An RFP for chamber of commerce software is a structured document that tells vendors what your chamber needs, in a format that makes every proposal answer the same questions so you can compare them side by side. Here is the whole process in brief.
Your dues live in one system, event registrations in another, and someone on staff still updates the member directory by hand. Now the board wants a recommendation on new software by next quarter.
That is when a request for proposal earns its keep. This guide gives you the full RFP structure, the chamber-specific requirements generic software templates leave out, and a way to score responses that holds up in a board meeting. re:Members powers chamber operations for organizations including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, and the Association of Washington Business, so we have read a lot of chamber RFPs from the receiving end. You will finish this article able to write one that produces comparable, useful proposals instead of a stack of sales decks.
A request for proposal is a structured document that tells vendors what your chamber needs and how to respond. The structure is the entire point. When every vendor answers the same questions in the same format, you can lay the proposals next to each other and actually compare them.
First, make sure an RFP is the right document:
Most chambers replacing core software need an RFP. Done well, it gives you proposals you can compare line by line, a documented and defensible process for your board, pricing transparency including the costs vendors do not volunteer, expectations set in writing before anyone signs, and internal alignment, because the act of writing requirements forces your team to agree on what matters.
When an RFP is overkill: if you are a two-person chamber replacing a single tool, a formal RFP will cost you weeks and will not improve the decision. Write a one-page requirements memo, ask three vendors to demo against it, and check references. Save the full process for the system that runs your entire operation.
Not sure what you are replacing yet? Start with how to choose membership database software.
The most common way a chamber software RFP goes wrong is getting written before anyone knows what the chamber actually needs. Requirements first. Document second.
Here is the structure. Each section has one job: remove a reason for vendors to answer differently from one another.
This is where most chamber RFPs fall short. A generic software template, or one borrowed from an association, will not surface what makes chamber operations different. Work these questions into your requirements section.
Dues models. Can the system handle tiered, fair-share, revenue-based, and employee-count-based dues? What about multi-year commitments and installment billing? How does it handle a mid-year tier upgrade and prorating?
Business-as-member records. Your member is a business, not a person. Can the system hold an organization record with unlimited contacts, multiple locations, and changing representatives without losing engagement history when the primary contact leaves?
Sponsorship and non-dues revenue. Can it track sponsorship inventory, ad sales, and pipeline against goals? Can it tell you what each sponsor was promised versus what they actually received?
Events, expos, and golf outings. Registration, ticketing, table and sponsorship tiers, exhibitor and booth management, on-site check-in, and whether attendance history ties back to the member record.
Member directory and website. Does the directory sync live to your site, or does someone re-enter it? Who controls a listing, staff or the member? Are directory pages built to be found in search?
Advocacy and government affairs. For chambers with a policy shop: grassroots campaigns, legislative contact management, committee and council rosters, and action alerts.
Economic development data. Can it store and report on business and workforce data for economic development programs and prospect attraction?
Accounting integration. Native integration with QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, or your general ledger. Ask specifically how dues, deferred revenue, and payments post, and what your finance team still has to reconcile by hand.
Payments. Who processes them, at what rate, and can members pay online, on mobile, and on recurring schedules?
Reporting and dashboards. What does the board get out of the box, and can staff build a new report without calling a developer?
Engagement and communications. Email marketing, automation, and the member portal, specifically where members can self-serve and where staff have to step in. If you are still deciding which engagement metrics your chamber should hold a vendor to, start with these 7 ways chambers of commerce drive and measure member engagement.
Data migration. Which legacy chamber systems has this vendor migrated from before? What data comes across, what does not, and who does the work?
Configuration versus customization. Ask every vendor to define both terms as they apply to their product, and to tell you what a change costs after go-live. The answers vary more than you would expect, and the difference will shape your budget for years.
Once your question list is built, you need vendors to send it to. Request a demo if you would like to see how one platform answers these questions before you finalize the document.
For more on evaluating platforms, see how to find the best AMS platform for your organization and our guide to AMS vendors.
With your requirements and questions in hand, you need a shortlist. Here is how to tell whether either re:Members solution for chambers belongs on yours.
re:Members AMS is a configurable solution for chambers that need proven capability working out of the box, without in-house development. It covers the areas your RFP will ask about: unlimited member types and organization records, committee and council management, event and exhibit management, dues and accounting, integrated payment processing through Anywhere Payments, membership analytics, and sponsorship and sales tracking.
re:Members AMS Platform is a customizable solution built on Salesforce, for chambers with complex requirements or the technical capacity to take advantage of them. That includes custom menus, layouts, branding, and user permissions, plus Salesforce AppExchange and custom integrations.
Which one to invite: if you do not have a developer and you need the system working reasonably soon, evaluate the configurable AMS. If you have technical capacity and requirements no packaged product will meet, evaluate the customizable AMS Platform. If you are not sure, put the question in your RFP and let the responses tell you.
Either way, ask us the same things you ask everyone else: which chambers we have migrated off your current system, what our implementation and managed services actually include, and what your board dashboards will look like on day one. re:Members supports chambers including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the Association of Washington Business, and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, with Power BI board-ready dashboards, dedicated data migration teams, and an assigned Client Success Manager.
