How to write an RFP for an office interior fit-out (what to actually include)

The single biggest reason RFP responses come back impossible to compare isn't that the firms you invited are bad at their jobs - it's that the RFP itself left too much open to interpretation. When a brief doesn't specify square footage, headcount, or finish level clearly, three firms will each guess differently, and you'll end up comparing three completely different projects that all happen to share your address.

A good RFP isn't longer for the sake of it - it's specific in the places that actually change what a firm proposes.

Start with the space, not the wishlist

Before anything about style or brand, a firm needs the hard facts: total area, current shell condition (bare shell vs. already-built), floor plate layout if available, and headcount - both current and the number you're actually designing for (a common mistake is designing for today's headcount and outgrowing the office in a year). If you have an existing floor plan or a lease document with dimensions, include it - a firm working from a text description alone is guessing at layout constraints that materially change their proposal.

Be specific about your space program

"We need an open office with some meeting rooms" tells a firm almost nothing useful. A space program that actually helps looks more like: number and size of cabins vs. workstations, number and capacity of meeting rooms, a pantry/breakout area, reception, and any special requirements (a server room, a training area, a client-facing showcase zone). You don't need architectural precision - you need enough specificity that two different firms reading it would design broadly similar spaces.

Name your finish level and budget range honestly

Firms price differently depending on whether you're expecting a functional, budget-conscious fit-out or a premium, branded one - and asking them to guess wastes everyone's time. You don't have to reveal an exact number if you're not comfortable with that, but giving a realistic range (even "₹X-Y per sq ft, all-inclusive") lets a firm tell you honestly whether your expectations and your budget actually match, rather than proposing something wildly over or embarrassingly under.

Set a real timeline, including your own deadlines

Include your target move-in date, and be upfront about anything that constrains the schedule from your side - a lease start date, an existing office you need to vacate by a certain date, or a board presentation you need renders ready for. A firm that knows your real constraints can tell you honestly whether they're achievable; a firm that doesn't will assume a generic timeline and you'll find out too late that it doesn't work.

Say exactly what you want back, and by when

Spell out the format you expect a response in - a cost breakdown (not just a lump sum), a proposed timeline, relevant past project examples, and the team that would actually work on your project. Give a real submission deadline and, if you're running a shortlist process, be clear about what happens next (a presentation, a site visit, a follow-up round) so firms know what they're actually competing for.

What to leave out

An RFP doesn't need your company history, a restated mission statement, or paragraphs of context a firm doesn't need to price the job. Every page that doesn't help a firm answer "what would this cost and how would we do it" is a page that makes your actual requirements harder to find. Keep it tight enough that a firm can read it once and know exactly what to propose.

Bottom line: the details that change a proposal - real area, real headcount, real finish level, real timeline - belong in the RFP explicitly, not left for a firm to infer. Specificity there is what turns three unrelated guesses into three comparable proposals you can actually evaluate side by side.