SAM.gov alerts that tell you when they are wrong

An alert here is a saved search: what you bid on in plain words, or NAICS codes, set-asides, agencies, states and dates, on SAM.gov notices and, if you choose, on grants, state and local bids, SBIR and STTR topics and DLA DIBBS requests for quotation. Every hour, as new notices arrive, each alert is checked against them, and a match goes out by email, by push notification to the phone app, or both. A team can keep up to 50.

An alert that reports on itself

A saved search quietly pulling four hundred notices a month soon stops being read. One that has caught nothing since the day it was made is worse, because it looks like there is no work out there when the keyword is wrong. Every alert shows what it caught and how much of it is still open, and says when it needs narrowing or widening. An alert that is set up wrong should say so. These do.

One list of what they found, closing soonest first

Alerts arrive as they happen. Matches is where they pile up: everything your alerts caught in the last two weeks that is still open and not already a pursuit, soonest deadline first, with the alert that caught each one beside it. It also says when the list is cut: 60 of 290 means at least one alert is catching more than anyone can read, and the alerts page marks which.

The day a notice changes

Agencies amend notices constantly. When a notice you follow is amended you are told what changed, in plain words: a deadline that moved, a set-aside that changed, a cancellation, attachments that appeared after you read the first version. A deadline moved earlier, a changed set-aside or a cancellation is sent as soon as it is found, and the rest comes in the morning email. One solicitation we tracked had eleven versions in five weeks.

One email each morning, or none

The daily digest is one email with what needs you today: what closes soon, what changed, what closed, and what is no longer active. On a day when nothing happened it is not sent, because a daily email that arrives whether or not it has news is an email people stop opening.

Before the notice exists

On Professional, agency forecasts matched to your trades come in the same morning email: the office, the value band, the year and the set-aside the agency has in mind, and the notice it became when it posts. And the Recompete Radar lists the contracts in your trade and your states that end in six to eighteen months, each one a press from an alert on its trade and agency. How recompete tracking works.

What it costs

Alerts, matches, amendment watch and the daily digest are on every paid plan. Essential, for one person, is $29.99 a month ($19.99 for the first two months), with 5 document reviews a month, the compliance checklist and the fit assessment as well. A free account browses and searches without limit and reads 3 solicitations, with no alerts. Every number is on the pricing page, and here is what SAM.gov does on its own.

Frequently asked

Does SAM.gov send alerts itself?

Yes. A signed-in SAM.gov user can save a search and be notified about it, and can follow a notice to hear when it changes. What SAM.gov will not do is tell you whether your saved search is set too wide or too narrow, read the attachments in an amendment, or check a notice against the codes and certifications you hold.

How often does InstantSam check SAM.gov?

Every hour, for new solicitations, presolicitations and Sources Sought notices, and Grants.gov is read every hour too. DoD SBIR and STTR topics, DLA DIBBS and the eight state and local portals are read once a day. A notice posted in the last hour may not have been checked yet.

Can I get the alerts on my phone?

Yes. Each alert can email you, send a push notification to the InstantSam app on your iPhone or Android phone, or both. A deadline moved earlier, a changed set-aside or a cancellation on a notice you follow is sent as soon as it is found.

How many alerts can I have?

Up to 50 for your team, on every paid plan. Searching the words as typed has no limit on any plan, including Free.

What does it cost?

Alerts, matches, amendment watch and the daily digest are on every paid plan. Essential, for one person, is $29.99 a month, $19.99 for the first two months, with 5 document reviews a month as well. A free account can browse and search without limit and read 3 solicitations, but has no alerts.