Free RFQ Template | Request for Quotation Excel

What is an RFQ?

You know what you need to buy. You know the specs. Now you need to find out what it's going to cost. That's when you send out an RFQ, a Request for Quotation.

An RFQ is the document you send to suppliers asking them to quote on specific goods or services. There's nothing exploratory about it. You're saying: "Here's exactly what I need. What's your best price and terms?"

The more suppliers you invite to quote, the stronger your position. Three quotes is the minimum for any serious comparison. Five or more gives you real leverage.

RFQ vs. RFP vs. RFI: which one do you actually need?

Quick breakdown, because these get confused constantly:

An RFI (Request for Information) is for the early stages, when you're still exploring the market to learn what's out there. No pricing involved. Think of it as research.

An RFQ is for when you know the exact specs. You just need pricing and delivery terms. This is by far the most common document for materials, supplies, and commodities.

An RFP (Request for Proposal) is for when you need the supplier to propose a solution: methodology, team, timeline, plus pricing. Common for services and complex projects.

If you can write down a clear specification sheet, you need an RFQ. If you need the vendor to figure out how to solve your problem, you need an RFP.

What should your RFQ include?

A good RFQ removes ambiguity. The more precise you are, the more accurate and comparable the quotes will be. Here's what to include:

• Your company name and procurement contact
• A unique RFQ number for tracking
• Issue date and a firm response deadline
• Detailed item descriptions: specs, quantities, units of measure (don't leave room for interpretation)
• Required conditions: delivery timeline, shipping destination, payment terms
• How you want the supplier to respond: structure their quote so the numbers land in comparable columns
• What you'll evaluate on: price, quality, lead time, or whatever matters most for this purchase

Best format for an RFQ

Use Excel. Set up a clean spreadsheet with your items listed and clearly marked fields where the supplier fills in their pricing. This is the single most important thing you can do to make comparing quotes faster later. If suppliers respond in wildly different formats, you'll waste hours reorganizing data.

Our template has it set up: company info and terms in a header, an items table for the supplier to complete, and quotation terms in a footer. Export to PDF when you need a formal version.

How to request quotes step by step

1. Get your specifications locked down. Ambiguity in the RFQ means ambiguity in the quotes, and that makes comparison impossible.
2. Select at least 3 suppliers. Fewer than that and you're not really comparing. If it's a big spend, go for 5.
3. Send the RFQ with a clear deadline. Give suppliers enough time to respond properly. Rush them and the quotes come back sloppy.
4. Respond to questions quickly. Suppliers will have clarifying questions. Slow answers slow down the whole process.
5. Collect and organize the responses. Get everything into a comparable format as soon as quotes come in.
6. Compare and decide. This is where our price comparison template comes in: it turns a stack of quotes into a clear decision.

How to compare the quotes you receive

You just received 4 quotes that all look completely different. One includes freight, another doesn't. One quotes per unit, another quotes per box. Welcome to procurement.

Don't just scan for the lowest number. Normalize everything first: same quantity, same unit, same Incoterm. Then look at delivery timelines, payment terms, warranties, and quality guarantees. The cheapest quote isn't always the best deal. Use our price comparison template to build a side-by-side view that tells the real story.

Five RFQ mistakes that ruin your comparison

1. Vague specifications. If two suppliers can interpret the line item differently, their quotes are not comparable. Lock the spec before sending.
2. No response structure. Free-format replies force you to rebuild every quote by hand. Send a table and require suppliers to fill it.
3. Missing the Incoterm. A price without delivery terms is not a price. State who pays freight and insurance.
4. Too little time to quote. Rushed suppliers pad prices to cover uncertainty, or skip your RFQ entirely.
5. No deadline enforcement. If late quotes are accepted, every future RFQ will run late. Close on the date you set.

Download your free template

Fill in the form and get a professional RFQ template in your inbox. Available in Excel (editable) and PDF.

Still sending RFQs by email?

If you're copying supplier addresses into BCC, chasing responses with follow-up emails, and building comparison charts manually in Excel, you already know where the hours go. See how Sourced automates the entire RFQ process with AI, from sending to the final comparison.