Request for Quote Template
A structured Request for Quote (RFQ) template built to streamline project-based procurement workflows. This template enables procurement teams and purchasing professionals to define comprehensive project requirements, communicate clear product or service specifications with delivery expectations, establish transparent evaluation criteria, and collect competitive vendor pricing — all within a single, organized framework.
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How to Use This Checklist
- Open the RFQ — Project Overview section. Enter when the RFQ was conducted, who prepared it, and the location, then give the project title and a detailed description, its objectives and strategic goals, and its background and context. This section is the foundation for everything the vendor reads later, so be specific about what the project is intended to achieve and why it is being run.
- Complete the Project Information and Project Leadership sections. Record the project lead and their primary contact information so that vendors know who to approach with clarifying questions. These sections are also used for the project title and description, objectives, and background, so make sure the entries are consistent with each other.
- Set the Schedule & Commercial Parameters. State the quote submission deadline and the expected decision and award timeline in business days. Record the estimated project budget range in USD, and select the preferred payment terms from the answer scale: Net 15, Net 30, Net 45, Net 60, Net 90, or Custom / Other. These give vendors a clear sense of timing and commercial expectations.
- Specify the product or service requirements. In the Product/Service Requirements section, describe what is being procured, the required quantity, and the expected delivery date and time. Then complete the Product/Service Specifications with the detailed description and technical specifications. Precision here is what allows vendors to price the same scope.
- Write the vendor instructions. Use the Vendor Instructions section to give comprehensive instructions for vendors and any additional quote submission requirements. This is where you tell vendors exactly what to submit, in what form, and by when, and what they need to include alongside their pricing.
- Publish the evaluation and submission terms. In the Evaluation & Vendor Submission section, set out the vendor evaluation criteria and scoring weight, and describe the quote review and selection process. Recording both before quotes arrive keeps the assessment transparent, because vendors know the criteria against which they will be measured.
- Collect vendor proposals. The Vendor Pricing Details section is to be completed by the vendor, who provides the proposed best price per unit in USD and a detailed price breakdown. Reviewing a breakdown rather than a single figure helps you see how each vendor has built up its price.
- Close out the RFQ. Use the Contractual Terms section for the contract terms and conditions, then record the signature. Capture the finished at time along with the inspection real start date and inspection real end date to complete the record.
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What this RFQ template is for
An RFQ is a formal invitation to suppliers to quote for a defined scope of products or services. It is used when the requirement is clear enough to describe and price, and when several vendors can be asked to quote against the same brief. This template covers the whole RFQ from start to finish. It has eleven sections: - **RFQ — Project Overview** — who conducted the RFQ, who prepared it, the location, and the project title, description, objectives, and background. - **Project Information** and **Project Leadership** — the project title and detailed description, objectives and strategic goals, background and context, and the project lead and primary contact. - **Schedule & Commercial Parameters** — the quote submission deadline, the expected decision and award timeline in business days, the estimated project budget range in USD, and the preferred payment terms. - **Product/Service Requirements** and **Product/Service Specifications** — the detailed description and technical specifications, required quantity, and expected delivery date and time. - **Vendor Instructions** — comprehensive instructions for vendors and any additional quote submission requirements. - **Evaluation & Vendor Submission** — the vendor evaluation criteria and scoring weight, and the quote review and selection process. - **Vendor Pricing Details (To Be Completed by Vendor)** — the proposed best price per unit in USD and a detailed price breakdown. - **Contractual Terms** — the contract terms and conditions and signature. Descriptive fields at the top capture when the RFQ was conducted, who prepared it, and the location, and the record closes with the finished at time and the inspection real start and end dates.
Why use an RFQ
A well-run RFQ defines the requirement once and puts it in front of every vendor in the same form. Because the deadline, the required information, and the evaluation criteria and scoring weight are recorded up front, vendors respond to a known brief and their proposals can be compared on the same basis. The template also separates the buyer's side from the vendor's side. Sections such as Project Information, Schedule & Commercial Parameters, and Vendor Instructions are completed during preparation. The Vendor Pricing Details section is completed by the vendor, who supplies the proposed best price per unit and a detailed price breakdown. Contractual Terms and the signature record the contractual position once a quote is accepted. The commercial parameters make the buyer's expectations explicit before quotes arrive. The quote submission deadline and expected decision and award timeline tell vendors when to submit and when to expect a decision. The estimated project budget range gives a frame for pricing, and preferred payment terms — chosen from Net 15, Net 30, Net 45, Net 60, Net 90, or Custom / Other — set out how payment is expected to work.
What a strong RFQ covers
A strong RFQ is complete on the scope, clear on timing, and disciplined about how quotes will be judged. Work through the following as you build one: 1. **A defined project.** State the project title and a detailed description, the objectives and strategic goals, and the background and context, so vendors understand not just what is being bought but why and in what setting it will be used. 2. **A named point of contact.** Record the project lead and primary contact information so that vendors know where to direct questions about the RFQ. 3. **A commercial frame.** Give the quote submission deadline, the expected decision and award timeline in business days, the estimated project budget range in USD, and the preferred payment terms. 4. **Detailed requirements and specifications.** Describe the product or service, the required quantity, and the expected delivery date and time, supported by the detailed description and technical specifications. 5. **Unambiguous vendor instructions.** Provide comprehensive instructions for vendors and any additional quote submission requirements, so that every proposal contains the same information in the same form. 6. **Published evaluation criteria.** State the vendor evaluation criteria and scoring weight and describe the quote review and selection process before quotes arrive, so that scoring is applied consistently. 7. **A price breakdown.** Ask the vendor to complete the proposed best price per unit in USD and a detailed price breakdown, rather than a single figure only. 8. **Contractual terms and a signature.** Close the RFQ with the contract terms and conditions and a signature to record the agreement.
How to carry out an RFQ
Run the RFQ in a sequence that mirrors the template: 1. **Prepare the overview.** In the RFQ — Project Overview section, record when the RFQ was conducted, who prepared it, and the location, then write the project title and detailed description, objectives and strategic goals, and background and context. 2. **Identify leadership.** Complete the Project Information and Project Leadership sections, naming the project lead and primary contact. 3. **Set the schedule and commercial parameters.** Fix the quote submission deadline, the expected decision and award timeline in business days, the estimated project budget range in USD, and the preferred payment terms. 4. **Define what you are buying.** Complete the Product/Service Requirements and Product/Service Specifications sections with the product or service description, required quantity, expected delivery date and time, and the technical specifications. 5. **Instruct vendors.** Write the Vendor Instructions section, including any additional quote submission requirements. 6. **Fix the rules for judging.** Record the vendor evaluation criteria and scoring weight and the quote review and selection process. 7. **Collect pricing.** Ask vendors to complete the Vendor Pricing Details section with their proposed best price per unit in USD and a detailed price breakdown. 8. **Agree the contract.** Use the Contractual Terms section for the contract terms and conditions and capture the signature. 9. **Record close-out.** Capture the finished at time along with the inspection real start date and inspection real end date to complete the record.
The benefits of a structured RFQ
Following a single structured template means every supplier receives the same requirement document and returns their response in the same format. The evaluated information — evaluation criteria and scoring weight, quote review and selection process, best price per unit, price breakdown — sits in defined sections rather than scattered across separate documents, and the contractual terms and signature are recorded in the same place. It also means that when the project moves forward, the quote, its scope, its pricing, and its terms are all traceable to one record.
Who this template is for
This template is for procurement teams and purchasing professionals who buy products or services on a project basis. It is written for practitioners who need a ready-to-use format for defining a project's requirements, communicating the specifications and delivery expectations, establishing evaluation criteria, and gathering competitive vendor pricing in a single organised framework.
Key terms
- **RFQ** — a request for quote: a formal invitation to suppliers to submit pricing and delivery proposals for a defined scope. - **Project lead** — the named primary contact for the RFQ. - **Preferred payment terms** — the payment arrangement the buyer expects, expressed as Net 15, Net 30, Net 45, Net 60, Net 90, or Custom / Other. - **Vendor evaluation criteria and scoring weight** — the basis and relative weighting on which quotes are assessed. - **Best price per unit** — the unit price proposed by the vendor in USD. - **Detailed price breakdown** — the vendor's itemisation of how the price is built up.
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