Writing and managing a request for proposal (RFP) can be a challenge. There are extensive business processes involved, whether you’re looking to work with a new vendor and need to ensure you find the right competitive bid, or if you’re a potential bidder wanting to turn your winning proposal into a contract that benefits your business.
Fortunately, the process doesn’t need to be manual. In fact, the right RFP software can make a world of difference.
Of course, you have to find the right software first. There are plenty of options out there that promise to help you optimize your proposal workflows. Yet not all automation tools are equal, and that’s certainly true for proposal automation software. That’s why, in this guide, we’ll focus on the top RFP management software options for your business needs.
10 Best RFP Software Tools in 2024 (Reviews & Pricing)
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat is Request for Proposal Software?
RFP software describes any tool that helps you develop, categorize, and send proposals to potential customers while also aiding in the evaluation, presentation, and response process for those documents on the vendor side.
In other words, RFP software helps you and your proposal teams solicit and manage your RFP responses.
The details beyond these basics can differ based on the platform in question. You might find an all-in-one tool that helps procurement teams with every part of the RFP response. Alternatively, you could find a management solution that aims primarily to build and customize proposal templates.
Of course, your options also include document analysis software, whose purpose is, more specifically, to analyze and track proposals to facilitate your choice of vendor.
As a result, your ideal solution will depend on your current and future needs for streamlining and automating the process. Regardless of those nuances, RFP software can become a crucial part of resource management for any organization.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Should You Look for in RFP Software?
The right RFP software can help you solicit, gather, and act on reliably polished and compliant proposals. To achieve this, the top tools tend to share a few common characteristics:
- Ease of use: The RFP process is complex, and any software should help to simplify and streamline it in order to quickly deliver polished proposals
- Template library: The more you can rely on existing RFP templates, the better. The same applies to earlier stages in the sales process, such as using Request for Information (RFI) and project proposal templates
- Automation capabilities: Your proposal software is also document automation software, a powerful automation solution that can save you hours of work on the process
- Multi-user access: No RFP response management happens in automation. Multi-user access enables larger bid teams to collaborate effortlessly on closing better and more numerous deals
- Connection to larger processes: The RFP process reaches all parts of a business. At its best, so will your software, connecting bids, project proposals, and the contract review process
- Advanced features: Integrated due diligence questionnaires or artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance the process, such as AI writing tools that help sales and marketing teams build better bids and improve response quality
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 10 Best RFP Tools to Use in 2024
Let’s dive in. These are our top proposal software options for 2024, which aim to help anyone, including small businesses, government contractors, and multi-subsidiary organizations, improve efficiency and get better proposals for their projects.
1. ClickUp
For marketing and sales teams, there’s no better platform than ClickUp to track the progress of your proposals and integrate them into your larger work management tool. With ClickUp, you can get everything you need for comprehensive project documentation and optimization.
Start with an extensive library of templates, including the ClickUp RFP Process Template. It helps you keep track of every part of the process, including drafting the original bid request and managing each RFP response and the contract review process. Along the way, your sales and proposal teams will always be in the loop regarding tasks, deadlines, and other critical information.
And that’s just the start. ClickUp Docs is not merely a powerful document management solution but also houses plenty of RFP and Request for Quote (RFQ) templates, so you’ll never have to start from scratch with your approved content. You can still solicit personalized pitches but at a level of consistency that you simply couldn’t achieve without the templates.
ClickUp best features
- Extensive template list to facilitate building proposals and managing the entire process
- Project management integration to ensure you don’t just house sales documents but also assign tasks and build workflows to select the best proposal every time
- ClickUp AI, a suite of advanced features to turn the platform into an automated writing tool, document analysis software, and more
- Advanced Microsoft Word integration to quickly move documents from MS Word into ClickUp
ClickUp limitations
- Not all views are available on the mobile app
- ClickUp is not a dedicated proposal management software, which can mean a steep learning curve for users who only need those specific functions
ClickUp pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing
- ClickUp AI is available for purchase on all paid plans at the price of $5 per Workspace member and internal guest per month
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.7/5 (8,900+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.6/5 (3,800+ reviews)
2. Loopio
Specifically for sales teams regularly submitting proposals, Loopio uses a centralized content library. For each proposal, the tool pulls content from that library to create personalized and relevant RFQ, RFP, and RFI proposals that aim to get the attention of potential partners.
Loopio best features
- Centralized system that makes submitting individual proposals more straightforward
- Associate content blocks with a subject matter expert who is responsible for updating and customizing it in individual documents
- Advanced integrations with tools such as Salesforce, Slack, and MS Word to enable quick document design and increased efficiencies
- Simple user interface that significantly facilitates the process of submitting proposals
Loopio limitations
- This relatively simple user management tool may not be ideal for more complex teams
- Some users report recurring software bugs, such as an inability to save changes to content blocks
Loopio pricing
- Essentials: Contact sales for pricing
- Plus: Contact sales for pricing
- Advanced: Contact sales for pricing
- Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing
Loopio ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.7/5 (490+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.6/5 (70+ reviews)
3. Responsive
Formerly known as RFPIO, Responsive is a leader in response management software, thanks to an AI-powered process that aims to automate your proposals. The same software creates not just RFPs but also RFI responses, security questionnaires, and any other documents to help your business development.
Responsive best features
- Intuitive and automated LookUp feature to find previous content and turn your proposal software into a comprehensive content database
- AI-powered recommendation engine to suggest content from your database that best fits the RFP you’re looking to submit
- Advanced user permissions to ensure your teams have the right access to the right projects and content, without potential security or privacy concerns
- Import and export options to move your proposals to and from your Customer Relationship Management system, Microsoft Word, and other tools you already use
Responsive limitations
- Navigation between projects is not always intuitive, especially when also accessing the central library for frequently used content
- Limitations to the number of active projects can be difficult for larger or multi-subsidiary organizations
Responsive pricing
- Contact sales for pricing
Responsive ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.6/5 (600+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.7/5 (70+ reviews)
4. Qvidian
Qvidian stands out due to its easily customizable templates and automated workflows. But this cloud-based RFP software can also do more, with its virtual collaboration features specifically aiming to help distributed bid and proposal teams collaborate to create the best possible proposal every time.
Qvidian best features
- Branded template builder to ensure every proposal positively represents your business
- Advanced analytics to analyze the time you spend on each proposal, win rates, and other relevant metrics
- Integrated collaboration tools, such as direct messaging, for teams to optimize their response management
- Renowned service staff who offer extensive, free support to all customers
Qvidian limitations
- There’s no advanced search option, requiring you to match keywords directly to find relevant content
- You can only edit one record at a time, slowing you down when working on multiple proposals
Qvidian pricing
- Contact sales for pricing
Qvidian ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.3/5 (60+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.5/5 (40+ reviews)
5. RFP360
In many ways, RFP360 is the direct counterpart to Responsive, and it’s from the same company. It’s a response management software that enables your team to handle anything, including request management and contract negotiation and review.
RFP360 best features
- Dynamic dashboards that allow you to have a continuous overview of individual RFP processes
- Centralized messaging and real-time collaboration tools to improve your RFP evaluation process
- AI-enabled response management that writes prompt responses to vendor questions based on your existing knowledgebase
- A wide range of integrated extensions, including being able to use your RFP knowledge base in MS Word or collect digital signatures for your contracts without leaving the platform
RFP360 limitations
- Onboarding can be frustrating for teams unfamiliar with RFP software
- It’s not possible to download questions from the cloud-based platform and manage responses offline
RFP360 pricing
- Contact sales for pricing
RFP360 ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.4/5 (280+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.5/5 (270+ reviews)
6. QorusDocs
QorusDocs prides itself on helping users create better proposals faster as a cloud-based proposal management software with efficiency optimization. Its streamlined interface and workflow enable you to create personalized pitches within minutes, allowing you to speed up deal velocity and reduce repetitive work.
QorusDocs best features
- Mass customization approach, with a broad template hub, you can quickly adapt for your business and each project
- AI-proposal-writing option to create early, refinable drafts based on the RFP
- Comprehensive business development features, including templates for presentations and statements of work that follow the RFP
- Advanced search function, which users love, as they can browse existing content from the library and past proposals
QorusDocs limitations
- You aren’t able to sort campaigns and documents due to automatic sorting by date of creation
- Some users have reported lags when loading proposals and content blocks
QorusDocs pricing
- Contact sales for pricing
QorusDocs ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.4/5 (140+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.7/5 (80+ reviews)
7. PandaDoc
More than just an RFP software, PandaDoc promises to help businesses with proposals, quotes, and contract management, which means that attracting new business through proposal creation is an easy, streamlined process, as is creating and signing the final contract to bring that new business home.
PandaDoc best features
- Drag-and-drop document creator, allowing you to use templates or start from scratch to create streamlined, signable documents
- Real-time collaboration, commenting, and approval process to involve everyone on the team
- Native CRM integrations to streamline your e-procurement process for new business
- Built-in tool for digital signatures, making it easy to eSign documents and make them legally binding
PandaDoc limitations
- Counterintuitive document structure within the cloud-based filing system
- Limited or non-existent image-editing capabilities within documents
PandaDoc pricing
- Essentials: $19/month per user
- Business: $49/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing
PandaDoc ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.5/5 (1,000+ reviews)
8. Proposable
With Proposable, companies of all sizes can create, track, and sign their sales documents in a streamlined, automated fashion. The tool aims to automate the entire proposal process, leaving little manual or repetitive tasks that might slow down the preparation and closing of deals.
Proposable best features
- Email and SMS notifications to your team each time a potential client views a proposal
- Advanced analytics to put your sales documents in the larger funnel to gain insights into your sales pipeline
- Advanced document templates for nearly any industry and use case
- Drag-and-drop editor that also allows you to directly edit via HTML and Cascading Style Sheets for advanced layouts and styles
Proposable limitations
- Viewing documents outside the software can be problematic due to a lack of MS Word integration and formatting issues in the PDF exporting tool
- Many of the advanced features that make Proposable a top RFP software option are only available in the highest pricing tier
Proposable pricing
- Solo: $19/month per user
- Team: $39/month per user
- Enterprise: $500+/month
Proposable ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.3/5 (70+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.4/5 (100+ reviews)
9. Proposify
Proposify is specifically for creative firms, and any designer will immediately be familiar with its Adobe InDesign-like interface. Others will appreciate its enhanced analytics, including data on which sections of your documents received the most views and interaction.
Proposify best features
- Enhanced content and brand management that ensures all of your documents immediately match your intended message and visuals
- Data security options that offer enhanced privacy features and user permissions
- Analytics that go into individual proposal sections and track proposal performance over time to gain insights into new business trends and forecasts
- Client-editing features that streamline the back and forth of a sales process and increase the time for you to close winning proposals
Proposify limitations
- Some users have reported uneven performance, with several instances of software downtime in a given month
- Small companies may not drive enough business to justify the cost or leverage its most helpful features
Proposify pricing
- Team Plan: $49/month per user
- Business plan: Contact sales for pricing
Proposify ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
10. Better Proposals
The core value proposition is in the company name. The software seeks to make creating proposals easy, even for small businesses. Once you get the hang of its interface, you can build beautiful documents within minutes to send to prospective clients—not to mention close a deal with contract management.
Better Proposals best features
- Creative marketplace that offers a seemingly unlimited library of images, visuals, and templates
- Intuitive editor that makes building sales documents easy, even for new users
- Integrated signature and payment features that optimize your e-procurement processes
- Extensive integrations with CRM and customer service tools, task management platforms, and more
Better Proposals limitations
- The setup and onboarding process can be confusing at times
- There are no automated save or recovery options while editing documents online
Better Proposals pricing
- Starter: $19/month per user
- Premium: $29/month per user
- Enterprise: $49/month per user
Better Proposals ratings and reviews
- G2:Â 4.4/5 (40+ reviews)
- Capterra:Â 4.8/5 (140+ reviews)
Summarize this article for me pleaseElevate Your Procurement Process With the Right Proposal Management Software
How can you find the tool to optimize the work and efficiency of your proposal teams?
Enter ClickUp. It’s for more than just proposal management; it’s a cloud-based tool that can help with your entire business development process. That includes providing RFP and RFI templates for your sales and proposal teams to quickly assemble a standardized form, but it also goes much further.
Through ClickUp’s integrated content management process, your proposal contract teams can collaborate seamlessly on categorizing responses and moving to the next important stage of turning approved content into a contract. Meanwhile, advanced key features, such as AI, make it easy to create requests for error-free proposals that will be easier to evaluate.
Best of all, you can try ClickUp through the Free Forever Plan, without any obligation. Small business CFOs and contract teams, for example, can test out everything this management solution has to offer before fully committing to a monthly expense.
So what are you waiting for? Create your free ClickUp account today, and start optimizing your proposal management across the board.
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