A software proposal is useful when you can verify what it includes and which decisions remain open. Send the same brief to each shortlisted supplier so that price differences do not conceal different projects. This checklist helps you prepare a request for a proposal; to evaluate the company, use the guide to choosing a software partner (in Romanian).
1. Describe the problem and desired outcome
Explain who performs the activity today, where the difficulty arises and which outcome needs to change. Document the current situation using real data: steps, durations, exceptions and systems involved. Separate the objective from the proposed feature; sometimes an integration or a workflow change solves the problem without an entirely new application.
2. Define the first version
- Who are the users, and what permissions does each role have?
- Which complete workflow needs to work at launch?
- What belongs in the first version, and what is left for a later stage?
- What should happen when an error occurs, data is missing or a connection is unavailable?
Use examples from real operations, with anonymized data where necessary. A label such as “order module” does not explain approvals, cancellations, notifications and reconciliation.
3. Inventory integrations and data
List existing systems, the people who administer them, available API documentation and access to test environments. Specify whether data needs to be migrated, who checks the outcome and whether downtime windows are limited. The supplier needs to distinguish confirmed dependencies from estimation assumptions.
4. Define acceptance and operation
For each workflow, describe the observable outcome and the person who accepts it. Establish requirements for access, backups, monitoring and recovery. For web applications, OWASP ASVS can help the team structure security verification requirements. The applicable level and controls are chosen for the specific project.
5. Request the same commercial structure
- Deliverables, exclusions and assumptions.
- The team and both parties' responsibilities.
- Stages, dependencies and the mechanism for changing scope.
- Implementation costs separated from licenses, infrastructure and support.
- Access to code, accounts, documentation and handover terms.
Compare responses against the same list. Ask for clarification of differences; neither the lowest nor the highest price demonstrates the quality of the solution on its own.
6. Prepare the discussion with the team
At UP2DATE, the initial conversation clarifies objectives and next steps. Detailed analysis, architecture and the implementation proposal have a scope and timeline agreed separately. Explore our custom software development service and the PPC travel management platform for an example of a workflow with approvals and integrations.
