What should an RFQ include?

Four things: precise line items with quantities and specifications, the commercial terms you expect, exactly what the quote must contain, and how you will evaluate. Everything else is context. This template carries all four.

When should I use an RFQ instead of an RFP?

Use an RFQ when you can write the exact specification and mainly need a price. If suppliers could legitimately propose different approaches, you want an RFP; there is a separate template for that.

Is the template really free?

Yes: a real .docx in English and Arabic, no watermark, yours to edit. We ask for an email so we can share updates; that's the whole trade.

What's the difference between the template and running an RFQ on VEXORS?

The template structures the document; the platform structures the process. On VEXORS the same line items become a live request: suppliers price them directly, clarifications run in one thread, the AI evaluates the bids against your criteria and recommends with written reasoning, and the award is on the record.

Can I get the RFQ template in Excel instead of Word?

For quantity-heavy requests, use the free bill-of-quantities template, which is a real Excel workbook with automatic totals. The Word RFQ template is deliberately document-shaped because most RFQs are as much terms and evaluation rules as they are items; many teams send both together.

Is there a sample RFQ I can look at?

The sample line items on this page show the standard the template is built around, and the download itself carries example evaluation weighting you can adapt. Fill the same pattern for your own scope: description, specification, quantity, unit, with commercial terms stated once.

Should I send an RFQ as Word, PDF, or through a platform?

Edit in Word, send as PDF if you email it, so no bidder alters the scope. Better long term: run it structured. On VEXORS the same line items become a live request that suppliers price directly, free, and the comparison exists the moment bidding closes.

Does the same template work for manufacturing, construction, or services?

Yes; the structure is universal because comparability is. Manufacturing RFQs lean on the specification column, construction and other quantity-heavy work belongs in the bill-of-quantities template, and if suppliers could legitimately propose different approaches, use the RFP template instead.

How many suppliers should I send an RFQ to?

Enough for real competition without turning evaluation into a chore: three to five is standard for most purchases, more when the specification carries risk or the spend is large. Every supplier you invite prices for free, so the limit is your own review time, not a cost per invitation.

What if a supplier misses the quote deadline?

Treat it as a decline unless you extend the deadline for everyone, not just the late supplier: extending for one bidder and not the others breaks the comparison the RFQ exists to protect. State the deadline once, in the document, with a time zone, so there is no ambiguity to negotiate afterward.

Should suppliers see each other's prices or questions during an RFQ?

No. Answer every clarification once and share it with all bidders without naming who asked, so a question never signals a competitor's price or strategy. On VEXORS the asker's identity is hidden from other bidders by design; in an email thread, you have to enforce that discipline yourself.

What currency should I use for an RFQ in the Gulf?

State one currency in the request details block, usually the currency your own accounts pay in, and require every supplier to quote in it. Mixed-currency quotes are not comparable until you convert them, and the conversion itself becomes a debate; on VEXORS each request runs in the currency you set, and every supplier quotes in it.

Free template

RFQ template that gets you comparable quotes

A complete request-for-quotation document in Word: line items, commercial terms, and evaluation criteria, so every supplier answers the same question and every quote lines up.

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Download the free RFQ template

Real .docx files in English and Arabic. No watermarks. Edit and send.

What is an RFQ template?

A request for quotation, or RFQ, is a document a buyer sends every candidate supplier to price a purchase that is already specified: exact line items, quantities, commercial terms, and how the quotes will be judged. An RFQ template gives that document a fixed structure, so instead of five different replies you get five prices against the identical scope. It is the right format when the specification is already fixed and price is the deciding factor, as opposed to a request for proposal, which is for a job suppliers might approach in different ways.

What's inside

Five sections, in the order a supplier reads them, matching the file below.

Request details block: reference, deadlines, validity, currency, delivery
Line-item table with specification, quantity, and unit columns
Commercial terms checklist: payment, delivery terms, warranty, penalties
"What your quote must include" section that pre-empts vague bids
Evaluation section with example weighting and a clarification rule

Five sections, in order

1Request details
2Line items
3Commercial terms
4What your quote must include
5Evaluation

Every supplier answers the identical scope

Line items, quantities, and units are fixed once in the document, not re-explained supplier by supplier. A vague line produces a vague price; a locked one produces a number you can put beside four others.

A real file, free, no watermark

Download the .docx in English or Arabic, no account and no email chain required beyond the one that gets you the file. Edit it, rebrand it, and send it under your own letterhead the same day.

The same structure runs as a live request

Everything the document asks for, reference, deadline, line items, evaluation weighting, is exactly what a request on VEXORS captures. When you are ready to stop emailing it, the structure carries straight over.

A sample RFQ line item, done right

Comparable quotes are won or lost in the line-item table. This is the level of detail that works, straight from the template:

Description and specification	Quantity	Unit	Notes for bidders
Ergonomic task chair: adjustable seat height 42 to 53 cm, lumbar support, armrests, castors for hard floor, load rated 110 kg or more, EN 1335 or equivalent	40	pcs	Fabric upholstery; state warranty term
LED panel light 600 x 600 mm, 36 W, 4000 K, UGR below 19, flicker-free driver included	120	pcs	State brand and driver warranty
Cat 6 U/UTP network cable, LSZH jacket, 305 m per box	12	box	State manufacturer
Delivery to site in a single consignment, tail-lift offload	1	lot	Price separately, never blended into unit rates

Ergonomic task chair: adjustable seat height 42 to 53 cm, lumbar support, armrests, castors for hard floor, load rated 110 kg or more, EN 1335 or equivalent
Quantity
40
Unit
pcs
Fabric upholstery; state warranty term
LED panel light 600 x 600 mm, 36 W, 4000 K, UGR below 19, flicker-free driver included
Quantity
120
Unit
pcs
State brand and driver warranty
Cat 6 U/UTP network cable, LSZH jacket, 305 m per box
Quantity
12
Unit
box
State manufacturer
Delivery to site in a single consignment, tail-lift offload
Quantity
1
Unit
lot
Price separately, never blended into unit rates

The test for every row: a stranger could price it without calling you. Description plus specification plus quantity plus unit, with the commercial expectations stated once for the whole document.

Getting the format right

Choosing and using the format

Format

Word or Excel: which RFQ format do you actually need?

This template is a Word document, and for most RFQs that is the right call: the request is as much commercial terms, quote requirements, and evaluation rules as it is items, and a document carries that frame better than a grid. You get a formal cover, a terms checklist, and a line-item table sized for tens of items, in English and Arabic versions that mirror each other. Switch to a spreadsheet when quantities dominate: fifty or more lines, bills of quantities, anything a quantity surveyor would recognize. For that, use the free bill-of-quantities template in Excel, built with automatic totals, and keep this document for the commercial wrapper. The two are designed to work together.

A Word RFQ carries a formal cover, a terms checklist, and a line-item table sized for tens of items
A bill of quantities in Excel carries fifty or more lines with automatic totals
English and Arabic versions of each template mirror each other section for section
Send both together when a request has heavy commercial terms and a long bill of quantities

Workflow

From blank template to sent request in under an hour

Fill the request details block first: reference, deadline, validity period, currency, and delivery. Then work the line items to the standard in the sample above, one line per priced thing, closing every interpretation that would change a price. Vague lines do not save writing time; they move the ambiguity into your suppliers' assumptions, where it costs more. Send the identical document to every supplier, name one clarification contact, and share every answer with all bidders. That discipline is what makes the returned quotes comparable. And when you would rather skip the document entirely: on VEXORS the AI drafter builds the same structure from a plain-language description in seconds, suppliers price the lines directly and free, and the AI evaluates the offers against your criteria and recommends, with written reasoning.

Fill the request details block first: reference, deadline, validity, currency, delivery
Write every line item to the standard in the sample above: description, specification, quantity, unit
Send the identical document to every supplier, never a version each
Name one clarification contact and publish every answer to all bidders

Evaluation

Commercial terms and evaluation, stated once, not argued over per quote

A quote that skips payment terms, delivery terms, or warranty is not comparable to one that states them, even at the same price. The template's commercial terms checklist closes that gap before it opens, and the evaluation section states your weighting in advance, for example total cost 60%, delivery time 20%, and warranty and compliance 20%, so no supplier discovers your priorities by negotiating them. State the weighting once, publish it with the request, and every quote is judged against the same rule instead of your memory of five separate conversations.

Payment terms, delivery terms, warranty, and penalties checked before you compare prices
An evaluation weighting suppliers see up front, not a rule you keep to yourself
Exclusions stated explicitly, so a low price is not hiding a missing scope
One clarification contact and one published answer, never a private explanation to one bidder

Any category

One structure, whatever you are buying

Nothing about this structure is specific to one trade. A facilities team uses it for office chairs and network cable, a manufacturer uses it for raw material and packaging, and a services buyer uses it for a maintenance contract, each filling the same five sections with a different specification column. Quantity-heavy purchases, fifty lines or more, belong in the bill-of-quantities spreadsheet instead; everything else, from a single delivery to a multi-line purchase, fits the same RFQ document, in English or Arabic, without changing its shape.

Materials and consumables: specification, standard, and quantity carry the price
Equipment and one-off purchases: delivery date and warranty carry as much weight as price
Recurring services: scope and service levels replace a unit rate
Fifty lines or more of quantities: use the bill-of-quantities template instead

Email vs a live tender

What changes once you click send

What happens to an RFQ after it leaves your inbox
After you click send	Sent as an email attachment	Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Line items	Retyped or reformatted by each supplier that replies	Suppliers price your exact lines directly; the structure never changes
Deadline	Whatever each supplier remembers from the email	One deadline, shown identically to every invited supplier
Clarifications	Asked by reply-all, answered inconsistently, or missed	Asked once, answered once, published to every bidder, the asker unnamed
Missing prices	Easy to miss in a scanned attachment	Flagged before you compare, not after you have signed
Evaluation weighting	A rule written in the document, applied from memory	Every quote scored against it automatically, with the reason recorded
A revised request	Re-emailed, and you hope everyone opened it	Reaches every supplier at once; a quote on the old version is flagged
Comparing the quotes	Retyped into your own spreadsheet by hand	Quotes are levelled onto your lines the moment the deadline closes
The record	Scattered across five inboxes and a shared drive	Kept with the request: scores, questions, answers, and the award

Line items
Sent as an email attachment
Retyped or reformatted by each supplier that replies
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Suppliers price your exact lines directly; the structure never changes
Deadline
Sent as an email attachment
Whatever each supplier remembers from the email
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
One deadline, shown identically to every invited supplier
Clarifications
Sent as an email attachment
Asked by reply-all, answered inconsistently, or missed
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Asked once, answered once, published to every bidder, the asker unnamed
Missing prices
Sent as an email attachment
Easy to miss in a scanned attachment
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Flagged before you compare, not after you have signed
Evaluation weighting
Sent as an email attachment
A rule written in the document, applied from memory
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Every quote scored against it automatically, with the reason recorded
A revised request
Sent as an email attachment
Re-emailed, and you hope everyone opened it
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Reaches every supplier at once; a quote on the old version is flagged
Comparing the quotes
Sent as an email attachment
Retyped into your own spreadsheet by hand
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Quotes are levelled onto your lines the moment the deadline closes
The record
Sent as an email attachment
Scattered across five inboxes and a shared drive
Sent as a tender on VEXORS
Kept with the request: scores, questions, answers, and the award

Who sends an RFQ

Procurement and purchasing teams

Buying materials, parts, or equipment against a fixed specification, where the deciding question is price and delivery, not approach.

Facilities and admin teams

Furniture, IT hardware, office fit-out items, and recurring supplies, priced the same way every quarter without rebuilding the document.

Project and site teams

A one-off equipment or service purchase alongside a construction package, where a full bill of quantities would be overkill.

Teams without a dedicated buyer

A first structured purchase for a company that has been pricing everything by email, with a document that does the structuring for them.

Using the template

How to use it

Fill the scope

Define every line item with specification, quantity, and unit. If a line is vague, the quotes for it will be too.

Send to every supplier at once

Same document, same deadline, same clarification contact, so all quotes answer identical scope.

Hold the structure

Reject substitutions inside line items; take alternatives as separate notes. Comparison stays honest.

Move it onto VEXORS when a document is not enough

Import the same line items as a live request, free for every supplier to price, with clarifications, evaluation weighting, and the AI recommendation built in instead of assembled by hand.

Straight answers

RFQ template FAQ

Send your next RFQ as a tender, not an attachment

Free for every supplier to price, with clarifications, evaluation, and the award kept on the record from the day you send it.