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How Keenline works
Keenline puts every open bid from the City of Los Angeles, LADWP, LA County, Long Beach, and federal buyers in one list you can search, filter, and sort by deadline. Browsing the list is free. Signing in starts a 14-day free trial of Pro, which adds each bid's full details, award history, fit marks, stars, a bid board, calendar files, and saved searches with a morning email (what each portal includes). Keenline takes no bids: when you find one worth pursuing, you bid on the agency's portal.
Getting started
- Narrow the list. Search for your trade ("paving", "HVAC", "janitorial") or use the filters: who is buying, category, kind of work, bid type, size, and when it closes.
- Describe your company under Your company: what you do, your license classes, bonding, and the size of job you want. Keenline marks the notices that fit and tells you why. Your answers follow your account to any device.
- Star the ones worth a look. Starred notices stay on your shortlist on every device you sign in on; the Starred tab above the list shows only them.
- Put the deadline in your calendar. "Add to calendar" on a notice downloads the deadline, and any upcoming pre-bid meeting, with a reminder the day before. Or, in the Deadlines view, subscribe to a whole search: your calendar keeps it current as notices are posted and closed.
- Check back. Each visit, the list marks what is new since you last looked, and the New since your last visit tab lists only that. Save a search to reopen it from any browser, and turn on its morning email to get new matches in your inbox.
Registering and bidding on each portal
Each buyer takes bids through its own portal, and each needs a free vendor account before you can download documents or respond. Registering before a deadline you care about saves a scramble.
- RAMP
- The City of Los Angeles' procurement portal. Most City departments post there, and so do LA County, LAUSD, the Port of Long Beach, and the Housing Authority of the City of LA for some of their work.
- Register for a free vendor account at rampla.org (opens in a new tab) (you sign in with an Angeleno Account). You download documents and respond there, and can sign up for the City's own bid emails.
- LADWP eRSP
- The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's bidding system for its supply chain: parts, equipment, materials, and services.
- Register at ersp.ladwp.com (opens in a new tab) to download documents and submit bids. LADWP also asks bidders to register on RAMP. RAMP re-posts many eRSP notices; Keenline shows each one once, with a link to the RAMP copy.
- LA County Public Works
- LA County Public Works' own contracting pages: construction, engineering, on-call services, and supplies, with estimates, documents, and pre-bid meetings.
- The listing has the documents and instructions. To contract with the County, register as a County vendor through WebVen (opens in a new tab) (free).
- LA County Solicitations
- Every LA County department's solicitations, run by the Internal Services Department: supplies, services, bench lists, and construction from the Sheriff, Health Services, Parks, Beaches and Harbors, and the rest.
- Each solicitation says how to respond; most ask for a County vendor number. Register, free, through WebVen (opens in a new tab). RAMP re-posts many of these; Keenline shows each one once.
- Long Beach Buys
- The City of Long Beach and Long Beach Utilities: construction, supplies, and professional services.
- Register, free, on Long Beach Buys (opens in a new tab) to download documents and submit quotes and bids electronically.
- SAM.gov
- Federal contract opportunities whose work is in LA County: Veterans Affairs, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Navy, GSA, and other federal buyers.
- Federal buyers need an active registration on SAM.gov (opens in a new tab) (free) and its Unique Entity ID before award. The notice says how to respond, often by email or through the agency's own system.
Always read the official listing before you bid: requirements, addenda, pre-bid meetings, and the exact submission method are there, and a listing can change after Keenline last checked it.
Bid types
| Type | Stands for | What you send |
|---|---|---|
| IFB / RFB | Invitation for Bid / Request for Bid | A priced bid against fixed specifications. Usually the lowest responsive, responsible bid wins. |
| RFP | Request for Proposal | A proposal scored on approach, qualifications, and price. Best value wins, not only the lowest price. |
| RFQ | Request for Quote | A price quote for goods or small jobs, often with a short turnaround. |
| RFSQ | Request for Statement of Qualifications | A qualifications package to get onto a list or bench of pre-approved firms. Work is then awarded by task order. Many stay open continuously. |
| TOS | Task Order Solicitation | A job offered to firms already on a bench or qualified list. |
| RFI | Request for Information | Market research. There is no award, but responding puts you on the buyer's radar. |
- Open continuously means the agency takes responses at any time. Most are RFSQs for a list of qualified firms.
- Upcoming notices are planned but not yet out. They show an estimated release instead of a deadline.
- Amended means an addendum was issued. Read it before you bid.
- Dollar figures are labelled with where they come from: an agency estimate (LA County Public Works) or a spot band (LADWP). RAMP publishes no values.
Where the data comes from
Keenline reads the public listings on RAMP about every hour, LADWP eRSP every two hours, LA County Public Works every three hours, LA County Solicitations every three hours, Long Beach Buys every three hours, and SAM.gov once a day. The line under the list's heading says when the last check finished. Notices leave the list once their deadline passes or the portal takes them down.
RAMP re-posts many LADWP and LA County notices, and LA County Solicitations lists some Public Works ones. Keenline shows each solicitation once, under the portal that runs it, and names the copies on the notice. Titles are shown without the solicitation numbers and closing dates RAMP folds into them; each notice lists its official title word for word.
What stays private
Without an account, your company answers, your stars, and your last-visit time are kept in this browser only. Signed in, Keenline keeps your email address, your saved searches, your company answers, and your stars with your account, so they follow you to any device, and uses them only to show you bids. If you subscribe, Stripe handles the payment and Keenline never sees your card. You can delete the account, and all of it, from Account settings. See Privacy and Terms.
Questions, a wrong listing, or a portal we should add? or email support@keenline.app.