✦ Get My 5 Free Checks
Early Access — Higher Education Procurement
E&I Cooperative Approved Vendor ↗ Omnia Partners Approved Vendor ↗

Approve vendors with proof.
Not guesswork.

🔒 The only vendor risk tool that requires $0 budget and 0 hours of IT approval. Pay with your P-card. Start in minutes.

Manual vendor due diligence takes a procurement coordinator 2–3 days. Kagus does it in 30 seconds — and puts a timestamped, audit-ready PDF in your vendor file before your next meeting.

No tool like this exists for procurement coordinators. Every alternative requires IT, costs 8× more, and doesn't produce a PDF for your vendor file.

Zero IT integration required
Works with your P-card
GPO-aware intelligence
Approved E&I & Omnia cooperative vendor · 25 years of procurement intelligence · Access sent within 48 hours.
▶ Live Vendor Check
🔍 Acme Research Supplies Inc.
result
24
✓ Low Risk — Proceed
7 signals checked · GPO Active · No exclusions
📄
Kagus Report KGS-2025-00441
Timestamped PDF · Ready for your vendor file
$700B+
US higher ed annual spend — mostly undocumented at purchase
90%
Reduction in due diligence time vs. manual process
8×
Less expensive than the nearest competitor for 20 checks/month
30s
From vendor name to timestamped audit PDF
See It In Action

What a vendor check actually looks like.

Type a vendor name. 30 seconds. A risk score, three plain-English signal explanations, and a timestamped PDF — ready for your vendor file.

kagus.com/check
Check a vendor
🔍  Fisher Scientific Company LLC
Scanning litigation filings...
Checking headcount trends...
Sources checked
SAM.gov ✓ DocketAlarm ✓ LinkedIn ✓ Glassdoor ✓ Reddit ✓ NewsAPI ✓ GPO Status ✓
18
Low Risk
Headcount: Stable Legal: Clear Federal: Active Funding: Healthy Community: Quiet
Score driver: No exclusions, stable headcount, GPO contract active. All seven signals healthy.
📄
Kagus Report KGS-2025-00847
Apr 4, 2026 · 9:14am CT · Ready to download
Save My Spot for 5 Free Checks →
The Challenge

Procurement decisions move fast.
Documentation rarely keeps up.

Whether approving a new vendor or reviewing an ongoing relationship — the same question applies: what is on record to show that you checked?

"The most exposed moment in procurement is not a bad decision — it is a good decision with no documentation. Kagus fixes that in 30 seconds."
— 25 years of cooperative purchasing intelligence
📋
New vendor approvals need documentation
When an unfamiliar vendor arrives on a PO, a 30-second Kagus check generates an audit-ready PDF with a unique Report ID — your timestamped record of what was reviewed and when.
🔄
Approved vendors need ongoing review
A GPO-approved vendor today is not automatically safe tomorrow. Headcount drops, financial stress, and regulatory changes happen between contract cycles. Kagus monitoring catches them early.
🏛️
Your institution expects a documented process
Auditors, CFOs, and boards increasingly ask for evidence of vendor due diligence — not just the outcome. Kagus creates that evidence automatically with every check, for every vendor.
💳
P-Card purchases still need oversight
Departmental P-Card spend is where undocumented vendor decisions accumulate fastest. Kagus gives procurement the same defensible check for a P-Card purchase as for a formal PO — in the same 30 seconds.
How It Works

Three steps.
Thirty seconds.
One defensible record.

1
Type the vendor name
Enter the vendor name from the PO request. Optionally add their website for higher accuracy. No login to other systems. No IT involvement.
⚡ Takes 10 seconds
2
Kagus checks 15+ sources
Federal exclusions (SAM.gov), litigation filings, headcount trends, funding status, Glassdoor employee sentiment, Reddit IT community signals, and cooperative contract status — all simultaneously.
⚡ Runs in 20 seconds
3
Download your PDF report
A timestamped, immutable PDF with a unique Report ID. Risk score, signal explanations, and GPO-active alternatives. Put it in the vendor file. That is your proof you checked.
⚡ Instant download
What You Get

Built for every vendor decision.
First approval or fifth renewal.

Not another analytics dashboard. Not another system to log into. Kagus is a 30-second intelligence check that generates the documentation your process deserves — automatically, every time.

🟢
Stoplight Risk Score
Green / Amber / Red — instantly.
Seven independent signal categories.
Plain-English explanation of every flag.
No data science background required.
Seven signals · 15 sources
📄
Timestamped PDF Report
Every check generates your audit-proof record.
Unique Report ID + immutable timestamp.
Kagus attestation footer included.
Put it in the vendor file. You're covered.
Audit-ready · Lawyer-reviewed language
🔄
Ongoing Vendor Monitoring
Approved vendors don't stay static.
Get alerted when any vendor's score shifts.
Catch stress signals before they become crises.
Works on your existing approved vendor list.
Pro tier · Automatic alerts
Seven independent signals checked on every vendor
Federal Exclusions (SAM.gov)
Litigation Filings
Headcount Trends
Funding Status
Employee Sentiment
Community Intelligence
Corporate Health
Free Resource

The 5-Minute Vendor Check Checklist

📋
Free Download · No Email Required
Vendor Check Checklist for Higher Ed Procurement
  • ✓SAM.gov federal exclusion check
  • ✓Basic litigation and bankruptcy search
  • ✓LinkedIn headcount trend (last 90 days)
  • ✓Glassdoor rating and employee sentiment
  • ✓E&I / Omnia cooperative contract status
  • ✓News coverage — past 6 months
  • ✓Funding status for SaaS and tech vendors
  • ✓GPO-active alternatives in your category
⬇ Download Free Checklist (PDF)
No email required. Opens directly.
Use it today. Before Kagus ships.
This checklist is the manual version of what Kagus does automatically. If you run through it on your next unfamiliar vendor, you will feel exactly the friction Kagus removes — and you will have a document to put in the file regardless.
Built from 25 years of cooperative purchasing pattern recognition. The GPO contract status item alone is something most vendor risk tools do not even consider.
💡
When you follow up with us, we will ask: did the checklist match your current process, or are you doing something different? Your answer shapes what Kagus prioritizes next.
Self-Assessment

How protected is your vendor approval process?

5 questions.
90 seconds.
Honest answer.
Not a trick quiz. An honest look at where your current process leaves gaps — and what documentation would exist in your file if a vendor you approved failed tomorrow.
  • Find out your current exposure level
  • See which signal category matters most for your vendor type
  • Get a personalized recommendation — no email required to see results
If a vendor you approved failed tomorrow, what documentation would your file show?
A detailed record of what I checked and when
An email chain from the requester
Nothing formal — I relied on judgment
Whatever the department head sent me
Get Early Access →
Why Trust Kagus

Built by people who understand how higher education procurement actually works.

Benmar Group has been an approved cooperative vendor for over 25 years.
Kagus is not a Silicon Valley startup that discovered procurement software. It is built by people who have spent 25 years inside the E&I Cooperative and Omnia Partners ecosystem — who know your vendors, your institutions, and your procurement reality from the inside.
"I have seen hundreds of vendors fail — and in most cases, the signals were there months earlier. Kagus was built to surface those signals before procurement coordinators find out the hard way."
— Sabu Varghese, Founder · Benmar Group
E&I Cooperative
E&I Cooperative — Approved Vendor
Higher Education Procurement Alliance · View our contract ↗
Omnia Partners
Omnia Partners — Approved Vendor
Public Sector Cooperative Purchasing · View our profile ↗
🔒
Zero IT Integration Required
No ERP access, no data sharing, no IT approval needed
25+
Years inside cooperative purchasing
The intelligence that powers Kagus comes from 25 years of watching which vendors fail, overcharge, and underdeliver — encoded into the scoring engine.
15+
Sources checked per vendor
7
Independent signal categories
30s
Average check completion time
$0
IT budget required
How Kagus Compares

The only tool built for procurement coordinators.
Not IT. Not CISOs. You.

Every other vendor risk tool on the market requires IT involvement, costs 8× more, and produces cybersecurity ratings your director can't read. Kagus produces a PDF your director can sign.

Capability Comparison
Capability KAGUS UpGuard BitSight SecurityScorecard Isora GRC HECVAT
Procurement coordinator as buyer (not IT/CISO) ✓ — — — — —
30-second automated vendor check ✓ — — — — —
Timestamped PDF audit trail for vendor file ✓ — — — — —
Zero IT involvement required ✓ — — — — —
P-Card eligible · Under $250/month unlimited ✓ — — — — —
"Quiet Collapse" headcount signals (LinkedIn) ✓ — — — — —
Reddit community alarm signals ✓ — — — — —
GPO / cooperative contract alternatives ✓ — — — — —
Federal exclusion check (SAM.gov) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — —
Pricing Reality — What It Costs to Check 20 Vendors Per Month
Tool Entry Price 20 Checks / Month 50 Checks / Month IT Approval? P-Card Eligible?
Kagus Pro $199 / month $199 — unlimited $199 — unlimited No Yes
UpGuard $1,750 / month $1,750 $1,750 Yes No
BitSight ~$2,000 / month $2,000+ $2,000+ Yes No
SecurityScorecard $1,666 / month $1,666+ $1,666+ Yes No
Isora GRC $6,000 / month $6,000 $6,000 Yes No
HECVAT Free (toolkit) Free + 2–3 days labor Free + 5–7 days labor Yes N/A

Pricing sourced from vendor websites, Vendr.com, G2 Crowd, and Gartner Peer Insights · April 2026 · Enterprise pricing estimated from published minimum annual contracts

Want this as a one-page PDF?
Download the full comparison sheet — formatted for printing or sharing with your director.
📄  Download Comparison PDF
Common Questions

Everything you need to know.

What exactly is Kagus?
+
Kagus is a vendor intelligence tool built specifically for higher education procurement. You type a vendor name, Kagus checks 15+ sources simultaneously — federal exclusions, litigation filings, headcount trends, employee sentiment, cooperative contract status, and more — and delivers a risk score plus a timestamped PDF report in 30 seconds. The PDF goes in your vendor file as documented proof of due diligence.
Who is this built for?
+
Procurement coordinators, purchasing specialists, and contract managers at universities, colleges, community colleges, and nonprofits. Whether you are reviewing a new vendor for the first time or maintaining an ongoing relationship with a GPO-approved supplier, Kagus creates the documentation your process deserves — automatically.
Do I need IT involvement or integrations?
+
No. Zero. Kagus requires no ERP integration, no data sharing, no IT security review, and no procurement committee approval. It is a web-based tool you access from your browser and pay for with a P-card. Your IT department never needs to know it exists.
How is this different from just Googling a vendor?
+
A Google search is not documented due diligence. Kagus checks 15 structured sources simultaneously — including federal exclusion databases that Google does not surface, litigation filings, employee sentiment trends, and cooperative contract status — and generates a timestamped PDF report with a unique Report ID. That document is your audit trail. A browser history is not.
How does Kagus generate the intelligence?
+
Kagus queries 15+ public and semi-public data sources in parallel — SAM.gov federal exclusions, DocketAlarm litigation filings, LinkedIn headcount trends, Glassdoor employee sentiment, Reddit practitioner communities, news coverage, SEC filings, and cooperative contract status. The results are synthesized into a plain-English risk score and signal explanation — no data science background required to read it.
When will it be available?
+
We are opening early access to a small group of higher education procurement professionals in the coming weeks. Early access users get 5 free checks per month and their feedback directly shapes what we build next. Request access above and we will be in touch within 48 hours.
Is Kagus a guarantee that a vendor will not fail?
+
No — and we will never claim that. Kagus provides documented, reasonable due diligence at the time of review. It substantially reduces risk by surfacing signals that most procurement teams never check. But no tool can guarantee future vendor performance. What Kagus guarantees is that you have a defensible record of what was checked, when it was checked, and what the findings were.
What does the PDF report actually contain?
+
Every Kagus PDF includes: a unique Report ID, an immutable timestamp in Central Time, the vendor's overall risk score (0–100) with a Green/Amber/Red band, sub-scores for all seven signal categories, three plain-English signal explanations, GPO-active alternative vendors in the same category, a list of every source checked with its query timestamp, and a Kagus attestation footer. It is designed to be put directly into a vendor file.
⏳ Limited Early Access

Be one of the first 50 procurement professionals to access Kagus.

We are opening early access to a hand-selected group before public launch. Five free checks per month. Your feedback shapes what we build next. No credit card. No commitment.

Early access spots filling — join before public launch
Higher education procurement professionals only · Benmar Group · kagus.com
Early Access

Request your free early access.

We are opening Kagus to a small group of higher education procurement professionals first. Five free checks per month. No credit card. No IT integration. Your honest feedback shapes what we build next.

We'll send access within 48 hours · No credit card · No IT integration