DataBid — End-User Feature Guide

DataBid subscriptions are region-based. When you subscribe, you select the geographic regions you want to monitor. You'll see all projects within those regions.

Regions are organized by province/state and broken down into counties. Your subscription determines which projects appear on your Projects page.

After subscribing, log in at databid.com to access your personalized dashboard. The dashboard gives you an at-a-glance view of:

• Recently added projects in your regions
• Upcoming bid deadlines
• Your tracked projects and saved searches
• Alerts for new and updated projects

DataBid works on desktop, tablet, and mobile browsers — access your projects and data from any device with a modern web browser.

Your subscription includes access to projects in your subscribed regions. The specific features available to you depend on your plan level — Basic, Pro, or Enterprise. See the Subscription Plans section below for a detailed comparison of what each plan includes.

All plans include region-based project access, keyword search, and core project filters. Higher-tier plans unlock the Company Directory, Contacts, AI Assistant, export tools, and more.

The Basic Plan gives you access to the Projects page — the core of DataBid. With a Basic subscription you can:

• Browse all open projects in your subscribed regions
• Search projects by keyword and use basic filters (stage, class, region, date)
• View full project detail pages including scope, bid dates, prebid meetings, and documents
• See companies listed on projects (bidders, plan holders, bid results)

What's not included in Basic:

• No access to the Company Directory or Company Detail pages — company names appear on projects but are not clickable
• No Contacts in search results
• No company tracking
• No AI Assistant
• No export or sharing tools (CSV, CRM, email sharing)
• Limited number of saved searches

The Basic Plan is ideal for contractors who want to discover projects but don't need company intelligence or advanced tools.

The Pro Plan unlocks the full DataBid platform. In addition to everything in Basic, Pro subscribers get:

• Company Directory — Full access to search and browse the company database
• Company Detail pages — Click through to see company profiles, contacts, and project history
• Contacts — See key contacts in search results and on company/project pages
• Saved Searches with Alerts — Unlimited saved searches with email and in-app notifications
• Project & Company Tracking — Follow projects and companies for updates
• Calendar — Visual calendar of bid dates and prebid meetings
• AI Assistant — Natural language search and how-to help

What's not included in Pro:

• No CSV or CRM exports
• No API access or bulk export tools

The Pro Plan is designed for active bidders who want full visibility into projects, companies, and contacts.

The Enterprise Plan includes everything in Pro, plus advanced tools for larger teams and organizations:

• CSV & CRM Exports — Download project and company data for use in your own systems
• API Access — Integrate DataBid data into your own tools and workflows
• Bulk Export Tools — Export large datasets efficiently
• Custom Reports — Tailored reporting for your organization's needs
• Advanced Analytics — Deeper insight into market trends and bidding activity
• Priority Support — Faster response times and dedicated assistance
• Dedicated Account Manager — A personal contact at DataBid for your team

The Enterprise Plan is ideal for organizations that need data portability, integrations, and premium support.

The Projects page is the core feature of DataBid. It shows all open projects in your subscribed regions. From here you can:

• Browse all available projects
• Search by keyword
• Filter by stage, class, region, date range, and more
• Sort by bid date, added date, or title
• Click any project to see full details

A red "New" badge appears on projects added within the last 24 hours so you can spot fresh opportunities instantly.

Use the keyword search bar at the top of the Projects page to find projects by name, description, or scope.

Keyword Syntax

• "Exact phrases" — Wrap words in double quotes to match the exact phrase, e.g., "fire station"
• -Exclusion — Use a minus sign before a word to exclude it from results, e.g., -residential
• Multiple words — Typing multiple unquoted words matches projects containing any of those words

Filter Logic

• Within a filter (OR): When you select multiple options in one filter (e.g., Cook, DuPage, and Brown counties), a project matches if it's in any of those selections
• Across filters (AND): When you use multiple filter types together (e.g., County + Stage + Class), a project must match all of them

For example: selecting Counties "Cook" and "DuPage" + Stage "Bidding" will show projects that are in either Cook or DuPage and are in the Bidding stage.

Saved Search Alerts

The same logic applies to Saved Search alerts. New projects trigger an alert when they match any selected option within each filter category AND satisfy all active filter categories. This ensures you get relevant alerts without false matches.

Available Filters

• Stage — Pre-Design, Design, Bidding, Post-Bid, Under Construction
• Class — Project classification (residential, commercial, institutional, etc.)
• Region — Filter within your subscribed regions
• Date range — Filter by bid date or added date

Every project moves through stages as it progresses. The stage tabs at the top of the Projects page let you filter by:

• Pre-Design — Early planning phase, project is being conceptualized
• Design — Architects and engineers are developing plans
• Bidding — Project is open for bids from contractors
• Post-Bid — Bidding has closed, results may be available
• Under Construction — Work has begun on the project

Click any stage tab to see only projects in that phase. The count next to each stage shows how many matching projects exist.

Click any project to open its detail page, which contains everything you need to know:

• Title & Description — What the project is
• Scope of Work — Detailed description of work involved
• Bid Date — When bids are due
• Prebid Meetings — Scheduled meetings for prospective bidders
• Estimated Value — Project value range when available
• Location — Address and map
• Documents — Links to plans and specifications
• Addenda — Updates and amendments posted after the initial listing (e.g., scope changes, deadline extensions, clarifications)

Each project lists the key players involved:

• Owner — The entity commissioning the project
• Architect — The design firm
• Engineer — Engineering consultants
• General Contractors — Companies invited to bid
• Plan Holders — Companies that have obtained the project documents

This information helps you understand who's involved and identify potential partners or competitors.

After a project's bid date has passed, DataBid publishes bid results showing:

• Which companies submitted bids
• The bid amounts
• Who won the contract

Bid results help you benchmark pricing and understand the competitive landscape in your market.

DataBid maintains an extensive Company Directory — a searchable database of construction industry companies. You can search by:

• Company name
• Company type — General Contractor, Sub Contractor, Supplier, etc.
• Location — City, province/state, or region
• Specialty — Trade or service specialty

Click any company to see its full profile:

• Contact information — Address, phone, email, website
• Key contacts — People at the company with their roles
• Current projects — Projects they're currently bidding on or involved with
• Project history — Past projects they've participated in

You can track any company to receive updates when they're associated with new projects or when their information changes. Tracked companies appear in your Tracked Companies list for easy access.

After performing a search with keywords and filters, you can save that search for quick re-use. A saved search remembers:

• Your keyword(s)
• All applied filters (stage, class, region, date)
• Sort preferences

To save a search: perform your search, then click the "Save Search" button. Give it a name and optionally enable alerts.

When you enable alerts on a saved search, DataBid will notify you when new or updated projects match your criteria. Alerts can be delivered via:

• Email digest — A summary email with all new matches
• In-app notifications — Badge and notification panel within DataBid

This ensures you never miss a relevant project — even if you don't log in every day.

Access your saved searches from the Saved Searches page. From there you can:

• Run any saved search with one click
• Edit the search name or alert settings
• Delete searches you no longer need
• See when the search was last run

AI Recommendations are personalized project and company suggestions powered by intelligent matching. Available on Pro and Enterprise plans, recommendations appear in three places:

• Dashboard — Personalized project recommendations based on your activity and preferences
• Project Detail pages — Similar projects based on shared attributes
• Company Detail pages — Similar companies based on shared characteristics

Each recommendation includes a match percentage showing how closely it aligns with the source, and match reason badges that explain which dimensions contributed to the match.

The Dashboard's AI Recommended section is labeled "Powered by intelligent matching" and displays a tooltip showing "Based on X signals." Here's what that means:

• Signal sources — The system analyzes up to 50 of your projects drawn from your company's bidding history, your tracked projects, and your recently viewed projects to build a recommendation profile
• Signal count — The "X signals" number is the count of source projects analyzed. It varies based on your activity — the more you track and view projects, the more signals the engine has to work with, and the better your recommendations become
• 7 matching dimensions — Each candidate project is scored against your profile across Trade, Industry, County, Region, Timeline, Budget, and Division of Work, each with weighted scoring
• Match percentage — Shows how closely a recommended project aligns with your overall profile
• Match reason badges — Colored badges like Trade Match, Industry Match, Same County, Same Region, Timeline Match, Budget Range, and DOW Match show which dimensions contributed most to the recommendation

On each Project Detail page, an "AI Recommended" collapsible section shows similar projects. These are matched based on shared attributes including:

• Trade and Industry
• Location (County and Region)
• Scope and Division of Work

This helps you discover related projects you might want to bid on or track.

On each Company Detail page, an "AI Recommended" collapsible section shows similar companies. Companies are matched across 5 dimensions:

• Specialty — Companies with the same trade specialty
• City — Companies in the same city
• County — Companies in the same county
• Company Type — Same company classification (GC, Sub, Supplier, etc.)
• Region — Companies operating in the same region

Each match shows a percentage score and reason badges so you can see why a company was recommended.

Every recommendation card includes Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down buttons that teach the engine your preferences:

• Thumbs Down — Hides that recommendation from your future results
• Thumbs Up — Tells the engine to find more projects like the one you liked. Liked projects become high-weight signals in your profile, meaning their Trade, Industry, County, and other attributes carry extra influence in future matching

The more feedback you give, the more refined and accurate your recommendations become over time.

To get the best recommendations from the AI engine:

• Track projects in your areas of interest — tracked projects are key signal sources
• View projects relevant to your work — recently viewed projects feed into your profile
• Use Thumbs Up on recommendations you like — this directly boosts similar attributes
• Use Thumbs Down on irrelevant results — this removes noise from your feed

The system learns your preferences over time. The more you interact with DataBid, the more personalized your recommendations become.

Manage your personal information and security from the Settings page:

• Update your name and contact details
• Change your password
• Manage your email signature for shared projects

DataBid accounts support multiple users under a single company subscription:

• Primary Users — Manage company settings, subscription details, and contacts. Primary users can add or remove additional users.
• Additional Users — Have read-only access to company settings but can fully manage their own profile, preferences, saved searches, tracked projects, and alerts.

Both user types have the same access to projects and data based on the company's subscription plan and regions.

View your active subscription and the regions you're subscribed to. Contact your administrator or DataBid support to add or change regions.

Control how and when you receive notifications:

• Email frequency — Immediate, daily digest, or weekly summary
• Notification types — Choose which events trigger notifications
• In-app alerts — Manage the notification panel settings