How to use this template
This is the scope an agency would put in its own RFP to hire an independent ERP consultant: someone who works for the agency, not for a software vendor or implementer. Copy the template blocks into your solicitation, replace the bracketed text, and delete what you do not need. The notes under each block explain what to ask for and why.
We modeled the structure on public city, county and special district RFPs for ERP consulting services, which tend to split the work into the same phases: project management, needs assessment, RFP development, evaluation and selection, contract negotiation, and optional implementation support. We kept that shape, tightened the language, and added the pieces we most often see missing. For broader guidance, the Government Finance Officers Association publishes best practice guidance on ERP software acquisition.
Keys to success before you issue
- Buy independence on purpose. Require the consultant to disclose any reseller, referral or partner relationship with software vendors or implementers, and bar them from bidding on the implementation they help you select.
- Scope by phase, price by phase. Ask for pricing by phase and deliverable so you can stop after selection, or add oversight later, without rebidding.
- Name your owners. The consultant guides; your staff decide. Say who your project sponsor and functional leads will be.
- Ask for outputs you can reuse. Requirements, scenarios and evaluation tools should belong to the agency in editable form.
1. Background and objectives
[Agency name] is soliciting proposals from qualified, independent firms to provide consulting services for the assessment, selection, contract negotiation and implementation oversight of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. [Agency name] serves [population or service area] with approximately [number] employees across [number] departments.
The agency currently uses [current system(s)] for [financials, budget, procurement, payroll, human resources, utility billing, etc.], supplemented by [spreadsheets, bespoke software, paper processes]. Key challenges include [list]. The agency seeks to:
- Confirm readiness and the right scope before committing to a replacement.
- Select a solution and implementation partner through a fair, documented and defensible process.
- Negotiate agreements that protect the agency over the life of the system.
- Maintain independent oversight of the implementation through go-live and stabilization.
2. Scope of services
Proposers should address each phase below. The agency may award all phases or a subset, and reserves the right to exercise Phase 5 as an option.
Phase 0: Project management (all phases)
The consultant shall provide a project charter, project plan and schedule, stakeholder and communication plan, and regular status reporting to the project sponsor and steering committee; track decisions, risks and issues; and facilitate meetings.
Phase 1: Readiness and needs assessment
- Assess organizational readiness, including governance, sponsorship, staff capacity, data quality and change appetite.
- Interview departments and document current business processes, systems, interfaces and pain points.
- Inventory systems that may be replaced, integrated or retained.
- Identify process improvements to make before or during implementation.
- Recommend scope, sequencing and a realistic project approach.
Deliverables: Readiness assessment; current state and needs assessment report; systems and interface inventory; recommended scope and approach.
Phase 2: Requirements and RFP development
- Develop prioritized functional and technical requirements with department input.
- Develop business scenarios and demonstration scripts based on the agency's own processes and sample data.
- Draft the software and implementation services RFP, including evaluation criteria, pricing forms and proposed contract terms, consistent with [agency] procurement rules.
Deliverables: Requirements and scenarios in editable form; draft and final RFP; evaluation plan and scoring tools.
Phase 3: Evaluation and selection
- Support the procurement, including vendor questions and addenda.
- Facilitate proposal evaluation and identify risks, gaps and unclear pricing.
- Coordinate and facilitate scripted demonstrations scored by agency staff.
- Conduct reference checks with comparable public agencies and, where useful, site visits.
- Analyze total cost of ownership over the expected life of the system.
Deliverables: Proposal analysis; demonstration scripts and scoring summary; reference check summary; total cost of ownership analysis; documented selection recommendation.
Phase 4: Contract negotiation
- Review proposed software license or subscription agreements and implementation statements of work.
- Recommend terms, including deliverable-based payments with acceptance criteria, named key personnel, renewal protections, service levels, data ownership and exit rights.
- Support agency negotiators and legal counsel through final agreements.
Deliverables: Contract and statement of work review memo; negotiation issues list; final statement of work review.
Phase 5: Implementation oversight (optional)
- Serve as the agency's project management office or independent quality assurance on the agency's side of the table.
- Review the implementer's plans and deliverables against the contract, and advise on acceptance.
- Monitor schedule, budget, scope, risks and change requests, and report independently to the steering committee.
- Oversee data conversion, testing, training and cutover readiness, including parallel payroll where applicable.
- Support go-live and post go-live stabilization.
Deliverables: Periodic independent status and risk reports; deliverable review memos; go-live readiness assessment; stabilization and lessons learned report.
3. Deliverables summary
Proposers shall list each deliverable by phase, its format, and the agency review and acceptance process. All work products become the property of [agency] and shall be delivered in editable form.
4. Minimum qualifications
- Demonstrated experience providing ERP selection and implementation oversight to [cities, counties, utilities, special districts] of comparable size.
- At least [number] public-sector references for similar work within the past [number] years.
- Named key personnel with resumes; substitutions require agency approval.
- Written disclosure of all relationships with ERP software vendors and implementers, including reseller, referral, partner or revenue-sharing arrangements.
- Agreement not to propose on, or subcontract to, the software or implementation work resulting from this engagement.
5. Evaluation criteria
Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria, weighted as set by [agency]:
- Relevant public-sector experience and references
- Qualifications of key personnel
- Methodology and understanding of the agency's needs
- Independence and vendor neutrality
- Cost, priced by phase and deliverable
- Interview or presentation (shortlisted firms)
6. Timeline
- RFP release: [date]
- Pre-proposal conference (optional): [date]
- Questions due: [date]
- Answers and addenda posted: [date]
- Proposals due: [date and time]
- Shortlist interviews: [date range]
- Award and contract execution: [date]
- Anticipated project start: [date]
7. Submission requirements
- Cover letter signed by an authorized representative.
- Firm overview and independence disclosure.
- Understanding of the project and proposed approach by phase.
- Work plan and schedule, including expected agency staff time by phase.
- Key personnel, roles and resumes.
- Public-sector references with contact information.
- Sample deliverables (redacted as needed).
- Cost proposal by phase and deliverable, submitted [separately / in a sealed envelope].
- Exceptions to the agency's standard terms, and required forms and addenda acknowledgments.
Submit to [contact, address or portal] by [deadline]. All questions must go to the designated procurement contact.
Where Avero fits
Avero is an independent, vendor-neutral advisory firm that works only with the public sector. We sell no software and take no referral fees, and we do not implement, so we can sit on the agency's side of the table from readiness through go-live. Across more than a hundred engagements, the keys to success have been the same: be honest about readiness, test vendors on your own scenarios, and keep someone accountable only to you watching the implementation.