Today a company's revenue and operations run partly or entirely through online channels. Whether it is a company website, a webshop, a CRM or a custom system, you often look for an outside partner to build it. To get an accurate proposal, the developer has to understand what you want. That is what a request for proposal is for.
What are an RFP, an RFI and an RFQ?
The RFP (Request for Proposal) is the document in which the client presents the planned project, its needs and everything the developer may need to know. Larger projects sometimes have two preparatory steps. An RFI (Request for Information) maps possible partners and solutions. An RFQ (Request for Quotation) asks for an indicative price for an already defined scope, for example for annual budgeting.
Why is it worth the time?
A good RFP helps both sides. For you: the departments involved reach a shared understanding, you get comparable proposals, you learn market prices and alternatives, and you do not have to explain the same thing to every bidder. For the developer: they can decide whether to bid, ask targeted questions, suggest a better solution and estimate time and cost realistically.
The document is usually written by several people: the project or product owner, in larger organisations legal and procurement, and in specialised fields an outside consultant. And do not forget your other IT partners: the hosting provider, the ERP and CRM vendors or the marketing agency the new system will connect to.
What should a good RFP include?
There is no mandatory format: sometimes one page is enough, and sometimes questions remain after a twenty-page specification. In our experience these sections work well:
- A short project summary: business background, the problem to solve, the services requested.
- Company introduction: what you do, your target audience, the colleagues and decision makers involved.
- Goals: the business result you expect (revenue, efficiency, cost reduction), who your competitors are, what your advantage is.
- Scope and deliverables: the most important part, the basis of the estimate. Look and feel (existing identity or new), pages and processes, user roles, content management, connected systems, rare cases that still need handling, and further services: SEO, copywriting, operations, support.
- Technology constraints: existing systems, mandatory platforms, industry rules, the skills of your in-house IT team, how the system will be operated after handover.
- Budget and milestones: if you do not want to give an exact figure, a range helps a lot. Interim deadlines and payment terms belong here too.
- The selection process: issue date, Q&A round, consultation, submission deadline, decision, contract, planned start.
- The expected proposal structure: company details, technical proposal, project plan and methodology, team, references, itemised pricing. This makes proposals easy to compare.
What to cover in the scope?
Think like the user: what will they use the system for, in what steps, what data will they enter and what feedback do they expect? If there are several roles, describe the tasks of each. Note which content you will edit by hand and what comes from another system. Responsive behaviour is a given today, but if your audience has special needs, write them down: a taxi booking app, for example, does not need a desktop interface.
Do you have to state a budget?
It is not mandatory, but it helps a lot. Knowing the budget, bidders can rethink the scope, suggest alternatives or flag if the goal and the budget do not match. Giving a range builds trust and does not distort the competition.
Updated: 4 November 2026
