The City of Austin buys everything from IT services and construction to office supplies and consulting, and it runs almost all of it through one system. If you want to sell to the City, the path is concrete: register in Austin Finance Online, decide whether to pursue MBE/WBE certification through the City's Small and Minority Business Resources Department, then watch the solicitation list and submit offers electronically.
Here's how each piece actually works, and where founders waste time.
Step 1: Register as a vendor in Austin Finance OnlineAustin doesn't use a separate procurement portal the way some cities do. Austin Finance Online (AFO), at financeonline.austintexas.gov, is the system of record for vendor registration, solicitation notices, and electronic offers. You create a vendor account, complete the online registration form, and add your business details.
A few things matter during registration:
- Commodity codes. Austin notifies registered vendors about upcoming solicitations based on the commodity codes you select. Pick the codes that match what you sell, broadly enough to catch relevant work but not so broadly that your inbox fills with irrelevant notices. This is the single most common registration mistake. If you skip codes, you don't get notified.
- Contact and notification settings. The City's own guidance stresses making sure notifications are configured so you actually receive solicitation alerts. Confirm the email on file is monitored.
- W-9 and business information. Have your tax ID, legal business name, and remittance details ready.
The City runs Vendor Academy sessions that walk through getting registered, navigating AFO, and setting up notifications. If you're new to government contracting, that session is worth an hour. Registration itself is free.
Step 2: Decide whether to pursue MBE/WBE certificationAustin operates its own local certification through the Small and Minority Business Resources Department (SMBR). This is separate from federal and state programs, and it's specific to City of Austin contracting.
The City certifies firms as:
- MBE (Minority-Owned Business Enterprise) — a small business, as defined by the SBA, that is at least 51% owned, managed, and controlled by one or more economically disadvantaged ethnic minorities.
- WBE (Women-Owned Business Enterprise) — a small business, as defined by the SBA, that is at least 51% owned, managed, and controlled by one or more economically disadvantaged women.
SMBR also handles DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) certification tied to federally funded transportation work.
You apply through SMBR's Certification and Compliance System (CCS) at austintexas.mwdbe.com. The City's guidance is direct: applying through the CCS portal is the most efficient route and the way to protect your information. You upload business documentation (ownership, control, financials, formation documents) and then monitor the portal for follow-up requests from SMBR. Certification lasts four years, after which owners must recertify by completing a new online application in CCS.
Why bother? The City prices certification into how it awards work. Many Austin solicitations carry MBE/WBE participation goals, meaning prime contractors are expected to subcontract a target percentage to certified firms. Being certified puts you in the pool primes search when they assemble their teams, and it makes you discoverable in Austin's Certified Vendor Search. If you'd rather subcontract before chasing a prime contract, certification is often the faster entry point.
Austin's MBE/WBE program runs parallel to state-level certification. If you're also targeting Texas state agencies or other Texas cities, our state-by-state certification guide maps where each program applies so you don't certify in the wrong place.
Step 3: Find and respond to solicitationsOnce registered, you find work two ways. The first is passive: AFO emails you when a solicitation matches your commodity codes. The second is active, and you should do both. Check the Active Solicitations list in AFO directly rather than relying only on notifications.
Austin's main solicitation types:
- IFB (Invitation for Bid). Price-driven, awarded to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder. Common for goods and straightforward construction.
- RFP (Request for Proposal). Evaluated on price plus qualifications, approach, and other scored factors. Common for services and complex projects.
All offers must be submitted electronically through eResponse inside Austin Finance Online. There's no dropping off a paper bid at a counter. Build in time to learn the eResponse workflow before a deadline, because a fumbled electronic submission on closing day is a missed contract.
Austin is unusually transparent about results. After a solicitation closes, the City posts the list of responding vendors roughly an hour later, and for IFBs it posts each vendor's price offer. You can study bid tabs and past responses in AFO to see who won, at what price, and how your number would have stacked up. Use that. Pull tabs for the last few awards in your category before you price your first bid.
Local and small business preferencesAustin runs Local and Small Business Preference Programs that can give qualifying local and small firms an edge in certain evaluations. Preference rules and percentages change, so confirm the current terms on the City's procurement page before you assume a preference applies to a specific solicitation. Don't price a bid around a preference you haven't verified for that contract.
Who to talk toVendor registration, solicitations, and procurement policy sit with Austin Financial Services / Purchasing, reachable through austintexas.gov/financial-services/procurement. Certification questions (MBE/WBE/DBE) go to SMBR, through the CCS portal at austintexas.mwdbe.com. Keep the two straight: Purchasing handles how you bid, SMBR handles whether you're certified.
A realistic first 30 days- Register in Austin Finance Online and set commodity codes plus notifications.
- Pull bid tabs for your last three to five relevant awards to learn the City's pricing and which primes win.
- Start your MBE/WBE application in CCS if you qualify; gather ownership and financial documents now, since that's the slow part.
- Respond to one small IFB to learn the eResponse workflow before a larger contract is on the line.
Local government contracting rewards being in the system early and certified before the opportunity lands, not scrambling after a solicitation posts. If you're pursuing Austin certification alongside federal or other agency programs and don't want to file the same ownership documents five different ways, CertifyAll captures your business information and documents once and helps you apply across the programs you qualify for. You can also browse our directory of certifying bodies and corporate programs to see where else your certification opens doors. Register with the City first; it costs nothing and it's the prerequisite for everything else.
