How do I write a clear request for proposal for a software project? — answered by Engineer Saeed Baatiah
Write one page covering: the problem you are solving (not the solution you imagine), who will use the system and how many of them, the five most important operations it must perform, existing systems it must connect to, an approximate budget, and the target launch date. Stating a budget does not inflate the price as people assume — it stops developers designing a solution larger or smaller than you need and saves weeks of negotiation.