Purchasing

The procurement of goods, services and construction for the town.

We are dedicated to the strategic acquisition of goods, services, and construction for the town in an ethical, professional, and accountable manner.

This includes making best value decisions and minimizing risk related to:

  • Procuring goods and services
  • The sale of revenue generating rights
  • Forming and managing contracts between the town and its commercial partners

Our Purchasing team can help with:

Terms and conditions of purchase

A formal purchase order is required for purchases greater than $25,000. The purchase order number must appear on all shipping documents, packing slips and invoices.

Insurance/Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)

Suppliers doing business for the town must (at minimum) provide a Certificate of Insurance naming the Town of Oakville as additional insured providing proof of Commercial General Liability coverage of not less than $5,000,000 unless otherwise approved. 

Further coverage requirements may apply depending on the procurement for example Professional Liability or Cyber Insurance etc.

All suppliers must comply with the requirements imposed upon them by the WSIB. No work may proceed until the town receives a WSIB clearance certificate or confirmation from WSIB that coverage is not applicable. 

Deliveries and completion dates

It is important that goods, services, and construction be delivered promptly, and project schedules are met according to the date agreed upon when the purchase order or contract was established.

Orders are to be shipped free on-board (FOB) Corporation of the Town of Oakville with destination specified on the purchase order. The Purchase Order is a legal contract between the town and its suppliers.

Supplier performance

The town rates the performance of suppliers on standard criteria developed, reviewed, and revised from time to time under areas of management/supervision, health/safety, quality of work, progress of work/schedules and adherence to specifications, terms and conditions. 

On completion of the project (or interim if required), a performance evaluation shall be completed. From this ranking will stem a recommendation approving the contractor to bid on future works for the town or imposing a probation/suspension period if deemed necessary.

Code of conduct and behaviour

The Town of Oakville is committed to maintaining a healthy, safe and supportive workplace for all employees that is free from discrimination and harassment. 

All employees are to be treated with respect and dignity in keeping with the town’s values of accountability, dedication, honesty, innovation, respect, and teamwork. 

The policy applies to all town employees, councillors, contractors, consultants, workers and every person accessing town property, services, events and programs. 

All parties shall conduct themselves in accordance with the town’s Respectful Conduct Policy, including the associated procedures.

The town uses bids&tenders for procurement management opportunities. This tool allows bidders to receive notice of bid opportunities and submit bids to the town electronically. 

The bids&tenders platform uses real-time technology to update information on bid opportunities and offer helpful features, including (but not limited to):

  • Vendor dashboard to track and manage bids
  • Automated email notifications of bid opportunities
  • Ability to withdraw, edit changes and resubmit
  • Built-in calculator to avoid mathematical errors
  • Compliance checker
  • Reminder notification if a bid has been started but not submitted

Those interested in submitting on formal procurement opportunities are required to have a vendor account with bids&tenders. Visit the portal to view our Current Bid Opportunities, register as a plan taker or to create your account. 

Costs

The town does not charge any document, project or administrative fees to bidders. The annual subscription or pay-per-use fee to bids&tenders is the only charge you will incur to place unlimited bids for town business. For further information on fees, please contact bids&tenders directly at support@bidsandtenders.ca or by phone at 1-800-594-4798.

If you have questions about a specific bid opportunity, please use the “submit a question” button for the procurement in bids&tenders. This automatically generates an email notice to the buyer responsible for the procurement to action your questions.

If you’re a supplier working for the town you will need to get a valid purchase order number before you start work. 

Once you have a purchase order number and the town has acknowledged receipt of the goods or services you’re providing, you can submit an invoice requesting payment be issued. For more information, please refer to the Supplier Invoice Requirements (pdf).

Sending an invoice to the town

When submitting an invoice to the town, you must include the following (Failure may delay payment):

  • Legal name for the town (Corporation of the Town of Oakville) 
  • Bill To details - full mailing address. Mark the invoice to the attention of Accounts Payable and include the name of the person who placed the order or requested the goods/services. 
  • Always include the purchase order number on the invoice.
  • Holdback (if applicable)
  • GST or HST registration number (if taxes are applicable).
  • If you are shipping a product to a specific location, or there is a specific address services were completed at, include the facility/location details on your invoice under “Ship to” (example provided below).

Bill to: 

Corporation of the Town of Oakville
Attention: Accounts Payable
Dept. Contact: (insert your town staff contacts name)
1225 Trafalgar Road
Oakville, ON  L6H 0H3

Ship to:

Sixteen Mile Sports Complex
3070 Neyagawa Boulevard
Oakville, ON  L6M 4L6

There are a few ways you can submit invoices to the town:

By Email

  1. If payments are against a purchase order:
    • Email your invoice and supporting documents to accountspayable@oakville.ca
    • All invoices and attachments must be in PDF format.
    • All invoices must be fully legible.
    • Files must not exceed 25 MB
    • If sending more than one invoice, send each one individually.
  2. If payments are being made by Visa:
    • Email invoice and supporting documents direct to your department contact.
    • All invoices must be fully legible.
    • Invoices should read subtotal, taxes, total then note $0.00 owing "paid by Visa"
    • If sending more than one invoice, send each one as an individual attachment.

By Mail

Mail your invoice and any supporting documents to:

Corporation of the Town of Oakville
Attention: Accounts Payable
Dept. Contact: (insert your town staff contact's first and last name)
1225 Trafalgar Road
Oakville, ON  L6H 0H3

Payment Terms

The Town of Oakville’s standard payment terms are net 30 Days, unless otherwise noted in your purchasing agreement. All payments related to the Construction Act are net 28 days.

This calculation is from the date of receipt of a “proper invoice” as per the towns Supplier Invoice Requirements (pdf).

Payment Methods

There are a few different ways you can choose to be paid by the town.

By Visa Payment:

  • At the town's sole discretion
  • Usually for lower dollar value contracts.

By Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) 

  • Must be with a Canadian bank
  • Only invoices in Canadian dollars to a Canadian address are currently eligible
  • Supplier must provide a valid email address for payment notifications
  • To sign up for EFT, complete the Application for Electronic Funds Transfer (pdf) and provide either a voice cheque or an official letter from your bank 
  • Email your completed document to eft_inquiries@oakville.ca and include in the subject line ‘EFT’ and your company name.

By Standard Cheque

  • Correct and complete full mailing remit to address required.

Past-due invoices and late payments

If your invoice is past due, contact Accounts Payable at ap_inquiries@oakville.ca   

Please have the following information ready:

  • Supplier or payee name
  • Invoice number
  • Statement of account
  • PO number

Lost or misplaced cheques

If you’ve lost a cheque sent to you by the town, email ap_inquiries@oakville.ca. Please have all of your invoice information ready when you call. It takes an average of five to 10 days to process a replacement cheque.

Changing your company information:

If your company is changing its name, or it’s been involved in a merger or acquisition, complete a Declaration of Supplier Name Change (pdf). 

If your company is changing its address or phone number, send a letter on your corporate letterhead from an authorized company officer. 

Email these documents to purchasing@oakville.ca.

The town may participate in cooperative purchasing arrangements with other municipalities, regions, local boards and public agencies within the province when in their best interests to do so. 

Any procurement conducted through cooperative purchasing is carried out in a manner consistent with Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) and Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). 

The town uses GovDeals a surplus action website for the liquidation and disposal of town assets as required.

The agent shall be responsible for the sale or disposal of unusable, obsolete, surplus, worn-out or scrapped supplies by or on behalf of the town.

If such supplies cannot be used for purposes of the town, the agent shall have authority to sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of such declared surplus by any of the following disposal methods:

  • As trade-in or salvage during a competitive procurement process.
  • By donation to a non-profit agency.
  • By sale through an auction site for public sector agencies.
  • By recycling.

In the event that all efforts to dispose of the assets by means detailed above fail, surplus assets shall be scrapped or destroyed.

Contact

Purchasing Department
1225 Trafalgar Road
Oakville, ON L6H 0H3
905-338-4197

purchasing@oakville.ca