Describe the deliverable, customer and boundary
Start with the outcome you produce, the activities you carry out and the types of customer you serve. Name products or methods when they meaningfully limit what you can deliver. Explain whether your business advises, builds, supplies, installs or operates. These distinctions matter because buyers can use a similar subject word for very different contracts.
For example, a cybersecurity consultancy might assess controls, perform authorized penetration tests and prepare remediation plans. A request for security hardware installation shares the subject but calls for a different capability. A clear description lets the reviewer understand why one opportunity fits and another needs to be excluded.
Use a complete example, then replace it with your facts
The following fictional software company profile demonstrates the level of detail to aim for. It is not a customer story or a claim about results achieved with RFPscope. Replace every fact with your own services and evidence; omit qualifications you cannot confirm.
“We design and develop custom web applications and integrate them with existing business systems. Typical work includes requirements workshops, API development, migration of agreed datasets, testing and support of the software we deliver. We seek development and integration projects for public bodies and commercial organizations. We do not supply hardware, resell standalone licenses or provide general desktop support. Our available references cover custom application projects; we assess each buyer’s specific evidence requirements separately.”
Separate services from evidence of capability
RFPscope’s profile supports a company description, a service list, optional CPV codes, capabilities and exclusions. Use the service list for distinct activities. Use capabilities for relevant experience, staff, tools and confirmed qualifications. Your website can provide context, but a marketing statement should not be promoted into a verified certificate or a reference you do not possess.
Keep evidence specific enough to check. “Two comparable application deliveries completed” is more useful than “extensive experience,” provided it is true. The profile can help assess relevance, but requirements in a new tender may ask for a particular contract size, sector or date range. Check those requirements against the actual evidence before deciding to bid.
Write exclusions that distinguish similar work
An exclusion should name a type of work your company will not undertake, rather than an arbitrary word to remove. “No hardware-only supply” preserves a development project that mentions servers as context. A blanket exclusion of “server” could remove that useful project. Likewise, distinguish strategic advice from installation and an assessment from an ongoing managed service.
Begin with a few boundaries supported by your actual business. When reviewing rejected results, check whether an exclusion was too broad or your description was incomplete. Do not change the profile just to make every result look relevant. The purpose is to allocate proposal effort to work the company can realistically perform.
Set budget, language, time and market choices deliberately
The profile also supports public, corporate or both opportunity types; value preferences and currency; proposal languages; minimum preparation days; a minimum matching score; and email preferences. Leave an unknown value unknown. A notice without a published amount is different from a confirmed project outside your budget, and a stated contract value is not automatically your expected revenue.
Choose markets separately from the capability description. RFPscope’s current plans offer one selected country on Starter, up to ten on Pro, and the EU or US on Business. Select only markets your team can serve. An English interface does not establish permission to bid abroad, and a language preference does not remove a buyer’s required submission language.
Treat the matching score as a relevance signal
RFPscope presents a matching score and a reason for an opportunity’s fit. The score is not a calibrated probability of winning, a guarantee of eligibility or evidence that every condition has been satisfied. Compare the explanation with the source, requirements, deadline and delivery location. Resolve missing evidence before assigning proposal work.
Review the search report as well as the shortlist. It distinguishes sources read, decisions and verification limits; an unavailable document can constrain what the search established. After several searches, revise one part of the profile at a time and inspect the consequences. Update it when the company gains a capability, loses available capacity or changes the work it wants to pursue.
Sources and further reading
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Describe what you can deliver and where you can work. Review source checks and matching reasons before preparing a proposal.
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