Procurement sometimes feels like a complicated labyrinth. Businesses need to navigate through numerous choices to get to the finish line, i.e., choose the perfect vendor. Without RFQ templates, decision-makers would easily be lost and overwhelmed. 😵
An RFQ template standardizes the process and help you gather the relevant information to decide on a supplier. Although rarely given credit, they’re an essential part of procurement and business in general.
To honor these unsung heroes, we’ve curated a top 10 list of our favorite RFQ templates. They’re the best in business, and the good news is—most of them are free!
10 RFQ Templates (Request for Quotes in Word & Excel) To Simplify Procurement
- What Are RFQ Templates?
- What Makes a Good RFQ Template?
- 10 RFQ Templates to Use in 2024
- 1. ClickUp Request for Quote Template
- 2. ClickUp Quote Form Template
- 3. ClickUp Service Quote Form Template
- 4. ClickUp Budget Proposal Template
- 5. ClickUp Grant Proposal Template
- 6. ClickUp Business Proposal Template
- 7. ClickUp Services Proposal Template
- 8. ClickUp Project Request Template
- 9. Word RFQ Template by Template.net
- 10. Excel RFQ Template by Vertex42
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Are RFQ Templates?
An RFQ or request for quotation is a process in which businesses seek prices, bids, and other important information from suppliers and contractors looking to participate in a project. RFQ templates are documents that allow companies to collect information in a uniform way, which helps them review it and make an easier decision.
The RFQ process can be more or less specific, depending on the company’s needs. Besides the pricing quote, they typically include contact information, payment terms, timeline, and project expectations.
They’re an important part of every business, regardless of industry and size, but they’re particularly significant for companies that require a steady supply of certain products.
An RFQ should not be confused with an RFP (request for proposal). Although similar, these documents serve different purposes. While RFQs aim to provide pricing information, RFPs often include other non-pricing-related details. RFQs can either precede or come after RFPs.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Makes a Good RFQ Template?
There’s no universal formula. A good request for a quote template or a pricing template is the one that gets the job done and enables effective communication between you and the vendor. But in general, an RFQ template should:
- Contain all the necessary information: Contact info, exact specifications, delivery information, and terms and conditions
- Include submission guidelines: Deadline, preferred format, and delivery method
- Be clear and concise: With tables and other visual elements to help with readability
- Be flexible: Vendors must have wiggle room in their vendor list in case they want to propose alternative solutions
- Look professional: Uniform and visually appealing
Summarize this article for me please10 RFQ Templates to Use in 2024
Do yourself a favor and use one of these 10 effective RFQ templates in ClickUp, Word, or Excel. They provide a solid foundation for your procurement process but also streamline it, ensure consistency, and ultimately lead to successful collaboration between you and the vendors. 🤝
Remember—you can always modify the templates to reflect your particular business needs!
1. ClickUp Request for Quote Template
The ClickUp Request for Quote Template is as simple and effective as an RFQ template gets. It’s short but covers all key aspects of an RFQ, laying them out clearly and logically. Once you’ve provided the vendor with a document outlining your strategic plan, budget, and timeline, send them this RFQ document to gather specific information and evaluate their offer.
This ClickUp quotation document starts with your company name and logo. To further personalize it, add a cover image, change the font, and choose which elements you want to display.
The next section contains the business contact information, date, and customer and quotation numbers, followed by the details of the responsible contact person, valid-by date, and the info of the person who wrote the request.
In the following section, called Special Instructions, you can list specific requirements for the vendor, such as payment method or terms. The template ends with two tables:
- The first sums up the most important order and shipping information, including P.O. number, ship date, shipping company, and F.O.B. point
- The second one is a list of requested items, including their quantity and price
2. ClickUp Quote Form Template
If you’re on the other side of the supply and demand chain and need a template to collect and manage client requests, check out the ClickUp Quote Form Template. It’s straightforward and user-friendly, and once you open it, you’ll be greeted with detailed instructions and suggestions for use.
This free RFQ template consists of various views, namely:
- Quote Form: A form for gathering your potential clients’ data. Keep in mind that form sharing is available for subscribers of the Unlimited plan and up
- New Quote Requests List: The base view which displays all requests and allows you to group, filter, and sort them. It contains columns such as company name, due date, status, and project cost, but you can customize them according to your preferences
- Quote Creation Process Board: This view allows for clear visualization of tasks. You can group and reorder them as you find convenient
- All Requests Table: If you’re an Excel enthusiast, this view will feel familiar. It’s simple, fast, and allows for editing in bulk and data exporting
Besides these main views, the template includes a simplified board, as well as a Gantt chart and a Workload view for effortless time and project management.
3. ClickUp Service Quote Form Template
With the Service Quote Form Template, you can create a client request form to rule them all. You’ll have all you need to provide your clients with accurate quotes and quickly reach a business agreement. The form automatically turns requests into tasks, streamlining the planning process.
While you can edit the form even as a guest (provided you have permission), you must be subscribed to the Unlimited plan if you want to share it or make it from scratch.
By default, the Form view contains the following fields:
- Name and company name
- Chosen service
- Headcount
- Start date
- Contact information
You can edit the introductory text and individual questions and add Custom Fields by dragging and dropping them from the menu on the left onto the form. If you go with the Business plan, you’ll be able to customize the appearance of the form, add your branding, and put a personal spin on it. 💫
Like the previous quotation template on this list, it contains other views, such as the List and Kanban board, to help you manage requests and tasks.
4. ClickUp Budget Proposal Template
Like the RFQ, the budget proposal is another crucial element of project planning. These two are tightly knit and depend on each other. The RFQ helps you choose a vendor and gather pricing information. This allows you to plan your resources and create an effective budget and project proposal to present to stakeholders.
The Budget Proposal Template by ClickUp is pretty straightforward but has everything you need for successful financial planning, including different subpages and sections. In your RFQ process, this document can work as a pricing template to manage various things in your project budget.
The homepage contains the basic project information—company name, contact information, project title, description, and start/end date. The subpages include:
- Personnel, i.e., project team/participants
- Materials and equipment
- Logistical details
- Event execution
Each section has a dedicated table in which you can review and calculate the costs. You can edit all elements of the template, such as the text and table columns, and add new ones.
The template ends with a Summary subpage. It contains a Budget Breakdown section with a pie chart, the Terms and Conditions of the agreement, and a section where the author and the person responsible for approving can put their signatures to confirm the acceptance of the offer.
5. ClickUp Grant Proposal Template
If you need help funding vendors and other participants in your project budget, you must present the project and request a grant from stakeholders. To do that, you must come up with an effective grant proposal to do the convincing for you. Once again, ClickUp has got you covered!
The ClickUp Grant Proposal Template is your best bet when it comes to funding requests. It’s beginner-friendly and starts with an instructional doc serving as a legend and explaining how to best use all the elements.
The List view is where most of the action happens. It is a database for all the other views containing all the proposal parts, organized in groups, such as General, Problem Definition, and Budget. You can customize these groups according to your preferences.
The columns include assignee, due date, priority label, first-year cost, and performance measurement, but you can modify these to your project management process as well. Other views have a Kanban board and a Project Schedule Calendar View, which gives you a timeline overview of scheduled proposal elements.
6. ClickUp Business Proposal Template
In the sea of business proposals, yours must stand out to be successful and attract the right clients. 🎣
The Business Proposal Template by ClickUp is packed with tools and features to streamline proposal creation and business communication. Like all ClickUp Templates, it begins with a how-to doc outlining the most important elements and the best way to use them.
The template contains many views. The main one is the Business Proposal Steps list, which serves as a reminder and checklist during the creation and bidding process. Default columns include:
- Status
- Start and due date
- Priority label
- Task complexity
- Effort level
- Completion level
- Latest comments
By clicking on individual steps/tasks, you can view additional information about them, such as subtasks, dependencies, and attachments. It’s easy to create the bidding process with internal stakeholders in ClickUp Docs.
Other views include a Priorities list that groups tasks by their urgency labels, an Email Templates doc where you can store emails for later, a Task board, a Gantt chart, and a Workload view.
ClickUp allows for the automation of proposal creation and many other business processes. It automatically tracks the progress of tasks and updates the status column. You can also add custom automated actions.
7. ClickUp Services Proposal Template
When you sell services instead of items, it often requires a different approach. The ClickUp Services Proposal Template is designed to help you assure potential clients of your competence and ability to solve their problems and consequently land a contract.
The template starts with the contact details of both parties. In the following two sections, Project Description and Company Background, you can write your heart out, describing your business and project and how they came to be. ✍️
The following section pertains to the pre-agreed objectives, proposed services, and a rough time estimate for each. After that, you can define the scope of work, i.e.:
- Approach and methodology: What needs to be done
- Project deliverables: How much and when it must be done
- Dependencies: What other parties have to do to enable production
Below, you can list the fees and pricing of all proposed services and collect signatures to finalize the document.
Like the previous ClickUp templates, it lets you add a personal flair by embedding images and altering the font.
8. ClickUp Project Request Template
While the previous templates were beginner-friendly, this one takes more effort to master due to its complexity. After all, when it comes to features, the Project Request Template by ClickUp is like an all-you-can-eat buffet. 🍽️
Once you get the hang of it, you can do all your project planning within one platform. It lets you collect and manage requests, assign them as tasks, and oversee their progress.
This template is a folder consisting of two lists—Request Form & Backlog and Approved Projects. In the former, you can find multiple views:
- Submit Project Request Form: Allows you to uniformly collect customer feedback
- List of Requests: Gives you a rundown of all requests/tasks, grouped by status
- Request Board: Lets you visualize and arrange tasks, agile-style
- Gantt: Creates a timeline of tasks for smoother time management
- Workload: Shows tasks from the assignees’ point of view for effective resource allocation
- Chat: Facilitates communication between teammates
In the Approved Projects list, you can single out and focus on the initial request (or requests) that are ready for production and watch your projects flourish as they come to fruition. 🌼
9. Word RFQ Template by Template.net
If Word is your weapon of choice, this option may be suitable for you. Template.net’s RFQ template in Word is minimalistic and to the point, requiring little effort on both the company’s and the supplier’s sides.
It consists of only 3 sections—contact info of the sender and recipient, background, and request details. The background is the description of the document, and it briefly mentions the demanded product and deadline.
The request details table allows you to get into the nitty-gritty and let the other party know exactly what you need. It contains information such as:
- RFQ number
- Instructing officer
- Period for submission
- Milestones
- Preferred number of personnel
- Security and legal requirements
- Additional requests
Besides Word, this template also works on Google Docs and Apple Pages. Keep in mind that you have to be a paid subscriber of Template.net to download it.
10. Excel RFQ Template by Vertex42
Use Vertex42’s free RFQ template in Excel or Google Sheets and witness the transformation of your procurement process from mundane to excellent.
Format aside, it’s not much different than the templates we previously listed. It contains sections for contact information of clients and vendors, as well as quote and request details.
The description section lets you list all items or services you need and their pricing and add a mark to signify that the amount is taxable. One of the most significant benefits of Excel is that it can do calculations for you, which saves you time and reduces the risk of errors. You can also quickly generate detailed reports.
The final section of the template is the Terms and Conditions. Use it as an opportunity to specify technical details and preferences. You can also add a signature. As Vertex42 recommends, you should export it as a PDF file before distributing it across vendors.
Summarize this article for me pleaseTop 10 RFQ Templates—An Overview
For a brief rundown of all the templates and what they offer, refer to the table below:
| Template | Advantages |
| ClickUp Request for Quote Template | Provides a solid knowledge base for vendors and suppliers looking to collaborate with you |
| ClickUp Quote Form Template | Allows you to collect RFQs, turn them into tasks, and effortlessly plan their execution |
| ClickUp Service Quote Form Template | Ensures you get all the information you need to give an accurate quote for your services |
| ClickUp Budget Proposal Template | Facilitates financial planning of projects and streamlines communication with stakeholders |
| ClickUp Grant Proposal Template | Helps you write an effective request to increase your chances of receiving funding for your project |
| ClickUp Business Proposal Template | Acts as a step-by-step guide for business proposal creation, making it more manageable |
| ClickUp Services Proposal Template | Creates a space for you to describe your services in great detail and win over prospective clients |
| ClickUp Project Request Template | Gives you all the necessary tools to manage requests, i.e., gather, prioritize, and track progress |
| Word RFQ Template by Template.net | Provides a simple, customizable request for quote in Microsoft Word |
| Excel RFQ Template by Vertex42 | Lets you create professional-looking RFQs in Excel and effortlessly calculate prices |
Summarize this article for me pleaseElevating the RFQ Process With Templates—Final Thoughts
Don’t let your requests for quotation be an afterthought. Put some care into them, and you’ll open doors to numerous vendor opportunities. 🚪
Luckily, with these handy RFQ templates, you don’t have to put much time and effort into making them look professional. You only need to fill in the blanks and customize as necessary, and that’s it—you can enjoy streamlined and successful procurement!
Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.
