When to Use an RFP (and When Not To)
Use an RFP when: you are evaluating 3 or more vendors, the project budget is above GBP 15,000, you need comparable proposals for internal approval or board sign-off, or you are in a regulated industry where procurement processes must be documented. Do not use a formal RFP when: you have already decided on a vendor and are just negotiating scope (a direct scoping workshop is more efficient), the project is very small (under GBP 5,000) and a discovery call plus quote is sufficient, or the project is highly exploratory and scope cannot be defined yet (consider a paid discovery sprint instead of an RFP). For AI-specific projects, pair the RFP with the AI Product Spec Template and AI Use Case Assessment Template to give vendors the technical context they need to propose accurately.
The Software Development RFP Template (Blank Version)
--- SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT RFP --- Document reference: [RFP-YYYY-MM-001] Issue date: [DD/MM/YYYY] Proposal deadline: [DD/MM/YYYY at HH:MM GMT] Issued by: [Company name] Primary contact: [Name, email, phone] SECTION 1: COMPANY AND PROJECT OVERVIEW 1.1 About us Company name: [Legal company name] Registered in: [England & Wales / Scotland] Industry: [e.g. Healthtech, Fintech, Legal SaaS] Current stage: [Pre-seed / Seed / Series A / Bootstrapped SME] Website: [URL or 'not yet launched'] 1.2 Project overview Project name: [Working title] Project type: [New build / Rebuild / Feature addition / AI integration / Mobile app] Brief description (3-5 sentences): [What are you building and why?] Expected users at launch: [e.g. 50 beta users, 500 paying customers in year 1] 1.3 Why now What is driving the timeline for this project? [e.g. Competitive pressure, regulatory deadline, investor milestone, market opportunity] SECTION 2: SCOPE OF WORK 2.1 Functional requirements List the core functional requirements for the project. Be specific. Must have (in scope for this proposal): - [Requirement 1]: [Brief description] - [Requirement 2]: [Brief description] - [Requirement 3]: [Brief description] (Continue as needed, but aim for no more than 10 must-have items) Should have (in scope if budget allows): - [Requirement]: [Brief description] Out of scope (explicitly excluded from this proposal): - [Feature or capability explicitly excluded] - [Integration explicitly excluded] 2.2 Non-functional requirements Performance: [e.g. Page load < 2 seconds; API response < 500ms at p95] Availability: [e.g. 99.9% uptime SLA required] Security: [e.g. OWASP Top 10 compliance, penetration test required before launch] Compliance: [e.g. GDPR, ISO 27001, FCA authorisation, NHS DSPT, EU AI Act] Scalability: [e.g. Must support 10,000 concurrent users by year 2] Accessibility: [e.g. WCAG 2.1 AA compliance required] 2.3 Technical preferences and constraints Preferred tech stack (if any): [e.g. Next.js, Python, AWS - or 'No preference'] Existing systems that must be integrated: [List with API documentation availability] Cloud provider preference: [AWS / GCP / Azure / No preference] Data residency: [e.g. UK/EU only] Code ownership: [We require full source code ownership and no vendor lock-in] Documentation requirements: [e.g. API documentation, architecture diagrams, README] 2.4 Deliverables expected Please include the following in your proposal: [ ] Working software deployed to a staging environment [ ] Source code in our Git repository [ ] Technical documentation (architecture, API, deployment guide) [ ] User documentation (if applicable) [ ] CI/CD pipeline configured [ ] Post-launch support arrangement [ ] Other: [specify] SECTION 3: TIMELINE AND MILESTONES 3.1 Desired timeline Project start date: [DD/MM/YYYY] Target completion date: [DD/MM/YYYY] Hard deadline (if any): [DD/MM/YYYY and reason] 3.2 Key milestones we expect vendors to address In your proposal, please describe how you would structure the work to meet these milestones: - Milestone 1: [e.g. Design and architecture sign-off] by [date] - Milestone 2: [e.g. Working MVP deployed to staging] by [date] - Milestone 3: [e.g. UAT completed] by [date] - Milestone 4: [e.g. Production launch] by [date] 3.3 Our team availability Describe how your team will be available for reviews and decisions: [e.g. Weekly 60-minute review calls; async review via Slack within 24 hours; one designated decision maker with 4-hour response SLA] SECTION 4: BUDGET 4.1 Budget range Total budget for this project: GBP [lower bound] - GBP [upper bound] Payment structure preferred: [Fixed price / Time and materials / Milestone-based] We expect proposals to: [ ] Come in within this range [ ] This is indicative; we will consider strong proposals above this range 4.2 Ongoing costs Please include in your proposal: - Estimated monthly hosting and infrastructure costs - Ongoing maintenance and support costs (if applicable) - Any per-user or usage-based licensing costs SECTION 5: VENDOR REQUIREMENTS We will only evaluate proposals from vendors that meet all of the following criteria: - [ ] Registered company in UK or EU - [ ] Minimum [X] years of experience delivering similar projects - [ ] Can provide [X] client references for comparable projects - [ ] Has signed Data Processing Agreement capability (GDPR) - [ ] [Add any other mandatory requirements] SECTION 6: PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Please structure your proposal as follows: 6.1 Company overview (maximum 2 pages) - Company background and relevant experience - Team assigned to this project with CVs or LinkedIn profiles - 3 comparable case studies with client references 6.2 Technical approach (maximum 4 pages) - Proposed technology stack and rationale - High-level architecture diagram - Development methodology and sprint structure - How you would handle our specific technical constraints and integrations 6.3 Project plan (maximum 2 pages) - Milestone plan with dates - Resource allocation (who does what, when) - Assumptions underlying your timeline - Risks and mitigation approach 6.4 Commercial proposal (1 page) - Fixed price or detailed time-and-materials breakdown - Payment milestones - What is and is not included - Pricing for ongoing support (optional) 6.5 Answers to the following questions [See Section 7] SECTION 7: VENDOR QUESTIONS All vendors must answer the following questions in their proposal. 1. How do you handle scope changes after a contract is signed? What is your change request process? 2. Who will be our primary point of contact and what is their seniority? 3. Will any work be subcontracted or offshored? If so, to whom and for what work? 4. How do you ensure code quality? What automated testing is standard in your process? 5. How do you handle bugs discovered after delivery? What is your defect warranty period? 6. Can you share your standard contract? What are the IP ownership and code escrow terms? 7. What happens if a key developer leaves during our project? 8. Describe a project that went wrong and how you resolved it. 9. What is your experience with [specific technology or compliance requirement relevant to this project]? 10. What would you do differently from how we have described this project in our RFP? SECTION 8: EVALUATION CRITERIA Proposals will be evaluated against the following weighted criteria: | Criterion | Weight | |-----------|--------| | Technical approach and architecture | 30% | | Relevant experience and case studies | 25% | | Team quality and availability | 20% | | Commercial proposal and value | 15% | | Communication quality during RFP process | 10% | SECTION 9: PROCESS AND TIMELINE RFP issue date: [DD/MM/YYYY] Deadline for clarification questions: [DD/MM/YYYY] Proposal submission deadline: [DD/MM/YYYY at HH:MM GMT] Shortlist notification: [DD/MM/YYYY] Presentation / interview dates: [DD/MM/YYYY - DD/MM/YYYY] Decision and contract award: [DD/MM/YYYY] Submit proposals to: [email address] Format: PDF, maximum [X] MB Questions: Direct to [name] at [email] --- END OF TEMPLATE ---
Filled Example Section: FieldPulse RFP (Field Service SaaS)
SECTION 2 (Filled Example): Must have: - Job management dashboard (web): Create, assign, and track service jobs with status updates in real time - Technician mobile app (iOS and Android): Receive job assignments, view job details, update job status, capture GPS check-in - Digital job sheet with customer e-signature: Capture completion evidence on-site; PDF stored against job record - Automated invoice generation: PDF invoice created and emailed to customer on job completion, pre-populated from job data - Basic scheduling calendar: Weekly view of technician availability and assigned jobs Out of scope: - Route optimisation and live GPS tracking of technicians - Accounting software integrations (Xero, QuickBooks) - deferred to version 2 - Customer self-service booking portal - Multi-currency or non-GBP invoicing - Advanced reporting and analytics beyond basic job counts and revenue summary SECTION 4 (Filled Example): Total budget: GBP 18,000 - GBP 25,000 fixed price We require fixed-price proposals. Time-and-materials proposals will not be evaluated. Payment structure: 30% on contract signing, 40% on staging environment delivery, 30% on production launch.
15 Questions to Ask Every Development Agency
Beyond the RFP questions above, use these in vendor interviews: 1. Walk me through a recent project that is similar to ours - who was the client, what did you build, and what was the outcome? 2. What is your development methodology and how do you handle changing requirements? 3. How many projects do you run simultaneously, and how many projects will your assigned team be working on alongside ours? 4. What is your standard code review process? 5. How do you handle security vulnerabilities discovered during or after development? 6. Can we speak directly with a reference client from a project completed in the last 12 months? 7. What are the most common reasons projects like ours run over budget or over time, and how do you prevent them? 8. What does your onboarding process look like in the first two weeks? 9. How do you handle disagreements with clients about technical approach? 10. What is your policy on code ownership and IP assignment? 11. Do you provide a code escrow arrangement? 12. What post-launch support is included in the price, and what is charged separately? 13. Have you ever had to fire a client? What happened? 14. If the fixed price turns out to be undercooked, what happens? 15. What would make our project high-risk from your perspective?
Common RFP Mistakes That Lead to Poor Proposals
Mistake 1: Not defining what is out of scope. Vendors will assume everything is in scope unless you say otherwise. A GBP 5,000 difference in quotes often comes from one vendor including a feature the other excluded. Mistake 2: Setting an unrealistic deadline for proposals. Vendors need at least 5-10 business days to write a thoughtful proposal for a complex project. Giving 48 hours signals you are not serious. Mistake 3: Not sharing your budget. Vendors price to budget. If you do not share a range, some will low-ball to win and find change requests later; others will over-engineer and price themselves out. Share a range. Mistake 4: Evaluating on price alone. The cheapest proposal is almost never the best value. Use the evaluation criteria in Section 8 and weight technical approach and experience heavily. Mistake 5: Not allowing clarification questions. Complex projects always generate questions. Build in a 5-7 day window for written questions and answers, shared with all vendors simultaneously. Mistake 6: No defined decision criteria. Vendors cannot tailor their proposals if they do not know what you are optimising for. Share your evaluation criteria openly.