Suppliers & RFQs

When you need pricing from suppliers, a request for quotation (RFQ) lets you set out exactly what you want priced and send it to several suppliers at once. Each supplier gets their own private web link, fills in their prices with no account and no login, and their figures come straight back - so you can compare them side by side and award the work to whoever you choose.

How to run an RFQ

1. Create the request. In RFQ requests (under Enquiries), click New RFQ, give it a title and an optional responses-due date. That is all it needs to start - it saves as a draft straight away and opens on its own page. You can also raise one straight from an enquiry with its Raise RFQ button, which prefills the title and links the two together.
2. Add the scope. On the RFQ's page, use Edit to write a free-text scope and any notes describing the work.
3. Attach your spec and drawings. Add drawings, PDFs, spreadsheets or photos (up to 25 MB each) so suppliers price against the real documents. Drag and drop or browse to add them.
4. Add line items, or ask for a lump sum. Optionally itemise the work - a description, quantity and unit per line - for a priced breakdown, or leave line items off and ask for a single lump-sum price against your scope and attachments. You are never forced to itemise.
5. Invite your suppliers. Invite any contact tagged as a supplier. Each invite creates that supplier's own private link.
6. Send it. Click Send to suppliers (you need at least one supplier). The RFQ goes out to tender and the links go live - nothing is visible to any supplier until you send.
7. Share each link. Copy each supplier's link (there is a copy button beside their name) and send it to them however you like - by email, message, or however you normally reach them.
8. Suppliers respond. Each supplier opens their link, prices the work (a unit price per line, or a lump sum), and can add notes, lead time, how long their quote is valid and payment terms, then submits. They can reopen the link to change prices until you close the request, or decline with a reason.
9. Compare and award. The comparison grid shows every line down the side and every supplier across the top, with the lowest price on each line and the lowest overall total highlighted. Award the work to your chosen supplier - and if the RFQ is linked to a job, BuilderDash then offers to raise a purchase order pre-filled with the winning prices, ready for you to review and send.

Keeping supplier records

Suppliers in an RFQ are simply your contacts tagged as a supplier (or as both a client and a supplier). Add a contact, tag them as a supplier, and they can be invited to price work. Good supplier records mean their details are there ready whenever you raise the next request.

Good to know

• No login for suppliers. Each supplier responds through their own private link with no account or password. The link is what identifies them, so only share it with its intended supplier.
• Nothing leaks early. Supplier links do nothing until you press Send, so your tender stays private while you build it.
• Line items are optional. A lump-sum RFQ - a scope, attachments and a single price - is a first-class option alongside an itemised breakdown.
• Files are added while it is a draft. Attach or remove spec files while the RFQ is a draft; once sent, the attachments and the line list are locked, so every supplier prices exactly the same thing.
• The cheapest figures are highlighted. When more than one supplier has priced a line, the lowest is highlighted, and the lowest overall total is highlighted too.
• Suppliers can revise their prices. A supplier can reopen their link and update prices any time until you close or award the request; their latest submission replaces the previous one.
• You decide when it closes. The responses-due date is guidance for suppliers; the request stays open until you close it or award it.
• Everything is recorded. Creating, sending, inviting, quotes received, declines and the award are all kept in the request's history.