will be in Search Mode.
Overview
The Portal User page is accessed via the FreeBalance Accountability Suite. This entity contains all the information about the registered users in the FreeBalance Portals.
Navigation
How to SEARCH:
The Functional Class screen includes the following fields:
Report Fields | Description |
User | Unique identification code of the User |
Scope Restriction | Restriction based on the scope of the individual |
To Create a Portal User that refers to a user’s specified level of access rights to the system functionality, follow the steps below:
Navigation
By default, you will be in Search Mode.
To Add Portal User , follow the steps below:
1. Click on the tab then the Look Up Icon then click on the Find icon to retrieve the Portal User(s), then select the appropriate Portal User (s) to return to the Portal User Holder Screen.
2. Click the individual Select Checkbox (es), under to Portal User to select and de-select the Portal User, as required, or click the Select All icon or Un-select All icon, to select or de-select all Portal User, if required.
3. Click the Remove icon to remove the selected Portal User, if required.
4. Click on the Save icon at the bottom to save your new Portal User information. A window will appear to confirm the new Portal User creation. Click OK to confirm
To DELETE, follow the steps below:
Navigation
By default, you will be in Search Mode.
4. Click OK to confirm and delete the Portal User.
5. A window will be displayed confirming the Portal User has been deleted
To Verify that the Portal User has been Deleted:
Deleet
To MODIFY a Process, follow the steps below:
By default, you will be in Search Mode.
To Login to the E-Procurement Portal, click the Login icon in the Portal header.
Enter a valid Username and Password. Selecting the Remember Me option will store the Username and Password in the system for future use. Click the Login icon to confirm.
If the Login is successful, a welcome message will appear and a User Menu will be presented on the left-hand of the Portal. The Administrator's name will be present in the top right of the Portal header.
The Audit Trail function displays a list of historical transactions, grouped by Institution, User, or Transaction Type.
To access the Audit Trail option, click the corresponding link in the User Menu. The Audit Trail function will be displayed.
The list of results can be filtered by the following fields:
Audit Trail entries can be ordered by category. Click the category heading to order transactions.
To access the list of Blogs, click the See More Blog Posts... icon located on the main page.
A complete list of Blog Posts will be displayed.
The list of Blog Posts are ordered by Published Date. To view a Blog Post, click the Title of the blog.
To toggle pages of available Blog Posts, use the Page icons.
To change the number of Blog Posts displayed on the page, select a value from the Results Per Page drop-down menu.
Select a Blog Post by clicking the Title. The Blog information is displayed including all comments posted.
To COMMENT on a Post,
1. Enter Username
2. Enter Comment
3. Click the icon. The following message is displayed:
Note: The Administrator may set the standard for publishing blog comments. The following options are permissible:
In any case, administrator users can later delete any blog comment.
To access the Unpublished Comments page, expand the Blog Posts category in the User Menu. Click the corresponding Unpublished Comments link.
A list of Blog Comments awaiting approval is displayed:
The list of Unpublished Comments are ordered by Published Date. To view an Unpublished Comments, click the Title of the blog.
To toggle pages of available Unpublished Comments, use the Page icons.
To change the number of Unpublished Comments displayed on the page, select a value from the Results Per Page drop-down menu.
To view an Unpublished Comment, click the associated Blog Name.
The Blog Post is displayed with any Unpublished Comments and details.
To DELETE the Unpublished Comment, click the icon. A window will appear to confirm.
To APPROVE / PUBLISH the Unpublished Comment, click the icon.
To REJECT the Unpublished Comment, click the icon.
To Publish or Reject multiple Unpublished Comments simultaneously, select the desired Comments from the list.
Click the to Approve / Publish all selected Unpublished Comments.
Click the to Reject all selected Unpublished Comments.
To access the Blog Posts option, click the corresponding link in the User Menu. A list of Blog Posts is presented.
The list of Blog Posts are ordered by Published Date. To view a Blog Post, click the Title of the blog.
To toggle pages of available Blog Posts, use the Page icons.
To change the number of Blog Posts displayed on the page, select a value from the Results Per Page drop-down menu.
To ADD a New Blog Post, click the Add Blog Post icon. The Portal Editor tool will be displayed.
Select Language from the drop-down menu.
Enter Title of the Blog Post.
Enter Body of the Blog Post in the Content window.
To ADD an Attachment, click Add link at the bottom of page. The New Attachment window will appear.
1. Enter Title of Attachment.
2. Select Language of Attachment from drop-down menu.
3. Enter Description for Attachment.
4. Select Attached File by clicking the icon. Select the file you wish to Attach.
5. Click the icon to Attach the File and return to the Add Blog Post page.
Click the icon to Publish and Save the Added Blog Post.
Click the icon to discard changes and return to the list of Blog Posts.
NOTE: The process must be repeated for each mandatory Language.
To access the Blog Posts page, click the corresponding icon in the User Menu. A list of Blog Posts are presented.
The list of Blog Posts are ordered by Published Date. To view a Blog Post, click the Title of the blog.
To toggle pages of available Blog Posts, use the Page icons.
To change the number of Blog Posts displayed on the page, select a value from the Results Per Page drop-down menu.
Select a Blog Post by clicking the Title. The Blog information is displayed including all comments posted.
To DELETE the Post, click the icon. A window will appear to confirm.
To EDIT the Post, click the icon. The Portal editor tool is displayed.
Make changes to desired fields in any language:
Select Language from the drop-down menu.
Enter Title of the Blog Post.
Enter Body of the Blog Post in the Content window.
To ADD an Attachment, click Add link at the bottom of page. The New Attachment window will appear.
1. Enter Title of Attachment.
2. Select Language of Attachment from drop-down menu.
3. Enter Description for Attachment.
4. Select Attached File by clicking the icon. Select the file you wish to Attach.
5. Click the icon to Attach the File and return to the Blog Posts page.
Click the icon to Save changes to the Blog Post.
Click the icon to discard changes and return to the list of Blog Posts.
NOTE: The process must be repeated for each mandatory Language.
To Manage E-Bulletin Content Templates, click the corresponding link in the User Menu. The list displays the Template Type and Subject of the E-Bulletin.
Select and of the available Bulletin Templates:
To EDIT a Content Template, click the corresponding Edit link.
The page editor tool is presented:
The User may edit the Title and Body.
NOTE: Some contents have elements preceded by a $ symbol, this means that such values can’t be updated, otherwise the e-bulletin won’t work properly or not all the information will be included.
Click the icon to save changes and return to the Content Templates list.
Click the icon to discard changes and return to the Content Templates list.
Note: To update the bulletin in a different language change the language using icons located in the top of the page and then repeat the previous steps.
To access the E-Bulletin Subscriptions List, click the corresponding link in the user Menu.
A list of all email addresses receiving E-Bulletins will appear. The list displays the date the Subscription was made, Language of Subscription, and the current status of the Subscription.
To organize the list by by Subscription Date, Language, or Status, click the associated heading.
To SEARCH for an email address, enter it in the Email field and click the icon.
The Portal's appearance is known as it's Theme. Colours, fonts and labels can be changed in the Manage Themes tool. To access the tool, select Manage Themes from the Menu.
To ADD a Theme, click the icon.
The following screen is presented:
To change the colour of a specific aspect of the Portal, click the icon. Select a custom colour from the colour tool.
To change the font size and style, select options from the drop-down menu.
Selected font options and colour schemes are previewed at the bottom of the screen:
To save changes and return to the Manage Themes list, click the icon.
To EDIT an existing Theme, click the Edit icon on the Manage Themes list.
Make changes to the colour scheme and font options, then click the icon.
To DELETE an existing Theme, click the Delete icon on the Manage Themes list. Click OK to confirm Delete.
The E-Procurement Portal allows News Articles to be shared with all Users. The News Article feature keeps Users current will all News pertaining to Government Procurement.
To ADD a News Article, click the corresponding link in the User Menu. A list of News Articles is presented, ordered by Published Date.
Click the icon to compose a New Article. A page displaying the editor tool is presented.
Enter Published Date from the Calendar tool. Date indicates the date the News Article was initially published from a media outlet.
Select Language from the drop-down menu.
Enter Title of the News Article.
Enter Body of the News Article in the Content window.
To ADD an Attachment, click Add link at the bottom of page. The New Attachment window will appear.
1. Enter Title of Attachment.
2. Select Language of Attachment from drop-down menu.
3. Enter Description for Attachment.
4. Select Attached File by clicking the icon. Select the file you wish to Attach.
5. Click the icon to Attach the File and return to the Add News Article page.
Click the icon to Publish and Save the Added News Article.
Click the icon to discard changes and return to the list of News Articles.
NOTE: The process must be repeated for each mandatory Language.
The E-Procurement Portal allows News Articles to be shared with all Users. The News Article feature keeps Users current will all News pertaining to Government Procurement.
To access the News Article page, click the corresponding icon in the User Menu. A list of News Articles is presented.
The list of News Articles are ordered by Published Date. To view a News Article, click the Title of the blog.
To toggle pages of available News Articles, use the Page icons.
To change the number of News Articles displayed on the page, select a value from the Results Per Page drop-down menu.
Select a News Articles by clicking the Title. The Article with associated details is displayed.
To DELETE the Article, click the icon. A window will appear to confirm.
To EDIT the Article, click the icon. The Portal Editor tool is displayed.
Make changes to necessary fields.
Enter Published Date from the Calendar tool. Date indicates the date the News Article was initially published from a media outlet.
Select Language from the drop-down menu.
Enter Title of the News Article.
Enter Body of the News Article in the Content window.
To ADD an Attachment, click Add link at the bottom of page. The New Attachment window will appear.
1. Enter Title of Attachment.
2. Select Language of Attachment from drop-down menu.
3. Enter Description for Attachment.
4. Select Attached File by clicking the icon. Select the file you wish to Attach.
5. Click the icon to Attach the File and return to the Add News Article page.
Click the icon to Save changes to the News Article.
Click the icon to discard changes and return to the list of News Articles.
NOTE: The process must be repeated for each mandatory Language.
Overview
The Portal Settings page allows the Administrator to configure global parameters.
Portal Configuration
Portal Name - Enter the Title that will appear in the Portal header.
Portal Logo - Select a Logo to appear in the Portal header. Click the icon to search the system for an image.
Currency Format - Enter the Currency the fiscal data will be displayed.
Date Format - Enter the format Dates will appear (ex. dd-mm-yyyy).
Default Language - Select the Default Language from the drop-down menu. The value selected will apply to all pages. This is the displayed language upon logging into the Portal.
Default Page Size - Select Default Page Size from the drop-down menu. The Page Size indicates the default number of rows displayed in all pages which include a list of results such as Revenue and Expenditure elements or Audit Trails.
Current Theme - Select the appearance Theme from the drop-down menu.
Contact Us Email - Enter the email address that all user Contact Us inquiries will be sent.
Show Usage Statistics to the Public - Check the box to allow public users to view Usage Statistics.
Failures Before Captcha - Enter a numeric value. The value indicates the number of failed Login attempts are permitted before the captcha security feature is enabled.
Publish Comment Blog Type - Select Type from drop-down menu. It indicates the method to approve blog comments.
Homepage Blogs Sort Criteria - Select sorting method from the drop-down menu. The method indicates how the list of Blog Posts will be organized.
- Enter numeric value. The value indicates the number of pages displayed in the paging section for all those pages which include paging functionality.
Time Zone Sensitive - Select True or False from the drop-down menu. Selecting True indicates the Portal time must be adjusted. False indicates otherwise.
Time Zone Reference - Select Time Zone from drop-down menu. It indicates the quantity of hours difference with respect to Greenwich Mean Time.
Reset Password URL Expiration Time - Enter numeric value. Indicates the number of days before expiration of Reset Password email notifications sent to users.
Send Mail Attempts - Enter numeric value. Indicates the number of attempts the system will make in sending email notifications to users. If the number of failures exceeds the value entered, the system will discard the email.
Period Time Between Send Email - Enter numeric value. Indicates the number of minutes to pass before the system re-attempts a failed sent email.
Configuration Mode - Select Mode from drop-down menu.
Authentication Type - Select Authentication Type from drop-down menu. Indicates the type of authentication method used to grant access to registered users.
FB Platform Web Service - It indicates the URL (Internet Address) where the web services of the FreeBalance Accountability Suite are located. This is used for the interchange of information.
Generate Procurement Document Blog Post - Check the box to enable Procurement Document Blog Posts
Email Configuration
Outgoing email configuration (SMTP)
Email Protocol - Enter the Email Protocol used to send emails from the Transparency Portal.
Email Host Name - Enter the Name of Host email server. The value must be accessed by the host where the Portal is running.
Email Host Port - Enter the Identifier to Port connected to the email host server.
Email Authentication User - The User email address to log on to the host email server.
Email Authentication Password - Enter the Password used to access the host email server.
Email Authentication Required - Check the box to indicate that User and Password are required to use the email host server
Incoming email configuration (POP)
The following parameters are used for POP email server configuration:
To save changes made to the Portal Settings, click the icon.
The Supported Files Types page displays a list of file types that are compatible with the E-Procurement Portal. The displayed File Types can be uploaded successfully to the Portal.
The Supported Files Types page displays a list of file types that are compatible with the E-Procurement Portal. The displayed File Types can be uploaded successfully to the Portal. The Support File Types list appears as follows:
To ADD a Supported File Type, follow the steps below:
1. Click the icon.
The following screen is presented:
2. Select Language from the drop-down menu.
3. Enter the File Extension not including dots. For example, "doc" or "ppts".
4. Enter Type Description. A brief description of the File Type.
5. Click the icon to save the added File Type. OR click the icon to discard changes and return to the Supported File Types page.
To EDIT A Supported File Type,
1. While viewing the Supported File Types list, click the Show icon of the File Type you wish to edit.
A page displaying the name and description of the file type appears:
2. Click the icon.
A page displaying the Supported File Type details is presented:
3. Make changes to any fields necessary.
4. Click the icon to save changes to the Supported File Type. OR click the icon to discard changes and return to the Supported File Types page.
To DELETE a Supported File Type,
1. Click the Delete icon on the Supported File Type list.
2. Confirm Delete.
The User may also click the Show icon to view the following window:
Click the icon and confirm the action.
To view a list of Users, click the corresponding link in the Administrator Menu. A list of Administrator Users will appear.
To access the View Entities option, click the corresponding link in the User Menu. A list if Portal Entities is presented.
To view a list of entities, click the corresponding link. Entities listed are:
Synchronize All Entities: This option submits a request to the FreeBalance Accountability Suite for updating all the catalogues required for the E-Procurement Portal. The result of the process can be tracked through the option View Status Synchronization process.
View Status Synchronization Process: It displays a log of all the Synchronization Processes requested.
The View Status Synchronization Process list is displayed as follows:
To access the Manage Content option, click the corresponding link in the User Menu.
Click the icon to view the Portal editor tool.
Select Language from the drop-down menu.
Enter Title of the Page.
Enter Body of the Page in the Content window.
To ADD an Attachment, click Add link at the bottom of page. The New Attachment window will appear.
1. Enter Title of Attachment.
2. Select Language of Attachment from drop-down menu.
3. Enter Description for Attachment.
4. Select Attached File by clicking the icon. Select the file you wish to Attach.
5. Click the icon to Attach the File and return to the Manage Content page.
Click the icon to Save the Added Content.
NOTE: The process must be repeated for each mandatory Language.
To View a list of existing Content Pages, expand the Manage Content link.
To view a Content Page, click the corresponding link.
To EDIT a Content Page, click the icon located at the bottom of the page.
The Portal Editor tool is displayed.
Modify desired fields:
NOTE: Modifications must be made in each mandatory language.
Click the icon to save changes and return to Manage Contents page.
The Portal Editor tool is used to create and modify Portal pages. The Editor appears as follows:
Pages are required to have a Title, as entered in the Title field.
The Content of the page is entered in the Content field.
To Format Text within the content, highlight the text you wish to format. Use the various formatting options in the toolbar:
To add a Link, highlight the text you wish to Link. Click the Link icon in the toolbar:
A window will appear. Indicate the URL where the link redirects to the User, then click the OK icon.
Indicate the target window for view the link site, select the TARGET tab option, later in the target list option select “_blank” this value indicates that the link will be opened in a new window and the user will remain in the Transparency Portal. Click the OK icon.
To ADD an Image, click the Image icon in the toolbar.
After selecting the Image button a pop up window appear, here the user has to indicate the URL where the image is located, this could be a Local or External URL. The image is previewed in the window. Click the OK icon to confirm.