MSD OF WARREN TOWNSHIP

RFP-26-020

Request for Proposals For:

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System

Proposal Due Date and Time:

June 19, 2026 @ 3:00 PM ET

Nicole Kenney, Procurement Specialist on behalf of MSD Warren Township nicole@buywithindigo.com 317.509.7483

Section One - RFP Overview I. Introduction

MSD of Warren Township (Warren) is soliciting competitive proposals through this Request for Proposals (RFP) in accordance with applicable Indiana Code 5-22-9, district policies, and administrative guidelines. The district is seeking proposals from qualified vendors that can provide a modern, cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to support the District’s financial, payroll, human resources, procurement, and operational management functions that meets the scope and intent of the district as described in this RFP.

This solicitation package is being posted for potential respondents on https://indigo.bonfirehub.com as well as publicly advertised in accordance with Indiana Code. Only electronic proposal submissions submitted through the Indigo Procurement Portal will be considered.

II. Summary of Key Dates & Milestones

The following timeline is only an illustration of the RFP process. Some dates are binding as described within this document and others are subject to change. At the conclusion of the evaluation process, all respondents will be informed of the award.

Issue of RFP (Newspaper Notice 5/29, 6/5 Friday May 29, 2026

Join:https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/227219777751723?p=QWCyUPCsgrv5NogbIV Meeting ID: 227 219 777 751 723 Passcode: iR2FN9jH

III. Overview

MSD of Warren Township (District) is seeking proposals from qualified vendors for a modern, cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to support the District’s financial, payroll, human resources, procurement, and operational management functions.

The District currently utilizes the LINQ Alio platform for core business office and HR operations, including financial accounting, payroll, personnel management, position control, employee services, state reporting, and related interfaces. The District recently executed a one-year renewal of its existing legacy platform while evaluating long-term modernization options. Current modules and maintenance services include financial accounting, human resources, personnel, position control, employee service portal, state reporting, hosting, timeclock interfaces, and check reconciliation. Additional services currently include Alio Capture subscription functionality used primarily to automatically email purchase orders to vendors.

The District’s Business Office consists of a centralized team of approximately seven (7) staff members supporting users across the District, including school-based treasurers and staff with purchasing and finance responsibilities.

While the current ERP platform supports many core accounting and payroll functions, a significant number of operational workflows remain highly manual and paper based. The District intends to leverage this ERP replacement initiative to modernize and digitize business processes, improve internal controls, reduce duplicate data entry, strengthen reporting and compliance capabilities, and establish more efficient workflows district wide.

Today, purchasing processes begin as paper-based “Request to Purchase” (RTP) form that moves manually through approvals and supporting documentation. Treasurers and decentralized users do not actively utilize the ERP system for requisitioning or workflow approvals. The District desires a future-state environment where purchasing requests originate electronically within the ERP system through configurable requisition workflows, automated approval routing, electronic receiving, and integrated purchasing functionality. The District seeks to eliminate as much paper as possible from the purchasing lifecycle, including requisitions, approvals, receiving documentation, invoice processing, and payment support documentation.

Current accounts payable workflows also remain heavily manual. Invoice copies and supporting documentation are maintained in physical paper files rather than digitally within the ERP system. AP processing currently involves a two-step voucher approval process requiring signed documentation prior to payment processing. The School Board approves all payments monthly before checks are printed. Grant documentation and related support materials are similarly maintained through paper files attached to payment records. The District strongly prefers solutions that provide integrated document management, digital attachment storage, workflow routing, and electronic filing cabinet capabilities to support procurement, accounts payable, grants management, audits, and financial transparency requirements.

The District currently performs ACH payments in a limited capacity because the existing processes require manual journal entries and additional reconciliation work. There is currently no direct banking integration to support automated payment reconciliation or streamlined cash management processes. Bank reconciliation processes are largely manual and involve monthly exports from the ERP system into Excel to identify cleared checks and reconcile accounts. Similarly, cash flow management, grant reimbursement tracking, balancing activities, and monthly financial reporting rely heavily on exported data and spreadsheet manipulation outside the ERP platform. The District seeks modern banking integration capabilities, automated reconciliation tools, improved ACH functionality, and stronger cash management workflows to reduce manual effort and improve financial visibility and controls.

The District also maintains vendor compliance and supporting documentation outside of the ERP system. For example, W-9 forms are currently stored on shared drives and manually refreshed annually to support IRS compliance requirements. The District desires stronger vendor management functionality, centralized document storage, and configurable compliance workflows.

As part of the District’s operational modernization efforts, MSD of Warren Township fully implemented Frontline Central in 2025 and intends for Frontline Central to become the District’s primary Human Resources system of record moving forward. The District currently utilizes Frontline for recruiting, hiring, onboarding, substitute management, employee records, and digital personnel files. The District partners with Kelly Services to manage substitute staffing resources through the Frontline environment.

The District seeks an ERP solution capable of robust integration with Frontline Central to streamline employee lifecycle management, payroll processing, onboarding, position control, and personnel data synchronization between Human Resources and Finance. A “payroll-ready” flow of employee and compensation data between Frontline and the ERP system is strongly desired to reduce duplicate entry and improve payroll accuracy.

The District views payroll as the critical operational bridge between Human Resources and the Business Office. Payroll operations are currently organizationally aligned under the HR team, and the District seeks best practice system configuration recommendations that align HR, payroll, finance, and position control functions while minimizing duplicate entry and improving operational efficiency.

The District currently utilizes several ancillary systems that interact with HR and payroll operations, many of which rely on manual imports, exports, and duplicate maintenance processes. These include:

· TimeClock Plus for hourly and classified staff time tracking

· EduAdvance / Standards for Success for teacher licensure tracking

· Solarix for employee benefits administration and deductions

Currently, teacher licensure information, benefits deductions, attendance data, and payroll-related adjustments require manual imports, exports, uploads, downloads, or duplicate maintenance activities between systems. The District seeks solutions with strong integration capabilities, API connectivity, or at minimum reliable import/export functionality to minimize redundant data entry and improve operational accuracy across systems.

The District also currently utilizes Alio Intelligence for ad hoc reporting and values the ability for authorized users to build configurable reports and dashboards without vendor dependence. Respondents should describe available business intelligence, analytics, dashboards, and ad hoc reporting capabilities within their proposed solution.

The District’s current employee portal within Alio is primarily payroll-focused and view-only, providing employees access to pay stubs, W-2s, leave balances, tax information, and related payroll records. Because employees also utilize Frontline for personnel-related information and records, the District is interested in evaluating whether employee self-service functionality should remain partially within the ERP environment or be consolidated more strategically with Frontline functionality to reduce duplication and improve user experience.

The District is also seeking stronger education-specific payroll functionality and automation capabilities. This includes management of salary schedules, contract-based payroll processing, retroactive pay calculations, allocation management, and rules-based payroll logic that can support teacher contracts, contract modifications, and broad-based compensation changes with reduced manual intervention. Current processes involve substantial manual adjustments and duplicate maintenance activities, creating operational inefficiencies and increased opportunity for error. The District strongly prefers configurable rules-based workflows and automation that align payroll schedules directly to contract structures and staffing assignments.

Additionally, the District desires improved role-based reporting and visibility for decentralized leaders. Principals and supervisors should have secure access to employee attendance, leave balances, staffing information, and related reports through configurable security permissions and dashboards.

From a technology and infrastructure perspective, the District currently utilizes a vendor-hosted/cloud-hosted ERP environment and does not host the existing ERP platform internally on District infrastructure. The District prefers a secure, vendor-managed cloud solution that minimizes the need for local server management and manual update deployment while still providing appropriate administrative and data access capabilities for District technology staff.

The District currently maintains direct database access capabilities to facilitate imports, exports, integrations, and reporting activities. Respondents should clearly describe available API access, database access options, import/export capabilities, integration tools, and data ownership standards available within the proposed solution.

The District requires robust Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities and strongly prefers integration with the District’s Google-based identity management environment. While the District utilizes Microsoft technologies in certain areas, the District is a predominantly Google-centric organization and prefers solutions that support seamless Google authentication and identity federation.

The District places significant emphasis on cybersecurity, data privacy, system resiliency, and operational continuity. Vendors should understand that the District expects enterprise-grade security architecture and controls appropriate for highly sensitive employee, payroll, financial, and operational information maintained within the ERP environment. At minimum, the District expects proposed solutions to support:

· Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

· Role-based access controls and configurable security permissions

· Single Sign-On (SSO) support

· Encryption of data at rest and in transit

· Comprehensive audit logging and monitoring capabilities

· Ransomware protection and recovery safeguards

· Segregation of customer environments and tenant data isolation

· Secure backup and disaster recovery processes

· Immutable or protected backup strategies

· Defined uptime/service availability commitments

· Data hosting within the United States

· Alignment with recognized cybersecurity frameworks and standards such as SOC 2, NIST, and CIS Controls

Respondents should clearly explain how personally identifiable information (PII), payroll information, financial data, and employee records are secured, encrypted, stored, backed up, and protected from unauthorized access or modification.

The District is seeking a best-of-breed ERP solution specifically designed for K–12 public education environments with demonstrated experience supporting Indiana school corporations and Indiana-specific compliance requirements. The proposed system should provide modern functionality, workflow automation, scalability, security, auditability, and intuitive user experiences for district administrators, school staff, HR personnel, payroll staff, business office users, and decentralized school-based personnel. The desired solution should include, at minimum, functionality supporting:

· Financial management and general ledger

· Budget development and forecasting

· Accounts payable and receivable

· Electronic requisitioning and purchasing workflows

· Workflow approvals and automation

· Payroll and compensation management

· Human resources and employee management

· Position control and staffing management

· Employee self-service functionality

· Timekeeping and attendance integration capabilities

· Grant and federal program management

· Automated state and federal compliance reporting

· Audit support and transparency reporting

· Dashboards, analytics, and configurable reporting

· Document management and electronic workflow capabilities

· Vendor management and compliance tracking

· Banking integration and automated reconciliation functionality

The District places strong emphasis on vendors with deep understanding of Indiana public school operational requirements, including reporting and compliance obligations associated with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF), State Board of Accounts (SBOA), federal grants management, and related public-sector financial and operational standards. The District currently utilizes the SBOA-prescribed account structure and seeks solutions with strong rules-based controls, validation processes, audit trails, automated reporting functionality, and configurable checks-and-balances to support financial accuracy, compliance, transparency, and internal controls. Vendors should demonstrate experience supporting Indiana reporting requirements, including transparency reporting and forms such as Form 9 and related statutory reporting obligations.

Additionally, the District strongly prefers solutions capable of integrating with the District’s marketplace system for day to day supply buying through cXML connectivity, API integration, or import/export functionality with the Indigo Marketplace to streamline purchasing, purchase order transmission, invoice processing, and related financial workflows while reducing manual processes and duplicate entry. Supply vendors place significant administrative burden on districts with one order to many shipments to many invoices.

The District recognizes that implementation and data migration are critical components of a successful ERP transition. To support operational continuity, state and federal reporting obligations, audit requirements, and historical analysis, the District expects respondents to include pricing, services, and implementation strategies necessary to migrate historical data into the proposed solution. At minimum, the District expects approximately two (2) years of historical financial, payroll, and related operational records to be migrated into the new ERP environment. Additional HR data older than 2 years may need to be migrated as well to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations. Vendors should clearly identify any assumptions, limitations, archival approaches, or optional migration services associated with historical data conversion.

The District desires a target system go-live and operational cutover date of July 1, 2027, aligning with a financial reporting deadline and streamlined with the school year and employment contracts. Respondents should acknowledge their ability to support a full implementation timeline that includes project planning, system configuration, integrations, data conversion, testing, validation, user acceptance testing, training, change management, and production deployment in support of this target date.

The District understands that final implementation timelines may require adjustment based on project complexity, resource availability, data readiness, or other implementation considerations identified during project planning. However, respondents should provide a realistic implementation approach and staffing model capable of supporting the District’s desired transition timeline while minimizing operational disruption during conversion from the District’s legacy environment. We understand this is an aggressive timeline, but the district desires to enhance and modernize the system as quickly and reasonably as possible.

The District intends to establish a long-term partnership with a vendor that can provide a modern, scalable, secure, and fully supported ERP platform that enhances operational efficiency, strengthens reporting and compliance capabilities, improves user experience, reduces paper-based processes, and positions the District for future innovation and growth.

IV. Communication, Questions & Answer Period

All questions must be submitted through the Messages section of the RFP posting on the Indigo Procurement Portal by the deadline listed in the Summary of Key Dates and Milestones. The public Q&A feature is enabled which means all responses will be posted directly within the project on the portal for all potential respondents to review or dependent on the number of questions submitted, a file will be posted with all questions and answers in the Files section of the RFP. Only written responses posted in the system or an attached file are considered official, binding, and part of the solicitation.

Potential respondents seeking verbal communication or a response to a question after the deadline passes, the respondent must contact the person listed in the Indigo Procurement Portal directly via email. Respondents may not rely on verbal communications, informal conversations or information obtained from media or social media sources. If any revisions or clarifications to this RFP are required, an Addendum will be issued through the procurement portal. The District may extend the proposal deadline if necessary to accommodate the release of new information.

V. Proposal Due Date & Time

Respondents must submit a response before the proposal due date and time outlined in the Summary of Key Dates and Milestones. The proposal response must follow the format indicated in the Proposal Preparation and Submission section of this document. No other method will be accepted. Proposals must be submitted electronically through the Indigo Procurement Portal.

Proposals not submitted by the deadline cannot be considered; nor will sending it via email or hand delivery be viable alternatives. The district accepts no obligations for costs incurred by respondents in anticipation of being awarded.

Section Two - RFP Preparation & Submission

I. Proposal Submission Requirements – Requested Information

Respondents must submit a complete proposal through the Indigo Procurement Portal by the deadline listed in the Summary of Key Dates and Milestones. Late submissions will not be considered. Costs incurred in the submission of responses to this RFP or in making studies, designs, estimates, or other preparation of responses are the responsibility of the responder, not the district.

All files must be submitted in the electronic formats requested within the portal; if no specific format is listed, vendors are encouraged to use commonly accepted file types such as PDF or Microsoft Office. Any confidential information must be clearly marked and submitted only through the designated “Confidential Information” upload field. The district is not responsible for disclosing information that is improperly labeled or uploaded elsewhere in the system.

Technical Proposal The Technical Proposal should clearly describe the vendor’s approach to delivering the services outlined in this RFP. The proposal should be concise and organized according to the sections below.

The Technical Proposal shall not exceed twenty-five (25) pages, excluding the executive summary. At a minimum, proposals must include the following sections:

1. Executive Summary

· Primary contact name, email address, and phone number for this solicitation.

· Contact name, email address, and phone number responsible for contract negotiation, if different.

· Name and title of the authorized signatory for contract execution, if different.

· Disclosure of any pending or recent legal, regulatory, or contractual actions that could materially impact the Respondent’s ability to perform.

Provide a concise overview of the proposed solution, including:

· Overview of the proposed ERP platform

· Key differentiators and benefits for K–12 school districts

· Summary of why the solution is a strong fit for MSD of Warren Township

· Overview of implementation approach and long-term partnership philosophy

2. Company Overview & Qualifications Provide information regarding the company’s background and qualifications, including:

· Company history, ownership structure, and primary business focus with years in operation

· Experience serving K12 public school districts, highlight at least three K12 of similar size and scope to MSD of Warren Township

· Number of K12 ERP clients currently supported

· Organizational structure and staffing model

· Location of implementation, support, and development resources

· Description of customer support/helpdesk structure

· Any subcontractors or third-party implementation partners proposed

3. K–12 & Indiana Experience Describe the respondent’s experience supporting K–12 school districts, specifically including:

· Experience supporting Indiana school districts, number of Indiana K12 current clients supported

· Familiarity with Indiana SBOA account structures and reporting requirements

· Experience supporting Indiana DOE, DLGF, federal grants, transparency reporting, and Form 9 reporting requirements

· Lessons learned and best practices from prior K12 ERP implementations

4. Existing System Migration Experience Describe experience migrating school districts from legacy ERP platforms, specifically including:

· Experience migrating clients from LINQ Alio or comparable systems

· Data conversion methodology and tools

· Recommended approach for migrating approximately two (2) years of historical financial, payroll, and operational data

· Approach to preserving historical audit and reporting functionality

· Common data conversion risks and mitigation strategies

· Expected District responsibilities during migration activities

5. Functional & Technical Capabilities of Solution Provide a detailed overview of the proposed system’s capabilities and functionality, including:

Financial & Business Operations

· General ledger

· Budgeting and forecasting

· Accounts payable and receivable

· Purchasing and requisition workflows

· Electronic approvals and workflow automation

· Bank reconciliation and ACH processing

· Grant management and federal programs

· Audit support and document retention

· Vendor management and W-9 tracking

· Transparency and state reporting capabilities

Human Resources & Payroll

· Payroll processing and automation

· Position control

· Salary schedule management

· Contract and retroactive pay calculations

· Employee self-service functionality

· Attendance and leave tracking

· Role-based reporting for principals and supervisors

· Education-specific payroll allocation functionality

Reporting & Analytics

· Dashboards and business intelligence

· Ad hoc reporting capabilities

· User-configurable reporting tools

· Export and integration capabilities

Describe how the proposed solution reduces paper-based processes, duplicate data entry, and manual workflows currently experienced by the District.

6. Integrations & Third-Party Systems Describe the proposed solution’s integration capabilities, APIs, import/export tools, middleware options, and existing integrations with third-party systems. At minimum, respondents should address experience, compatibility with and willingness to:

· Frontline Central

· TimeClock Plus

· Solarix

· EduAdvance / Standards for Success

· Indigo Marketplace (white-label Euna Procurement, formerly call EqualLevel)

Respondents should specifically identify:

· Existing integrations already deployed

· Available APIs and integration frameworks

· Import/export capabilities

· cXML support

· Payroll-ready data synchronization capabilities

· Typical implementation approach for third-party integrations

7. Technology, Security & Infrastructure Describe the technical architecture, hosting model, and security framework of the proposed solution. At minimum, respondents should address:

· Hosting environment and cloud architecture

· Customer data segregation practices

· Data storage locations

· Disaster recovery and business continuity plans

· Backup frequency and retention

· Immutable backup protections

· Ransomware protection measures

· System uptime/service level commitments

· Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

· Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities

· Google identity integration support

· Role-based security permissions

· Encryption standards for data at rest and in transit

· Audit logging and monitoring

· Data ownership and retention policies

· Compliance with SOC 2, NIST, CIS Controls, or other security frameworks

· Internal security governance and monitoring practices

The District expects respondents to clearly describe how sensitive employee, payroll, and financial information is protected against unauthorized access, modification, or loss.

8. Implementation, Training & Change Management Provide a proposed implementation and deployment approach, including:

· Proposed project governance structure

· Staffing and project team roles

· Estimated implementation timeline

· Ability to support target July 1, 2027 go-live

· Data conversion approach

· Testing and validation methodology

· User acceptance testing process

· Change management strategy

· End-user training approach

· Administrator and technical training

· Post-go-live support structure

· Ongoing customer success/support model

The District seeks a partner capable of supporting both technical implementation and organizational transition/change management activities.

9. Product Roadmap & Future Development Describe the vendor’s long-term product vision and development strategy, including:

· Planned future enhancements

· AI, automation, or workflow innovation initiatives

· Frequency of updates and releases

· Customer involvement in product roadmap planning

· User groups or advisory councils available to clients

10. Exceptions, Assumptions & Required District Responsibilities Clearly identify:

· Any exceptions to the District’s requirements

· Assumptions included in the proposal

· Dependencies or prerequisites for implementation success

· Expected District staffing/resource commitments

· Any functionality requiring third-party products or additional licensing

Pricing Proposal Respondents shall submit a separate Pricing Proposal that clearly identifies all costs associated with the proposed solution and implementation services. Pricing should be transparent, detailed, and structured in a manner that allows the District to understand both one-time implementation costs and ongoing annual operational expenses. At minimum, respondents should provide pricing for software licensing or subscription fees, implementation and project management services, system configuration, integrations, data migration and conversion services, training, hosting, ongoing maintenance and support, and any optional modules or services.

Respondents should specifically identify assumptions related to the migration of approximately two (2) years of historical financial, payroll, and operational data, including any archival or legacy system retention considerations. Pricing narratives should also clearly describe included training hours, implementation assumptions, staffing expectations, post-go-live support, and any anticipated travel or reimbursable expenses.

The District strongly prefers straightforward pricing structures with no hidden and minimal variable costs. Respondents should clearly identify any anticipated annual increases, escalation methodologies, renewal assumptions, or future costs associated with storage, integrations, additional users, support tiers, upgrades, or expanded functionality. Vendors are strongly encouraged to provide pricing guarantees or annual pricing caps for a minimum five (5) year period. Any optional services, third-party dependencies, or additional costs not included in the base proposal should be separately identified.

The Pricing Proposal will not count toward the Technical Proposal page limit.

II. Access to Public Records Act (APRA)

Respondents are advised that materials contained in proposals are subject to the Access to Public Records Act (APRA), IC 5-14-3 et seq., and, after the contract award, the solicitation file may be posted on the Indigo Bonfirehub website and may be viewed and copied by any member of the public, including news agencies and competitors. The responses are deemed to be “public records” unless a specific provision of IC 5-14-3 protects it from disclosure. Respondents claiming a statutory exception to the APRA must indicate which specific provision applies to which specific part of the response.

Please note citing “Confidential” on an entire section or within the body of a written response is not sufficient or acceptable. Confidential information should ONLY be uploaded in the Confidential Information Section of RFP on the Indigo Procurement Portal. If the Respondent does not identify the statutory exception, the district will not consider the submission confidential. Furthermore, the district takes no responsibility for disclosing confidential information that is improperly submitted by a Respondent.

Section Three - Proposal Evaluation & Award I. Proposal Evaluation Overview

· The district reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive informalities and irregularities.

· The district reserves the right to defer awarding this contract for up to 120 days from the proposal due date. The pricing on this proposal must be firm and remain open for a period of not less than this stated time period. The district creates no obligation, expressed or implied, as a legal offer.

· The district may request clarifications, in writing, on proposals submitted. The district will operate in a fair and consistent manner across all respondents. Clarifications will be submitted to the district in writing and be incorporated into the respondent’s official response. It is the discretion of the district to determine what, if any, items require clarification from any respondent.

· The district may request best and final offers from those respondents determined by the district to be reasonably viable for contract award. However, the district reserves the right to award a contract based on initial proposals received. Therefore, each proposal should contain the respondent’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint.

· Following evaluation of the best and final offers, the district may select one or more proposals for final contract negotiations/execution that are most advantageous to the district based on the scoring of the evaluation criteria.

II. Evaluation Process & Criteria

A complete review of all information submitted in the RFP package will be utilized by the district evaluation team to determine if the respondent meets the minimum requirements and is considered a responsive and responsible respondent.

All respondents who meet the minimum requirements will then be evaluated based on the contents of the technical proposal (60 points) and cost effectiveness (40 points) for a total of 100 points. All proposals will be ranked based on their combined scores for the technical and cost responses. This ranking may be used to create a “short list”. Any proposal not making the “shortlist” will not be further evaluated.

Shortlist proposals may include one or more rounds of proposal discussions or oral presentations focused on cost and other proposal elements. The district expects multiple demonstrations of the proposed solution during the evaluation process. If the district conducts additional rounds of discussions and a BAFO round which lead to changes in either the technical or cost proposal for the short-listed respondents, their scores will be recomputed.

III. RFP Award & Contracting Overview

Respondents will receive notice of the district’s intent to award the RFP through the Indigo Procurement Portal. All RFP award recommendations are subject to approval by the school board. Upon board approval, the awarded respondent(s) will complete necessary documentation to finalize and electronically sign the complete contract prior to commencement of services.

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