# 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.

Source: https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/rfis
Section: Features

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-007` are 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Click **Save**.
4. Tick the drafts to send and click **Send**.
5. Pick which clients get it and check each client's plain-text email. Click **Review**, then **Send**.

## Record the answer

1. Open the RFI.
2. 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.
3. 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](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/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."

> [!agent]
> Tools: `list_rfis` (MCP `rfis_list`), `draft_rfi`, `create_rfi`, `update_rfi`, `set_rfi_attachments`, `record_rfi_answer`, `set_rfi_status`, `delete_rfi`, `mark_rfi_send_replied`. RFIs carry `RFI-` tokens.

## 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.

## Related

- [Send RFIs](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/guides/send-rfis)
- [Follow-ups](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/follow-ups)