RFQ Response Checklist: How to Send a Complete First Quote Without Back-and-Forth

BOTrento Team26 October 20267 min read

Why RFQ replies trigger follow-up questions

Look at the last few quotes that dragged on. The follow-up questions are usually the same few:

• "Is this price for the full scope or only part of it?"
• "What are your payment terms?"
• "When can you deliver, and is that date firm?"
• "Is transport, set-up or installation included?"
• "How long is this quote valid?"

None of these are exotic. They are the questions a buyer must answer internally before they can compare you with other suppliers. If your reply does not answer them, the buyer either asks you or quietly favours the supplier who did answer. Neither helps you.

The complete first-reply checklist

Run every RFQ response through these six blocks before it goes out.

1. Scope you understood

• Restate the request in one or two lines: quantities, specification, dates, location.
• List assumptions you made where the request was vague.
• Say what is not included (exclusions), clearly.

2. Price and what it covers

• Price per line or per package, stated as excluding VAT where that applies.
• Extras that are often forgotten: transport, set-up, packaging, insurance, deposits, operator or technician time.
• Validity period of the quote.

3. Commercial terms

• Payment terms and deposit, if any.
• Cancellation or change conditions.
• Liability or damage rules, if relevant to your trade.

4. Delivery and timing

• Lead time or the dates you can offer.
• What the date depends on (stock, crew availability, buyer's approval).
• Be honest that availability is not reserved until you confirm it separately.

5. Open questions

• Only ask what you genuinely need to finalise. Group questions in one numbered list.
• If you can quote on a stated assumption, do so instead of waiting for answers.

6. One next step

• One clear action and one date: "Reply 'confirmed' by Friday and we will send the order confirmation."

A template for the first reply

Copy this, then replace the brackets. Keep it short; the detail belongs in the quote itself.

Subject: Quote for [project / item] – [your company]

Hello [Name],

Thank you for your request. Here is our quote for [one-line summary of scope].

What we understood
[Quantities, specification, date, location.]
Assumptions: [assumption 1]; [assumption 2].

Price
[Total or line prices] excluding VAT.
Included: [list]. Not included: [list].

Terms
Payment: [terms]. Quote valid until [date]. Changes or cancellation: [short rule].

Delivery / timing
[Lead time or dates]. This depends on [dependency]. Availability is confirmed only once we send a written confirmation.

To finalise, we need
1. [Question 1]
2. [Question 2]

Next step
If this works for you, reply by [date] and we will [specific action].

Kind regards,
[Name, role, phone]

If you want more variations for different situations, see five templates for replying to a sales enquiry. For the email that carries the quote itself, the cover email structure goes into more detail.

Handling gaps in the RFQ itself

Sometimes the buyer's request is the incomplete part. You then have three sensible options.

1. Quote on stated assumptions. Works when the missing detail changes the price only slightly. Write the assumption down so it can be corrected.
2. Offer a range or options. Useful when two interpretations are both plausible: option A and option B, each fully priced.
3. Ask first, briefly. When the gap changes the whole quote, send a short acknowledgement with your questions rather than a guess. The acknowledgement email template shows how to do this without sounding like a robot.

If the RFQ is not a fit at all, say so quickly and politely. The decline templates keep the door open.

Make completeness a routine, not an effort

The checklist only works if it is used when you are busy. A few habits make that realistic.

• Keep a standard terms block (payment, validity, cancellation) in one place and paste it, rather than rewriting it each time.
• Keep a short exclusions list per service or product type, so the "not included" lines are never forgotten.
• Check attachments yourself. Specs often sit in PDFs or drawings, so read them before you quote, not after the buyer asks.
• Log the date you promised a reply in your CRM (Pipedrive, HubSpot) or calendar, so the quote and the follow-up do not depend on memory. Our guide on not forgetting quote follow-ups covers that part.
• Acknowledge fast, quote completely. A complete reply sent a little later is usually better than a rushed one with gaps, but a quick acknowledgement covers you. See how to reply to sales enquiries faster.

How BOTrento helps with complete replies

BOTrento Chief of Staff is a managed process for enquiries and quotes. It watches the enquiries arriving in your mailbox or in the data you upload, and prepares draft replies, quotes and follow-ups in four languages (Czech, English, German and French). You can see how that flows in the process walkthrough.

For RFQs, this means a draft that follows a consistent structure, and promises such as "I'll get back to you by Friday" are picked up and reminded. A person always reviews and approves: nothing is sent without your approval, and BOTrento does not confirm dates or bookings for you.

Know the limits too. BOTrento works from the text of the email, so it does not read attachments; you still check specs in PDFs or drawings. It also does not replace your CRM or accounting system. The AI is included in the plan with a monthly usage limit. You can compare the plans on the pricing page, or start the free trial: it runs 14 days, needs no payment card or API key, and begins when you first upload data.

It is built first for event and production companies, equipment rental and B2B services with manual quotes. See the pages for equipment rental and B2B services for typical situations.

A quick audit of your last five RFQs

Before changing anything, spend a short session on this:

1. Open your last five quote threads.
2. Count the follow-up questions the buyer asked after your first reply.
3. Tag each one: scope, price, terms, delivery or other.
4. Add the most frequent category to your standard block first.
5. Repeat after a few weeks and see which questions disappeared.

This gives you your own data instead of generic advice, and tells you which part of the checklist matters most in your business.