# Opportunities

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Over time, the concept of tracking provider interest and assignment to requests has changed. We used to refer to this process as *bidding* and you may still see that word used from time to time.

Originally, Octoo served as a way of connecting customers and providers directly (without a third-party partner). A customer would make a request and a provider could submit an actual "bid" (i.e., estimated costs) for the request.

Now, most customers work with a partner to secure their services for requests and a partner can offer a provider the *opportunity* to take the job.
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When a new opportunity is available, a provider can either *decline* it or express interest in it. If they are interested the partner (or customer) will assign them to the job. We track this opportunity through various possible *states.*

* **DECLINED** — the provider is not interested in the opportunity (ends [broadcast](https://docs.octoo.com/general/broadcasts) attempts).
* **PENDING** — the provider **is** interested in the opportunity and is waiting for a response from the customer or partner.
* **CONTINGENT** — the provider has been assigned to the job is still waiting on other team members to be assigned before their services are confirmed.
* **ASSIGNED** — the provider is assigned and the job is confirmed.
* **CANCELLED** — the provider's assignment (assigned/contingent) has been released and the services are no longer needed. In some instances, based on provider/customer agreement's cancellation policies, a *cancelled* opportunity will be considered `CANCELLED_BILLABLE` indicating that even though the service was not performed the provider will still bill for some (or all) of the cost.
* **NO SHOW** — this is to track when an *assigned* provider never appeared for the requested services. This does not happen very often.
* **REPLACEMENT SOUGHT** — sometimes a provider or customer would like to replace an *assigned* provider *if possible*. The provider assigned is still considered to be *assigned* to the request (and if no replacement is found they will still perform the work). Unlike other states, this one is masked from some parties depending on the context. For example, if a provider is seeking a replacement the customer will not be informed unless a replacement is found. Vise versa, a customer seeking replacement will not alert the provider until the replacement is found. The admin for the account would also be able to see a replacement is being sought and who is seeking it.

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