Accountio / Templates / Software selection / Request for information

Request for information template for finance software

Send every vendor the same document, with the same questions and the same pricing table, so their answers line up side by side. This request for information template is one Word document for choosing accounting, ERP, close, payables or expense software.

Finance teams and practices
Free
In the pack
Finance software selection kit
Files
5, Excel and Word

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What the request looks like

Request for information template
What the request coversSection in the request
Who you are and what you are replacing
✓
1. About usEntities, countries, currencies, users, monthly volumes, systems to connect and target go-live
What the new system must achieve
✓
2. What we want to achieveThree objectives, such as a faster month-end close
Key dates
✓
3. TimetableVendor questions, responses due, shortlist, scripted demos, references and decision
How vendors answer
✓
4. How to respondYes, Partly, Roadmap or No against each requirement, with a page limit
What counts as Yes
✓
4. How to respondThe standard product today, with no custom code or add-on
The vendor itself
✓
5. QuestionsTime in the market, similar customers and ownership changes
The product and its AI features
✓
5. QuestionsProposed modules, gaps, release notice, and whether your data trains models
Integration and getting your data out
✓
5. QuestionsStandard connectors, API limits and charges, and data export when you leave
Security and data protection
✓
5. Questionsan ISO security certificate or SOC 2 Type II, data location, sub-processors and recovery targets
Implementation and support
✓
5. QuestionsWho implements, days needed from your team, data migration, support hours and response times
Three reference customers
✓
5. QuestionsIncluding one live in the last 12 months
Cost over the whole contract
✓
6. PricingYear 1 and later years for users, modules, support, implementation, migration, training and integrations
Contract terms and hidden costs
✓
6. PricingContract length, price rises, user changes, storage and API charges
Confidentiality
✓
7. ConfidentialityNot an offer to contract, and no payment for responses

When to send it

Send it after you have agreed the scope, the budget and your must-have requirements, and before any vendor demo. The kit suggests sending it to four to six vendors and shortlisting two or three.

  • You are replacing spreadsheets or an old accounting system
  • The business has added entities, countries or currencies the current system can't handle
  • You want to compare payables, expense or close software on the same terms
  • A practice is choosing software to run client work or its own books
  • The board wants evidence for the choice, not only a demo

How to use the request for information template

  1. Describe your organisation. Fill in the About us table with real volumes. Vendors price on users and transactions.
  2. Set three objectives. Short, measurable aims, such as removing manual keying of supplier invoices.
  3. Fill in the timetable. Give vendors a date for questions, and share every answer with all of them.
  4. Attach your requirements list. Export it from the kit's selection workbook, so vendors answer Yes, Partly, Roadmap or No against each line.
  5. Compare on total cost. Choose three or five years, then enter every pricing table into the workbook.

Questions

What is a request for information?

A document you send to several vendors before demos, asking the same questions about their company, product, security, implementation and price. It gives you comparable answers to build a shortlist.

What is the difference between an RFI and an RFP?

An RFI gathers information so you can shortlist. An RFP asks the shortlisted vendors for a formal proposal and final price. In this kit the RFI comes first, and final proposals follow the demos and reference calls.

What should a request for information include?

A short description of your organisation and volumes, your objectives, a timetable, how to respond, the questions in a fixed order, a pricing table and a confidentiality note.

What security questions should we ask a software vendor?

Which independent assurance they hold, such as an ISO information security certificate or a SOC 2 Type II report, where data is stored and backed up, which sub-processors they use, and their recovery targets. Under UK GDPR, a processor's work must be covered by a written contract, and it can't use sub-processors without your written authorisation.

Is a request for information binding?

No. This one says it is not an offer to contract, that you may change the timetable or stop at any time, and that you don't pay for responses.

Also in the finance software selection kit

Selection workbookDemo scriptReference call questionsImplementation readiness checklist

See the whole pack →

Who it's for

Finance teams and accounting practices choosing new finance software.

Last checked

Checked against UK GDPR rules on processor contracts in November 2026.