Vendor Selection Scorecard
Compare vendors on what actually matters to you, and know what to ask before you sign. Weight your requirements first, score up to four vendors, check whether the winner holds, and leave with a question list for every vendor.
Step 1 · Requirements and weights
Pick a starting set, then make it yours. Phrase each requirement as a question a vendor must answer. Give it a weight from 1 to 5, and flag the few that are must-haves.
Step 2 · Vendors and scores
Score 0 to 5. Note the evidence behind each score: a demo on your data, a contract clause, a reference. The leaderboard updates as you go.
Tip: lock your weights in Step 1 first. You can still score now, but weights set after scoring tend to follow the favorite.
Step 3 · Result
Weighted ranking
Sensitivity check
What this means
Per-category breakdown
Weighted score within each category. A high total can hide a weak category, so read across the rows.
Questions to ask each vendor
Built from every requirement that is unscored, scored 2 or lower, or scored without evidence. Must-haves come first.
The vendor with the highest total is the right choice.
The total is only as good as the weights and the evidence behind it. A close lead on unproven scores is a tie. Use the scorecard to decide what to test, then let a proof of concept and reference calls settle it.
In our experience the most useful line in a scorecard is the evidence column. When two people disagree on a score, the one with a contract clause or a live demo on your data wins the argument. Ask vendors to put key answers in the order form, and keep a person approving any agent action above your risk threshold.
Field guide
How finance, IT and procurement leaders keep a selection fair, fast and defensible.
Anchoring is real: after a strong demo, people raise the weight of whatever that vendor showed best. Agree the weights with the decision owners before the first meeting, write them down, and change them only with a stated reason. Then the scorecard defends the decision instead of decorating it.
Rule of thumbWeights signed off by the budget owner before any vendor presents.
Every must-have is a veto. Ten of them and almost no vendor survives, so teams quietly relax the rules and the scorecard loses credibility. Reserve must-haves for legal, security and control requirements you truly cannot work around, such as data residency, audit trails and approvals.
Rule of thumbThree must-haves or fewer. Everything else is a weight.
Run reference calls with customers you choose, of your size, without the vendor on the line. Ask what went wrong and how it was fixed. Then run a short proof of concept on your own data, with pass criteria agreed in advance and a person reviewing every agent decision.
Rule of thumbTwo references and one scoped test, with pass criteria written before you start.
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