MSP RFP WORKING TEMPLATE | NORTH STAR
Version: 2026-09-09
Guide: https://northstarit.ca/blog/msp-rfp-template-bc/

READ BEFORE USE
This is a buyer planning aid, not legal advice, a contract or an approved
public-sector solicitation. Obtain appropriate procurement/legal review before
issuing terms. Do not assume labelling a document an RFP makes it non-binding.
Replace every bracketed field. Confirm requirements, evaluation rules and
disclosure arrangements before circulation.

Do not include passwords, recovery codes, personal information, detailed network
diagrams or confidential incident records in a public document. Use a controlled
disclosure process for information genuinely required by shortlisted respondents.

1. BUYER AND PROCESS
Organization and business context: [complete]
Procurement owner and approved contact channel: [complete]
Submission deadline and time zone: [complete]
Question deadline and shared clarification process: [complete]
Required response format and page limits: [complete]
Target start date and dependencies: [complete]
Process and contract terms reviewed by: [complete before issue]
Public-sector or other procurement rules requiring review: [complete]

2. CURRENT ENVIRONMENT (NON-SENSITIVE SUMMARY)
Users, sites, devices and server/workload counts: [complete]
Cloud/email platforms and important business applications: [complete]
Internal team, current provider and vendor responsibilities: [complete]
Business hours, time zones and genuinely required onsite coverage: [complete]
Known service problems and desired outcomes: [complete]
Contract renewal dates and transition constraints: [complete]
Information available through controlled disclosure: [complete]

3. SCOPE RESPONSE (REPEAT FOR EACH SERVICE)
Service/outcome requested: [complete]
Mandatory requirement or preference: [complete]
Respondent status: [included / excluded / optional / clarification needed]
Included activities and limits: [respondent completes]
Coverage hours and time zone: [respondent completes]
Customer responsibilities and dependencies: [respondent completes]
Tools or compatibility constraints and rationale: [respondent completes]
Evidence/reporting provided: [respondent completes]
Separately charged work: [respondent completes]
Assumptions and exceptions: [respondent completes]

Consider helpdesk, endpoints, identity, servers, networks, email administration,
monitoring, patching, backup, recovery testing and vendor coordination. Include
only services you require; do not assume every activity is bundled.

4. SERVICE COMMITMENTS
Incident priorities and examples: [respondent proposes]
Response versus restoration/resolution definitions: [respondent explains]
Measurement start/stop rules and exclusions: [respondent explains]
After-hours alert handling and authorized response: [respondent explains]
Escalation owners and customer approval needs: [respondent explains]
Onsite delivery arrangements, constraints and charges: [respondent explains]
Sample redacted report and evidence of measurement: [respondent provides]

5. SECURITY, PRIVACY AND RECOVERY
Applicable obligations confirmed with adviser: [buyer completes]
Requested controls/evidence and reason for each: [buyer completes]
Privileged access, authentication and access-review practices: [respondent]
Incident communication and responsibility boundaries: [respondent]
Subcontractors, data handling and relevant service locations: [respondent]
Recovery objectives, dependencies and test evidence: [respondent]
Assurance scope, limitations and confidential evidence process: [respondent]
Exceptions needing approval: [respondent]

6. COMMERCIAL RESPONSE
Currency, taxes and quote validity: [respondent]
Recurring charges and measurement basis: [respondent]
Onboarding, stabilization and migration charges: [respondent]
Licences, hardware, backup storage and third-party costs: [respondent]
After-hours, travel, project and out-of-scope rates: [respondent]
Minimum quantities, renewal and price-change terms: [respondent]
Termination notice, exit assistance and export charges: [respondent]
Total cost for the buyer-defined comparison period: [respondent]
Assumptions affecting that total: [respondent]

7. EVALUATION WORKSHEET (BUYER SETS BEFORE RESPONSES)
Mandatory requirements and verification method: [complete]
Criterion: [complete]
Weight and scoring scale: [complete]
Evidence required: [complete]
Evaluator and conflict disclosure: [complete]
Score, rationale and evidence reference: [complete during evaluation]
Unresolved clarification and owner: [complete during evaluation]
Decision approval record: [complete]
Confirm weights total 100% if using percentage weights. Do not change the
criteria after receiving responses without following your reviewed process.

8. TRANSITION AND EXIT
Onboarding sequence, acceptance checks and rollback: [respondent]
Customer-owned accounts, licences and documentation: [respondent]
Existing-provider handoff and unresolved risk: [respondent]
End-of-contract exports, access revocation and assistance: [respondent]
Approved reference contacts with comparable scope: [respondent]

9. CONFLICTS AND FINAL CLARIFICATIONS
Respondent involvement in preparing this request: [disclose]
Other actual or potential conflicts: [disclose]
Proposed departures from requested terms: [list]
Buyer clarification/decision record: [complete]

Evaluate proposals under your reviewed process. Do not treat this worksheet or
a high score as proof of compliance, security, service quality or legal validity.