# Start a proposal from an RFP

URL: https://engiprose.com/help/create-a-proposal/start-from-an-rfp
Updated: 2026-08-31
Audience: member

Upload the RFP and EngiProse extracts requirements and matches them against your firm's past proposals automatically.

This is the fastest way into a proposal: you already have the RFP, so upload
it and let EngiProse do the reading. This article covers the upload, what
happens while it parses, and what to do if parsing fails. If you don't have
an RFP yet, see [Start without an RFP](/help/create-a-proposal/start-without-an-rfp).

:::checklist title="What you'll do"
- Choose Start proposal and upload your RFP
- Watch it parse into requirements
- Know what to do if parsing fails
:::

## Choose how to start

Open **New Proposal** from the dashboard or the Proposals list. The menu
offers two starting points:

:::figure src="/help-figures/create-a-proposal/start-from-an-rfp-1.png" alt="The New Proposal menu, showing Start proposal with the description Import an RFP now, jump straight into preparing the proposal, and Plan proposal with the description Capture one or more proposals to be worked on later" caption="The New Proposal menu" route="/dashboard"
:::

**Start proposal** is this article's path: it jumps straight into the wizard
so you can upload an RFP right away. **Plan proposal** captures the basics
now and lets you attach an RFP later.

## Upload the RFP

::::steps
:::step
Choose **Start proposal**. You land on **Upload your RFP**, the wizard's
first stage. Select **Add RFP Source**, then **Upload File** and choose your
document, or drag it onto the drop zone. "PDF or DOCX. We'll extract
requirements and suggest matched content from your past proposals."
:::
:::step figure="/help-figures/create-a-proposal/start-from-an-rfp-2.png" alt="The Upload your RFP step with a file attached and a Processing badge while EngiProse parses it" caption="Parsing in progress" route="/proposals/$proposalId/setup/rfp-upload"
Once the file is attached, EngiProse starts parsing it automatically. This
takes anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two, depending on the
document.
:::
:::step
When parsing finishes, you'll see a requirements count (for example, "104
requirements, 12 set aside as customer notes") and a **Match to past
proposals** button. Selecting it runs content matching against your firm's
past winning proposals, and the result feeds the [requirement review
step](/help/create-a-proposal/review-requirements-and-matches).
:::
::::

:::note
A parse can succeed and still turn up nothing: if your RFP has no extractable
requirements, the page shows "No requirements were extracted from this RFP.
You can add them manually as you build the proposal." **Next** stays
available, so you can continue to Details.
:::

## If parsing fails

Parsing can fail on a corrupted file, a scanned image with no extractable
text, or a transient error. When it does, EngiProse shows a clear failure
state rather than leaving you stuck:

:::figure src="/help-figures/create-a-proposal/start-from-an-rfp-3.png" alt="A processing failed badge with an RFP parsing failed message, a Retry parsing button, and a warning banner offering Skip - enter details manually" caption="A parse failure, with the retry and skip options" route="/proposals/$proposalId/setup/rfp-upload"
:::

You have two options: **Retry parsing** tries again with the same file, or
**Skip - enter details manually** moves you straight to the Details step
without extracted requirements.

:::warning
Skipping past a failed parse means no requirements are extracted from that
RFP. There's currently no way to type requirements in by hand to replace
what a failed parse would have found; you can still add individual
requirements later from the Sections step, but there's no bulk manual entry
path for a whole RFP's worth.
:::

An RFP that exceeds your firm's AI token allowance for the billing period
shows a similar banner naming the token limit instead of a parse error, with
the same Skip option.

::::faq title="Common questions"
:::q question="What file types can I upload?"
PDF or DOCX. Files up to 50MB.
:::
:::q question="Can I paste the RFP text instead of uploading a file?"
Yes. Choose **Paste Content** instead of **Upload File** on the same step.
:::
:::q question="What happens to the proposal if I never come back to it?"
It stays in Draft on your Proposals list. Nothing is deleted or sent
automatically.
:::
::::