Every tender carries two buttons that are easily confused: a bell and a heart. They do different things, and they cost different things.
Heart (favorite) | Bell (follow) | |
--- | --- | --- |
What it does | saves the tender | monitors the tender at the source |
What you get | your own shortlist | an email on every change |
Who can use it | any signed-in provider | providers with an active subscription |
You find both at the top right of every card, and again in the header of an opened tender.
The heart: your shortlist
A click on the heart adds the tender to your favorites, a second click removes it. The heart stays filled red while it is set.
Favorites are your private shortlist. They are free and open to any signed-in provider, subscription or not.
As soon as you have at least one favorite, the Favorites only switch appears in the filter bar. That puts your selection in front of you in one click.
If you are not signed in, a click on the heart opens the sign-in dialog. After signing in you can favorite right away.
One side effect worth knowing: when you set a favorite, the Feedbax team receives a note about it. That helps us understand which tenders providers find interesting, and it feeds into which procedures we prepare. Removing a favorite triggers nothing of the sort.
The bell: following and being notified
A click on the bell puts the tender under observation. Feedbax then checks it regularly against the procurement platform and emails you as soon as something has changed.
This is where the real time saving sits. Tenders are not fixed documents: deadlines move, documents are added later, bidder questions get answered and change the requirements along the way. Tracking that yourself means visiting the procurement platform regularly.
What Feedbax watches
Five things are monitored:
The deadline. If the submission deadline moves, the email states the old one and the new one.
The documents. If files are added or disappear, their names are listed in the email.
The overview page of the tender.
The procedure data. That is where eligibility and award criteria live.
The communication page. That is where bidder questions live.
New bidder questions are additionally listed in the email so you can see what they were about.
How reliable the detection is
Feedbax compares a fingerprint of the source pages for this, not an AI result. The detection is therefore deterministic: a notification means something really changed at the source, not that an AI phrased something differently.
On the first look at a tender, Feedbax only records the starting state. That first check never triggers a notification. If a retrieval fails, the last known state stays in place instead of a false change being reported.
After a detected change the tender's analysis is regenerated. So you do not only read that something changed, you find the updated version right there.
The dot on the bell
If something changed and you have not reopened the tender yet, the bell on the card carries a dot. On top of that, the Followed only switch appears in the filter bar as soon as you follow at least one tender.
Stopping following
A second click on the bell stops following. The dot goes with it.
Every change email also carries a link that unfollows exactly that one tender. You land on a short confirmation page noting that you can follow it again at any time.
Why following requires a subscription
Every followed tender is queried at the source continuously, and after a change its analysis is regenerated. That is the most expensive part of the module, which is why it is part of the subscription.
Clicking the bell without a subscription opens the pricing overview. If you are not signed in, the sign-in dialog opens.
Expired tenders
On an expired tender the bell is not shown at all. There is nothing left to monitor, because you can no longer apply.
The heart stays: keeping an expired tender as a reminder makes plenty of sense, for instance when the same procedure is tendered again in two years.
Who sees neither
Signed-in buyers see neither the heart nor the bell. Both are provider features. Buyers use Feedbax to find providers, not to bid on tenders.
A working routine that holds up
Skim the list once and set the heart on everything that looks interesting.
Turn on Favorites only and open the tenders one by one.
Read the tender fit. It tells you where the effort pays off.
On everything you are really pursuing, also set the bell.
Remove the heart once you have decided.
That keeps the favorites list short, and the bell marks exactly the procedures where a missed change costs money.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the heart and the bell?
The heart saves a tender, nothing more. The bell monitors it and emails you as soon as something changes at the source.
Do favorites send me emails?
No. Favorites are silent. Only followed tenders trigger emails.
Can I set both at the same time?
Yes, and it often makes sense. They are independent of each other.
How often is a followed tender checked?
In regular passes. Every check is deliberately lightweight: Feedbax only retrieves the overview pages, downloads no documents and uses no AI for it.
I got a change email but see nothing new in the tender.
Check the deadline and the document list. Changes to the procedure data are often inconspicuous at first glance but concern the eligibility and award criteria. The email states which area changed.
I do not want any emails about tenders at all.
Every email carries an unsubscribe link at the bottom. Which emails exist and how to control them individually is in Emails about tenders.
Do favorites or following affect my Feedbax score?
No. Both are private working features and have nothing to do with your score or your visibility in the directories.