Docs Features
RFIs
Numbered questions to the client while you price. Draft from a drawing, send several at once, chase unanswered ones and record the official answer.
An RFI (request for information) is one written question to the client while you price a bid, such as "Ceiling height at Room 204?". Tidy keeps a numbered list of RFIs for each bid, sends several together as one email per client, drafts polite chasers when they go unanswered, and stores the client's official answer.
Where to find it
- On a bid: the RFIs tab.
- For the whole company: RFIs in the sidebar (under Documents). The badge counts open RFIs.
- On a drawing: right-click a markup or measurement and choose Add to RFI.
- On the Hub: the RFIs column in My Opportunities shows each bid's open count.
How RFIs work
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Written but not sent. No number yet. |
| Open | Sent and waiting for an answer |
| Answered | You recorded the client's official response |
| Closed | Nothing more is needed |
| Void | Cancelled, with a reason. A sent RFI can be voided but never deleted. |
- One question per RFI. Several go out together, but each keeps its own record.
- Numbers like
RFI-007are given per bid when you first send, not when you save. - After an RFI is sent, its question and references are locked.
- Questions due is the client's deadline for questions on this bid. Set it at the top of the RFIs tab. It drives the countdown, the "Send by" reminders and the timing of AI chasers.
Write and send
- On the bid's RFIs tab, click New RFI. Or right-click a markup on a drawing and choose Add to RFI, which attaches a snapshot of that spot.
- Fill in the Subject, the Question and, ideally, a Proposed answer (what you will assume if they do not reply; clients answer faster when you offer one). Add the sheet, spec section and attachments.
- Click Save.
- Tick the drafts to send and click Send.
- Pick which clients get it and check each client's plain-text email. Click Review, then Send.
Record the answer
- Open the RFI.
- Under Official response, paste or summarize the Answer, pick the Source (Email, Addendum, Phone, Portal, Meeting, Other) and who answered. Attach the addendum or email if you have it.
- Save. The RFI becomes Answered. Click Close RFI when you are done.
Client replies land on the bid's Messages tab. Tidy does not read the answer out of the email for you, so record it here. Tick Client replied on a sent email to stop the chasers for it.
AI chasers
If an RFI has no answer after 3 business days, or the questions-due date is 2 days away, Tidy drafts a polite follow-up. It waits for approval with your other follow-ups. Nothing is sent until someone approves it. Admins can turn this off in Admin > Settings > Main > RFI follow-ups.
What the agent can do
The agent can read a bid's RFIs, open a pre-filled draft for you, and create, update, answer, close, reopen or void RFIs. Sending is always done by a person in Tidy.
Try: "Draft RFIs for anything unclear about the ceiling heights on the A-5 sheets, with a proposed answer for each."
Limits
- Up to 200 RFIs per send.
- RFI emails count toward the daily email limit.
- Attachments over 20 MB may not be delivered.
Not available yet
No export of the RFI list, no per-RFI due dates or internal review step, and no post-award RFI workflow.