How to write a software RFP that gets comparable bids

Before a single vendor sees the RFP, write what's in, what's out, the must-have workflows, the integrations, the regions, and the timeline - on one page. Scope clarity is what lets vendors quote total cost accurately and stops feature creep during demos.

Decide your weighted evaluation criteria - and their weights - before proposals arrive, so a slick presentation can't move the goalposts mid-process. Tie each criterion to your scope, not to the vendor's pitch.

Closed-ended questions are objectively scoreable. For open-ended prompts, define example answers that map to low, medium, and high scores in advance, so two evaluators grade the same answer the same way.

Require each vendor to state, in writing, what is excluded from their price and what it would cost. An RFP that doesn't ask for exclusions invites the change orders that blow the budget later.

Publish a clear timeline and review the RFP partway through the active cycle, especially for complex programmes like ERP - requirements drift, and a mid-cycle check keeps scope creep from contaminating the comparison.