Formerly known as TIPS/TAPS, TIPS is “a purchasing cooperative serving public and private school districts, colleges, universities, federal, state, county and city municipalities”

TIPS is an interlocal cooperative purchasing system that provides schools with the legally required competition for contracts on commonly purchased items while saving the cost of going through a competitive RFP process.

Schools (or other government entities) can purchase from Vendors with approved bids and bypass the RFP process altogether. This means that school Districts in TIPS/TAPS states DO NOT need to do an RFP; they can simply purchase directly from an approved bid

You can purchase PCS products and services through TIPS if you are located in any of the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington DC, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

For more details and to become a member of TIPs, visit their web site at http://www.tips-usa.com

PCS is an approved TIPs vendor for Cafeteria Point of Sale Software and Hardware (Contract Number 1122112.)

PEPPM is a national technology bidding and purchasing cooperative administered by Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU), a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Authorized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the past 32 years to take the responsibility for state bid law compliance for technology procurement, PEPPM aggregates buyers & demand in states across the country to get the lowest prices for technology products.

PEPPM currently has more than 280 product line contracts awarded to more than 200 different vendors in various technology areas:

• Computers
• Copiers
• Networking Equipment
• Telecommunication Equipment
• Software
• Furniture
• Printers
• And much more!

PEPPM solicits sealed competitive bids on popular lines of computer equipment, peripherals, software, audio-visual, and communication products. When you purchase through PEPPM, not only do you save time and money, but you can satisfy state competitive bidding requirements.
Since PEPPM began in 1982, schools, libraries, government and non-profit agencies have purchased more than $2 billion of technology products saving not only on the price of the products but also on the cost of bidding.

For complete information including the PEPPM Buyers Guide and availability in your state, visit the PEPPM web site at: http://www.peppm.org/

A program of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and several State School Boards Associations, BuyBoard was developed to comply with state laws which require government entities to make purchases from an approved list of vendors who have gone through a competitive procurement process.

The Cooperative is governed by an 8-member Board of Directors composed of staff from the districts which formed the cooperative and representatives appointed by each of the four School Boards Associations which collaborated to enable the cooperative to be created.

BuyBoard is administered by staff at the National School Boards Association and at the Texas Association of School Boards under the terms of service agreements with the Cooperative Board of Directors.

States in BuyBoard National Purchasing Cooperative:

• Idaho School Boards Association
• Illinois Association of School Boards
• Maryland Association of Boards of Education
• Missouri School Boards Association
• Ohio School Boards Association
• Oklahoma State School Boards Association
• Pennsylvania School Boards Association
• Rhode Island Association of School Committees
• Tennessee School Boards Association
• Texas Association of School Boards
• Washington State School Directors’ Association

For complete information and to become a BuyBoard member please visit their web site at:  http://www.nsba.org/services/state-association-services/service-partnerships/buyboard/about-buyboard#sthash.dMoJdub5.dpuf