Create & Send RFQs

Creating an RFQ in Purchaser brings all your RFQs, vendors, and responses together in one place. Our flexible RFQ builder offers several ways to start, making it easy to send RFQs out to your existing vendors or new vendors.

To begin, simply select Create RFQ on your RFQs tab and choose the option that best suits your needs.

1. Start with a Document
2. Start with a Template
3. Copy from a Spreadsheet
4. Start from Scratch

Start with a Document

Crafting a high-quality RFQ is essential, but writing one from scratch can be a huge time commitment. Jumpstart your workflow by simply uploading a document our Professional Plan.

We'll automatically generate a draft RFQ for you, extracting all important details. For any missing information vital for vendor responses, we'll insert convenient placeholders for you to refine before sending it.

Here are a few examples of the types of documents you can upload:

• A Written Project Brief
• A Spreadsheet: We'll create a table of your items and format it.
• A Screenshot of an Email: We'll try to match the format of your existing RFQ emails so you can keep your messaging consistent.
• A PDF of Previous Quote
• Get creative: Upload any CSV, image, PDF, or spreadsheet, we'll attempt to analyze it and use it to draft an RFQ.

Upgrade to our Professional Plan to start building RFQs with existing documents today.

Start with a Template

If you don’t have a document to upload or haven’t yet upgraded to our Professional Plan, you can create an RFQ quickly with our RFQ templates.

• Create custom templates with the specs, documents, and instructions you use most often. These reusable templates save you time and are easy to fill with your specific RFQ content. To learn more, visit our Using RFQ Templates guide.
• Our standard template features a line items table and a dedicated section for you to specify requirements like delivery, certifications, inspections, and documentation.

Copy from a Spreadsheet

If you just want to copy information from an existing spreadsheet or if you haven’t yet upgraded to our professional plan, you can still create an RFQ by copying cells from an existing spreadsheet.

We’ll format the cells and reduce the time you need to manually enter the information for you.

Start from Scratch

You can write your RFQ from scratch. Our flexible text editor enables you to add a table, upload files, color or style of your text, add a comment or hyperlink, and more.

Add an Email Signature

Adding an email signature provides a professional touch to your emails, enhances brand recognition, and ensures recipients have your contact information readily available.

On Purchaser you can customize your email signature to include links, your company logo, and more to help you get more RFQ responses.

To add an email signature:

1. Create a new RFQ or open an existing RFQ that you haven't sent out to any vendors yet.
   • Note: You can also add a signature from your User Settings page.
2. In the formatting menu bar at the bottom of the RFQ editor, select Insert.
3. Choose Email Signature from the Inset menu.
4. This will open a signature canvas where you can customize your signature with any formatted text, links, or images.
5. Once your signature is complete, select Save Changes.

Your new signature will now automatically appear in the current RFQ and all future RFQs you create.

If you already have an email signature in your Google workspace, you can import your signature. To learn how to visit our Integrate With Your Email guide.

Edit or Remove Your Signature

You can update your signature here or in User Settings. Note that only future RFQs will include the new signature; any RFQs already sent will not be impacted.

To remove your signature, simply delete all the content from the text field and select Save Changes.

Send RFQ

Once you have a draft RFQ ready to send, navigate to the second step of creating an RFQ, Configure & Send to send your RFQ.

1. Review Subject: The Subject is the email subject line your recipients will see. Our platform automatically generates a clear, compelling subject line based on your RFQ’s content, saving you time. You always have the option to change it if needed.
2. Connect Your Email: This is the From address for your RFQ email. While we provide an automatically generated email address by default, connecting your work email can significantly improve your response rates. To learn more, visit our Integrate With Your Email guide.
3. Add Recipients / To: This will be where you will add your recipients for your RFQ. There are a few ways you can add who you want to send your RFQ to.
   • Add a New Email: You can directly add any email address as a recipient, even if it's not saved as a contact.
   • Select a Recommended Vendor: (Professional Plan only) Save time searching. We'll recommend the most relevant vendors for your RFQ from our database to select from.
   • Discover a New Vendor: Select Try Our Vendor Discovery to find a new vendor from our list of over 150K+ suppliers that matches your specific needs. Once found, click Add to RFQ and choose the RFQ you're working on (or start a new one).
4. Send RFQ: Once you're satisfied with your recipients, select Send RFQ to email your RFQ to all the recipients you’ve added.

Once your RFQ is sent, Purchaser helps you effortlessly manage responses and compare quotes. We organize all incoming responses, making it simple to track which RFQs have received replies, which have quotes, and more. This significantly streamlines the entire process for you and your team.

To dive deeper into how we simplify RFQ management, explore our Respond to RFQs guide.

Still got questions? Contact Us or Book a Demo to learn more about how Purchaser can fit into your workflow.