Enterprise Resource Planning RFP

The city's RFP #R25-02 for Enterprise Resource Planning software and implementation services was issued on July 10, 2025. 

  • RFP questions were due by 5 PM PT, July 22, 2025. Answers were posted on this page on or before July 29, 2025.
  • RFP responses were due by 5 PM PT, August 12, 2025 August 26, 2025.
  • Vendor submission clarification calls were completed October 10, 2025.
  • Currently moving through the diligence process and will let vendors know if additional information is needed.

Documents

Vendor Questions and City Responses

  1. Does the project have an anticipated Go-Live target date(s)? If a phased approach is preferred is there a tentative go-live schedule based on module or department?
    City response: The city has not identified an approach or a go-live date(s) and expects to make those determinations during the contract negotiation process. (20250714)
  2. Has a budget range been identified for the current project - Implementation cost, Annual cost, and number of years? If so, is it possible to share?
    City response: The city has not identified costs. (20250714)
  3. Has the City seen any product demonstrations in the last 12 months leading up to the release of this RFP? If so, which products have you seen?
    City response: Oracle demonstrated NetSuite For Government on July 23, 2024. (20250714)
  4. Can the City provide the number of Financial users, categorized as follows:
    1. Advanced Users – Users with administrative rights (e.g., managing users/permissions, configuration, and creating reports)
      City response: Approximately 5, depending on specific advanced user definition. (20250714)
    2. Core Users – Regular users performing day-to-day tasks
      City response: Approximately 40, performing daily Finance/HR/Payroll functions, not including employees solely performing cashiering, budgeting, reporting, time/leave entry, workflow approvals, or regular backup/coverage for core users, and depending on specific core user definition. (20250714,  Updated to 40 20250714:1210)
  5. Can the City provide the number of employees that will require access to the employee self-service portal
    1. Self-Service Users – Occasional users with self-service access only
      City response: Approximately 275, depending on specific self-service user definition. (20250714)
  6. How many bargaining unit/groups does the City support?
    City response: 4 (20250714)
  7. Will the City consider extending the ERP proposal due date for two weeks?
    City response: Yes, the city will extend the ERP proposal response due date until August 26, 2025. (20250721)
  8. Planning & Budgeting – How many users do you expect in the system involved in collaborative budget planning?
    City response: Approximately 40, actively involved in planning and budget creation, depending on specific planning and budget creation user definition and system functionality. (20250722)
  9. Functional - Do staff certify their time for grant/award reporting purposes?
    City Response: A successful ERP solution will provide for employee time reporting attestation (requirement #192), including documenting employee time in compliance with the standard for documentation of personnel expenses required for federal award. The city has not identified the need for a separate certification for grant reporting purposes.
  10. Functional - How many locations will the City be taking inventory for? 
    City Response: The number of locations is dependent upon the vendor’s definitions of “inventory” and “location”. City assets may be in buildings, public and private properties, rights-of-way, roadways, underground, etc. and subject to periodic inventory. Warehoused inventory items are principally held in four “locations” in the current inventory management system. Use of additional “locations” for truck stock or site stockpiles is not currently used but may be of interest.
  11. Technical - Are there any systems outside of your legacy system used to track historical data? If so what systems?
    City Response: The majority of financial, payroll, and HR historical data is stored in Microsoft Dynamics GP. Other data, including inventory, grants, contracts, etc. may also be stored in other software, including M365, as well as hard copy/file cabinets.
  12. Technical - Do you have in-house staff that can run either delivered or custom reports from the legacy systems? 
    City Response: Yes, staff run both pre-defined reports and custom reports in Microsoft Dynamics GP and Management Reporter.
  13. Technical - How many years of data are you looking to convert to the new system? 
    City Response: Up to 6 years.
  14. Change Management - What does the optimal user experience look like?
    City Response: The optimal end-user experience will balance usability, functionality, aesthetics, and accessibility to ensure users can efficiently accomplish their tasks in an engaging and intuitive manner.
  15. Change Management - Is the City seeking assistance with change management overall, or is the scope of end-user support limited to training?
    City Response: The city anticipates vital vendor participation inherent in preparing employees to use the new software and perform related work process, but does not anticipate engaging the successful vendor for overall change management services.
  16. Change Management - What is the degree to which this initiative represents a significant shift in the way end-users will be expected to complete day-to-day work activities? 
    City Response: The city expects a modern ERP to help end-users accomplish day-to-day work activities with greater efficiency, accuracy, and security, using up-to-date workflow management for internal control operations and take advantage of new system capabilities and best practices.
  17. Change Management - Does this initiative represent a significant change in the types of skills/capabilities that are required (i.e., the complexity associated with end-user training)?
    City Response: The city does not expect a significant change in the types of skills/capability of end-users. The city anticipates training to focus on new software capabilities, best practices, and workflow processing.
  18. Will the City of Ellensburg accept Point/ Best-In-Breed Solutions? 
    City Response: The city will accept comprehensive best-in-breed ERP solutions that includes finance and HR/payroll. If the vendor proposes a third-party solution for any functionality, the vendor will identify the proposed solution in the requirements document and include applicable costs.
  19. What is the breakdown of your employee count (Full-time, Part-time, and Seasonal employees)? City Response: Full Time 173; Part-Time 13; Seasonal Temps 29; Other 91 (other includes student employees, interns, reserve officers, etc.)
  20. Can you please clarify the proposed contract length? Is it 5 years, per the bullet point under “7. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CONSIDERATIONS?” 
    City Response: The city has not proposed a contract length. The bullet point referenced is intended assist the city in evaluating total cost of ownership of proposed solutions.
  21. What information needs to be integrated both imports/exports? Would this need to be an API or SFTP transfer 
    City Response: Requirement #35 asks for experience vendors have integrating with various system currently used by the city. No requirements have been defined at this time.
  22. Does this bid allow for pricing/functionality for Payroll & Payroll Services? If so, will you need to print paper checks onsite? 
    City Response: The city requires internal payroll and payroll services.
  23. Do you require physical time clocks? If so, how many? 
    City Response: Physical time clocks are not required.
  24. Do you conduct training for any learners that aren’t employees? If so, how many external learners? 
    City Response: Training is tracked only for city employees.
  25. Where/How are you currently conducting training for employees? (Third Party vendor, existing courses, etc) Do you have a need for importing historical training records and if so how many? 
    City Response: Training is currently conducted through HSI (https://hsi.com/).
  26. Do you have a need for importing historical certifications & licenses? Will you need this ongoing from external sources?
    City Response: We would like to keep track of certifications/licenses but currently it is either by training roster (e.g. First Aid/CPR) or paper copies in personnel folders or medical cert info in Excel or paper.
  27. Is the City open to also receiving a 10-year total cost of ownership breakdown? (In addition to the 5 year) 
    City Response: The vendor may include both a 5 and 10-year total cost of ownership; however, only the 5-year data will be evaluated.
  28. Based on the information requested in the implementation section of the RFP, we would like to request that the City consider extending the page limit from 3 pages. 
    City Response: The implementation methodology is expected to be a brief overview. Please limit the overview to no more than 3 pages. Additional information may be provided if the vendor is short listed.
  29. Is there an option to include an Executive Summary with our proposal? 
    City Response: A brief executive summary may be included in the cover letter but not as a separate additional section.
  30. Does the City have any details to share about data conversion? Would it be possible to provide detailed information about the data in terms of number of years, and type of data, i.e.,: Accounting data, Accounts payable, Contract, Project and grant, Inventory, Payroll data 
    City Response: The city expects the vendor to convert and import up to 6 years of historical data from Microsoft Dynamics GP.
  31. Legal Entities - How many legal entities or business units currently operate within the City of Ellensburg that will require ERP support? Please provide an overview of their core functions. If multiple entities exist, should the system facilitate consolidated financial reporting across them?
    City Response: See requirement #55. The city manages ERP data for 2 legal entities: City of Ellensburg and Kittcom (county emergency dispatch center). Financial reporting will operate separately and will not be consolidated. If there is an additional cost for multiple companies, please explain in your response.
  32. System Architecture - Could you please share the current technology landscape or a system architecture diagram outlining your existing applications & infrastructure? 
    City Response: The city does not have a system architecture diagram to provide. The system currently used is Microsoft Dynamics GP and is managed on prem.
  33. ERP Support Model - What is your preferred ERP support model after go live 24/7 coverage, business hours only, or a hybrid approach? 
    City Response: The city requires business hours standard support coverage. Please describe the different levels of support available, including 24/7 support escalation, and include pricing for the different levels of support. 
  34. User License - Please provide a departmental or functional breakdown of the anticipated 80 ERP users across your organization. Include the number of users in each area such as Finance, Supply Chain, HR, and others
    City Response: Please estimate based on your experience, and provide metrics used for calculating proposed pricing.
  35. User License - For each department, please specify the number of users requiring full access (e.g., transactional, administrative) versus those needing limited or approval-only access. This will help determine the appropriate mix of full and team licenses. 
    City Response: Please estimate based on your experience, and provide metrics used for calculating proposed pricing.
  36. User License - How many users will participate in approval workflows only (e.g., purchase requisitions, timesheets, leave requests)? Please indicate if these users require mobile or self-service access. 
    City Response: Please estimate based on your experience, and provide metrics used for calculating proposed pricing.
  37. User License - Do you anticipate an increase in the number of ERP users over the next 2–3 years? If so, please provide estimated growth by role or department to support future licensing scalability. 
    City Response: No significant increase in end-users is anticipated in the near future, depending on what licensing is required.
  38. User License - Will any external users (e.g., contractors, vendors) require access to the system for approvals or data entry? If yes, please specify the expected number and type of access required. 
    City Response: No external users are anticipated, except during the course of implementation.
  39. Data Migration - Could you provide details on the estimated data volume and complexity for migration? Specifically, please include the number of master records (e.g., customers, vendors, items), volume of historical transactions, and any data dependencies or custom structures that may impact the migration effort. 
    City Response: The city does not currently have this information available. See #43 for additional information.
  40. Data Migration - Will the data migration scope include historical records, or will the focus be on current and open transactional periods only? s.
    City Response: Data migration will include up to 6 years of historical data.
  41. Data Migration - Would it be feasible to keep legacy systems operational for accessing historical data, while migrating only current opening balances and master data to the new system? 
    City Response: No
  42. Data Migration - Are there any legal, regulatory, or operational requirements to migrate historical records into the new ERP system? 
    City Response: The city is unaware of any requirements to migrate historical records.
  43. Transaction Volume - Please provide estimated annual transaction volumes for the following key functional areas. Where possible, include average monthly or daily volumes to help assess system performance and scalability needs:
    City Response: 
    • General Ledger – Number of journal entries:
      1. Total accounts: 13,148
      2. Historical transactions: 49,814,054; 2019-2025: 15,486,448
      3. Previous year monthly high-low: 47,939 - 25,541
    • Accounts Payable – Number of invoices processed
      1. Total vendors: 8,787
      2. AP historical transactions: 367,344; 2019-2025: 107,915
      3. AP previous year monthly high-low: 1,907 - 777
      4. Total customers: 27,005
      5. AR historical transactions: 135,929; 2019-2025: 33,831
      6. AR previous year monthly high-low: 312 - 198
    • Payroll – Number of payroll runs and employees per run
      1. Total employees: 1,755; active: 326
      2. Historical transactions: 125,325; 2019-2025: 39,818
      3. Previous year pay-period (twice/mo.) high-low: 513-247
    • Cash Management – Number of cash receipts and bank deposits
      1. The city does not currently have this information available.
  44. Integrations - What level of integration is expected with each system (e.g., real-time, batch processing, or API-based connectivity)? 
    City Response: The city expects the vendor to describe their experience with system integration, including the type and level of integration.
  45. Integrations - For each of the following systems, please describe the current integration requirements, including:
    City Response: The city expects the vendor to describe their experience with system integration, including the type and level of integration.
    • Type of data exchanged (e.g., financial transactions, documents, user records).
    • Integration method (e.g., API, flat file, middleware like SmartConnect).
    • Sync frequency (e.g., real-time, hourly, daily, weekly).
    • Estimated data volume (e.g., number of records per sync, file size, transaction count).
    • Direction of data flow (e.g., one-way or bi-directional).
    • Any known performance or reliability constraints. 
    Systems to be assessed:
    • Laserfiche (Document Management)
    • Oracle C2M / Origin (Utility Billing)
    • PayGov (Payment Card Acceptance)
    • SmartGov (Permitting)
    • Sportsman (Parks and Recreation)
    • AssetWorks (Fleet Maintenance)
    • CivicPlus (Citizen Engagement)
    • Clancy (Parking Citation Management)
    • Power BI (Analytical Reporting)
    • Microsoft O365 (Productivity Suite)
    • US Bank (Bank Accounts, Positive Pay, Bank Reconciliation)
    • SmartConnect (Data Integration Middleware) 
  46. Integrations - In the context of CivicPlus integration, what specific types of citizen data do you intend to store or synchronize within the ERP system (e.g., citizen requests, service orders, engagement metrics)? Please also indicate whether this data needs to be available in real-time or can be synced periodically. 
    City Response: The city expects the vendor to describe their experience with system integration, including the type and level of integration.
  47. Integrations - Are there any security, compliance, or regulatory constraints related to the data exchanged between these systems and the ERP? 
    City Response: See requirements #30, 47, and 48.
  48. Integrations - Do you expect the new ERP system to support or facilitate additional integrations beyond those currently in use? 
    City Response: The city has not identified additional integrations. If the vendor wishes to include experience with additional integrations, it may do so.
  49. Integration & Middleware - Are any specific middleware or integration platforms currently in use to facilitate data exchange between systems? We understand that SmartConnect is the current integration solution—please confirm or clarify. 
    City Response: SmartConnect is currently the only integration platform used with Microsoft Dynamics GP.
  50. Integration & Middleware - We understand that SmartConnect is your current middleware solution. Are you open to exploring alternative options, or do you intend to continue with the existing platform? 
    City Response: The city is open to receiving vendor recommendations for integration platforms.
  51. AssetWorks - Are you open to option to replace Asset Management functionality available in new ERP system with AssetWorks? 
    City Response: If the vendor proposes third-party solutions for some functionality the vendor will clearly detail which solutions are provided by the vendor and which are third party proposed solutions and include applicable costs.
  52. HR & Payroll Systems - Which systems currently manage your HR and payroll data? Is this functionality handled within Dynamics 365 GP, or are other platforms being used? Please provide details on any third-party or legacy systems involved 
    City Response: HR and payroll functionally is currently provided by Integrity Data and MeKorma add-ons to Microsoft Dynamics GP; however HR functionality/use has historically been limited; HR currently uses Bamboo HR as a recruiting platform with the option to consider onboarding, benefits administration, performance management, timekeeping/leave management, and some payroll functions. The city is open to recommendations of other third-party solutions.
  53. Vendor and procurement - How many active vendors are currently maintained in your system? 
    City Response: See #43 above.
  54. Vendor and procurement - What vendor-related workflows are considered critical (e.g., onboarding, W-9 verification, ACH setup, approval routing)? 
    City Response: The city does not currently have this information available.
  55. Reporting - Can you provide an overview of your current use of Power BI for analytical reporting? Specifically, how is it integrated into your reporting processes, what types of reports or dashboards are commonly used, and how many user licenses are currently active? 
    City Response: The city does not currently have this information available.
  56. Reporting - How critical is it for inventory valuation to support up to five decimal places, given that most systems typically support only 2–4 for inventory and up to five for ledger transactions? 
    City Response: The city does not currently have this information available.
  57. We can say that data will be hosted in one location (such as the US), but we can’t guarantee that it won’t ever leave the US or be accessed from outside the US. This is a requirement in some public sector RFPs and the reason we can’t agree to it is that we rely on offshore resources to provide after-hours support in urgent cases. We would need more details on what their US data residency requirements are 
    City Response: Please provide this information in vendor’s submission.
  58. R 1. Generate vendor payments and interface to Accounts Payable for disbursements. This is listed under "Payroll" so might need clarification on what this process looks like for them. 
    City Response: The city is looking for best practices for benefits and deductions payables generated through payroll.