RFO or RFI: Your fastest route to the right spend management platform

Choosing the right spend management platform isn’t about who has the flashiest demo — it’s about finding a partner that can actually work in your environment. For finance leaders managing multiple entities, currencies, and compliance frameworks, the risk of picking the wrong vendor is high. That’s why a Request For Outcomes (RFO) isn’t just another procurement document. A Request For Information (RFI) gathers basic information. A Request For Proposal (RFP) goes deep into pricing and commitments. Whereas a RFO sits in the middle — giving you the facts and the outcomes you need to quickly filter out vendors who can’t deliver, before you spend time on negotiations or pilots.

Why we talk about an RFO, not just an RFI

The traditional RFI is about gathering vendor facts. Useful, but often too vague.

An RFO goes a step further:

Facts: The hard data on features, integrations, security, and support.

Outcomes: The measurable results you can expect, like month-end close times, reconciliation rates, or cost savings.

For finance teams at growing businesses, pressure to deliver efficiency across multiple entities, outcomes matter just as much as features.

How an RFO saves you time:

1. Faster shortlisting: Find out who can meet your must-have criteria
2. Better internal alignment: Your CFO, controller, and IT lead see the same vendor data.
3. Cleaner negotiations: Work from documented answers, not promises made in a pitch.
4. Clearer proof of value: Outcome-based answers show who’s worth taking to pilot.

What to include in your spend management RFO

We’ve seen hundreds of RFIs, and we know the questions that separate a capable platform from the rest.

Here’s the structure we recommend for mid-market, multi-entity businesses.

1) Your company context

Give vendors enough detail to respond meaningfully:

• Company name, number of employees, locations, legal entities
• Annual card spend, number of cards needed
• The problem you’re solving (e.g. real-time visibility, reducing manual reconciliations)
• Current process (short description)
• Short- and long-term finance goals

2) Vendor requirements

Your non-negotiables:

• Technical: ERP and accounting integrations, API access, data formats
• AI and automation: specific AI agents (Payments, Procurement, Travel, and Financial Controller), how they operate, and data privacy policies
• Geographical coverage: Where cards, accounts, and services are available (Payhawk, for example, has coverage in more than 32 countries and uses Visa, which is accepted by over 150 million merchants)
• Expense coverage: Cards, reimbursements, invoices, purchase orders
• Credentials: Certifications, regulatory compliance

3) Expense management solution: required information

To get both the facts and the outcomes:

• Short elevator pitch of your solution
• How do you differentiate from competitors?
• Pricing model and what’s included
• 12-month roadmap — and how it supports finance team productivity
• Supported languages
• Implementation approach and average timeline
• User support model (channels, hours, SLAs)
• Platform customisation (workflows, policies, fields)
• Time savings from automation, backed by customer data [COMMENT: Confirm current proof points — e.g. 99.7% auto-reconciliation, 2x faster month-end]
• AI agents — what they do, where they operate, and measurable results
• Card and account availability globally
• Bulk actions and mobile capabilities
• Proactive/reactive spend controls
• Accounting integration strategy and ERP coverage
• Reporting capabilities for multi-entity consolidation
• Data security, storage, and backup processes
• Robust governance over AI actions, ensuring finance oversight and compliance

4) Security & compliance

• Data hosting locations
• Certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS)
• Encryption methods
• GDPR and other regulation compliance
• Disaster recovery and business continuity

5) Implementation & customer support

• Onboarding model and implementation support (remote, onsite, partner)
• Training options (self-serve, instructor-led, custom)
• Dedicated account management
• Support channels, hours, and escalation process
• Ongoing optimisation services

6) References & case studies

• At least two customer references in similar industries/entities
• Links to relevant customer stories

How to use your RFO

Once you’ve collected the responses, line them up and compare them side by side. Focus on vendors who back up their claims with evidence, not vague “yes” or “supported” answers.

Look for clear outcome metrics — the kind that show exactly how much time you’ll save, how many transactions are reconciled automatically, or what cost reductions you can expect.

Pay close attention to the depth of their integrations, particularly with your ERP, HR, and banking systems, and evaluate whether their AI capabilities are practical, secure, and proven to deliver value. This makes it far easier to see which platforms can genuinely meet the needs of a complex, multi-entity, multi-currency operation.

The Payhawk perspective

At Payhawk, we’re built for the complexity that growing, multi-entity finance teams deal with every day.

Our global cards, native ERP integrations, and time-saving AI agents help you cut manual work, close the month faster, and keep spend under control across every entity — so you can focus on strategy and growth.

Whether you use our template or build your own, the key is to lead with facts and outcomes. And the right RFO should help make it obvious who can deliver vs who’s just talking a good game.

Read our customer story with growing healthcare company, Wellpointe Inc., to see how finance teams like yours save time and make better decisions by using Payhawk across multiple entities and currencies.