# Start a proposal without an RFP

URL: https://engiprose.com/help/create-a-proposal/start-without-an-rfp
Updated: 2026-08-31
Audience: member

Queue a proposal with just a title and customer, then work through it later, with or without an RFP file.

Not every proposal starts with an RFP in hand. **Plan proposal** captures the
essentials now, so the proposal exists and shows up on your list, and lets
you fill in the rest when you're ready.

:::checklist title="What you'll do"
- Capture a proposal with Plan proposal
- Understand what happens when you open it
- Move past the Upload RFP step without a real RFP
:::

## Plan a proposal

From **New Proposal**, choose **Plan proposal**. "Capture one or more
proposals to be worked on later."

:::figure src="/help-figures/create-a-proposal/start-without-an-rfp-1.png" alt="The Plan a proposal dialog with a title, a selected customer, a Repeat Customer panel showing that customer's prior proposals, due date, assigned author, description, and a Create more toggle" caption="The Plan a proposal dialog" route="/dashboard"
:::

Fill in the **Title** and **Customer** (both required); **Due date**,
**Assigned author**, and **Description** are optional. If the customer has
prior proposals with your firm, a panel surfaces them for reference. Turn on
**Create more** to keep the dialog open and plan several proposals in a row.
Selecting **Add proposal** saves it and shows a confirmation with an
**Open** shortcut straight into it.

## Opening a planned proposal

A planned proposal is a normal Draft proposal with no RFP attached yet.
Opening it lands you on the same **Upload your RFP** step every proposal
starts on, because that step is also where EngiProse checks for a customer
match, sets the proposal number, and prepares the wizard.

The step needs some source before it lets you continue; with nothing
attached, **Next** stays disabled and explains why: "An RFP is required.
Upload one above to continue." If there is no RFP document, use **Paste
Content** and paste whatever you do have, such as the customer's email or
your own notes on the job. EngiProse extracts what it can, and you continue
to **Details** as normal. If it cannot parse what you pasted, the same
**Skip - enter details manually** option covered in [Start from an
RFP](/help/create-a-proposal/start-from-an-rfp) takes you straight to
**Details**:

:::figure src="/help-figures/create-a-proposal/start-without-an-rfp-2.png" alt="The Details step with a plain, manually-filled proposal title and customer, no from RFP badges, and blank due date and project type fields" caption="The Details step, filled in manually" route="/proposals/$proposalId/setup/details"
:::

Details filled in this way have no AI-suggested values (no "from RFP"
badges): you type the due date, project type, and everything else yourself.

:::note
There isn't a dedicated "I have no RFP" button on the Upload RFP step
itself. Pasting the brief you have is the intended route; Skip exists for
the case where parsing fails.
:::

::::faq title="Common questions"
:::q question="Can I add the RFP later, after planning the proposal?"
Yes. Open the proposal and use the Upload RFP step at any time to attach and
parse one.
:::
:::q question="Does Plan proposal use one of my firm's seats or tokens?"
No. Creating the draft is free; AI token usage only happens once you parse
an RFP or generate content.
:::
::::