Use our free RFP checklist to make sure your request for proposal is clear, complete, and ready to send to suppliers.
An RFP can quickly become confusing if the scope is vague, the evaluation criteria are missing, or suppliers are not given enough information to respond properly. A checklist helps you review the essentials before the document goes out.
Download the free RFP checklist and use it to check your requirements, timelines, supplier instructions, pricing information, and evaluation process.
Download your free RFP checklist now.
RFP stands for request for proposal.
A request for proposal is a document used to ask suppliers to submit a proposal for a product, service, project, or contract. It is usually used when you want suppliers to explain how they would meet your requirements, not just provide a price.
An RFP is useful when the project needs detail, comparison, and a structured decision process. It helps you explain what you need, invite supplier responses, and compare proposals in a fair and consistent way.
For a general definition, Investopedia describes a request for proposal as a project announcement posted by an organisation to invite bids from contractors or suppliers. Read their request for proposal definition for more context.
An RFP checklist is a simple review tool used before an RFP is issued.
It helps you confirm that the document includes the right information, asks the right questions, and gives suppliers a clear way to respond. Instead of relying on memory or copying an old document, the checklist gives you a structured way to catch gaps before suppliers see the RFP.
A good RFP checklist helps you check:
The aim is simple: make the RFP easier for suppliers to answer and easier for your team to evaluate.
An RFP checklist reduces mistakes before they slow down the procurement process.
Without a checklist, teams often send RFPs that are missing key details. Suppliers may then ask lots of clarification questions, submit inconsistent proposals, or make assumptions that are difficult to compare later.
Using a checklist helps you:
It also makes the RFP easier to review internally. If procurement, finance, legal, IT, and department stakeholders all need input, the checklist gives everyone a clearer structure to work from.
Before sending an RFP, you should check that suppliers have enough information to understand the opportunity, respond accurately, and follow the same process.
The checklist should cover the areas below.
Start by checking that the RFP explains why the project exists.
Suppliers should understand the problem you are trying to solve, what has triggered the project, and what outcome the business wants. If the business need is unclear, suppliers may focus on the wrong things.
The scope of work should explain what the supplier is expected to provide.
Check that it covers the products, services, deliverables, locations, users, volumes, timelines, support requirements, reporting needs, and any exclusions. A clear scope helps prevent suppliers from quoting on different assumptions.
Check whether the RFP explains what you expect from suppliers.
This could include experience, certifications, insurance, security standards, compliance requirements, service levels, references, or financial stability.
Supplier requirements help you filter responses and avoid wasting time on unsuitable vendors.
Suppliers should know exactly how to respond.
Check that the RFP includes the response format, submission deadline, contact person, question process, file format, page limits, and any documents suppliers need to provide.
Clear instructions make supplier responses easier to review.
Pricing should be requested in a consistent format.
Check whether suppliers are asked to include one off costs, recurring costs, implementation costs, support fees, optional extras, assumptions, exclusions, and payment terms.
If pricing instructions are vague, the commercial comparison will be harder later.
An RFP should explain how proposals will be assessed.
Check that the evaluation criteria are included and that the internal team agrees on what matters most. Criteria may include price, quality, experience, technical fit, delivery approach, service levels, risk, and value for money.
Clear evaluation criteria help suppliers focus their proposal and help your team make a fair decision.
Check that the timeline is realistic.
The RFP should include the issue date, supplier question deadline, proposal deadline, presentation dates if needed, decision date, and expected contract start date.
Suppliers need enough time to prepare a good proposal. A rushed timeline can reduce response quality.
Before sending the RFP, check that the right people have reviewed it.
This may include procurement, finance, legal, IT, information security, operations, and the department that owns the requirement.
Internal review reduces the chance of changing the requirements halfway through the process.
A checklist only works if it is used properly. These are the mistakes to avoid.
The aim is not just to tick every item quickly. The aim is to improve the RFP before suppliers see it.
If a section is weak, vague, or incomplete, fix it before moving on.
The checklist should be used before the RFP is finalised, not five minutes before it is sent.
Using it early gives your team time to improve the scope, pricing structure, and evaluation approach.
A good RFP is not only complete. It is also easy for suppliers to understand.
Check whether the RFP is clear, logically structured, and practical to respond to.
Some teams write the RFP first and think about scoring later. This causes problems when proposals arrive.
Evaluation criteria should be agreed before the RFP is sent.
The checklist should also confirm what happens after the RFP is issued.
Make sure there is a clear process for supplier questions, clarification responses, proposal review, presentations, scoring, approvals, and award decisions.
A free RFP checklist is a useful starting point if you want to improve the quality of your request for proposal before sending it to suppliers.
It helps you review the document, reduce missing information, and make the process more consistent. For simple or occasional RFPs, a checklist may be enough.
However, if your business runs regular RFPs, manages multiple suppliers, or needs better control over approvals, scoring, and audit trails, dedicated RFP software can help you manage the wider process more efficiently.
RFP software can help with:
Start with the free checklist, then move to a more structured system when your process becomes more complex.
This free RFP checklist is for anyone preparing or reviewing a request for proposal.
It can be used by:
Whether you are creating your first RFP or improving an existing process, the checklist gives you a practical way to review the document before suppliers receive it.
A clear RFP gives suppliers a better chance of responding properly and gives your team a better chance of choosing the right supplier.
Download the free RFP checklist and use it before your next supplier request.
Download the free RFP checklist now.
An RFP checklist is a review tool used before sending a request for proposal to suppliers. It helps buyers check that the RFP includes the right information, instructions, timelines, pricing requirements, and evaluation criteria.
RFP stands for request for proposal. It is a document used to ask suppliers to submit proposals for a product, service, project, or contract.
Yes. The RFP checklist is free to download and can be used to support your own procurement process.
You should use an RFP checklist before sending an RFP to suppliers. It helps you review the document, catch missing information, and improve supplier response quality.
An RFP checklist should include checks for the business need, scope of work, supplier requirements, proposal instructions, pricing requirements, evaluation criteria, timeline, internal approvals, and follow up process.
An RFP template helps you create the RFP document. An RFP checklist helps you review the RFP before sending it to suppliers.
An RFP checklist is useful because it reduces missing information, improves consistency, helps suppliers respond more clearly, and makes proposals easier to compare.
Yes. You can use the checklist as a standalone download or alongside oboloo if you want to manage RFPs, supplier responses, evaluations, and approvals in a more structured way.
.svg){kind=small}
.svg)
.png)
