Frequently asked questions

Yes. Creating an account, listing your business, browsing and posting opportunities, and connecting are all free. MatchMarket is a SUSLA initiative.

Small businesses (vendors) and institutional buyers - hospitals, school boards, parish governments, ports, casinos, and similar organizations - across the seven parishes of Northwest Louisiana.

Northwest Louisiana - all seven parishes in the region.

Reach out through the support options on your dashboard’s Resources page and the SUSLA team can help sort out your account.

Once you have connected, use the "Message" button on the connection or on a vendor’s profile to start an in-app conversation. Everything lives in your Messages area. You can also still reach each other by the email and phone shared on connection - the two are separate.

Yes. Your "Who can message me" setting - in Settings for buyers, on your profile for vendors - lets in-app messages come from anyone, only your connections, or no one. It only affects in-app messaging, not the contact details shared when you connect.

Not until you accept a connection - and only the details you choose to share. You decide who can reach you. In-app messaging is a separate channel you control with your "Who can message me" setting.

Yes. Add every category your business covers. The matcher uses your best-matching category for each opportunity, so listing more can only help you get found.

When a buyer posts an opportunity "open to bids," you enter your price in the "Your bid" field as you express interest, along with a short note. You can update your bid while your interest is still pending. Fixed-budget opportunities do not ask for a bid.

Many buyers only hire insured vendors. Fill in the Insurance section on your profile and link your Certificate of Insurance (COI) to earn an "Insured" badge and show up when buyers filter for insured vendors. Keep your expiration date current so the badge stays up.

Reach Tier 2 (confirm your EIN, a business bank account, and a complete profile), then apply for verification from the Tier 3 Verification page. SUSLA reviews your application and approves it if you qualify. See the tier system explained.

A score showing how much of your profile you have filled in. A higher score improves your match score and helps buyers trust you - so complete as much as you can.

No. You can browse the directory and send connection requests directly any time. Posting an opportunity is just the fastest way to have qualified vendors surfaced and notified for you.

Yes. Save it as a draft and publish when you are ready. You can also edit after publishing and reopen one you previously closed.

Yes. Set the filters you use most and choose "Save as default view." They will load automatically every time you open Find Vendors.

When you post an opportunity, choose "Open to bids" instead of a fixed budget. Vendors then propose their own price when they express interest. In your Connections inbox, turn on "Group by opportunity" to compare everyone’s bids side by side, with a quick low / median / high summary, and sort by bid.

Yes. Turn on "Require insurance" when posting an opportunity, and vendors without a current Certificate of Insurance are flagged for you (they can still express interest). In Find Vendors, use the "Insured only" filter to browse just the vendors with a current COI.

Confirming builds the vendor’s verified track record and strengthens the local vendor network SUSLA supports. It directly helps the businesses you work with.

While signed in, open your profile or settings page. You can update your email (you will get a confirmation message) and change your password there.

Check your spam or junk folder and add MatchMarket to your contacts. Confirmation links can take a few minutes to arrive. You can request a new confirmation from the sign-in screen.

Use the password reset option on the sign-in screen. If you still cannot get in, a SUSLA administrator can help restore access.