Buy American Invoice Tracking
| Location: | Pennsylvania |
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| Posted: | Feb 3, 2026 |
| Due: | May 1, 2026 |
| Agency: | State Government of Pennsylvania |
| Type of Government: | State & Local |
| Category: |
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| Solicitation No: | 6100065269 |
| Publication URL: | To access bid details, please log in. |
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General Information |
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Department for this solicitation: |
Procurement | ||||||
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Date Prepared: |
01/26/26 |
Types: |
RFI | ||||
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Advertisement Type: |
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Solicitation/Project#: |
6100065269 |
Solicitation/Project Title: |
Buy American Invoice Tracking | ||||
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Description: |
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Education, Bureau of Food and Nutrition (BFN), issues this Request for Information (RFI) to gather information on software solutions available at the SFA level that will assist SFAs with capturing data from invoices for purposes of populating USDA’s Buy American Exceptions Tracking Standard Form Template or similar and performing extended calculations to assess for USDA Buy American compliance. BFN is seeking information on available software solutions designed to automate the capture of data that is available on food purchase invoices. The primary goal of this initiative is to provide SFAs with suggested solutions that will allow them to efficiently capture data from food invoices and populate it to USDA’s Buy American Exceptions Tracking Standard Form Template or similar while minimizing manual data entry to only data that is not captured on food invoices. This RFI is issued to understand the landscape of available technologies available to SFAs, potential costs, and implementation approaches for local non-enterprise licenses. Responses will be used for
ii informational and planning purposes and do not constitute a commitment to procure any products or services. The purpose of this RFI is to: •Assess the current market of available software tools and vendors. •Compile a resource list of solutions that can be provided to SFAs for their consideration thatmay aid in their documentation efforts. |
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Department Information |
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Department/Agency: |
Department of Education |
Delivery Location: |
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County: |
Statewide |
Duration: |
8 weeks |
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Contact Information |
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First Name: |
Falina |
Last Name: |
Jumper |
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Phone Number: (XXX-XXX-XXXX) |
717-783-5768 |
Email: |
fjumper@pa.gov |
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Solicitation Information |
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Bids must be received by the purchasing agency on the Solicitation Due Date no later than the Solicitation Due Time as set forth in the solicitation. Any conflict between the dates and/or times contained in the solicitation itself or its attachments and this advertisement shall be resolved in favor of the solicitation. |
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Solicitation Start Date: |
02/02/26 | ||
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Solicitation Due Date: |
05/01/26 |
Solicitation Due Time: |
12:00 PM |
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Solicitation Opening Date: |
05/01/26 |
Solicitation Opening Time: |
12:01 PM |
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Opening Location: |
Electronic No Public Opening | ||
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No. of Addendums: |
0 | ||
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Amended Date: |
02/02/26 |
| Related Solicitation Files | |||||
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Attachment Preview
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Request for Information 6100065269
Buy American – Invoice Tracking Solution
Background.
The USDA Buy American provision requires School Food Authorities (SFAs) to purchase domestically
grown and processed foods to the maximum extent practicable for all federally-funded USDA Child
Nutrition Programs. Historically, when a non-domestic food item is purchased, the SFA must document
the specific, allowable exception that justifies the purchase.
Effective the 2025-26 SY, SFAs must track the total cost from non-domestic program food purchases as a
percentage of total food program purchases. The current USDA-suggested process for tracking
compliance and exceptions is largely manual, relying on SFA staff to physically review invoices, identify
non-domestic program food products, and calculate costs using USDA’s Buy American Exceptions
Tracking Standard Form Template or similar. This process is time-consuming, prone to error, and
presents challenges for generating timely reports for audits and administrative reviews.
We are seeking viable solutions to make available to SFAs to streamline this workflow, improve
accuracy, and create a robust, auditable record of SFA procurement practices.
Summary.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Education, Bureau of Food and Nutrition (BFN),
issues this Request for Information (RFI) to gather information on software solutions available at the SFA
level that will assist SFAs with capturing data from invoices for purposes of populating USDA’s Buy
American Exceptions Tracking Standard Form Template or similar and performing extended calculations
to assess for USDA Buy American compliance.
BFN is seeking information on available software solutions designed to automate the capture of data
that is available on food purchase invoices. The primary goal of this initiative is to provide SFAs with
suggested solutions that will allow them to efficiently capture data from food invoices and populate it to
USDA’s Buy American Exceptions Tracking Standard Form Template or similar while minimizing manual
data entry to only data that is not captured on food invoices.
This RFI is issued to understand the landscape of available technologies available to SFAs, potential
costs, and implementation approaches for local non-enterprise licenses. Responses will be used for
i
informational and planning purposes and do not constitute a commitment to procure any products or
services.
The purpose of this RFI is to:
• Assess the current market of available software tools and vendors.
• Compile a resource list of solutions that can be provided to SFAs for their consideration that
may aid in their documentation efforts.
Issues to Be Addressed.
The Commonwealth is requesting feedback from firms with expertise in Food Service Invoice and
Tracking Solutions, as set forth below:
1) Include a cover letter with the RFI response on Company Letterhead, which includes a point of
contact name, phone number, and email address.
2) Complete Attachment A, Buy American – Invoice and Tracking Solution Questionnaire. Please
respond to the questions in the questionnaire and limit the responses to these questions only.
3) Complete Attachment B, Trade Secret/Confidential Proprietary Notice.
Point of Contact:
The sole point of contact for this RFI shall be Falina Jumper - fjumper@pa.gov
Due Date.
The Commonwealth is requesting that all responses to this RFI be submitted via email to
Falina Jumper - fjumper@pa.gov
by 12:00 PMon 5/1/26
with the subject line of Buy American Invoice Tracking
.
Disclaimer.
This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation
for future business, an offer for procurement, or any other type of current or future procurement or
contractual action and is only intended to gather available options. The Commonwealth will not award
a contract based on this RFI nor will it pay for information it receives. Responses to this notice are not
offers and cannot be accepted by the Commonwealth to form a binding contract. No party is bound by
the information provided in response to this RFI. Viable options obtained from this RFI will be compiled
and made available to SFAs, in the form of a matrix, for their information, use, and potential local-level
purchase.
ii
Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. The
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is not liable for any costs or expenses incurred by the Respondent in
the preparation of its responses.
All material submitted shall be considered the property of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and may
be returned only at the Commonwealth’s option. Notwithstanding any Respondents copyright
designations contained on responses, the Commonwealth shall have the right to make copies and
distribute responses internally and to comply with public record or other disclosure requirements under
the provisions of any Commonwealth or United States statute or regulation, or rule or order of any court
of competent jurisdiction.
Respondents to this Request shall not provide recommendations as to specific courses of action and
shall not be deemed to be an advisor or consultant to the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth will
evaluate the information presented and determine any subsequent course of action, which may consist
of contracting for the implementation of Commonwealth-determined work. Viable options obtained
from this RFI will be compiled and made publicly available to SFAs, in the form of a matrix, for their
information, use, and potential local-level purchase.
Such work may be procured through any available procurement method, and respondents to this
Request may be considered for selection to perform it.
Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Respondents will not be notified of the review's outcome, nor
will they be provided with copies of it.
Contents of Response.
A. Confidential Information. The Commonwealth is not requesting, and does not require,
confidential proprietary information or trade secrets to be included as part of the Respondents’
response. Except as provided, Respondents should not label responses as confidential or proprietary or
trade secret protected. A Respondent who determines that it must divulge such information must
submit the completed Attachment B, Trade Secret/Confidential Proprietary Notice, and must
additionally provide a redacted version of its response, which removes only the confidential proprietary
information and trade secrets.
B. Commonwealth Use. All material submitted with the response will be the property of the
Commonwealth and may be returned only at the Department’s option. The Commonwealth has the
right to use any or all ideas not protected by intellectual property rights that are presented in any
response. Notwithstanding any Respondent copyright designations contained on responses, the
Commonwealth will have the right to make copies and distribute responses internally and to comply
with public record or other disclosure requirements under the provisions of any Commonwealth or
United States statute or regulation, or rule or order of any court of competent jurisdiction.
C. Public Disclosure. All responses are subject to disclosure in response to a request for public
records made under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101, et seq. If a response contains
confidential proprietary information or trade secrets, a signed written statement to this effect must be
iii
provided with the submission in accordance with 65 P.S. § 67.707(b) for the information to be
considered exempt under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(11) from public records requests. Refer to Attachment 2,
Trade Secret/Confidential Proprietary Information Notice that may be utilized as the signed written
statement. If Attachment 2, Trade Secret/Confidential Proprietary Information, is not completed, any
trade secret or confidential/proprietary information contained in the Respondents’ response to this RFI
may be released in response to a Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law request.
Commonwealth Reservation of Rights.
The Commonwealth reserves the right to consider or reject any and all responses to this Request, to
amend and/or reissue this Request and to abandon and then recommence at any time, or not
recommence, this process. All costs of any response to this Request and participation in any
presentations to the Commonwealth are solely the responsibility of the Respondent and the
Commonwealth shall not be liable for payment of any such costs.
iv
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
ATTACHMENT A
BUY AMERICAN INVOICE TRACKING SOLUTION QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Company Overview - A brief description of your company and its experience providing similar
solutions:
2. Solution Description - A detailed description of your proposed software. Please explain how your
product meets each of the functional requirements outlined in the summary:
3. Technical Details - Information on the solution's architecture (e.g., cloud-based SaaS, on-premises
installation), required desktop operating systems (if applicable), integration capabilities (e.g., APIs
for connecting to accounting software), and data security protocols:
4. Invoice and Data Capture Details: A detailed description of functionality for each item.
• Automated Data Extraction: Ability to scan paper invoices or process digital invoices (e.g.,
PDF, JPG) using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology:
• Key Field Recognition: The system must accurately extract, at a minimum, the following
data fields from an invoice:
1. Vendor Name:
2. Invoice Number:
3. Invoice Date:
4. Line Item Details: Including Product Description, Unit, Quantity, Unit Price, and Total
Price.
• Country of Origin Identification: The ability to identify and flag line items that are listed as
non-domestic products based on information on the invoice (if available).
• Data Export Capabilities: The solution must provide a robust data capture and export
function allowing users to capture and extract invoice data for external reporting, auditing,
and analysis. Check all that apply:
☐ Exportable Fields: The ability to recognize available fields from a variety of invoices, capture all
key data fields, and export to USDA’s Buy American Exceptions Tracking Standard Form Template or
similar in the appropriate column, including:
☐ SFA Name
Page 1
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