What should an RFP include?

The outcome you want, the scope boundary (in and out), what every proposal must contain, and how you will score it, weights included. If any of those is missing, you will get proposals you cannot compare.

When is an RFP the wrong tool?

When you can write the full specification yourself, that's an RFQ, and asking for proposals just wastes supplier effort. And when you don't understand the market yet, start with an RFI.

Should I share the budget in an RFP?

A range usually helps: it filters out suppliers who were never in your bracket and stops proposals that solve a smaller problem than you have. The template makes it optional.

What's the difference between the template and running an RFP on VEXORS?

On VEXORS the sections become structured fields and questionnaires: proposals arrive comparable by construction, clarifications run in one thread, AI reads and scores each proposal on substance, and the decision carries a defensible record.

How is an RFP different from an RFQ?

An RFQ asks for a price against a specification you already wrote. An RFP asks suppliers to propose the method as well as the price, because you know the outcome but expect them to differ on how they deliver it.

How many criteria should an RFP evaluation table have?

Three to five is usually enough. More than that and the weights get so thin that no single criterion can actually decide anything, and evaluators start scoring on gut feel instead of the table.

Should technical and commercial be scored together or separately?

Score them separately, then combine with published weights, technical and commercial scored by different reviewers if you can manage it. Scoring them together lets a strong price quietly buy forgiveness for a weak proposal.

What happens if a supplier's proposal is missing a required section?

Decide before the RFP goes out, not while reading: either reject it outright or score the missing section as zero. Either way, say so in the RFP itself, so no supplier can argue the rule was invented after the fact.

Can I run an RFP without disclosing the evaluation weights?

You can, but suppliers then guess at what you value and often guess wrong, so proposals answer questions you did not ask. Publishing the weights gets you proposals that actually target your criteria.

How long should suppliers get to submit a proposal?

Two to four weeks for a proposal with a named team, a timeline and full commercials; less for a simple service, more for a multi-year contract with site visits or technical demonstrations involved.

What is a clarification deadline for?

A fixed date after which you stop answering supplier questions, so every bidder has the same information at the same time and nobody gets a late answer the others never saw.

Do I need a separate scorecard to total the weighted scores?

The template's evaluation table states the weights; a scorecard like the free supplier evaluation scorecard totals them per proposal. On VEXORS the weighting and the total are the same step, done automatically.

Free template

RFP template that gets proposals you can compare

A complete request-for-proposal document in Word: objective, scope, proposal requirements, and weighted evaluation criteria, so proposals come back in one shape instead of five.

No card to start. Your first request goes out in minutes.

Free to start, no card
Your data stays yours
Suppliers respond free

Download the free RFP template

Real .docx files in English and Arabic. No watermarks. Edit and send.

What is an RFP template?

A request for proposal, or RFP, is what you send when you know the outcome you want but not the exact method: a services engagement, a systems project, or a multi-year contract. A good RFP states the outcome, the scope boundary, what every proposal must contain, and how you will score it, with the weights published upfront. Skip any of those and proposals arrive in five different shapes, each answering a slightly different question, so the comparison happens in your head instead of on paper.

What's inside

RFP details block: reference, deadlines, decision date, contract term
Background and objective section with a one-sentence outcome format
Scope of work: in scope, out of scope, current state, dependencies
Proposal requirements: approach, named team, milestones, commercials, references
Weighted evaluation criteria table plus process rules and clarification deadline

What's inside6 sections

1RFP detailstable
2Background and objective1 paragraph
3Scope of work4 bullets
4Proposal requirements5 bullets
5Evaluation criteriaweighted table
6Process and rules4 bullets

Every section is already the right shape to become a structured tender.

One document, every proposal answers it

Background, scope, required sections and evaluation weights sit in one file. Suppliers propose against the same brief, so nothing you compare later is actually two different questions.

Weights you publish, not weights you decide after reading

The evaluation criteria and their weights go out with the RFP itself. A supplier who reads the RFP can see exactly what earns marks, and you cannot quietly favour the proposal you liked best.

A record you can defend

Reference number, issue date, deadlines, decision date and the evaluation table live in the same file you send, and the same file you can produce again if a losing bidder asks why.

From template to tender

Scope

Scope fixed before a single proposal arrives

The scope of work section forces the split every RFP needs: what is in scope, what you will not pay for, the current state a supplier must work within, and what you owe them in return, access, data, approvals. Write it once, before the RFP goes out, and every proposal answers the same boundary. Skip it, and you get proposals that quietly assume different scopes, so the cheapest number and the most complete number are never actually the same job.

In scope: the deliverables and services you expect
Out of scope: what you will not pay for under the contract
Current state: systems, volumes and constraints suppliers must work with
Dependencies: what you provide, access, data, approvals

Requirements

Every proposal answers in the sections you named

The template fixes five sections before a supplier writes a word: proposed approach, a named team with real allocation, a timeline with milestones, a full commercial proposal, and two references for comparable work. On VEXORS those five sections become required fields and questionnaire questions, so a proposal missing the team page or the references is flagged before it reaches you, not discovered halfway through your read.

Proposed approach and method, specific to your problem
Team: named roles, relevant experience, percentage allocation
Timeline with milestones and what each one delivers
Commercial proposal: fees, payment schedule, assumptions and exclusions

Evaluation

The weights decide the score, not the loudest pitch

Four criteria, four weights, published in the RFP itself: approach and understanding, team and experience, timeline and feasibility, and the commercial proposal. Every proposal is measured against the same four, in the same proportions, so a strong presentation cannot outweigh a weak commercial. On VEXORS the same criteria run as AI evaluation: each proposal scored out of 100 against your weights, with the reason written beside every score, and the award stays your decision.

Approach and understanding: specific to your problem, not generic
Team and experience: named people with comparable delivery
Timeline and feasibility: milestones you can verify
Commercial: total cost, clearly broken down

Process

Rules that stop a dispute before it starts

A clarification deadline, a proposal deadline with date, time and timezone, how long proposals stay valid, and a plain statement that you are not obliged to award to the lowest price: four rules that remove the arguments that usually follow a close decision. On VEXORS every clarification is answered once and published to every bidder, a proposal on an old revision is flagged automatically, and price validity is shown on every proposal so nobody is surprised it expired.

Clarification questions by a fixed date, answers shared with everyone
Shortlisted suppliers may be invited to present
Proposals remain valid for a stated number of days
No obligation to award to the lowest-priced proposal

The file after you send it

What happens once proposals start arriving

The same RFP, sent two ways
	Sent by email	Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Getting it to suppliers	You email the file to each supplier and hope everyone has the latest version	Every invited supplier opens the same version, from one link
Answering a question	A supplier asks by phone or email; the other bidders never see the answer	The question is answered once and published to every bidder, the asker unnamed
A change of scope	You resend the file and chase confirmations that everyone has the new one	A revision reaches every bidder at once; a proposal on the old version is flagged
Reading the proposals	Five documents in five formats, page counts and structures	Every proposal answers the exact sections you required, in the same order
Applying the weights	You total the scores by hand in a second spreadsheet	Every proposal is scored against your published weights automatically
Missed a required section	You find out once you open the document	A missing required section is flagged before it reaches your evaluation
Proving the decision later	Whichever email thread still exists	One record: proposals, questions, scores and the named approval

Getting it to suppliers
Sent by email
You email the file to each supplier and hope everyone has the latest version
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Every invited supplier opens the same version, from one link
Answering a question
Sent by email
A supplier asks by phone or email; the other bidders never see the answer
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
The question is answered once and published to every bidder, the asker unnamed
A change of scope
Sent by email
You resend the file and chase confirmations that everyone has the new one
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
A revision reaches every bidder at once; a proposal on the old version is flagged
Reading the proposals
Sent by email
Five documents in five formats, page counts and structures
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Every proposal answers the exact sections you required, in the same order
Applying the weights
Sent by email
You total the scores by hand in a second spreadsheet
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Every proposal is scored against your published weights automatically
Missed a required section
Sent by email
You find out once you open the document
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
A missing required section is flagged before it reaches your evaluation
Proving the decision later
Sent by email
Whichever email thread still exists
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
One record: proposals, questions, scores and the named approval

Who this template is for

Contractors buying specialist services

A design consultant, a specialist installer, a facilities operator: anyone whose method matters as much as their price.

Developers and asset owners

Procuring consultants, operators or long-term service providers, where the wrong team costs more than the wrong price.

Procurement and category teams

Running an enterprise systems, logistics or professional-services RFP with more than one internal stakeholder to satisfy.

Facilities and asset management teams

Re-tendering maintenance, security or soft-services contracts, where the current provider knows the site better than any competitor.

How it works

How to use it

Write the outcome first

One measurable sentence: what will be true when this succeeds. Every section after it gets easier.

Share the weights

Publish your evaluation criteria and weights in the RFP itself. Suppliers optimise for what you actually value.

Fix the shape

Require the exact proposal sections listed. Five proposals in one shape beat five essays.

Send it as a tender

Import the same sections into VEXORS: proposals arrive structured, clarifications run in one thread, and every score carries a reason.

RFP template FAQ

Send your next RFP as a tender

Free to start. The same sections, structured: proposals arrive comparable, clarifications run in one thread, and every score carries a reason.