Finance / Payroll System

METRO Regional Transit Authority (METRO), a public transit agency operating approximately 127 fixed-route vehicles in Summit County, Ohio, is seeking proposals for a modern, integrated Finance, Payroll, and optional Human Resource Information System (HRIS). The procurement aims to replace the agency's outdated, fragmented technology infrastructure characterized by manual workarounds, data integrity challenges, and poor system performance. The primary deliverables include a cloud-native, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform with comprehensive core finance, payroll, and optional HRIS functionality, seamless integration with existing systems such as CAD/AVL, NeoGov HRIS, and banking partners, an employee self-service portal, and robust reporting and analytics capabilities. The evaluation will be conducted in a multi-stage process, with technical merit receiving up to 100 points, system demonstration capability, and pricing worth 20 points, along with consideration of vendor experience and past performance with comparable transit agencies. Key dates include a Virtual Pre-Proposal Conference on January 21, 2026, a deadline for proposer questions on February 9, 2026, final addendum issuance on February 16, 2026, and proposal submissions due February 26, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET through METRO's OpenGov procurement portal. Oral presentations and system demonstrations are scheduled for the week of March 30, 2026, with contract award anticipated on April 28, 2026, and system operational status required by January 1, 2027.

The project may receive partial Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding, which requires completion of federal certifications including lobbying, debarment and suspension, Buy America, and non-collusion affidavits. While no specific set-aside designations are explicitly mentioned, proposers must provide minimum three client references for similar implementations at U.S. or Canadian public transit agencies within the prior five years. The existing technology ecosystem includes systems such as Avail CAD/AVL for dispatch and vehicle tracking, Fleet-Net for finance and payroll, HASTUS for route planning and scheduling, NeoGov for human resources, FLEETWATCH for fuel management, TimeTrak for timekeeping, and OpenGov for procurement processes. METRO has programmed $350,000 for the finance and payroll systems in its 2025 capital budget, with the contract term including a minimum three-year comprehensive warranty period and optional extension to five years, followed by renewable annual software maintenance and support agreements. Pricing will be evaluated on a Total Cost of Ownership basis, with proposers required to submit itemized one-time costs for software licenses, hardware, and implementation services, as well as annual recurring costs for software maintenance, SaaS subscriptions, and hardware maintenance.