If you sell to a state government, there is a strong chance you will end up on Periscope S2G— the eProcurement platform many people still call by its older name, BuySpeed. Built by Periscope Holdings, it powers a large share of statewide and city procurement systems, usually as the official vendor self-service portal where agencies post their bids and vendors respond. This guide covers how to register, why NIGP commodity codes are the heart of the system, and how to submit a quote or bid before the deadline.

The good news for vendors: self-registration is free.You do not pay to create a seller account, receive bid notifications, or submit a response. What the platform asks in return is that you classify your business accurately — because on Periscope, the commodity codes you pick decide which opportunities ever reach you.

What Periscope / BuySpeed is (and who uses it)

Periscope S2G (“Source to Give”), and the BuySpeed systems it grew from, is a full state-and-local procurement platform. On the sourcing side it hosts a public vendor self-service portal where a state (or a city) posts its solicitations — Invitations for Bid, Requests for Proposals, and Requests for Quotes — and where registered sellers download documents and submit responses electronically. Many states run their official statewide vendor portal on this platform, so it is the authoritative place to find and respond to those bids, not a third-party copy.

Each government runs its own instance, so you register with the specific state or city portal you want to sell to. If you already have an opportunity in mind, start from the listing: on our bids directory each Periscope/BuySpeed listing links straight through to the source portal, so you land exactly where you register and submit.

Step 1 — Register as a vendor (free)

From the portal, create a free vendor/seller account. You will confirm your email, set a password, and complete a company profile — legal name, address, contacts, and tax details such as a W-9 or taxpayer identification number. Some states also link this registration to their payment and vendor-management systems, so fill it in carefully; it is often the same record they will use to pay you after award.

Step 2 — Classify your business with NIGP codes

This is the step that matters most on Periscope. The platform organizes goods and services using NIGP commodity codes(the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing coding system), and your bid notifications are driven entirely by the codes on your profile. Select every NIGP class and item that genuinely describes what you sell — miss a relevant code and you simply never hear about matching bids; add codes you can’t deliver and you drown in noise.

NIGP codes are a different system from the federal NAICS codes, but the strategy for choosing them is the same: be precise, be complete, and revisit them as your offerings change. If you also bid federally, our guide to NAICS codes explains the parallel logic of picking codes that maximize relevant matches without inviting junk.

Step 3 — Find and open the solicitation

Once registered, browse or search open solicitations, or wait for the email notifications your NIGP codes trigger. Open a solicitation and read the summary first: the closing date and time (note the time zone), the scope, and the list of required documents and forms. Download every attachment — specifications, pricing templates, and any required forms — before you begin your response.

Do a quick bid/no-bid read of the requirements and evaluation criteria before investing real time. Our guide on how to read an RFP shows how to find the evaluation section fast and judge whether you can win.

Step 4 — Prepare and submit your quote or bid

Periscope supports online submission for many solicitations. You typically enter your pricing against the solicitation’s line items, answer any required questions, upload the requested documents, and acknowledge every amendment before submitting. Match your uploads to each requested item exactly — a response missing a required form or certification is frequently deemed non-responsive and set aside before evaluation. If you hold small- or disadvantaged-business certifications, have them ready; see set-asides and certifications.

Not every buyer accepts online responses for every solicitation — some still require sealed paper or email — so always follow the instructions in the specific document. Where online submission is offered, two habits protect the bid: submit well before the deadline, since large uploads are the usual cause of a missed clock, and treat the posted close time as final — the portal locks at that moment with no grace period. Many portals let you revise and re-submit until close, so it is safe to submit a complete draft early.

Costs, questions, and after you submit

There is no fee to register on Periscope, receive notifications, or submit a response. If a solicitation is unclear, use the portal’s official question function before the questions deadline; answers are typically issued to all bidders as an amendment you must acknowledge. After the close, the agency evaluates responses and posts or notifies results — larger contracts often need governing-body approval, so expect a wait between the close and an award.

The bottom line

On Periscope S2G and BuySpeed, everything flows from two free steps done well: register as a vendor, and classify your business with the right NIGP commodity codes so the notifications actually reach you. From there, read each solicitation carefully, upload every required document, and submit with hours to spare. For the wider map of state and local systems, see how to find local government contracts — then browse open bids near you and follow each listing straight to its portal.