# How to write an RFP for an event app: sections, questions and a scorecard Write an event app RFP that vendors can answer fairly: scope, must-haves, data and security questions, pricing format and a weighted scorecard. SSociana team·19 Oct 2026·6 min read **To write an RFP for an event app, state the occasion and audiences first, list must-have and nice-to-have modules, ask specific questions on login, data, security and support, fix a price format so quotes compare, and publish a weighted scorecard. Keep it under ten pages; vendors answer short, precise RFPs better.** ## Who this guide is for You are a secretariat, PCO, procurement officer or marketing head who has to put an event app out to tender or to a formal quotation round. Sometimes the buyer is asked to write the RFP and the vendors respond. You want a document that produces comparable answers and that your legal and IT colleagues will not rewrite. ## What a good RFP does A weak RFP asks for “an engaging mobile app with networking, analytics and gamification”. Vendors answer with a brochure. A strong RFP says who attends, how they will log in, what must happen on the day and what the data must do afterwards. It lets vendors say “yes”, “no” or “custom” to specific lines, and it asks for prices in a shared format. The result is a table you can score in an afternoon. ## The sections | Section | What it contains | Typical length | | ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | | 1\. Context | Organisation, occasion, dates, audiences, headcount band | Half a page | | 2\. Objectives | Three jobs the app must do and the measures of success | Half a page | | 3\. Requirements | Must-have, nice-to-have and out of scope, by module | One to two pages | | 4\. Technical and data | Login, hosting, exports, retention, deletion | One page | | 5\. Security and privacy | Questionnaire, data processing terms, sub-processors | One page | | 6\. Delivery and support | Timeline, on-site model, escalation path | One page | | 7\. Commercials | Price format, payment terms, GST, assumptions | One page | | 8\. Evaluation | Scorecard, demo requirements, references, timeline | One page | ## Step by step ### Step 1: Write the context so a stranger can understand it Name the occasion, the audiences and the date, and say what changed from last time. For an association: members, sponsors, speakers and staff. For a government workshop: delegates, protocol staff and liaison officers. For an agency: the client’s attendees and the agency’s team. At APMI’s 3rd Annual Conference the registration list was the whitelist and meeting-room slots were sold through the app, a requirement that shaped the RFP’s data and payment sections; see the [APMI case study](https://sociana.in/case-studies/apmi-annual-conference-2026/). ### Step 2: State three jobs and how you will measure them Examples: “every delegate can find their session”, “attendance recorded per session”, “feedback collected from at least a defined share of delegates”. Measures should have denominators. Do not invent a target you cannot meet; ask vendors what they have seen. ### Step 3: Build the requirements table with three columns For each module: must-have, nice-to-have or out of scope. Ask vendors to answer Live, Rollout, Custom or Not offered. That vocabulary makes honest answers easy. Use the [feature selection matrix](https://sociana.in/templates/feature-selection-matrix/) to prepare the list. ### Step 4: Ask exact questions on login and identity Which methods are supported: phone or email OTP (WhatsApp OTP where enabled), employee code with password, delegate ID with PIN, company email domain? Is SAML single sign-on offered? Can login be restricted to a whitelist? How are late additions handled? If your IT team needs SSO, ask directly; Sociana does not offer SAML SSO or SCIM, and a candid vendor will say so. ### Step 5: Ask the data questions Where is data stored? What is collected per module? What are retention and deletion processes? What can be exported, in what formats, and through what route: Sheets, webhooks, a public API? India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, assented on 11 August 2023, is commencing in stages through 13 May 2027 ([Wikipedia summary, 2025](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital%5FPersonal%5FData%5FProtection%5FAct,%5F2023)), so ask for a data processing addendum and a list of sub-processors. See the [data protection addendum outline](https://sociana.in/templates/data-protection-addendum-outline/). ### Step 6: Ask the delivery and support questions Who configures the app? What is the timeline from award to launch? Who is on site? What are support hours during the occasion? What is the escalation path? How does store submission work, and which developer account publishes the app? These are the questions that separate software from a service. ### Step 7: Fix the price format Ask every vendor to price the same four lines: platform, per-participant items if any, messaging and payment pass-throughs and managed support. Require GST to be shown separately and assumptions to be listed. Without a shared format, quotes are not comparable. The [event app cost guide](https://sociana.in/guides/event-app-cost-india/) explains the lines. ### Step 8: Publish the scorecard and the process Weights make the decision explainable: for example, fit to requirements, support model, security and data, references and price. Give the weights in the RFP. Ask for a demo on a phone you can hold, and two references for similar occasions. Fix the dates for questions, responses and decision. ## A scorecard that survives scrutiny Give each criterion a weight and a scoring guide before responses arrive. A simple scheme: fit to requirements, support and delivery model, security and data handling, references and price. Score each 1 to 5, multiply by the weight and sum. Ask two or three evaluators to score independently, then compare and discuss differences. Keep the scoring sheet with the file, because a decision that can be explained is a decision that is rarely challenged. Write the scoring guide for each criterion in one line. For example, a 5 for support means a named team on site during the occasion, a stated escalation path and response times in writing; a 3 means remote support in business hours. Without a guide, scores drift to personal preference. ## Pitfalls 1. **A 40-page RFP.** Vendors skim; you will too. 2. **Asking for everything.** A long wish-list invites yes to all. 3. **Hiding the budget.** Without a range, answers span orders of magnitude. 4. **Ignoring the exit.** Ask about exports and deletion. 5. **Weighting price too heavily.** The cheapest app with no support is an expensive day. ## India and SAARC notes Indian procurement typically involves vendor registration, GST and PAN documents, MSME or Udyam details where applicable, a security questionnaire for larger clients and a purchase order after onboarding; government and PSU buyers may require a tender or GeM route. Say in the RFP which of these apply, so vendors prepare them. For associations, sponsor-funded budgets confirmed late are common; ask vendors to price by headcount band. For Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh or Pakistan occasions, ask how payments and OTP are handled locally. ## How Sociana handles this If you send Sociana an RFP, expect straight answers against a list of what is live, in rollout, custom or not offered. Sociana’s strengths are group-scoped content, hospitality workflows, QR attendance, no-login polls, wellness and step challenges, exhibitor leads and paid slot booking; it does not offer SAML SSO, a public API, badge printing or direct Fitbit and Garmin sync. [EEMA Connect](https://sociana.in/case-studies/eema-connect/) shows a multi-occasion association app with AI session summaries that are published only after organiser approval. Use the [event app RFP template](https://sociana.in/templates/event-app-rfp-template/) and the [trust centre](https://sociana.in/trust/) for the security pack. The companion buying guide is [how to choose an event app](https://sociana.in/guides/how-to-choose-an-event-app/). ## FAQ ### How long should the RFP response window be? Two to three weeks is usual for a standard event app. Shorten it only if the occasion is close, and say why. ### Should we ask for a demo? Yes, on a phone you can install, using your own guest list shape. Ask for the group-scoping and login flows in particular. ### Do we need a security questionnaire? For larger clients, yes. Ask for data location, access control, deletion, sub-processors and incident process, and expect honest answers on certifications. ### Can Sociana respond to a tender? Yes. Sociana has supported government workshops and association conferences; ask for the procurement documents your process needs. ## Related reading Glossary: [event RFP](https://sociana.in/glossary/event-rfp/), [pco](https://sociana.in/glossary/pco/), [organisation](https://sociana.in/glossary/organisation/). Occasion hubs: [conferences](https://sociana.in/event-types/conferences/), [association events](https://sociana.in/event-types/association-events/), [government workshops](https://sociana.in/event-types/government-workshops/). [Admin panel, roles & feature switchesThe screens your guests and your desk use for this.See how it works](https://sociana.in/features/admin-panel-and-roles/) ## Keep reading [Admin panel, roles & feature switches](https://sociana.in/features/admin-panel-and-roles/)[Phone, email & WhatsApp OTP login](https://sociana.in/features/otp-login/)[Reports & exports](https://sociana.in/features/reports-and-exports/)[Multi-event & agency apps](https://sociana.in/features/multi-event-and-agency-apps/)[Conferences & summits](https://sociana.in/event-types/conferences/)[Association & member events](https://sociana.in/event-types/association-events/)[Government & defence workshops](https://sociana.in/event-types/government-workshops/)[Event app RFP template (free)](https://sociana.in/templates/event-app-rfp-template/) [Back to Guides](https://sociana.in/guides/) ## Want us to run this for you? Our team sets it up for your event, checks it with your desk and runs it with you on the day. 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