diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 1f7fcd4..1b59ae9 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -171,6 +171,16 @@
          </resource>
       </resources>
       <plugins>
+         <!-- the artifact version, for the help bundle version test -->
+         <plugin>
+            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+            <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
+            <configuration>
+               <systemPropertyVariables combine.children="append">
+                  <qbit.artifactVersion>${project.version}</qbit.artifactVersion>
+               </systemPropertyVariables>
+            </configuration>
+         </plugin>
          <plugin>
             <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
             <artifactId>maven-checkstyle-plugin</artifactId>
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/kingsrook/qbits/alerts/AlertsTablesGuardrailTest.java b/src/test/java/com/kingsrook/qbits/alerts/AlertsTablesGuardrailTest.java
index 41a37de..7a3440b 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/kingsrook/qbits/alerts/AlertsTablesGuardrailTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/kingsrook/qbits/alerts/AlertsTablesGuardrailTest.java
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ class AlertsTablesGuardrailTest extends BaseAlertsTest
       assertThat(HelpBundles.of(qInstance).getBundles()).singleElement().satisfies(bundle ->
       {
          assertThat(bundle.getId()).isEqualTo("qbit-alerts");
-         assertThat(bundle.getVersion()).isEqualTo("0.1.0-SNAPSHOT");
+         assertThat(bundle.getVersion()).as("the help bundle carries the artifact version").isEqualTo(System.getProperty("qbit.artifactVersion"));
       });
       HelpBundles.syncOnStartup(qInstance);
    }