Question 1

How accurate is the site intelligence?

Accepted Answer

CivilProposal uses municipal, provincial, and federal open data where available. All outputs are planning-level and require professional verification before reliance or client submission. Each data point includes source attribution so your team can review the original record. The platform is a decision-support tool, not a sealed engineering deliverable.

Question 2

What does "screened" mean in CivilProposal?

Accepted Answer

Screened outputs are planning-level findings generated from open data and automated analysis. They are intended to help scope pursuits and identify areas requiring further investigation. A screened result tells you where to look; it is not a source-confirmed conclusion. Your engineers confirm the underlying record before relying on it.

Question 3

What does "source-confirmed" mean in CivilProposal?

Accepted Answer

Source-confirmed outputs have been matched against an official open-data source (a live municipal dataset, an authoritative provincial layer, or a federal record) and are explicitly labelled in the platform and in exports. Source-confirmed does not remove the need for professional review before client submission; it tells you the underlying record was reachable and matched.

Question 4

What municipalities are supported?

Accepted Answer

Coverage varies by municipality. CivilProposal provides live municipal intelligence where open data is available (currently 25+ Canadian cities including Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, and more) and provincial or federal baseline intelligence elsewhere. See the Coverage page for current details and the verification workflow used where municipal data is limited.

Question 5

How do you handle municipalities that don't publish open data?

Accepted Answer

Where a municipality does not publish open data, CivilProposal falls back to provincial and federal baseline data and labels the output accordingly. The verification workflow makes the gap explicit: your team sees what is sourced, what is inferred from regional data, and what needs to be confirmed with the municipality directly before submission.

Question 6

Can I trust the permit timelines?

Accepted Answer

Permit timelines are planning-level estimates from municipal benchmarks and historical data where published. They are screened, not guaranteed. Use them to size the proposal envelope and flag pursuits where timing risk is material; confirm specific applications with the authority having jurisdiction before commitments.

Question 7

What happens if the site data is wrong?

Accepted Answer

Every data point carries source attribution and a screened-vs-source-confirmed label, and every export includes a verification checklist with a data-as-of stamp. If a source record is wrong, your team sees the underlying record before relying on it. CivilProposal is a decision-support tool, not a sealed engineering deliverable. Professional review of every output is required before client submission.

Question 8

How much time does CivilProposal save?

Accepted Answer

Time savings vary by pursuit, municipality, and how much of your existing workflow you keep. Address-in produces a sourced scoping report and structured proposal draft for professional review; senior staff still verify and refine before submission. We do not promise a specific reduction.

Question 9

Can CivilProposal help decide whether to pursue a project?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Site intelligence, permitting context, servicing considerations, planning-level budget envelope, and preliminary risk screening can help principals assess project complexity and coverage confidence before investing significant proposal effort. See the Go / No-Go page for the workflow.

Question 10

Can I upload an RFP and generate a draft proposal?

Accepted Answer

You start with the site location rather than uploading the RFP file itself. CivilProposal resolves location-specific site intelligence from the address; project details (client, project type, deadline) are added when you continue to the proposal draft. Reference proposals can be stored in a private firm library for human review only; they are not used in draft generation. For reusable draft structure, use Proposal Templates (Solo+).

Question 11

How do I evaluate civil engineering proposal software?

Accepted Answer

Look for discipline-specific scoping, sourced municipal data, conservative draft language, and export workflows your firm can review before client submission. CivilProposal is built for Canadian civil firms: sourced preliminary scoping from open data, planning-level scope language, and proposal drafts for professional review. Generic RFP or sales proposal tools lack municipal and discipline-specific context.

Question 12

How is CivilProposal different from generic RFP software?

Accepted Answer

Horizontal RFP platforms focus on collaboration, pipelines, and reusable content libraries. CivilProposal focuses on sourced site scoping intelligence, civil engineering scope and exclusions, and drafts structured for municipal and owner RFPs in Canada. The intelligence layer is the moat. The proposal draft is the output. See the Compare page for details.

Question 13

Does CivilProposal help with municipal RFP responses?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Where municipal open data is available, CivilProposal surfaces planning-level context (zoning, timelines, stormwater considerations, servicing) before you draft. All outputs require verification by licensed professionals before submission.

Question 14

Can I use CivilProposal for site development proposals?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Site development, land civil, stormwater, and servicing pursuits are core use cases. We also support infrastructure, industrial, and qualifications-based (SOQ) workflows.

Question 15

Is CivilProposal an AI proposal writer for engineers?

Accepted Answer

It can help draft proposal sections. The site scoping intelligence is sourced from open data, not generative AI. It does not replace licensed professional engineering judgment. Every draft includes assumptions, exclusions, and items your team must verify.

Question 16

What is CivilProposal?

Accepted Answer

A decision-support platform for Canadian civil engineering firms. Sourced preliminary scoping from municipal, provincial, and federal open data surfaces planning-level risks and fee envelopes; proposal drafts provide structured sections for professional review and editing. The intelligence layer is sourced, not AI-generated.

Question 17

Is this a replacement for engineering judgment?

Accepted Answer

No. CivilProposal is a decision-support tool, not a replacement for licensed professional engineering judgment. Scoping intelligence is sourced from open data and rules, not generated by AI. Proposal drafts require independent verification by qualified professionals before use in any professional capacity.

Question 18

What types of projects does it support?

Accepted Answer

Industrial, logistics, warehouse, and infrastructure projects across Canadian municipalities.

Question 19

Where does the municipal data come from?

Accepted Answer

Canadian municipal open data portals (Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, and others), GIS services, climate data, and publicly available regulatory information.

Question 20

Can I customize proposals with my firm's branding?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Set up your Firm Profile (Settings) with company name, credentials, signatory information, and brand colors. Exports apply your firm details to the cover page and section headings.

Question 21

What export formats are available?

Accepted Answer

Proposals can be exported to PDF (all plans), Word/DOCX and Excel (Solo plan and above). You can also print directly from the browser with optimized formatting. All exports include your firm's branding.

Question 22

Is there a free plan?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The free plan includes 3 Site Intelligence Report credits per month (sourced from open data), 2 proposal draft generations per month, and PDF export. Need more reports in a month? Buy a single report for $89 CAD or a 5-pack for $195 CAD. No credit card is required. Upgrade to Solo ($149/mo CAD) or higher for ongoing use, Word/Excel export, client share links, and templates.

Question 23

Can I switch plans at any time?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time. Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period.

Question 24

What happens when I use all my Site Intelligence Report credits?

Accepted Answer

You can still access, edit, and export everything you have already generated. To run more Site Intelligence Reports before your monthly allowance resets, buy a single report for $89 CAD or a 5-pack for $195 CAD, or upgrade your plan.

Question 25

Do you offer discounts for small firms?

Accepted Answer

Contact us at support@civilproposal.com to discuss pricing for small firms or early adopters. We handle these requests case by case.

Question 26

How does annual billing work?

Accepted Answer

Save 20% vs. monthly billing. For example, the Team plan is $399/mo CAD monthly or $319/mo CAD when billed annually ($3,828/year instead of $4,788). You pay once per year and your subscription renews automatically. You can cancel at any time.

Question 27

What happens to my price if pricing changes?

Accepted Answer

Existing subscribers keep the pricing they signed up at. Price changes apply to new subscriptions only; your plan renews at your current rate for as long as you stay subscribed.

Question 28

What payment methods do you accept?

Accepted Answer

We accept all major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) through Stripe, our payment processor. All payment information is handled securely by Stripe. We never store your card details.

Question 29

Is my data stored in Canada?

Accepted Answer

Yes for core application data and authentication. The application runs on Fly.io in Toronto and stores proposal/auth data in Supabase Canada Central (Montreal). Some subprocessors, including OpenAI, Stripe, PostHog, and Google Analytics, may still process limited data in the United States. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest.

Question 30

Is my proposal data used to train AI models?

Accepted Answer

No. OpenAI processes your data under their API terms and does not retain it after processing. Your proposal data, client information, and project details are not sold or shared with third parties. OpenAI's API data usage policies explicitly state that API data is not used for model training.

Question 31

How do you handle data privacy?

Accepted Answer

We comply with PIPEDA and BC PIPA. We collect only necessary data, encrypt in transit and at rest, and respond to data access requests within 30 days. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Question 32

Can I delete my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Under PIPEDA and BC PIPA, you may request deletion of your personal information. Email privacy@civilproposal.com and we will delete or anonymize your data, except where we are legally required to retain it.

Question 33

How do I create my first pursuit?

Accepted Answer

Sign up for a free account, then click New Pursuit from the dashboard or pursuits page. Enter the site address and run site intelligence. Review the report and verification items, add project details, then generate a proposal draft for editing and export.

Question 34

Do I need to set up my firm profile first?

Accepted Answer

You can create proposals immediately, but configuring your Firm Profile (Settings → Firm Profile) ensures exports include your logo, brand colors, and signatory information. We recommend completing this before your first client-facing export.

Question 35

Can I invite team members?

Accepted Answer

On the Team plan and above, open Share on a pursuit and add collaborators by email. They must already have a CivilProposal account (same email as their sign-in). Team Members in Settings is a separate roster for assigning staff on pursuits: your plan caps how many roster records you can save (e.g. 5 on Team, 15 on Firm).

Question 36

Is there a demo or trial?

Accepted Answer

View a read-only sample at /sample-output before signing up. The free plan is your trial: 3 Site Intelligence Report credits and 2 proposal drafts per month. No credit card required. Paid plans start at $149/mo CAD. Upgrade when the workflow fits your firm.

Civil Pursuit Intelligence & Proposal Software FAQ

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