← RFP compliance matrix generator
A compliance matrix is a table with one row per requirement in a solicitation. It exists for one reason: a proposal that skips a mandatory requirement can be scored non-responsive before anyone reads how good the rest is. The matrix is how a team proves to itself that every shall has an answer.
Paste your RFP and get a first-pass matrix
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| ID | A stable number (REQ-001). Reviewers refer to it in comments. |
| Source section | Where the requirement appears in the solicitation (3.2.1, L.4, Attachment B). Evaluators search by this. |
| Requirement | The sentence as written. Do not paraphrase; paraphrase is where obligations get softened. |
| Owner | One named person, not a team. |
| Proposal section | The page or heading in your response that answers it. |
| Status | Not started, drafted, reviewed, done. |
| Compliance | Fully, partially, or not compliant, with a note. Say "partially" in the matrix before the evaluator says it for you. |
Typing a hundred rows is the part nobody enjoys. The free extractor does the first pass in your browser: it keeps the section number, splits lists, separates prohibitions and desirables, drops the buyer's duties, and exports a CSV with Owner and Status columns ready for the team. It is a heuristic, so check its output against the document. Nothing is uploaded, and there is a command-line version (see the README in the repository) for your own machine.
The matrix is worth building once you have decided to bid. For the earlier go/no-go on deadlines, bonds, insurance and licences, use the tender bid readiness checker, and to find tenders worth reading, Tender Radar.
At minimum: a requirement ID, the solicitation section it comes from, the requirement text, who owns the response, the proposal section that answers it, and a status. Many teams add a compliance level (fully, partially, not compliant) and a notes column for assumptions.
Read the instructions to offerors, the statement of work and the evaluation criteria separately. Mark every sentence with shall, must, is required to, or a contractor-subject will, split lists into one row per item, and keep prohibitions and desirable (should) items distinct from mandatory ones.
Commonly: missing a mandatory requirement, exceeding a page limit, missing a signed form or an addendum acknowledgement, submitting late or through the wrong channel. Rules vary by buyer, so read the instructions to offerors for the consequences of each.