Free RFQ template, with a filled example and 7 emails

What's in the kit

Every file comes blank and filled. The filled versions use the example that runs through this page.

How to fill in the RFQ, field by field

Write lines every supplier prices the same way

Most messy quotes start with a messy request. Before you send, check each line:

1. One item per line, with a number. Suppliers can then answer "line 3" instead of describing the item again.
2. A quantity and a unit. Write "500 pieces", not "500". Say "box of 100" only if you buy by the box.
3. The spec, in full. Size, material, finish, grade and standard. "Hex bolt M10 x 50, grade 8.8, zinc plated, ISO 4017" is a line. "M10 bolts" isn't.
4. Brand or equivalent. If any good brand will do, say "or equivalent" and ask suppliers to name what they offer.
5. Alternatives in their own column. Ask suppliers to put an offered alternative next to the line, not in place of it. You then compare like with like first.
6. Drawings by revision. For made-to-order parts, give the drawing number and revision on the line.

Delivery and payment terms, in plain words

Freight can change which quote is cheapest, so say where the price should stop. Within one country, "delivered to our site, freight included" is usually enough. For goods from abroad, use an Incoterm with a named place. Incoterms are the rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that say who pays for transport, insurance and duty.

The full rules are in ICC's Incoterms 2020. Ask every supplier for the same term, or the prices won't line up.

For payment, name your usual terms, like "Net 30 from invoice". Ask suppliers to say if they need something else, such as a deposit.

How many suppliers, and how long to give them

Send the request to the three to five suppliers most likely to reply. Fewer than three gives you little to compare. More than five makes more work than it's worth for most routine buys. Our guide how to get quotes from suppliers covers how to rank your suppliers.

Need more suppliers to ask? Upload your supplier list to SourcingHQ (Excel or CSV, any layout). It suggests more suppliers like them, near a place you choose. Find more suppliers like yours.

How long to give them depends on what you're buying. These are starting points, not rules:

If a supplier asks for more time, give the same extra time to everyone.

Keep it fair

Suppliers quote their best price when they trust the process. Three rules help:

1. Same information to everyone. Same lines, same files, same deadline.
2. Answer questions one to one. Reply only to the supplier who asked, with email 2 below. If the answer changes what everyone is pricing, like a quantity, a spec or the date, send the change to every supplier.
3. Keep prices private. Never tell one supplier what another quoted. If you want a better price, ask everyone for their best and final price at the same time.

The 7 emails

Each email is short and written to be sent as is. Replace the parts in square brackets. Send to each supplier separately, or use Bcc, so suppliers don't see each other.

Subject: Request for quotation [RFQ number]: [what you're buying], reply by [date]

Hello [supplier name],

We'd like your quotation for the items in the attached request ([RFQ number]).

Please fill in the reply sheet with a unit price for every line you can supply. Leave a line blank if you can't supply it. If you'd offer an alternative, add it in the "Offered item" column next to the line.

Please reply by [time, time zone] on [date]. Prices should include [delivery to our site / the Incoterm and place] and valid for at least [30] days.

If anything's unclear, ask me before [date].

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Company, phone]

Subject: [RFQ number]: answer to your question

Hello [supplier name],

You asked: [question 1, question 2].

Our answer: [the answer].

The reply date is still [date].

Thank you,
[Your name]

Subject: Reminder: [RFQ number] quotes due [date]

Hello [supplier name],

A quick reminder that quotes for [RFQ number] are due by [time, time zone] on [date].

If you won't be quoting this time, a one-line reply is helpful, so I don't wait for it.

Thank you,
[Your name]

Subject: [RFQ number]: are you quoting?

Hello [supplier name],

I haven't received your quote for [RFQ number], which was due yesterday.

If you can send it by [new time, date], I'll include it. If not, no problem, and I'll keep you in mind for the next request.

Thank you,
[Your name]

Subject: [RFQ number]: best and final price by [date]

Hello [supplier name],

Thank you for your quote for [RFQ number]. We're now asking each supplier still in the running for their best and final price.

Please send your final unit prices on the same reply sheet by [time, time zone] on [date]. We'll decide on these prices, and we won't ask again.

[Optional: Please also confirm (the lead time / the price validity / freight) on lines [numbers].]

Thank you,
[Your name]

Subject: [RFQ number]: your quote is accepted

Hello [supplier name],

Thank you for your quote. We'd like to go ahead with [lines / all lines] at the prices in your quote dated [date].

Our purchase order [PO number] follows [today / by date]. Please confirm the delivery date once you have it.

Thank you,
[Your name]

Subject: [RFQ number]: thank you for quoting

Hello [supplier name],

Thank you for your quote for [RFQ number]. This time we've placed the order with another supplier.

[Optional, one line: Your price on [lines] was close. / Lead time was the deciding point.]

We'd like to ask you again on our next request.

Thank you,
[Your name]

One example, from request to award

Thornvale Bottling Co. runs a bottling plant in Dayton, Ohio. Its maintenance team needs spares for a filling line. The buyer sends RFQ-2026-118 to four suppliers.

The request

The filled RFQ document and workbook are in the downloads.

Terms: delivered to the plant, needed in 10 working days, net 30, prices valid 30 days, reply in 3 working days.

What came back

All prices in US dollars, per piece unless stated. Bold is the lowest on the line; shaded cells need a check before you compare.

Reading it

1. Brackenmere's washers are in a different unit. 2.90 a box of 100 is 0.029 a piece. Convert it yourself before you compare, and note it on the sheet.
2. Brackenmere's bearing is a different brand. It's cheapest, but check the alternate is acceptable before you count it.
3. Kestrelmoor quoted three lines of five. Its total would look lowest only because two lines are missing. Compare line by line.
4. Brackenmere charges freight. Add it as its own row, so it isn't lost.
5. Quillfield didn't reply. Send email 4 once. If it keeps happening, stop asking them.

When replies come back messy

Real quotes rarely come back in your format. Here's what to look for:

The second round: best and final, or a live auction

When two or more quotes are close, a second round often gives a better price. You have two ways to run it.

Prefer to send the request online?

You can skip the document altogether. In SourcingHQ, describe the purchase in a chat, or forward the enquiry email, and you get a draft request with the line items filled in. The AI doesn't invent line items or ceilings, and you review everything before it goes out. The AI never sends, awards or contacts suppliers. You decide each of those.

Buying in India

The kit works the same way in India, with four additions:

1. GSTIN. Put your GSTIN on the request, and ask for the supplier's on the reply sheet. The filled India example below shows where.
2. HSN or SAC code. Ask suppliers to give the HSN code for each item (SAC for services). It shows which GST rate applies.
3. GST shown separately. Ask for prices before GST, with the GST rate and amount in their own columns. Then you compare like with like.
4. L1, L2, L3. Indian buyers mark the lowest quote on a line L1, the next L2 and so on, in a comparative statement of quotations. The free comparison tool shows L1, L2, L3 for visitors from India.

Some suppliers are registered micro or small enterprises (Udyam). Payment terms agreed with them can't be longer than 45 days (MSMED Act 2006, section 15).

Six filled examples

Each example shows the lines and terms. The filled workbook has all six on their own tabs.

RFQ, RFP and RFI: which one?

Our guide on RFQ software covers the RFQ process in more depth.

Common mistakes

1. Forwarding a customer's email as the request. Suppliers then each read it differently.
2. No unit on a quantity. "100" could be pieces, boxes or meters.
3. Comparing totals. A missing line makes a total look cheap.
4. Different deadlines for different suppliers. It's unfair, and late quotes get compared against early ones.
5. Not telling the suppliers who didn't win. They stop quoting.

Common questions

Next step

Once the replies are in, compare them line by line. Use the "Quote comparison" tab in the workbook, the quotation comparison template, or SourcingHQ's free comparison tool. After the award, the purchase order comes next.