Close Automatically (auto close) Supplier response Portal

About the Auto Close Supplier Response Portal feature

The Auto Close Supplier Response Portal feature lets you set a specific date and time for your Portal to close automatically. 

Additionally, it offers a leniency period to accommodate any last-minute technical issues, ensuring that genuine submissions are not unfairly excluded.

This eliminates the need for manual intervention and ensures the Portal closes exactly as scheduled. Once the specified close date has passed, the Portal will automatically transition to the Locked state, making it read-only for registered bidders and preventing any further submissions. The authority will then need to manually move the Portal to the Unsealed state to review the suppliers' responses.

Steps to Enable Auto Close:

This feature can be enabled either during the initial creation of a project in the Supplier Interaction Options section or from the Response Summary home page. Here’s how:

1. Navigate to the Response Summary page:
   • Open the project and go to Project> Communication >Responses 
   • On the Supplier Response Home page click the green View button on the  desired portal to open the Response Summary page.  Click Edit.
2. Select the Auto Close Option:
   • Choose the Close Automatically option to enable this feature.
3. Set a Leniency Period (Optional):
   • You can allow a leniency period to extend the time before the portal is locked in case of any technical issues. For example, entering a 10-minute leniency period means:
     • If a bidder submits at 11:01 (1 minute past the deadline), their bid will be marked as late but will still be accepted.
     • If a bidder tries to submit at 11:11 (11 minutes past the deadline), they will be unable to submit as the portal will be locked.
   • If no leniency period is allowed, enter 0 in the Automatic Closure Leniency (minutes) field . 
4. Save your changes 
5. If you wish to open the Portal so that Suppliers can submit click on the Seal button. It is also possible to select the auto close option during the Sealing of the portal. 
6.  Close the Response Summary screen to return to the Supplier Response Home page.

Additional notes:

• You may adjust the auto-close functionality and the leniency period at any time.
• Should you choose to implement a leniency period, it is mandatory to enable the Auto Close feature.

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