“Could you send your best price?” A classic opening line. Also an invitation for six follow-up questions and three quotes that seem to describe different planets.
To write an email asking for a quote, explain what you need, give the quantity or scope, state the delivery or completion requirements, and ask for a written breakdown of price, currency, tax, exclusions and terms. Include your response date and a way to clarify the brief.
This guide is for the buyer asking a supplier or service provider to price something. Copy a template, replace the brackets and keep the details that matter to your actual request. The supplier should not need detective training to understand your email.
Sending a quote to a client? Use our quotation email templates.Putting a quote-request form on your website? Get the editable form templates.
6 quotation request email templates. Pick your opening line.
These are original examples for everyday business requests, not formal tender documents. Pick the closest situation; do not send every supplier a wall of optional clauses.
Copy the subject and body, replace every bracket and remove what does not apply. The examples include no invented deadline, budget or purchase commitment. Add those details only when they are real.
A short, polite request for a quotation
Hi [name],
Could you please send a written quotation for [product or service], covering [quantity or short scope]?
We need [delivery or completion requirement] at [location, if relevant]. Please include the price and currency, applicable tax, any delivery or separate charges, and how long the quote is valid.
Could you reply by [date and time zone]? If you need another detail to quote accurately, please let me know.
Thanks, [your name] [business and contact details]
Use when the requirement is straightforward. If timing is flexible, say so instead of inventing urgency.
Request a supplier quote for goods
Hi [name],
We would like a quotation for [quantity, unit and exact product/specification]. The attached brief is [filename and revision].
Please confirm the unit price, total, currency, applicable tax, minimum order quantity and availability. Please list delivery charges to [destination] and the expected lead time separately.
If the exact specification is unavailable, please identify any alternative clearly rather than substituting it in the main quote.
Please also include payment terms and quote validity. We would appreciate your response by [date and time zone].
Best, [your name] [business and contact details]
Use for goods with a defined specification. Add any actual packaging, delivery or technical requirements; do not assume a supplier knows them.
Ask an agency or service provider to quote
Hi [name],
We are looking for help with [project and intended outcome]. Could you quote for [deliverables], based on [brief filename/revision]?
We can provide [materials, access or inputs]. We would like [target timing], subject to your availability.
Please separate the deliverables, inclusions, exclusions and any assumptions. Please include your fee and currency, applicable tax, payment stages, quote validity and proposed schedule.
If a scoping call or paid discovery step is needed first, please explain that before preparing the quote. Could you let us know the next step by [date]?
Thanks, [your name] [business and contact details]
Use for work whose scope needs agreement. A useful brief beats asking five agencies to guess the number of pages, revisions or meetings.
Building an agency quote page? See the complete examplePut a phone conversation into a written request
Hi [name],
Thanks for talking through [project] with me. To confirm the requirement, we are asking for [scope or quantity], with [important specification].
Please send a written quotation based on those details, including the total and currency, applicable tax, exclusions, timing and payment terms.
We discussed [target date or constraint]. Please confirm whether that is workable, and flag anything in my summary that needs correcting.
Could you send the quote by [date], or let me know when to expect it?
Best, [your name]
Use after a call. Include only what was actually discussed; an email summary should not quietly turn a possibility into an agreement.
Ask for a revised quote after changing the brief
Hi [name],
Thank you for quotation [reference]. Our requirement has changed: [clear description of the change].
Please use [new brief filename/revision] in place of [previous version]. The rest of the request remains [confirm unchanged scope, or explain the other changes].
Could you send a revised quote showing the effect on price, tax, exclusions, timing and payment stages? Please identify which earlier quote it replaces.
We would appreciate the revised offer by [date]. Let me know if you need to clarify the change first.
Thanks, [your name]
Use when you are still obtaining an offer. If work has already been agreed or started, discuss the change through your actual contract process.
Follow up when the requested quote has not arrived
Hi [name],
I am checking on the quotation request I sent on [date] for [project or product].
Are you able to quote for the requirement in [brief/reference]? If you need another detail, I am happy to help.
We are hoping to review the offers on [actual date]. Please let me know whether you can send yours by [date], or suggest a realistic time.
If you are unable to quote, a quick note would help us plan.
Thanks, [your name]
This follows up a buyer’s request. It is different from a seller chasing a quote they have already sent.
How to ask for a quote without writing a novel.
Four lines.
Far less guesswork.
Fictional website brief · open each note
Name the jobA six-page website for our studio.
Say what you are buying. “A website” alone leaves the size and work open to interpretation.
Show what is includedWe supply copy and photography. Please include the build.
Identify the inputs you provide and the deliverables you need. Ask the supplier to list exclusions and assumptions.
Ask for the price basisFee, currency, applicable tax and any recurring charges.
Make the whole offer readable. A total means less if hosting or ongoing work is missing from the explanation.
Give a real next stepCan you quote from brief v2, or do you need a scoping call?
Include the date you actually need a reply. Give the supplier room to ask a question or explain a necessary scoping step.
A teaching example, not a live email or a Kibi procurement screen.
Start with the thing you need, not three paragraphs introducing your company. “Please quote for printing 200 A5 booklets to the attached specification” gives someone a place to begin.
Then add the details that could change the offer. For a product, that might be quantity, material and destination. For a service, it could be deliverables, access, revisions and client-supplied content.
Finish with the response you want: a written quotation, the price basis, a realistic reply date and your contact details. If the supplier needs to inspect or scope the work first, invite them to say so.
You can be friendly and specific in the same sentence. “Happy to clarify anything before you price it” is warmer—and more useful—than “kindly do the needful”.
A subject line should identify the job. No fireworks required.
“Quotation request” alone makes every email look the same. Add the product, project or reference so the supplier can find the right conversation later.
Use RFQ if your supplier will recognise it; otherwise spell out “request for quotation”. Avoid “urgent” unless you can explain the actual deadline in the message.
| Situation | A useful subject |
|---|---|
| General request | Quotation request — [product or service] |
| Goods | RFQ — [quantity] × [specification] — [destination] |
| Service project | Quotation request — [project] — brief [revision] |
| After a call | Written quote request — [project we discussed] |
| Changed requirements | Revised quote request — [project] — [revision] |
One brief. Same version. A much fairer comparison.
Send the same requirement to each supplier you want to compare. Give the document a recognisable name and revision, and keep a copy of what you sent.
If you change the scope, tell everyone still preparing an offer. Otherwise one supplier may price the old requirement while another prices the new one. The cheapest quote wins a competition nobody meant to enter.
NSW Government guidance for building quotes recommends giving contractors the same information and communicating changes while quotes are being prepared. The practical lesson travels well: compare offers against a shared brief.
For overseas suppliers, specify the currency you want quoted and the delivery destination. Ask who is responsible for additional charges rather than assuming that “delivered” means the same thing to everyone.
Two similar totals can be buying very different things.
Before picking a winner, check the scope behind each total. A low number can be perfectly reasonable—or it can exclude the one thing your project depends on.
The fictional website example uses no prices. Toggle between the offers and notice what you would need to clarify before comparing them.
Keep your notes simple: what is included, what is missing, what needs a written answer and who will ask. A quote comparison should reduce uncertainty, not award a trophy to the prettiest PDF.
| Check | What to put side by side |
|---|---|
| Scope | Same deliverables, specification, quantity and brief revision. |
| Price basis | Currency, applicable tax and one-off versus recurring charges. |
| Extras | Delivery, setup, revisions, materials and other exclusions. |
| Timing | Availability, lead time and dependencies on your inputs. |
| Terms | Payment stages, validity, assumptions and the actual acceptance step. |
How to accept a quote by email
Reply in the same thread. Say you accept, identify the quote by its number and date, and repeat the agreed scope and total. Ask the supplier to confirm the next step so nobody has to guess who goes first.
If you need to change the price, scope or timing, ask for a revised quote before accepting. If the supplier asks for a signature, purchase order or online approval, follow that process.
Accept a supplier’s quote
Hi [name],
Thanks for sending this over. We accept quote [quote number], dated [date], for [agreed scope] at the quoted total of [amount and currency].
Please confirm you’ve received this and let us know the next step and expected start or delivery date.
Thanks, [your name]
Budget, deadlines and attachments: the bits people hesitate over.
Have a genuine budget range? You can share it to help the supplier suggest a suitable scope. If you need a like-for-like offer first, ask for that. Do not invent another supplier’s price to create negotiating theatre.
Need a response by Friday? Explain why and state the time zone if the supplier is elsewhere. Ask whether the deadline is workable; a request is not a promise of their availability.
Attach the current brief, not every file your company has ever produced. Remove private customer data and anything the supplier does not need to prepare the offer. Check that the recipient can open the document.
Not ready to define the scope? Ask whether an initial estimate or scoping conversation is appropriate. Have the supplier identify assumptions and what must be confirmed before a final quote.
Sell services too? This is what lands in your inbox.
You might be buying a website today and pricing a customer project tomorrow. On the supplier side, a request like this is the beginning of a sales conversation—not merely another attachment to file away.
Give the enquiry an owner. Note the missing detail. Plan the next human action: clarify the brief, arrange a conversation or prepare the offer. That is where Kibi CRM fits.
Kibi keeps the enquiry, responsible person and planned follow-up together. Today brings due work back into view. Quotes with online customer acceptance are available on every plan; check the current plan allowances before choosing.
Kibi is for managing customer enquiries and sales follow-up. This article’s supplier comparison is a manual exercise; we are not presenting Kibi as purchasing software or an automated bid-scoring tool.
When it is your turn to send the offer, use our separate quotation-email guide. Kibi CRM has a 14-day trial, then a paid plan. Try one actual enquiry workflow, not a heroic software makeover.
A few answers before you press send.
How do I write an email asking for a quote?
Name the product or service, give the quantity or scope, explain delivery or completion requirements, and ask for a written price breakdown. Include currency, applicable tax, separate charges, exclusions, terms, your reply date and a contact for questions. Use only details relevant to the request.
How do I politely ask for a quotation?
Try: “Could you please send a written quotation for [scope or quantity], including [details needed to compare the offer]? Please let me know if you need anything else to price it accurately.” A clear request and a courteous close are enough; elaborate formal language is optional.
What is the difference between a quotation request email and a quotation email?
A quotation request email comes from the buyer asking a supplier for an offer. A quotation email comes from the supplier sending that offer to a customer. A follow-up can refer to either direction, so make clear whether you are waiting for an offer or checking a customer’s decision.
What does RFQ mean in an email?
RFQ means request for quotation. In an ordinary business email, it asks a supplier to price a defined requirement. Formal purchasing processes may have their own documents, submission rules and approvals; these everyday email examples do not replace them.
Should I ask for a quote or an estimate?
Ask for a quote when you can describe the requirement well enough for the supplier to prepare an offer. If important details are unknown, ask whether an estimate or scoping step makes more sense. Have the supplier state assumptions, exclusions and what still needs checking.
What if the supplier has not sent the quote?
Reply in the original thread, identify the request and ask whether they can quote or need another detail. State your actual review date and ask for a realistic response time. Use the buyer follow-up template above rather than a seller’s “have you reviewed my quote?” email.
Can Kibi compare supplier quotes for me?
The comparison in this guide is a manual checklist, not a Kibi procurement feature. Kibi CRM manages customer enquiries, ownership and sales follow-up. Its quote workflow is for businesses sending offers to customers; quotes with acceptance are available on every plan.
A little clarity is quite attractive, actually.
Ask a question the supplier can answer. Give them a brief they can price. When the offer arrives, check what you are buying before deciding whether the number works.
The email templates and comparison exercise are original, fictional Kibi editorial examples. New Zealand Consumer Protection and NSW Government guidance were checked on 29 October 2026 for practical advice about written requests, sufficient detail and consistent briefs.
Those sources describe their local contexts. The examples here do not prescribe a universal legal, tax or procurement process. Use the actual requirements and terms for your purchase.
Try one thing on the next enquiry.
Pick a change your team can use tomorrow.