InstructionsforObtainingAccesstoAcquServeforGSASTARSIIProposalSubmission.pdf

Instructions for Obtaining Access to AcquServe™ for GSA STARS II Proposal Submission

May 2015

Table of Contents

1 Accessing AcquServe

1.1 Browser Requirements

1.2 Certificate Registration

1.3 Web Browser Access to AcquServe

List of Figures Figure 1. Web Address

Figure 2. AcquServe Registration Page

Figure 3. AcquServe Missing Certificate Page

Figure 4. Confirm Certificate

Figure 5. Request Permission to Use a Key

Figure 6. Vendor Portal Screen

List of Tables Table 1. AcquServe Rules of Behavior

1 Accessing AcquServe All users must comply with the “rules of behavior” specified in Table 1.

Table 1. AcquServe Rules of Behavior

Rules of Behavior All work performed on AcquServe must be STARS IIrelated.

Attempting to access another user’s account is prohibited and will be reported.

Sharing a certificate with another individual is prohibited.

Attempts at disabling AcquServe are prohibited and will be reported.

Any attempt to change table structures or add tables to the database is prohibited. Only input of new data and edits of existing data are allowed.

The user must already have obtained and successfully installed an ACES Business Representative digital certificate, before the user can proceed any further in AcquServe.

1.1 Browser Requirements

Use of the AcquServe portal is via an internet browser. If using Internet Explorer, it must be Internet Explorer 9 or newer; older versions of Internet Explorer will not function properly.

AcquServe can also be accessed using updated versions of Firefox or Chrome. If the user plans to access AcquServe using more than one browser, there is no need to obtain separate certificates; however, the user may have to separately install the certificate for each browser (in particular, Firefox uses a separate certificate store than Internet Explorer). After obtaining and installing an ACES Business Representative digital certificate, the user is ready to access AcquServe.

1.2 Certificate Registration

To obtain access to AcquServe, open a Web browser and enter the following address:

https://acquserve.stars2.noblis.org, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Web Address

The first time the user accesses AcquServe, the user should see the certificate registration screen shown below as Figure 2.

https://acquserve.stars2.noblis.org/

Figure 2. AcquServe Registration Page

When the user successfully registers a certificate, AcquServe will automatically associate it with a new AcquServe Vendor slot, which should take only a minute or two.

Figure 3 shows the screen that will appear if the user:

● does not have a valid certificate properly installed, or

● has the wrong type of certificate.

The user should contact the AcquServe STARS II help desk for assistance in troubleshooting the problem.

Figure 3. AcquServe Missing Certificate Page

1.3 Web Browser Access to AcquServe

On subsequent visits to AcquServe, the user will be asked to confirm their certificate, as shown in Figure 4. (The example shown is from Internet Explorer; for other browsers, the appearance may vary, however, the steps are the same.). Click on the “OK” button to confirm the Business

Representative digital certificate. If the system has multiple certificates installed, the user must be sure and choose the certificate that was registered with AcquServe.

Figure 4. Confirm Certificate

The user may be asked to grant or deny application permission for AcquServe to use the certificate’s key; if asked, select “Grant permission,” as shown in Figure 5. Enter the key protection password that was established with the certificate vendor (IdenTrust or ORC), and click “OK,” also shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Request Permission to Use a Key

After logging into AcquServe successfully, the user will see the screen shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Vendor Portal Screen

Receipt of the above screen indicates that the user has successfully accessed AcquServe for

STARS II.