RFIs — Overview
Raise formal questions on your project and route them to an official answer of record — with a clear ball-in-court, a two-step review, and a guarded close.
An RFI — Request for Information — is how the field asks a formal question when a drawing, specification, or scope is unclear, and gets back a single official answer of record. PleoStack turns that back-and-forth into a tracked workflow: every RFI is numbered, routed to the right person, and closed only once there's an answer on file.
RFIs are in beta
The RFI module is in beta — in production and usable, but not yet part of a versioned release of its own.
Why RFIs Are Different from Comments
A comment is a conversation. An RFI is a contract artifact. It has a number, a due date, a discipline, and exactly one authoritative answer that everyone can point to later. That's why the official response is separate from the clarification thread — the thread is for back-and-forth, the response is the answer of record that closes the loop.
The Ball-in-Court Model
Every RFI is always sitting with one party whose turn it is to act. The register shows this in the Ball in court column so nothing stalls silently.
| Ball | Whose Turn | What They Do Next |
|---|---|---|
| Initiator | The person who raised it | Draft, submit, or revise a returned RFI |
| Coordinator | Anyone whose role can assign RFIs — by default the owner, project manager, superintendent or RFI coordinator | Screen a submitted RFI and route it to a responder |
| Responder | The assigned answerer | Write the official response |
Two-step review by default
Out of the box, RFIs use a two-step review: a coordinator screens each submitted RFI before it reaches a responder, and reviews the answer before it closes. You can switch to single-step (straight to the responder) in policies.
The Lifecycle at a Glance
What You Can Do
| Action | Who | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Raise an RFI | Anyone who can create RFIs | Creates and submits a numbered question |
| Route to responder | Anyone whose role can assign RFIs (by default owner, project manager, superintendent, RFI coordinator) | Assigns the answerer and opens the RFI |
| Add a clarification | Any participant | Appends a non-binding note to the thread |
| Submit response | Responder / owner | Records the official answer of record |
| Accept & close | Anyone whose role can move RFIs through the workflow (by default owner, project manager, superintendent, RFI coordinator). Under single-step review, also the initiator, whatever their role, if Allow initiator to close is on | Closes the RFI (needs an answer on file) |
| Reopen | Anyone whose role can move RFIs through the workflow | Re-opens a closed RFI for follow-up |
Accessing RFIs
- Click RFIs in the sidebar navigation to open the register
- Click any row to open the RFI detail — question, response, thread, and activity
- Policies live under Admin → RFIs → Policies
Next Steps
New to RFIs? Start with the Getting Started guide for the full raise-to-close walkthrough. Then dig into:
- Raising an RFI — the capture panel, field by field
- Statuses & Ball-in-Court — the workflow in detail
- Answering & Clarifications — the official response vs. the thread
- Policies — review mode, SLAs, and close-out gates
Questions
Who can see and raise RFIs?
Everyone on the project whose role can view RFIs sees the whole register, drafts included. Raising one needs a role that can create RFIs, and New RFI only shows for those roles. Roles are set in Settings → Members & Roles.
Can I delete an RFI?
Only a draft: the person who raised it can remove it with Delete draft. Once submitted, use Void on its page: the RFI is cancelled but stays on the register with its number. Void shows to the person who raised it, the person who routed it and the project owner, if their role can also move RFIs through the workflow.
Can I use RFIs on my phone?
Yes. It's a web app in your phone's browser, and it needs a connection to save your work. RFI policies are set on a computer.
Not a user yet? The RFIs feature page shows the module in context, and where to book a demo.