Short answers to the questions we expect. If yours isn't here, email support@birddogbids.com — a human reads it.
With your Google account — that's the only sign-in, by design. We never see or store a password, there's nothing to forget, and Google handles the security. We read your name and email from Google, nothing else.
Passwords are the thing that gets breached. Single sign-on means there's no password for anyone to steal from us — we think that's the right trade for a tool that touches your business data.
Everything. Your matches are computed from it: your NAICS codes tell us what work fits, your set-asides tell us what you're eligible for, your location tells us what's in range, and your work keywords sharpen the ranking. A thin profile gets thin matches — the form shows a live "profile strength" meter and tells you which addition would help most.
Almost always it's one of these, in order of likelihood:
We'd rather under-claim than over-claim: if the agency didn't specify a location, the card says "Not specified by agency" — we don't fake a checkmark.
We ingest from SAM.gov daily (overnight, US time). An opportunity you unlock is also watched for amendments through its close date — if the agency changes it, your card gets a visible "Amended" flag.
SAM.gov — the U.S. government's official, public, free system. We're not affiliated with the government, and we'll never charge you for the data itself (see pricing, next).
Free: sign in, build your profile, and see your matched opportunities every day — the work summary, agency, fit reasons, value band, and tier. Paid: opening the full brief — notice ID, direct SAM.gov link, contracting officer contact, exact value — costs $9.99 for one opportunity, $24.99 for everything for 7 days, or $49/month for everything, continuously.
Honest answer: the notice is free on SAM.gov and you can absolutely go find it yourself — our terms say exactly that. What you're paying for is the finding and judging: we read every notice every day, check your eligibility, and rank what fits with reasons. The unlock price is for that work, not the document.
The full brief for that opportunity: official title, notice ID, direct SAM.gov link, contracting officer contact, exact posted value, deadline — plus amendment-watch through the close date and a suggested next step (for example, how to respond if it's a Sources Sought).
One payment, everything unlocked for 7 days from the moment you buy. No auto-renew — when it ends, it ends. If you find you want it all the time, the $49/month subscription is the better deal past two passes a month.
Your account page → Manage or cancel subscription → Stripe's billing portal opens → cancel there. Your access runs to the end of the period you already paid for, then billing stops. No phone calls, no chat queue, no retention offers — canceling will always be as easy as subscribing.
No cash refunds — an unlock delivers its full value the moment it opens, and the underlying data is public. But your first unlock is guaranteed: if it turns out to be a bad match, click "Report a bad match" on the card and your next unlock is automatically free. Full details in the Terms of Service.
If your card works elsewhere, email support@birddogbids.com and we'll look at it — include the date and the last 4 digits only (never email a full card number). Payments are processed by Stripe; we never see or store your card.
A charge from Bird Dog via Stripe. One-time purchases are single charges; the subscription bills monthly until you cancel.
Account page → "Edit your capability profile," or go straight to the profile form. Changes take effect on your next matches view.
Account page → Delete my account → confirm. It permanently removes your identity, profile, watches, and feedback. Transaction records are kept as required for tax and legal purposes — see the Privacy Policy. If you have an active subscription, cancel it first (deletion doesn't stop Stripe billing on its own).
The short version: we use your profile to compute matches, we don't sell your data, and our analytics are cookieless and don't identify you. The Privacy Policy is written in plain English and is genuinely short — worth the two minutes.
Yes — we treat it as sensitive information (it can reveal veteran status or other personal characteristics) and use it only for eligibility matching.
Email support@birddogbids.com with what you were trying to do and what happened instead. If it's about a specific opportunity, the work summary from the card is enough — we can find it from there.
New to federal contracting entirely? Start with our beginner's guide and the free SAM.gov alerts setup — and consider your local APEX Accelerator, free government-funded counselors who help small businesses enter federal contracting.