# Software Project RFP Template
### For management systems, ERP, and logistics platforms — Ranker Systems

Copy this, fill in every section, and send it to the vendors you're evaluating.
A vendor who can't respond to this precisely will not scope your build precisely.

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## 1. Company & context
- Company, industry, team size, locations:
- What the business does, in three sentences:
- Who will use this system daily (roles + headcount):

## 2. The problem
- What breaks or hurts today? Be specific (missed orders, manual re-entry, no visibility):
- What are you using now? (software, spreadsheets, paper — all of it):
- What does the problem cost per month? (hours, errors, lost revenue — estimate):

## 3. Scope
- Processes the system MUST cover (list each: who does it, what triggers it, what it produces):
- Processes explicitly OUT of scope for phase one:
- Systems it must integrate with (accounting, banks, ecommerce, carriers…):
- Reports you build by hand today that it should generate:

## 4. Data
- Where current data lives and roughly how much (records, years of history):
- What must be migrated vs archived:
- Compliance/regulatory requirements (tax, privacy, industry):

## 5. Constraints
- Budget range (a range gets honest proposals; hiding it gets padded ones):
- Deadline and what drives it:
- Hosting preference (your servers / cloud / vendor-managed):
- Who owns the code and data at the end? (The right answer: you.)

## 6. What to ask every vendor
- Show a comparable system you built. Who runs it today? May we speak to them?
- Who exactly will work on our project (names, roles, seniority)?
- How do you handle scope change mid-project?
- What happens after launch — support terms, response times, cost?
- What documentation do we get? Could another developer take over from it?
- Payment schedule tied to which milestones?

## 7. Red flags to watch for
- A quote produced without a discovery conversation.
- "Unlimited revisions" (means: no scoping discipline).
- Per-seat pricing on software you're paying to build.
- No written scope document before contract.
- Demo videos instead of live systems with real users.

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— Ranker Systems · rankersystems.com · Scoped, fixed-price builds: rankersystems.com/tools/project-estimator