RFPs

RFPs connect your company to subcontractor companies through a structured bid process. You send out a subtrade package, one or more subcontractor companies submit pricing, you compare bids and award the job. The awarded company then submits invoices against that same work order.

An RFP goes company to company. You never add a subcontractor's staff to your organization, and their staff never join it — they work the job from their own company's workspace.

For project managers

How an RFP starts

When an approved estimate is scope-split into subtrade packages, each package becomes a work order you can send out for bids. You'll see it on the work order with a "Send RFP" option once a trade has been assigned to the package. From there you set a due date, select which project documents to share with bidders, add any instructions, and choose which companies to invite.

You can pick from companies already in your connected-companies book — anyone you've sent an RFP to before — or invite a new company by email. An email invite sends a claim link. Following it either creates a free company workspace for the recipient or, if they already run a workspace in the app, adds this RFP to it. Once a company accepts an invite, it stays in your book, so the next RFP to that company skips the email step entirely.

Managing an open RFP

The RFPs page lists every subtrade package currently out to bid across all your projects. Filter by status to focus on what needs attention:

• RFP sent — waiting for companies to accept and submit bids.
• Bid received — at least one bid is in; ready to compare.
• Awarded — a winner has been chosen and bound to the work order.

The Invited / bids column shows how many companies were invited and how many have submitted pricing. Click the work order number to open the full detail.

Reviewing bids and awarding

On the work order detail you'll see each invited company's bid side by side — amount, submitted date, and any attached file. Three outcomes per bid:

• Award — binds that company to the work order and closes the RFP. You'll have the option to issue a purchase order at this point.
• Request changes — sends the bid back to the company with your comments. The RFP stays open while they revise.
• Reject — removes that company from consideration without closing the RFP. Other invited companies can still win.

If every invited company declines or is rejected, the RFP returns to "RFP not sent" so you can start over with a different set of companies.

Purchase orders

When you award an RFP, you can issue a PO. Its subtotal becomes the project cost immediately, without waiting for the subcontractor's invoice. Tax on the invoice never changes that cost.

Issued PO amounts are fixed. You can update a PO's notes and terms, but not its amount. If the job grows, issue a supplemental PO for the extra scope rather than editing the original. The work order can hold as many as it needs, each one booking its own project cost, and the subcontractor can invoice against the combined total.

Voiding a PO removes its cost from the project. It's blocked once that cost has been billed to the client, or while a submitted or approved invoice still depends on its coverage. Once voided, you can issue a replacement PO on the same work order.

Every PO number is stamped on the work order and shared with the awarded company, which sees them all when submitting invoices.

Reviewing subcontractor invoices

Once the work is done, the awarded company submits invoices from its own workspace. You'll see them on the work order detail. Three outcomes:

• Approve — accepts the invoice for accounts payable.
• Request changes — sends it back with comments.
• Reject — declines the invoice.

The submitted invoice subtotal cannot exceed what's left across the work order's issued POs. Taxes are excluded from that comparison. If a subcontractor needs to bill more than the POs cover, issue a supplemental PO for the difference and they can submit again. The full invoice total, including tax, remains the amount used for the accounting bill.

For subcontractor companies

A subcontractor company works entirely from its own workspace. It never joins the contractor's organization, and the contractor never joins yours. Everything below lives under Incoming Work, Invoices, and Company in your own nav.

Getting invited

The first time a contractor sends you an RFP or assigns you a job directly, you receive an email with a claim link. Following the link either creates a free company workspace for you or, if you already run a workspace in the app, adds the invitation to it. Once you're in, the job shows up under Incoming Work, grouped by the contractor that sent it. Later invitations from the same contractor skip this step — the job appears directly in your Incoming Work list.

Responding to an invitation

Open an invitation to see the scope of work, any attached documents, and the bid due date. You have two options:

• Accept — confirms you're interested and unlocks the full document set. You can then submit your bid.
• Decline — removes you from consideration. The contractor can still award the job to another invited company.

You don't need to accept immediately, but the contractor can't award you the job until you accept and submit a bid.

Some jobs are assigned directly rather than sent out as an RFP. Direct assignments skip bidding entirely — you can start submitting invoices right away.

Assigning a job to a teammate

If several people work in your company workspace, an owner or admin can put a specific teammate in charge of a job. Open the invitation and pick them under Assigned to — the list shows your active owners and admins. The teammate gets an in-app notification, their name appears on the job card in Incoming Work, and updates from the contractor (changes requested, award decisions, purchase orders, invoice feedback) go to them instead of everyone. Pick Unassigned to send those updates to all owners and admins again.

Submitting a bid

After accepting, you'll see a bid form on the invitation page. Enter your price, attach any supporting files (quote PDF, scope breakdown), and add notes if needed. Submit when ready.

The contractor is notified as soon as your bid lands. If they request changes, you'll see a "Revisions needed" status with their comments — update your bid and resubmit.

Seeing the outcome

Once the contractor awards the RFP, you'll see "Awarded" on that invitation. If another company wins, you'll see "Not awarded." Awarded invitations stay in your Incoming Work list so you can track the work.

Submitting invoices

For awarded jobs, an Add invoice option appears on the invitation detail page. Enter your own invoice reference number, the amount, and attach your invoice file. If a purchase order was issued, reference the PO number.

You can submit multiple invoices against the same job — useful for progress billing. Each invoice moves through the contractor's review:

• Under review — the contractor has it and is reviewing.
• Approved — accepted. Payment happens through your normal arrangement with the contractor.
• Changes needed — the contractor has feedback. Address it and resubmit.
• Rejected — the invoice was not accepted.

The Invoices page in your own nav lists every invoice your company has submitted across every job, so you can track status at a glance without opening each invitation individually.