Request for Quotation (RFQ) Template — Free & Editable

A request for quotation (RFQ) is what you send when you already know exactly what you want and you're shopping for the best price. You give vendors a precise specification and quantity; they respond with a price, lead time and terms. The whole point of a good RFQ template is comparability — if every supplier answers the same questions in the same units, you can line the quotes up side by side and pick on merit instead of guesswork.

What goes into a strong RFQ

The structure above is the editable RFQ template. Each field exists to remove ambiguity so vendors quote on the same basis:

• RFQ number & date — a unique reference vendors quote back, and that flows into your purchase order.
• Buyer & GSTIN — who's buying, the point of contact, and your GSTIN so suppliers can raise a correct tax invoice later.
• Item / specification — the most important field. State grade, standard (IS/ASTM), dimensions, drawing or part number, and any quality requirement.
• Quantity & unit — exact volume with the unit of measure. "500" is useless; "500 kg" or "500 nos" is quotable.
• Delivery location & date — the ship-to (which sets intra- vs inter-state GST) and the required-by date.
• Quote validity — how long the price must hold, so you aren't re-quoting before you can place the order.
• Price basis — ex-works vs FOR (free on road) destination, and whether GST is extra or inclusive. Mismatched bases make quotes uncomparable.
• Payment terms — your expected credit period (advance, Net 15/30/45).
• Submission deadline — a firm close date and time so bids arrive together.

How to use this RFQ template

1. Fill the header (RFQ number, your details, GSTIN) and the line-item specs — be precise; vagueness invites padded quotes.
2. Set the price basis and whether GST is extra or included so every quote is comparable.
3. Pick 3–6 capable vendors. Too few and you lose leverage; too many and evaluation drags.
4. Send it with a firm deadline and ask for a landed price (use the landed cost calculator to normalise freight and duties).
5. Tabulate responses, normalise to the same UoM and tax basis, and shortlist on total landed cost — not just unit rate.

Common mistakes that ruin a quote comparison

• Loose specs — vendors quote different grades, so you're comparing apples to oranges.
• No price basis — one quotes ex-works, another FOR; the cheaper unit rate may be the costlier delivered price.
• Mixing GST treatment — some quote inclusive, some extra; always state which.
• Open-ended deadlines — bids trickle in over weeks and you lose negotiating leverage.
• Single-source RFQs — without competition there's no benchmark for whether the price is fair.

Skip the email tennis — run it in Procupy

Sending an RFQ over email and pasting replies into a spreadsheet is slow and error-prone. Procupy drafts the RFQ from a plain-English brief, sends it to your vendor list, and collects structured, comparable quotes automatically — normalised to the same UoM and GST basis. When price is the deciding factor, convert the RFQ into a live reverse auction so vendors compete in real time and you capture the savings without a single follow-up call. The winning quote becomes a GST-correct PO in one click.