Best Proposal Software for AEC Firms That Do SF330s and SOQs

What Proposal Software Actually Needs to Do for AEC Firms

Looking for a quick comparison? Visit our AEC proposal software alternatives page for side-by-side comparisons.

Proposal management software for architecture, engineering, and construction firms is any tool that helps a firm organize, produce, and submit SF330s, SOQs, and RFP responses. At minimum, it should reduce the time spent on the repetitive parts of the proposal process — formatting resumes, assembling project sheets, and managing the data that goes into every submittal.

Most general-purpose proposal tools were built for technology companies responding to IT RFPs or government contractors working on task-order proposals. AEC firms have different requirements. The SF330 form has a fixed structure with specific sections (E through H) that require structured personnel and project data. SOQs require formatted staff resumes and project experience sheets tailored to each opportunity. The evaluation process is qualifications-based (QBS), meaning price is not a factor in selection — the submittal itself determines who gets shortlisted.

The right tool for an AEC firm depends on what consumes the most proposal hours. For most mid-size firms, that is resume formatting and project sheet assembly — not narrative writing.

What to Look For

Before comparing specific tools, here are the capabilities that matter most for AEC proposal teams:

Must-haves for AEC firms

• Structured staff profiles. Education, certifications (with expiration dates), project history, role descriptions, and specializations stored as data — not in Word documents.
• Tailored resume generation. One set of staff data, multiple output formats per pursuit. An SF330 Section E layout, a branded one-page resume, a two-page format for an SOQ — all from the same profile.
• Project experience management. Project data (scope, cost, dates, key personnel, metrics) stored centrally, with the ability to generate project experience sheets tailored to each pursuit.
• Content reuse. Standard paragraphs, firm descriptions, past performance narratives, and boilerplate sections stored in a searchable library. Pull what you need per pursuit instead of digging through old proposals.
• Export to Word/PDF. AEC submittals are still delivered as Word or PDF documents in most cases. The tool needs to produce clean, formatted output in these formats.

Nice-to-haves

• SF330 form-specific output. Direct generation of SF330-formatted sections from structured data.
• AI-powered querying. Upload an RFP and ask questions about requirements, evaluation criteria, or which of your staff and projects are most relevant.
• Pursuit tracking. A pipeline view showing active opportunities, deadlines, and status.
• Team collaboration. Multiple users contributing data, with version control and role-based access.
• Template management. Firm-specific resume and project sheet templates that maintain consistent branding.

Red flags

• "AI writes your entire proposal." No tool reliably produces a complete, compliant AEC submittal end-to-end. Narrative drafting assistance is useful. Claims of full automation should be questioned.
• No AEC-specific features. If the tool was built for IT RFPs and has no concept of an SF330, SOQ, or qualifications-based selection, you will be forcing AEC workflows into a generic framework.
• No structured data. If the tool stores content as documents rather than structured fields, you are paying for a fancier shared drive.

The Tools

RFPM.ai

What it is: Proposal management software purpose-built for AEC firms. Stores staff qualifications as structured data and generates tailored resumes and project sheets in any format per pursuit.

Best for: Mid-size AEC firms (15-200 staff) that do SF330s and SOQs and spend most of their proposal time reformatting resumes and project sheets rather than writing narrative.

Key features:

• Structured staff profiles (education, certifications, project history, specializations)
• Tailored resume generation from profiles — SF330 Section E, branded resumes, custom formats
• Project experience sheets exportable to DOCX
• Multi-resume upload and parsing (drop a folder of Word docs)
• Ask AI assistant for querying your staff and project data against RFP requirements
• Templates for consistent formatting
• Assets library for reusable proposal content

Pricing: Contact sales. Seat-based, annual discount available. 14-day trial.

Limitations: Does not generate complete proposal narratives. Does not handle pursuit pipeline tracking or CRM functions. Focused on the component automation layer (resumes, project sheets, content reuse) rather than end-to-end proposal management.

Website: rfpm.ai

Flowcase

What it is: Resume and CV management platform for professional services firms. Originally built for consulting and IT staffing, with expanding AEC functionality.

Best for: Firms that need CV/resume management across multiple professional services divisions, not just AEC proposals.

Key features:

• CV/resume management with structured profiles
• Template-based resume generation
• Master CV database with export options
• SF330 content (recently added)

Pricing: Contact sales. Enterprise pricing.

Limitations: Not purpose-built for AEC. SF330 support is newer and less mature than the core CV management features. Broader professional services focus means AEC-specific workflows (project experience sheets, SOQ assembly) may require workarounds. No AEC-specific AI querying.

OpenAsset

What it is: Digital asset management for AEC firms. Primarily an image and project photo management platform with some proposal content features.

Best for: Firms where the primary bottleneck is finding and managing project photos, renderings, and visual assets for proposals and marketing materials.

Key features:

• Project photo and rendering management
• Image tagging and search
• Integration with Deltek and other AEC platforms
• Some project data management
• Partnering with Unanet on AI features

Pricing: Contact sales. Enterprise pricing.

Limitations: Not a proposal management tool. Does not generate staff resumes or SF330 sections from structured data. The value is in visual asset management, not proposal component assembly. If your bottleneck is resume formatting rather than photo management, OpenAsset does not solve it.

Unanet (with Cosential)

What it is: ERP and project management platform for government contractors and AEC firms. Includes a CRM (Cosential) with some proposal content management features.

Best for: Larger firms (200+ staff) that need ERP, project accounting, and CRM integrated with proposal content. Firms already on Unanet for financial management.

Key features:

• Full ERP and project accounting suite
• CRM with pursuit tracking and pipeline management
• Staff resume management within the CRM
• Project experience database
• Integration with financial data

Pricing: Enterprise pricing. Typically requires implementation services.

Limitations: Proposal content management is one module within a much larger platform. Implementation is heavy — often 6-12 months. The resume and proposal features are not the primary focus, which means they may lag behind purpose-built tools in depth and usability. Not practical for a firm that just needs better proposal component assembly.

Deltek (GovWin IQ + Vantagepoint)

What it is: Large enterprise suite for government contractors. GovWin IQ provides opportunity intelligence (find RFPs). Vantagepoint is the ERP/CRM platform with proposal content features.

Best for: Large firms (500+ staff) that do significant federal government contracting and need integrated opportunity intelligence, CRM, and ERP.

Key features:

• Federal opportunity database (GovWin IQ)
• CRM with pursuit tracking
• Staff and project database
• Financial management and project accounting
• Moving into AI-powered proposal features

Pricing: Enterprise. GovWin IQ is separately licensed.

Limitations: Designed for large government contractors, not mid-market AEC firms. Implementation cost and timeline are significant. The proposal content features are part of a broader platform — not the primary focus. Overkill for a 30-person engineering firm that needs better resume management.

QorusDocs

What it is: Proposal management platform focused on enterprise sales teams. Publishes AEC benchmark data but the product serves a broader market.

Best for: Firms with complex proposal workflows that need content management, collaboration, and analytics across large teams.

Key features:

• Proposal content library
• Auto-assembly from templates
• Collaboration and review workflows
• Analytics and win/loss tracking
• Integrations with CRM platforms

Pricing: Enterprise pricing.

Limitations: Not AEC-specific. Does not generate SF330 sections or handle the structured staff data requirements of government proposals. The benchmark reports are excellent, but the product is built for a different proposal model than qualifications-based AEC selection.

Arphie

What it is: AI-powered RFP response platform. Uses AI to draft responses to RFP questions by referencing a content library.

Best for: Firms that respond to large, question-heavy RFPs (common in IT and government services) and need help generating first-draft responses.

Key features:

• AI-generated RFP responses from a content library
• Question-answer matching
• Collaboration features
• Content management

Pricing: Contact sales.

Limitations: Generic — not built for AEC. Does not understand the SF330 structure, qualifications-based selection, or the specific data requirements of engineering proposals. The AI drafting is useful for narrative sections but does not address the resume and project sheet formatting that consumes most AEC proposal hours. No structured staff profile management.

Comparison Table

How to Choose

If your bottleneck is resume formatting and project sheet assembly

This is the most common bottleneck for mid-size AEC firms. You need a tool that stores staff data as structured profiles and generates formatted resumes per pursuit — not a document storage system. Look at RFPM.ai or Flowcase.

If your bottleneck is finding project photos and visual assets

OpenAsset is the clear choice. It is purpose-built for AEC visual asset management. But recognize that it does not solve the resume and project data problems — you may need it alongside a proposal content tool.

If you need an integrated ERP/CRM with proposal features

Unanet or Deltek. These are full platform investments with 6-12 month implementations. The proposal features are solid but not the primary focus. Appropriate for larger firms that need financial management, project accounting, and proposal content in one system.

If you primarily respond to question-heavy RFPs (not SF330s or SOQs)

Arphie or QorusDocs. These tools are strong at managing large question sets and generating narrative responses from content libraries. They are not designed for the structured component assembly that SF330s and SOQs require.

If you are a firm under 50 staff and need to start somewhere

A spreadsheet tracking pursuits, a shared drive with a clear naming convention for resumes, and a proposal checklist will get you 60% of the way. When the reformatting hours become unsustainable — typically around 30+ submittals per year — it is time for a purpose-built tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need proposal software or just better templates?

Templates help with consistency but do not solve the underlying data problem. A resume template means every resume looks the same — but someone still has to manually populate each one with the right person's data, tailored to the right pursuit. If you are doing fewer than 20 submittals per year and have fewer than 15 staff, templates and a naming convention may be enough. Above that volume, the manual reformatting becomes the bottleneck.

Can I use ChatGPT or Copilot instead of dedicated proposal software?

General-purpose AI tools are useful for drafting narrative sections — technical approaches, management plans, boilerplate. But they do not solve the structural problems that consume most AEC proposal time: formatting resumes from structured data, generating project sheets per pursuit, and maintaining a single source of truth for staff qualifications. AI helps with roughly 15-20% of proposal effort. The other 80% requires structured data management, not text generation.

What does proposal software cost?

Pricing varies widely. Purpose-built AEC tools like RFPM.ai are seat-based with annual plans. Enterprise platforms like Deltek and Unanet run significantly higher and often require implementation services. The ROI calculation is straightforward: if your firm spends 120-750 hours per year on resume formatting at a blended rate of $75/hour, that is $9,000-$56,000 annually in labor on formatting alone. Any tool that cuts that time by 50% pays for itself.

Is there proposal software specifically for SF330s?

RFPM.ai was built specifically for AEC firms that produce SF330s and SOQs. Flowcase has added SF330 support recently. Most other tools either do not support the SF330 format or handle it as an afterthought within a broader platform. If your firm does federal work requiring SF330 submittals, look for tools that understand the section structure (Sections A through H) and can generate formatted outputs that match the form requirements.

Can proposal software replace our marketing coordinator?

No. Proposal software automates the data management and formatting tasks that consume most of a coordinator's time. It does not replace the judgment, coordination, strategy, and client relationship management that a good proposal coordinator provides. The goal is to free your coordinator from spending 60% of their time reformatting resumes so they can spend that time on pursuit strategy and quality instead.