RFP Desk FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about RFP Desk.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
RFP Desk Overview.
Setup
Why doesn’t my RFP assessment show a score?
There is no bid profile yet. Without one, an assessed RFP is still shredded into
requirements, but nothing exists to judge them against, so no score is reported. Go to
Settings → Set up bid profile and fill in What we can do; the rubric comes
prefilled.
Do I have to fill the libraries before importing a questionnaire?
No — the import works immediately, but with empty libraries every question comes back
marked Needs input because there is nothing approved to answer from. Seed the Answer
Library first (bulk import or Mine a Document) if you want the first import to
auto-fill.
Who can curate the libraries, and who can just answer questions?
Anyone the app is published to can assess RFPs, import questionnaires, answer and review
sections, and use Answer a Question. The Answer Library, Reference Library,
Mine a Document, the bid profile, and Settings are limited to RFP Desk app admins.
Permissions and access
Why can’t my teammate see the Answer Library tab?
That tab is admin-only. The library is curated content that future responses reuse as
already-approved, so only RFP Desk app admins see it — everyone else still benefits from
it through drafting. If your teammate should curate, make them an app admin for RFP Desk.
Day-to-day
Why did every section say “Needs input” right after my import finished?
Large questionnaires (more than 25 questions) create their sections instantly and fill in
library matches in the background a few moments later. Reload the page — auto-filled
sections appear with their library grounding. If they still show as gaps after a minute,
the library genuinely had no match for them.
Why was my questionnaire rejected with “No questions found”?
The import needs a table with a header row naming a Question, Requirement, or
similar column — in an Excel sheet or a Word table. An RFP written as prose has no cells
to fill: assess it on the Bid / No-Bid tab instead, then draft a response from the
assessment and export it as a Word document.
Why did saving a new library answer warn me about a similar existing one?
The library spotted an existing answer that appears to cover the same question in
different words. Two entries for one question means drafting picks between them
arbitrarily, so the warning shows the existing answer side by side. Update that one if
it is the same question; if yours is genuinely different, submit again and it saves.
How do I make the current security whitepaper win over older documents?
Edit its entry in the Reference Library and tick Authoritative source for its
subject. When sources disagree on a fact, the authoritative document wins, and the
draft flags the discrepancy for review instead of blending the claims.
What does “Also ground on all company knowledge” actually expose?
It widens drafting beyond the curated Reference Library to wikis, SOPs, HR policies,
Sites, Drive files, Contracts, and AI Notes. Each source respects the drafter’s own
permissions, but none of that content was written to be quoted to a buyer — which is why
the switch is off by default. Review what that content says before turning it on.
Why can’t I approve this response?
Approval is refused for exactly three reasons, and the message names which one: a section
still needs input, a section is still unreviewed, or a required deliverable hasn’t been
ticked off. Clear the named blocker and approve again.
Who is allowed to approve or submit a response?
The response’s responsible person, or an RFP Desk app admin. If no responsible person is
set, anyone can move it. Reviewing individual sections is deliberately open to any team
member — sign-off on the whole document is what stays gated.
When do deadline reminders go out, and who gets them?
Each morning, to the responsible person and the collaborators on the response (or its
creator when neither is set). They start a configurable number of days before the buyer’s
deadline — 3 by default, settable from 0 to 60 — and continue for overdue and
approved-but-not-sent responses. Nobody receives more than 5 in one sweep. Set the
number to 0 in Settings to turn them off.
When something looks wrong
“I got a task saying ‘RFP answer needed’ — what am I supposed to do?”
Someone routed you an RFP question only you can answer. Open the link in the task: it
lands on the exact section. Type your answer there and save — you don’t need to know
anything else about the response, and the task completes itself once the answer is saved.
“I answered the question but the task is still in my list”
The answer has to be saved on the response section the task links to. If you replied in
the task’s comments or an email instead, the section is still empty — follow the task’s
link and save the answer there. The task closes on its own when the section’s gap clears.
“Why can’t I edit a section any more?”
The response has been approved or submitted, which locks its content — otherwise an
approval could be changed out from under itself. Move the response back to Draft
(this revokes the approval) and edit; then it goes through review again.
“The export didn’t include one of our answers”
Two possibilities. Opening sections — cover letter, executive summary — are never written
into the buyer’s questionnaire file by design; they appear in the Word document export.
And if the buyer’s file was revised after import, a section whose original cell no longer
exists can’t be placed — re-import the revised file to realign.
Licensing and limits
Does RFP Desk need a licence, and who can turn it on?
Yes — it is licensed and off by default; a business admin enables it from the Apps
Marketplace and publishes it to the bid team. Subject-matter experts who only answer
routed questions do not need it published to them: their questions arrive as ordinary
Tasks.
What are the limits I should know about?
- Questionnaire import: Excel or Word, up to 10 MB and 500 questions — a
truncated import says so on screen. - Drafting from an assessment: up to 30 requirements per pass.
- Document upload on the Bid / No-Bid tab: up to 10 MB.
- Mining a past submission: PDF, Word, or text up to 20 MB; very long documents are
read up to a cap and the results say when they were cut short.
How long until a library answer counts as stale, and what resets it?
Twelve months after it was last reviewed or edited. Mark reviewed resets the clock
without changing the text; editing the answer also resets it. Winning a bid deliberately
does not — a buyer accepting your bid is not a person confirming the claim is still true.
Owners of stale answers get a reminder, repeated at most monthly and stopping after six
months if nobody acts.
More help
- RFP Desk Overview
- Ask AI — the Bid Fit and RFP Response agents answer RFP Desk questions from these
articles.