RFQ Template – Request for Quotation Format and Samples
A request for quotation template you can copy, plus the email wording to send it with and the rules that get comparable prices back from suppliers.
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An RFQ exists to make prices comparable. If three suppliers read your requirement differently, you do not get three prices for one job — you get three prices for three jobs, and the cheapest is usually the one that understood the least.
Everything below is aimed at that single problem. This page is the buyer’s side; if you are the supplier receiving one of these, the quotation maker and the sales quotation format are what you need to answer it.
Copy this
RFQ template
A simple request for quotation. Replace the content, keep the headings.
REQUEST FOR QUOTATION — RFQ-4471
Issued: 6 October 2026 · Responses due: 13 October 2026, 17:00
From: Kessler Foods Ltd, Procurement · Agbara, Ogun State ·
procurement@kesslerfoods.example
Contact for questions: O. Balogun — questions by email only, by 10 October
1. Requirement
Corrugated cartons, double wall, 320 × 240 × 180 mm internal, brown kraft outer,
printed one colour to one face, artwork supplied by us as vector PDF.
2. Quantity
5,000 units. Please also price 10,000 units so we can compare a quantity break.
3. Delivery
Kessler Foods, Agbara. Required on site by 12 November 2026. Please state your lead time from
artwork approval.
4. What to include in your quotation
Unit price; any one-off origination or tooling cost shown separately; delivery cost and number of
trips; lead time; how long the price is held; payment terms; anything you are excluding.
5. How to respond
PDF by email to the address above, quoting RFQ-4471 in the subject line, by 17:00 on 13 October.
6. Basis of award
Price, lead time and specification compliance together. We are not obliged to accept the lowest
quotation or any quotation.
Section 4 is the part most RFQs leave out and the part that does the most work. Telling suppliers what shape the answer should take is what makes three quotations comparable line for line rather than three documents you have to normalise by hand.
Sending it
RFQ email template
Subject: RFQ-4471 — 5,000 printed cartons — quotes by 13 Oct 17:00
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are requesting a quotation for printed corrugated cartons. The full requirement is in the attached RFQ-4471.
In short: 5,000 units, double wall, 320 × 240 × 180 mm, one-colour print, delivered to Agbara by 12 November. Please also price 10,000 units.
Quotations by 17:00 on 13 October, by email, quoting RFQ-4471. Questions by email to me before 10 October.
Kind regards,
O. Balogun · Procurement · Kessler Foods Ltd
The summary paragraph is not redundant. Suppliers triage by email preview, and a message whose body says only “see attached” is opened later than one that says what the job is.
Getting usable answers
Six rules that get comparable prices back
- Specify to the point of boredom. Dimensions, materials, grade, finish, tolerance. Every gap in the specification is filled by the supplier with whatever is cheapest for them.
- State the quantity, and one alternative. Asking for a second volume costs you nothing and reveals the shape of their pricing.
- Give a deadline with a time on it. “By Friday” produces Friday-evening quotations you cannot compare over the weekend.
- Say what the quotation must contain. Unit price, one-off costs, delivery, lead time, validity, exclusions. This single section is the difference between comparing and guessing.
- Route questions to one person, with a cut-off. Otherwise the answer one supplier receives becomes an advantage the others did not get.
- Say how you will decide. If lead time matters more than price, say so. Suppliers who cannot meet it will withdraw instead of wasting a week of yours.
Comparing what comes back
Normalising three quotations
Before comparing totals, check these. They are where apparent differences usually come from.
Is the one-off cost included?
Tooling or origination inside one supplier's unit price and separate in another's makes a like-for-like comparison impossible until you pull it out.
Is delivery in or out?
And to where, in how many trips. Free delivery on the first order and charged thereafter is common and rarely stated on the quotation.
Same specification?
A cheaper quote for a lighter board is not a cheaper quote. Check the grade against what you asked for before you check the price.
Same tax treatment?
One quoting inclusive of tax and another exclusive can look like a 7.5% difference that does not exist.
How long is it held?
A low price valid for seven days and a higher one valid for ninety are different offers, especially if your own decision will take a month.
What is excluded?
The exclusions list is where the real price lives. A quotation with no exclusions has usually not been thought about.
Questions
RFQ FAQ
What is an RFQ?
A request for quotation: a document a buyer sends to suppliers asking them to price a defined requirement. It differs from an enquiry in that it states the specification, the quantity and the deadline, so the prices that come back are comparable with each other.
What should an RFQ include?
Your organisation and contact, an RFQ reference, the specification in enough detail that two suppliers would read it the same way, quantities, the delivery point and required date, how long you need the price held, the deadline for responses, and how you want the quotation returned.
How is an RFQ different from an RFP or a tender?
An RFQ asks for a price against a specification you have already written. An RFP asks suppliers to propose how to solve a problem, so price is only part of the answer. A tender is usually a formal, often regulated, procurement with fixed submission rules. Use an RFQ when you know exactly what you want and only need the number.
How many suppliers should I send an RFQ to?
Three is the common convention and it is a reasonable floor. Sending to a dozen tends to lower the quality of the responses rather than the price, because experienced suppliers recognise a scattergun RFQ and price it defensively or ignore it.
Should an RFQ state a budget?
Usually not a figure, but do state a range or a ceiling if one genuinely exists. A supplier who cannot meet your ceiling saves you both time by saying so, and a specification with no budget signal at all often comes back priced for a different class of job entirely.
Do I have to accept the lowest quotation?
No, unless your own procurement rules say so. An RFQ is an invitation to quote, not an offer, and you are free to weigh lead time, specification compliance and reliability against price. Say in the RFQ that lowest price is not automatically awarded, so nobody is misled.