SmartGEPS User Guide

1. Welcome to SmartGEPS

If you've ever spent an afternoon scrolling through PhilGEPS listings looking for the handful that actually apply to your business, SmartGEPS was built for that exact problem. Tell it what you offer, where you work, and what budget range makes sense — SmartGEPS handles the searching, sorts what it finds, and hands you a focused list to act on.

This guide covers everything from setting up your account to preparing your Omnibus documents. You don't need to read it cover to cover — jump to whatever chapter matches what you're trying to do, or follow along in order if you're just getting started.

SmartGEPS is an independent software product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by PhilGEPS, PS-DBM, or the Philippine Government.

2. Installing SmartGEPS

Pending final release packaging

SmartGEPS will be available through two official channels for Windows: a direct download from SmartGEPS, and the Microsoft Store. Both installation paths are still being finalized, so this chapter will be completed — with full step-by-step instructions — once packaging is ready.

In the meantime, if you already have SmartGEPS installed, skip ahead to Chapter 3 to get started.

3. Creating Your Account & Signing In

Signing in

Open SmartGEPS and you'll see the Sign in to SMARTGEPS screen. Enter your Username or Email and Password, then select Sign In. Use the eye icon if you'd like to double-check what you've typed, and check Keep me signed in if you'd rather not log in every time you open the app.

Creating a new account

New here? Select Create an account below the sign-in form. It only takes four short steps:

1. Account — your name, username, and email address.
2. How You Work — let us know if you're a Business / Organization or an Independent Professional. If you choose Business, you'll also enter your business or organization name.
3. Security — choose a password (at least 8 characters, with a letter and a number).
4. Review — check everything, then select Create My Account.

Right after that, SmartGEPS sends a verification code to your email — that's the next step.

4. Verifying Your Email

Verifying your email keeps your account secure and only takes a minute.

1. Check your inbox for a 6-digit code from SmartGEPS.
2. Type the digits into the six boxes on screen — or just paste the whole code and let SmartGEPS fill them in for you.
3. Select Verify Email (or press Enter once all six digits are in).

You'll see Email verified — your SMARTGEPS account is ready, and your workspace opens moments later.

Didn't get a code? Select Send a new code. If you just signed up, there's a short countdown before you can request another one — that's normal.

5. Getting Around SmartGEPS

Before we dive into setup, here's a quick lay of the land — and a fast path to your first results.

The sidebar on the left is your main navigation: Company Profile, Categories, Service Area & Budget, Profile & Keywords, Scan, and Omnibus. These first four are where you tell SmartGEPS about your business and what you're looking for; Scan is where you actually search; Omnibus is where you prepare documents for opportunities you've decided to pursue.

The header at the top shows who you're signed in as and your current access status, along with a way to sign out.

The right-hand panel keeps a running summary of your access status and, once you start searching, your latest Scan.

Your first SmartGEPS Scan in a few minutes

1. Complete your basic search setup — Company Profile is optional for this part, but Categories, Service Area & Budget, and Profile & Keywords shape what you'll find.
2. Choose your Categories (Chapter 7).
3. Set your Service Area and Budget (Chapter 8).
4. Add a few useful Keywords (Chapter 9).
5. Open Scan and select Start Scan (Chapter 10).
6. Start with your Matching results (Chapter 11).

That's it — you can refine your setup any time as you learn which searches work best for your business. The chapters ahead walk through each of these steps in more detail.

6. Company Profile

Think of Company Profile as your reusable business information. Set it up once, and SmartGEPS can use those details when preparing your Omnibus documents. The details you enter here — your company, your signatory, your government ID — are exactly what SmartGEPS uses to fill in your Omnibus Sworn Statement automatically later on (Chapter 17), so it's worth getting right the first time.

You can keep more than one named profile if you bid under more than one company, using the profile selector plus New Profile, Edit, and Delete.

The form is grouped into a few natural sections:

• Company & Affiant — your profile name, company name, business type, the affiant's name, civil status, and nationality.
• Signatory & Authorization (for business types other than Sole Proprietorship) — the signatory's legal capacity, the authorization document backing it up, and its title.
• Government ID & Execution — choose your ID type from a list of common Philippine IDs, enter the ID number, its issue date, and where it was issued. SmartGEPS checks supported ID-number formats as you type and will let you know if an entry needs correction.
• Company Address and Affiant Address — each uses a guided Region → Province → City/Municipality → Barangay picker, followed by your street address and ZIP code. This location data is built into SmartGEPS, so the picker works the same whether or not you're online. If your affiant's address matches your company's, just check Same as Company Address.

Select Save when you're done — SmartGEPS will point out anything missing or incorrectly formatted before saving, so you won't need to guess what went wrong.

With your Company Profile in place, preparing an Omnibus document later becomes a lot faster — you'll only ever need to touch it again if something about your business actually changes.

7. Categories

Think of Categories as the starting point for your search. Tell SmartGEPS the kinds of goods, services, or projects your business handles, and it can focus on the opportunities worth checking.

1. Open Categories from the sidebar.
2. Search by name, or browse using the A–Z letter strip.
3. Check every category that applies to your business — your picks appear as chips at the top.

Not sure where to start? Select Suggest from Keywords to have SmartGEPS check off categories that match keywords you've already entered in Profile & Keywords — a handy way to get moving quickly, which you can always fine-tune afterward.

That's your search scope set. Next, let's tell SmartGEPS where you want to do business and what budget range makes sense for you.

8. Service Area & Budget

Not every opportunity is practical for your business. This section helps you focus on opportunities in places you can serve, and within a budget range that makes sense for you.

Budget (ABC) range: Drag the slider handles to set a minimum and/or maximum budget you're interested in. Select Clear ABC range any time you'd like to remove the limits.

For procurement meaning and budget interpretation, read Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC). The filter helps discovery; the official project documents determine the applicable budget.

Region presets: Pick up to five ready-made region groupings — for example, "Metro Manila" or a specific island group — and SmartGEPS fills in the matching location terms for you.

Location keywords: This is the actual list SmartGEPS searches against. An opportunity is kept if its delivery area or agency name mentions any entry here. You can add or remove individual terms by hand at any time. Leaving this empty means nationwide — no location restriction at all.

Your search scope and reach are set. Now let's teach SmartGEPS what "relevant" actually means for your business.

9. Profile & Keywords

This is where you teach SmartGEPS what "relevant" means for your business. A few well-chosen keywords can make your results much more useful than categories alone.

Business type preset: Choosing a preset — say, "Construction Supplier" — fills in a starting set of keywords and categories for you. These are just suggestions: everything they add becomes a normal, fully editable entry you can remove, replace, or clear. Select Custom (start blank) to start from nothing instead.

Include keywords: An opportunity is kept if its title mentions any word or phrase you list here.

Exclude keywords: Any opportunity whose title mentions one of these terms is set aside for you, out of your main results.

To add a keyword, type it and press Enter. Select the × on a chip to remove it, or Clear all to start over.

Tip — Don't over-filter. Buyers don't always describe the same product or service the way you'd expect. A search that's too narrow can hide opportunities that are actually worth a look — you can always tighten things up after seeing your first results.

That's your basic search setup done. Now you're ready to run your first Scan.

10. Running a Scan

Once your search setup looks right, you're ready to see what SmartGEPS finds.

Run your first Scan:

1. Open Scan.
2. Review your current search setup.
3. Select Start Scan.
4. Let SmartGEPS work through the available opportunities — you'll see a live progress screen as it goes.
5. When the Scan finishes, start with Matching, then check More Opportunities.

If you need to stop partway through, select Stop. SmartGEPS cancels safely and won't show you a partial or incomplete picture — you'll simply see that the Scan was cancelled, with nothing kept from it.

If SmartGEPS doesn't have a usable opportunity database yet, Start Scan will let you know and ask you to check your connection — see Chapter 22.

11. Understanding Your Results

Tip — Start broad. If your first Scan returns very few opportunities, try broadening your keywords or service area first. You'll always know more about what's actually out there once you've seen an initial batch of results.

Your results land in two lists shown as tabs:

• Matching — opportunities that fit everything you set up: category, service area, budget, and at least one Include keyword found in the opportunity's title (if you've entered any).
• More Opportunities — opportunities that pass every other check but don't match any of your Include keywords. These stay close at hand rather than disappearing, in case something adjacent to your usual work is worth a look.

If you haven't entered any Include keywords at all, everything that qualifies simply lands in Matching.

SmartGEPS also keeps an Excluded group in the background — opportunities that matched one of your Exclude keywords. These aren't shown as their own tab, but they're included when you export a Professional report (Chapter 16), which gives you a way to review opportunities set aside by your Exclude keywords if you want to double-check them later.

Anything that doesn't belong in your search at all — wrong category, outside your service area or budget, or already closed — isn't shown anywhere; it's simply left out.

12. Working with an Opportunity

Each row is one opportunity, and a few quick actions are available on the spot:

• Select the reference number to open the original PhilGEPS listing in your browser.
• Select the status icon to cycle a listing through Unreviewed → Interested → Reviewed → Not Interested. Marking something Interested also adds it to your Favorites.
• Select the Omnibus column to add or remove it from your Omnibus queue.
• Right-click a row for quick actions: Add to Omnibus, Open PhilGEPS opportunity, Copy opportunity summary, Mark reviewed, Mark not interested.

Found something worth pursuing? Add it to Favorites so it's easy to come back to.

13. Favorites

Your Favorites tab collects everything you've marked Interested, plus anything you add manually.

• Add manual project — track an opportunity you found outside of SmartGEPS by entering the procuring entity and project title yourself.
• Add to Omnibus — send a favorite straight into your Omnibus queue.
• Copy outreach draft — builds a friendly summary message from all your favorites and copies it to your clipboard, ready to paste into an email, Messenger, or wherever you'd like. SmartGEPS never sends anything on its own.
• Remove favorite — takes it off the list.

14. Saved Sessions

A Saved Session is a snapshot of your search setup — categories, keywords, region, and budget — so you can switch between different searches without rebuilding them each time.

Open the Saved Sessions tab to name and save your current setup, or restore or delete one you've saved before. You can also use the Saved Search menu in the header (or Ctrl+S) for quick Save, Save As…, and Load Search….

15. Backup Search

SmartGEPS normally searches its own regularly-updated opportunity database, which is much faster than searching PhilGEPS live every time. If that database happens to be more than a day old and SmartGEPS can't reach its update service at the moment you start a Scan, it checks whether PhilGEPS itself is reachable.

If PhilGEPS is reachable but the usual update path isn't, SmartGEPS will ask:

Choose Start Backup Search to search PhilGEPS live, or Use Current Database to continue with what you already have. Either way, your results are sorted into Matching, More Opportunities, and Excluded exactly the same way as a normal Scan.

16. Exporting Your Results

Above your results, Export Report gives you three ways to take your list with you:

• CSV — a plain spreadsheet file.
• Excel workbook — a formatted .xlsx file.
• Professional report — a fuller formatted report. Choosing this first lets you pick which review statuses to include (Unreviewed, Interested/Favorites, Reviewed, Not Interested), each with a live count.

Exporting is available any time you have results on screen.

17. Omnibus Documents

Once you've found an opportunity worth pursuing, SmartGEPS can save you another repetitive task: preparing your Omnibus Sworn Statement — using the Company Profile you already set up in Chapter 6.

Adding a project to your queue:

• Right-click a Scan result and choose Add to Omnibus, or select its Omnibus column.
• From Favorites, select Add to Omnibus.
• Or, on the Omnibus page, select Add a project manually and enter the procuring entity and project name.

Each item shows:

• Agency, budget, deadline, and review status.
• A readiness line: Ready, or Needs Information listing exactly what's still missing from your Company Profile — select Complete Company Profile to fill the gap right away.

Generating your document:

• Preview — creates a temporary copy so you can check it before committing to a final file.
• Word — creates the final .docx file.
• PDF — creates both the .docx and a matching PDF together.
• Working through several projects at once? Use Preview selected, Generate selected/all DOCX, or Selected/All DOCX + PDF from the action bar above the queue.

By default, SmartGEPS saves generated files to a folder in your Documents (you can change this any time from the output-folder field, or set a permanent default in Preferences).

18. Compose Message

From the Scan page, Compose Message turns your Interested opportunities into a friendly, ready-to-share message.

• Write a short greeting.
• Choose which details to include: Project Title, Procuring Entity, ABC, Deadline, Reference No., and/or the PhilGEPS link.
• Edit the preview directly if you'd like to adjust the wording.
• Select Copy Message to copy it to your clipboard.

As always, SmartGEPS never sends this on its own — you paste and share it yourself.

19. Preferences & Appearance

Open Settings from the gear menu in the header to make SmartGEPS feel like yours.

• Appearance — choose from four themes: Classic, Midnight, Pulse, and Blush. Your choice applies immediately and is remembered next time you open SmartGEPS.
• Mute scan and completion sounds — turns off the short sounds SmartGEPS plays when a Scan starts or finishes.
• Hide expired opportunities since last database update — automatically hides opportunities that have expired since your database was last refreshed.
• Scan Results Folder and Omnibus PDF Folder — set permanent default save locations, so you're not asked every time.
• Scan Result Columns — choose which columns appear in your results table and drag to reorder them, or select Reset to Default to start over.

20. Access & Licensing

SmartGEPS requires valid access to use the application.

Your current access status is shown right in SmartGEPS — in the header and in the right-hand panel. If your access ever needs attention, SmartGEPS will let you know clearly and point you to the appropriate next step.

If you need any assistance with your account or license, contact support@smartgeps.com.

21. Your Free Trial

Eligible new accounts receive a free trial with 3 scans to experience SmartGEPS before activating a license. Start within 3 days of registration. Once started, trial access is available for up to 24 hours or until all 3 scans are used, whichever comes first.

A Free Scan is counted only after an eligible Scan completes successfully. If a Scan is cancelled or does not complete successfully, it is not counted.

SmartGEPS shows your remaining Free Scans in the header. Once all 3 have been used, starting a new Scan requires valid access — SmartGEPS will show you the next step right when you need it.

22. Opportunity Database & Automatic Updates

SmartGEPS keeps its own opportunity data ready on your computer, so Scans are fast and don't depend on reaching PhilGEPS every single time. This data updates itself automatically in the background — you don't need to do anything.

A small status item in the header shows what's happening in plain language:

What you'll see	What it means
Up to Date	Your data is current as of the last check.
Checking for Updates…	SmartGEPS is checking right now.
Update Available	Newer data is ready to install.
Downloading Update…	The update is being downloaded.
Installing Update…	The update is being verified and applied.
Updated Successfully	The update finished and is ready to use.
Update Failed	The update didn't complete — your current data is untouched and still usable.
Unable to Check	SmartGEPS couldn't reach the update service; check your connection.

Select the status item any time for more detail and a Check for Updates, Update Now, or Try Again button, depending on the state. If an update is found while you're mid-Scan, SmartGEPS waits until your Scan finishes before installing it.

23. Using SmartGEPS with Limited Connectivity

Here's what you can count on with no internet connection at all:

• Your locally stored setup — including Company Profile, Categories, Service Area & Budget, Profile & Keywords, and the address picker — remains available during a temporary connection loss. The Region/Province/City/Barangay picker is built into SmartGEPS rather than downloaded.
• Scan needs a usable opportunity database already on your computer. If SmartGEPS has one — even if it isn't the very latest — a Scan runs entirely offline. If SmartGEPS has never successfully downloaded one yet, it will ask you to connect first.
• Omnibus works entirely from information already on your computer, once you have valid access.
• Signing in, creating an account, and verifying your email all require an internet connection, since they involve your SmartGEPS account.

In short: once you're signed in and SmartGEPS has a usable opportunity database, much of your everyday setup and scanning can continue even during a temporary connection problem.

24. Help & Support

Open Help & Support from the gear menu in the header for quick topic cards covering getting started, search and results, statuses, Saved Sessions, Company Profiles and Omnibus, and exporting — searchable from the box at the top of the page.

Select Take Tour Again any time to replay the guided introduction from your first launch.

For anything not covered in the app, reach us at support@smartgeps.com.

25. Troubleshooting

SmartGEPS won't let me into the app after signing in.
You likely still need to verify your email — see Chapter 4. If you were signed out elsewhere, just sign in again.

Start Scan says SmartGEPS needs to download the opportunity database.
Check your internet connection and try again — see Chapter 22.

My Scan was stopped and I don't see any results.
That's expected — stopping a Scan clears any partial results rather than showing an incomplete picture. Start a new Scan for a complete result set.

An Omnibus document says "Needs Information."
Select Complete Company Profile on that item to jump straight to the missing fields, fill them in, and generate again.

I don't remember my password.
Password reset is now available through Forgot Password on the SmartGEPS Sign In screen.

My access needs attention and I'm not sure what to do next.
SmartGEPS will show you the appropriate next step right on screen. If anything is unclear, contact support@smartgeps.com.

26. Frequently Asked Questions

Does SmartGEPS send messages or emails on my behalf?
No. Compose Message and the Favorites outreach draft only copy text to your clipboard — you choose where and whether to send it.

Will restoring a Saved Session affect my Favorites, Company Profile, or Omnibus queue?
No. Saved Sessions only affect your search setup. Everything else is stored separately and untouched.

Do opportunities without a listed budget get filtered out by my budget range?
No — SmartGEPS only filters using your budget range when a budget is actually known. If none is listed, it stays eligible for you to review.

What happens to opportunities that match one of my Exclude keywords?
They're set aside into your Excluded group. They won't appear in Matching or More Opportunities, but they're included in a Professional report so you can review them later if needed.

Does exporting my results use up a Free Scan?
No — only completing a new Scan does. Exporting, Favorites, and Saved Sessions are unrestricted.

Can I use SmartGEPS while my opportunity database is updating?
Yes — Company Profile, Categories, Service Area & Budget, and Profile & Keywords all remain fully usable while an update runs in the background.

27. Glossary

Term	Meaning
Scan	A search of the opportunity database using your Categories, Service Area & Budget, and Profile & Keywords settings.
Matching	Opportunities that fully match your search setup, including at least one Include keyword (if you've set any).
More Opportunities	Opportunities that pass every filter except an Include-keyword match.
Excluded	Opportunities set aside because they matched one of your Exclude keywords. Available in exported reports.
ABC	The listed budget (Approved Budget for the Contract) for an opportunity, when known.
Backup Search	A direct search of PhilGEPS, used only when SmartGEPS's own data is more than a day old and its usual update path can't be reached.
Omnibus	The Omnibus Sworn Statement document SmartGEPS can prepare for you using your Company Profile.
Free Scans	The 3 complimentary Scans included in an eligible new account's time-limited free trial.