Help

How to buy (buyer organizations)

1. Find it. Search by name, part number or a trade word (“ppe”, “hvac”, “ss” all work, and small typos are fixed). Tick Verified Local only to see only checked suppliers.
2. Add to cart. The product page shows the full cost with GST and PST, and the pickup or delivery date. Use Quick order to type or paste part numbers, or upload a CSV file.
3. Send the cart. Pick the ship-to location and cost centre. If the cart is within your spend limit, purchase orders go out at once (one per supplier). If it is over, it goes to your approver — or their stand-in while they are away.
4. Approval. The approver approves or rejects (a reason is needed to reject) from the Approvals page or a one-tap link. Approving makes the purchase orders.
5. Receive and pay. The supplier accepts, ships and invoices. You mark what arrived. LocalBuy checks the purchase order, what you received and the invoice against each other (a “three-way match”). Finance marks matched invoices paid. No real money moves on LocalBuy.

Every purchase counts toward your organization’s local-spend report (Reports in the top bar). See a sample report.

Requests for quotes

Choose Request a quote on a product page, or open Quotes in the top bar and press Request a quote. Give a title, category, what you need and an estimated value. Save it as a draft first: the draft shows whether the request can go to local suppliers only, and exactly who will be invited. Suppliers answer on LocalBuy, all messages stay on the request, and you compare quotes in one table and award one (with a reason). The full record can be printed or downloaded for freedom-of-information requests.

What does “Verified Local” mean?

LocalBuy staff checked three things about the business and recorded the evidence:

1. it is a registered Canadian business (looked up on a provincial or federal business registry),
2. it has an office or shop in the region (by site visit, photo, utility bill, lease or online business listing), and
3. its GST/HST number is real (looked up on the Canada Revenue Agency registry).

Click any Verified Local badge to see what was checked, how, by whom and when, and when the check runs out (after 12 months). Pending verification means the business can sell on LocalBuy but has not been checked yet: it does not count as local in reports and is not invited to local-only quotes. Locally owned is an optional second badge (majority owned by people living in the region). Indigenous-owned and women-owned businesses show a certificate from an outside body (for example CCIB or WESK); LocalBuy only confirms we saw it.

How to get verified (suppliers)

1. List your business — it takes a few minutes, and you can save and finish later. You can list products straight away; they show “Pending verification”.
2. On your dashboard, open Your verification evidence. Enter your business registration number and province, your GST/HST number, and upload proof of your address (a utility bill or lease, as a PDF or photo, up to 5 MB).
3. Press Send for checking. A LocalBuy verifier checks each item and either approves the badge, or tells you exactly what is missing and who to contact.
4. We remind you 60, 30 and 7 days before the check runs out, so you can keep the badge.

The store builder can make draft listings for you from your website or price list. Check every draft before you publish it.

Trade-agreement limits

Under the New West Partnership Trade Agreement, public bodies may favour local suppliers only for purchases under a set value. Municipalities, school divisions, health bodies and universities: $75,000 for goods or services and $200,000 for construction. Provincial departments: $10,000 for goods, $75,000 for services, $100,000 for construction. Crown corporations: $25,000 for goods, $100,000 for services or construction. Private companies have no limit. Under the limit, LocalBuy lets you invite local suppliers to quote; at or over it, the request becomes an open quote any supplier may answer, and you can still score stated criteria such as response time and local knowledge. LocalBuy also warns you if several smaller purchases in 30 days look like one purchase split up, and if one cart reaches the limit for a category it tells you and offers to turn it into an open quote. This is a guide, not legal advice.

Residents

Residents can browse everything and place simple orders for pickup. You pay the business when you pick up — LocalBuy takes no payment.

Your account and messages

More than one organization? Use the Organization switcher at the top of the page. Carts, orders and reports always belong to the organization you are working as.

Where are my emails? The demo never sends real email or text messages. Open your name at the top of the page and choose Messages sent to you to read what would have been sent.

Locked out after wrong passwords? After 5 wrong tries in 15 minutes, wait 15 minutes and try again.

Contact

LocalBuy support (demo): help@demo.localbuy.ca. About LocalBuy.