How to register to bid on CanadaBuys: the 2026 process after SRI

What changed in 2026: SRI is gone

If you registered to sell to the federal government before summer 2026, the process has changed. For years there were two parallel registrations: the Supplier Registration Information (SRI) system, which gave you a Procurement Business Number (PBN), and SAP Ariba for tenders that had moved to the new e-procurement platform. Most guides, including an earlier version of our own CanadaBuys explainer, told you to do both.

SRI stopped being available after July 3, 2026, and CanadaBuys now states that the system "has been decommissioned and will no longer be accepting new registrations or updates." Suppliers are now told to register for an account, complete a company profile in SAP Business Network, and hold a valid CRA business number.

PSPC and CanadaBuys now use the name "SAP Business Network" for the platform most suppliers still call "SAP Ariba." A notice that names either one means the account described below.

Before you start: what you need

CanadaBuys publishes a registration checklist. The items below are grouped by when you need them.

Needed to create the account:

• Legal business name (exactly as registered with the CRA)
• Head office country and full address
• Main user's name and email, plus a notification email if different
• At least one product or service category

Needed before your first bid (the questionnaire):

• Your industry classification and business type
• Names and positions of current owners, directors, trustees, or partners
• Indigenous Business Directory registration, if applicable
• Environmental certifications (for example ISO 14064 or 14025), if you have them
• Cyber security certifications and expiry dates, if you have them

Needed at contract award, not before:

• CRA business number entered in the financial section, plus CRA ownership type (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation). You need the number itself from day one; the profile fields can wait.
• Banking details: institution number, branch number, account number, and a voided cheque or bank letter
• Number of employees, ship-to address, and service locations

Most firms can open the account in an evening. Ownership and director details usually take the longest to gather, so pull those from your minute book first.

The 7 steps to register and bid

Step 1: Get a CRA business number

Every business selling to the Government of Canada needs a 9-digit Canada Revenue Agency business number, no matter its size or where it is based. If you already file GST/HST or run payroll, you have one. Sole proprietors who have never registered can get one free through the CRA's Business Registration Online service, usually the same day.

Make sure the legal name on your CRA record matches what you will type into SAP Business Network. A mismatch between the two can delay payment after award.

Step 2: Gather the checklist

Use the list above, and decide who will be the main user. That person receives system notifications and manages the account, so choose someone likely to stay with the company.

Step 3: Create your SAP Business Network account

Start from the registration link on CanadaBuys (search "registering on SAP Ariba: a guide for businesses" on canadabuys.canada.ca) so your account is connected to the Government of Canada as a buyer. Then:

1. Enter your company information: legal name, head office country, and address.
2. Create your user: first and last name, email, a username in email format, a password, and your notification language.
3. Select at least one product or service category.
4. Accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Statement.
5. Click the activation link in the confirmation email.

One account per CRA business number. If someone at your company created an Ariba account years ago for a different buyer, find it and use it rather than creating a duplicate. If you are bidding as a joint venture, the JV needs its own separate account.

If you only want to read solicitation documents and have no intention of bidding (a subcontractor sizing up the market, for example), CanadaBuys offers a viewer account path, where the company name is prefixed with "VIEWER." Your bidding account should be a regular account, not a viewer account.

Step 4: Complete the Government of Canada questionnaire

First-time bidders often skip this step, and an account alone does not let you bid. Before you can submit a bid, you must answer the required questions in the Government of Canada questionnaire inside SAP Business Network:

• Privacy consent and agreement to the Code of Conduct for Procurement
• Industry selection
• Business type and ownership details
• Indigenous business status
• Optional self-identification as a member of an equity-deserving group
• Environmental considerations

The remaining financial questions are only required when you win: at contract award, or when a standing offer or supply arrangement is issued to you. Complete the required questions well before your first closing date.

Step 5: Set up alerts and saved searches

Alerts come from two places. In SAP Business Network, your product and service categories decide which sourcing events are pushed to you. On CanadaBuys itself, the tender opportunities search lets you save searches by keyword, category, region, and buyer, with email alerts.

A short list of precise saved searches is easier to keep up with than a broad one. Federal notices often also cite NAICS codes, a separate classification. Our NAICS codes guide covers those.

Step 6: Add the program-specific registrations you need

The base account covers open federal tenders. Several markets need additional registrations:

• IT and professional services supply arrangements. TBIPS, SBIPS, TSPS, and ProServices run through PSPC's Centralized Professional Services System, with its own refresh windows. See TBIPS, SBIPS, TSPS and ProServices explained.
• Security clearance. Many federal contracts require an organization clearance through the Contract Security Program, which you cannot get without a sponsoring contract. Timelines run from weeks to many months. See security clearance timelines.
• Indigenous set-asides. PSIB set-aside procurements require listing in the Indigenous Business Directory. See PSIB set-asides explained.
• Standing offers and supply arrangements. Getting on one is a separate competition, and neither guarantees work. See standing offers vs supply arrangements.

Step 7: Submit your first bid through the method in the notice

You find the opportunity on CanadaBuys, but you submit wherever the notice says, which for most PSPC procurements points to a sourcing event in SAP Business Network. Read the whole notice first. Our guide to reading a CanadaBuys tender notice shows where the submission instructions hide.

A few habits reduce the risk of a failed submission:

• Save constantly. SAP Business Network logs you out after 30 minutes of inactivity. Draft long narrative answers offline and paste them in.
• Submit a day early. Federal closing times are enforced to the minute, and a system problem five minutes before closing will not get you an extension.
• Check scheduled maintenance. CanadaBuys posts SAP Ariba maintenance windows on its site. They usually fall on weekend evenings, when many small firms are finishing bids.

How long registration really takes

The base registration takes a week at most. Problems come from starting it the same week a tender you want closes, so register before you need to, even if your first bid is months away.

Mistakes that cost first-time federal bidders

• Following an outdated guide. Anything telling you to register in SRI or apply for a PBN predates July 2026.
• Creating a duplicate account. Only one account is allowed per CRA business number, and duplicates cause confusion about which account received addenda.
• Skipping the questionnaire. Account created, bid written, and the system will not accept the submission.
• Registering under the wrong legal name. Operating names and legal names are not interchangeable in federal contracting.
• Leaving the main user as a departed employee. Addenda and clarification notices then go to an unmonitored inbox.
• Assuming registration means eligibility. An account lets you submit a bid, but it says nothing about whether you meet the mandatory criteria. Check those first with our mandatory vs desirable criteria guide.

Where to get help

The CanadaBuys Service Desk is at 1-888-247-4016, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern. It also offers live chat during business hours, an email form, and an AI assistant called Procura that runs around the clock. Registration problems and SRI transition questions go to the Service Desk.

Questions about a specific tender go to the contracting authority named in the notice, in writing, before the enquiry deadline. The Service Desk cannot answer those. For free coaching on selling to the federal government, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) at PSPC runs webinars and regional sessions.

Once you are registered, the bigger picture of how federal buying works (thresholds, instruments, trade agreements) is in our federal procurement process pillar. If you also sell to Ontario public buyers, see Ontario Tenders Portal vs CanadaBuys.