Waiting on Supplier Prices: How to Send RFQs the Same Day the Tender Lands
Supplier prices hold up most subcontractor quotes. What a supplier RFQ should include, and how to send it the day the tender lands.
The tender lands Monday. It closes Friday week. The drawings need to go to suppliers, but first someone works out what to ask for. So the pack waits for the takeoff. Requests go out Thursday. Prices arrive the afternoon it closes, and the quote goes on a guess, or not at all.
The suppliers aren’t the slow part. The request is.
Why are you always waiting on supplier prices?
The RFQ is stuck behind the takeoff. Most jobs run in a line: sort the pack, count and measure, type the BOQ, then ask suppliers. Every takeoff day is a day the supplier loses.
What should a supplier RFQ include?
A good RFQ can be priced without a phone call, and the replies compare line by line. Put this in every one.
| Include | Why it matters | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Item, part number or description | The supplier prices what you’ll install | Your BOQ |
| Quantity and unit | Prices come back for the right amount | Your checked takeoff |
| Drawing number and revision | Nobody prices off a superseded sheet | The tender document register |
| Project name and builder | The supplier matches it to other enquiries on the job | The tender invitation |
| Date you need prices by | Time to review before close | Tender close date, less your review time |
| What the price should include | Delivery, GST and validity stated, not assumed | Your standard request |
| A request to list exclusions | A cheap price can hide expensive exclusions | Your standard request |
The last row gets skipped most. Check exclusions before picking the cheapest. Three totals covering three scopes aren’t comparable.
How do you get RFQs out the same day the tender lands?
You can’t skip the takeoff, but it needn’t hold everything up. This order works:
- Register the pack first. Every drawing and revision listed, so every RFQ points at current sheets.
- Send the schedule items straight away. Fully scheduled equipment can be priced from the schedule. No need to wait for your count.
- Get the quantities checked, not just counted. An RFQ is only as good as its takeoff. Check each line against its drawing first.
- Draft the RFQ from the BOQ, not the drawings. A confirmed BOQ already holds part numbers, quantities and references. The request is copying, not estimating.
- Use one standard request. Same inclusions, same “list your exclusions” line, a reply-by date. No rewriting per tender.
- Set the reply-by date from the close date. Work back from close and leave review time before you approve the quote.
Sample data. An unpriced BOQ already holds what an RFQ needs: part number, description, quantity, and the drawing and revision each line came from.
Why does checking the quantities first save time?
A wrong quantity in an RFQ costs twice. The supplier prices it, it goes in your workbook, and when the error surfaces you re-ask and reprice, usually the day before close.
If every line shows its source, checking is a look, not a recount. See how to check every line of an AI takeoff. The faster quantities are confirmed, the sooner RFQs go.
Why can’t you just look up prices online?
They aren’t your prices. One contractor told us online prices are nothing like the trade prices they pay. Your margin depends on what your suppliers charge you. That’s why the RFQ is worth sending properly. A website number isn’t a price a supplier will stand behind.
How do we take the RFQ off your plate?
We set up a custom estimating plugin in your own Claude or ChatGPT account. It runs the 15 steps a careful estimator works through, in four stages. Supplier RFQs sit in pricing:
| Stage | What the plugin does | Where you come in |
|---|---|---|
| Drawings to quantities (steps 1–7) | Registers every file and revision, agrees scope, counts, measures and lays out the BOQ your way. Each line shows its cut-out, legend line, drawing number and revision | Nothing, unless the scope is unusual |
| Confirm the BOQ (step 8) | Anything unsettled is flagged, never guessed | You check and confirm the BOQ |
| Pricing (steps 9–13) | Drafts supplier RFQs, then loads your rates and labour hours, each with source and date. Missing or expired rates are flagged, never filled | You press send on the RFQs, then approve the price |
| Quotes and changes (steps 14–15) | A quote letter on your letterhead. On an addendum, only what changed is re-measured and re-priced | You approve each letter |
RFQs are drafted from the BOQ you just confirmed, so their quantities are checked ones. Nothing goes to a supplier until you press send, or to the builder until you approve.
For the rest of quoting, see our checklist for quoting faster without cutting corners.
Is it worth a look?
If you quote commercial work from drawings and supplier prices are always last back, yes. We set it up from three of your quoted jobs, your pricing sheet and your quote template, and prove it on those jobs first. A fixed setup fee, confirmed on your call.
See how our estimating plugin works, or book a call and bring a recent tender.
Frequently asked questions
What should a supplier RFQ include for a construction tender?
Items and quantities with part numbers, drawing numbers and revisions, project name, reply-by date, and what's included (delivery, GST). Ask suppliers to list exclusions.
Why do supplier prices come back so late?
Usually the request went out late. If the RFQ waits for a hand takeoff, suppliers lose days. Checking quantities sooner moves everything.
Can I send RFQs before the takeoff is finished?
For scheduled equipment, yes. For anything priced on quantity, check the numbers first, or you get a price for the wrong job.
Does the estimating plugin send RFQs to suppliers for me?
No. It drafts the RFQs and you press send. Nothing goes to the builder until you approve it either.
What if a supplier price doesn't come back in time?
A missing or expired rate is flagged, never filled in, so you see which prices are open before you approve the quote.
Want this on your own jobs?
The estimating plugin is live today: we set it up in your own Claude or ChatGPT account around your rates and your template, and your estimator checks every line before it goes out. The App, with the rest of the office, is in build.