Updated on 21 September 2026 by the Proposal Expert editorial team
Answer a request for proposal with a compliant, easy-to-score response
A template for responding to a request for proposal (RFP): cover letter, executive summary, understanding of the requirements, proposed solution, compliance matrix, team, pricing and terms, with a filled-in example. Free as a Word download.
An RFP response is a proposal written to the buyer's structure rather than your own. The buyer has issued a request for proposal with numbered requirements, evaluation criteria and a deadline, and several vendors answer the same document. Your response is scored, often by people who did not write the RFP, against a rubric. That changes the writing: every requirement needs an explicit answer where the evaluator expects it, the executive summary has to say why you and not merely what you do, and anything the rubric cannot find scores zero. This template gives the sections most RFPs ask for, in an order an evaluator can score, and shows them filled in for a fictional facilities services tender.
A cover letter that confirms the submission and names the contact, an executive summary built around the buyer's three biggest concerns, a section that restates the requirements in your words, the proposed solution organised by the RFP's own numbering, a compliance matrix that answers every requirement with comply, partially comply or does not comply plus a reference to the page, the team and relevant experience, pricing in the format the RFP demands, and the terms, assumptions and exceptions. The example applies all of it to a cleaning and facilities tender.
Companies answering formal tenders and RFPs from corporates, public bodies and larger SMEs: facilities and cleaning, IT services, consulting, staffing, logistics, construction and professional services. It is also the structure to use when a buyer sends a detailed request by email without calling it an RFP: the numbered requirements and the scoring logic are the same.
Start with the compliance matrix, not the prose: copy every numbered requirement from the RFP into it and decide comply, partially or not. That tells you what to write and what to flag as an exception. Then write the executive summary last, once the solution is fixed, around the evaluation criteria and their weights. Mirror the RFP's section numbers in your headings so the evaluator can find each answer. Keep exceptions to the terms short and specific; a vague exception scores lower than a clear one.
This RFP response example shows how a facilities services company answers a request for proposal for cleaning and light maintenance across four office buildings. It follows the buyer's structure: the requirements are restated, the solution is organised by the RFP's numbering, the compliance matrix answers every requirement with a page reference, and the exceptions are specific. The pricing follows the format the RFP demanded, a fixed monthly fee per building, with the transition as a one-off line. Written for evaluators who score against a rubric, not for a reader who starts at page one.
This proposal can be downloaded as a Word document (.docx) on this page.
From: Brightside Facilities Services, Manchester
To: Northgate Insurance Group, Procurement, Leeds
Date: 19 September 2026
Reference: RFP 2026-17, response ref. BFS-0917
Valid until: 19 December 2026
Northgate Insurance Group has issued RFP 2026-17 for daily cleaning, periodic deep cleaning and light maintenance across four offices in Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and York, totalling 14,200 square metres and 620 workstations, from 1 January 2027 for three years with an optional two-year extension. The RFP states three priorities: consistent quality across sites (weighted 40 percent), one point of contact and one invoice (30 percent), and a transition without service interruption (30 percent). Section 4 lists 27 numbered requirements; our compliance matrix in section 6 answers each one. We understand the incumbent's contract ends on 31 December 2026 and that site inductions must be complete by 15 December.
We propose a single contract with one account manager, one monthly invoice and one quality standard, delivered by four site teams employed by us and led by a regional supervisor who visits every site weekly. Quality is measured against the 22-point checklist in appendix A, signed daily in each building's logbook and reported monthly with a target of fewer than five complaints per quarter across all sites, the level we hold at our three comparable contracts (references in section 7). The transition is a four-week programme starting 1 December: recruitment offers to the incumbent's staff under TUPE, site inductions by 12 December, a parallel week with our operations manager on site from 14 December, and full service from 1 January with no gap. Pricing is a fixed monthly fee per building as required by section 8 of the RFP, with a one-off transition fee, and is held for the initial three-year term.
4.1 Daily cleaning: before 8 am on working days by a fixed team per site, against the 22-point checklist, with a team leader signing the logbook. 4.2 Periodic cleaning: floor machine cleaning monthly, internal and external window cleaning every two months, deep cleaning of sanitary areas quarterly, on a published schedule agreed with each site manager. 4.3 Light maintenance: one contact number for lamps, door closers, taps, minor repairs and minor decoration, with materials up to 60 pounds per job included and larger jobs quoted within two days; response within four working hours, on-site attendance within one working day. 4.4 Consumables: soap, paper and bin liners supplied and invoiced at cost with the monthly invoice, stock checked weekly. 4.5 Reporting: a monthly report per site and a consolidated quarterly report with complaint counts, checklist scores and maintenance response times, presented in a quarterly review. 4.6 Environmental: products certified to the EU Ecolabel, microfibre systems to reduce water use, and waste segregation aligned with each site's recycling streams.
Contract award assumed by 14 November. Week of 17 November: TUPE information exchange with the incumbent and offers to transferring staff. Week of 1 December: recruitment for any vacancies and equipment delivery to each site. 8 to 12 December: site inductions and checklist walk-throughs with each site manager. 14 to 19 December: parallel week with our operations manager present in every building and shadow cleaning of the sanitary areas. 1 January 2027: full service. First monthly report on 2 February, first quarterly review in the week of 6 April.
As required, pricing is a fixed monthly fee per building covering daily cleaning, periodic cleaning and the maintenance contact, listed below and excluding VAT at 20 percent. The transition programme is a one-off fee. Consumables and materials above 60 pounds per maintenance job are invoiced at cost. Prices are held for the initial three-year term and indexed to the Consumer Prices Index at each anniversary of an extension, capped at four percent. One consolidated invoice is issued monthly in advance with 30-day terms.
We accept the draft contract in appendix C of the RFP with two exceptions, both marked in the compliance matrix: clause 14.2, where we propose a liability cap of twice the annual contract value rather than unlimited liability, in line with our insurance of 5 million pounds public and 10 million pounds employer's liability; and clause 21, where we propose 90 days notice for termination for convenience rather than 30. We assume access to each building from 6 am on working days and a lockable store per site for equipment. TUPE applies to the incumbent's staff; our pricing assumes the transferring headcount stated in appendix D of the RFP.
We confirm this response is valid until 19 December 2026 and that our account director, named in the cover letter, is available for clarification questions and a site presentation in the week of 3 November as the RFP timetable proposes. Signed on behalf of Brightside Facilities Services.
| One-off costs | Amount |
|---|---|
| Transition programme: TUPE, recruitment, inductions and parallel week | £9,600.00 |
| Subtotal excl. VAT | £9,600.00 |
| VAT 20% | £1,920.00 |
| One-off total incl. VAT | £11,520.00 |
| Recurring costs | Amount excl. VAT |
|---|---|
| Leeds head office, 5,400 square metres, per month | £8,950.00 |
| Manchester office, 3,800 square metres, per month | £6,400.00 |
| Sheffield office, 2,600 square metres, per month | £4,550.00 |
| York office, 2,400 square metres, per month | £4,200.00 |
Signed on behalf of Brightside Facilities Services
A table that lists every numbered requirement from the RFP and states, per line, whether you comply, partially comply or do not comply, with a reference to the page or section of your response where the evidence sits. Evaluators score from it, so build it first and write the prose to fill it. A requirement you meet but do not list in the matrix is easy to miss and scores nothing.
As long as the RFP's structure requires and no longer. Answer every numbered requirement, respect any page limits the RFP sets, and put supporting material such as certificates, checklists and CVs in appendices the response refers to. The example runs to about 1,100 words of prose plus the pricing table; a real response to a 27-requirement RFP typically runs 15 to 30 pages including appendices.
Only where you must, and then specifically. State the clause number, what you propose instead and why, as the example does for the liability cap and the notice period. A response with no exceptions to a one-sided contract may be treated as reckless, one with many vague exceptions as non-compliant. Two or three precise, insurable exceptions are normal and rarely cost points.