RFQ Manager User Guide

RFQ

The RFQ (Request for Quote) is the starting point of the procurement workflow. This chapter walks through the full lifecycle: creating the RFQ, splitting it into Sub-RFQs for your suppliers, collecting offers, and following a line item all the way to purchase order, invoice, shipment, and transaction — on both the buying and selling side.

Create an RFQ

To create an RFQ you only need a Name and a Sender — the partner who sent you this request. Your own organization is automatically set as the recipient. Everything else is optional and can be added or changed later:

Field	Notes
Name	Required.
Sender (From)	Required — the partner this request came from.
Original RFQ Number	Optional — the sender's own reference number, if they gave you one.
Description, Notes	Optional.
Delivery Location	Optional — must belong to either the sender or your organization.
Project	Optional — see Projects.
Currency	Optional — defaults to your organization's default currency.
Due Date	Optional.

RFQ Manager automatically assigns an internal reference number (e.g. RFQ_00001) and starts the RFQ in Draft status. As you work it, you'll move it through your own follow-up stages — typically something like Sent, Follow-up, Awarded, or Rejected.

Adding Line Items

There are two ways to populate an RFQ with line items:

1. Add them manually — use the Add Item button on the RFQ page to add one row at a time. Only Name, Quantity, and Unit of Measure are required; part numbers, descriptions, and other identifiers can be filled in as needed.
2. Import them in bulk — upload a CSV or Excel file (.csv, .xlsx, or .xls, up to 5 MB by default) through a three-step wizard:
   1. Upload your file.
   2. Map columns — match your spreadsheet's columns to RFQ Manager's fields. Only Name, Quantity, and Unit of Measure need to be mapped; everything else is optional.
   3. Confirm — review a preview of the items before they're created.
   The same import wizard is also available on a Sub-RFQ, so you can bulk-load items there too.

Editing an RFQ

While an RFQ is still in Draft, any Manager, Sourcing, or Accounting user can edit it. Once it moves past Draft, only a Manager can continue editing it — this keeps the RFQ stable once your team has started acting on it.

Deleting an RFQ is only possible while it's still in Draft, and only a Manager can do it. It's a safe operation — any Sub-RFQs, offers, or other documents already linked to it are not deleted along with it.

Sub-RFQs

A Sub-RFQ is how you actually go out to your suppliers for pricing. It's a copy of a subset of the parent RFQ's line items — you choose which items to include, and RFQ Manager copies them into a new document you can send to one specific supplier. Because they're copies, editing a Sub-RFQ's items never changes the original RFQ.

After creating a Sub-RFQ, assign the supplier you intend to send it to (the "To" partner) — this doesn't have to be decided at the moment of creation. A Sub-RFQ starts in Draft and follows the exact same edit rule as an RFQ (Draft is editable by your team, anything past Draft is Manager-only).

Exporting a Sub-RFQ: use the export action on the Sub-RFQ page to generate a formatted Excel spreadsheet — it includes the Sub-RFQ's details (number, status, currency, parent RFQ, partners, delivery location, date, notes) and its full line item list, ready to send to your supplier by email.

Registering an Offer for a Sub-RFQ

When a supplier responds with pricing, record it as an Offer against the relevant Sub-RFQ. Choose the vendor/supplier providing the offer — the offer inherits the Sub-RFQ's line items automatically (you can exclude any that weren't quoted), and you can set an overall VAT percentage and currency for it.

Like RFQs, a new offer starts in Draft and can be edited by your team until it moves past Draft — after that, only a Manager can edit it.

Registering a Purchase Order for the Offer

From an offer's page, create a Purchase Order — its line items are copied over automatically. Unlike Proposals, a Purchase Order can be created from an offer regardless of the offer's status, so you're not blocked from issuing a PO while pricing is still being finalized elsewhere.

Registering an Invoice for the Purchase Order

From the Purchase Order, create an Invoice by selecting which of the PO's line items you're billing for — at least one is required. Choose the invoice type (Invoice, Proforma, or Reverse-invoice), and set the invoice date, due date, and VAT percentage; the subtotal and total are calculated for you from the selected items. A new invoice starts as Draft.

Registering a Shipment for the Invoice

From the invoice, create a Shipment by selecting which invoiced items are being sent. Only the destination location is required — everything else (origin location, sender/recipient contact, carrier, vehicle, driver, AWB number, ETA, package count, total weight, and delivery condition notes) is optional and can be filled in as the shipment progresses.

Registering a Transaction for the Invoice

From the invoice, register a Transaction by choosing a From Account and a To Account — both required, and both picked from the Transaction Accounts belonging to the partners on each side of the invoice. The amount defaults to the invoice total, but you can enter a smaller amount to record a partial payment — an invoice can have several transactions recorded against it, and the invoice page keeps a running total of what's been paid and what's still due.

A new transaction's starting status depends on which way the money moves. If your organization is paying a partner, the transaction starts as Draft so you can review it before submitting it for approval. If a partner is paying your organization, it starts out Waiting Approval instead — accounting just needs to confirm the funds arrived. Either way, an Accounting or Manager user approves it, and it's later marked as Paid once the funds have actually moved (or Rejected/Declined if it doesn't go through).

RFQ Overview Page

The RFQ Overview is a dedicated page — separate from the regular RFQ detail page — that gives you a single view of everything that has happened to every line item on the RFQ, on both sides of the deal:

• Buy side: RFQ line item → Sub-RFQ → Offer → Purchase Order → Invoice → Shipment.
• Sell side: the same line item → Proposal → Purchase Order → Invoice → Shipment.

Each stage shows its own status and links straight through to that document, and every level can be expanded or collapsed (with an "Expand all / Collapse all" shortcut). Note that this page doesn't show transactions or an overall RFQ total — for those, open the individual invoice or purchase order.

Create a Proposal

A Proposal is how you put together your best offer to send back to the partner who originally sent you the RFQ. It's built in Proposal Studio, opened from the RFQ page.

For each line item on the RFQ, Proposal Studio shows every Accepted offer received for it (across all of that RFQ's Sub-RFQs), with the lowest price highlighted. Pick the one you want to use per line, then set:

• A conversion rate (if the offer's currency differs from the proposal's).
• A margin to apply on top of the offer price.
• A discount for the proposal.

Submitting creates the Proposal, automatically numbered and addressed back to the partner who sent the original RFQ. A new proposal starts in Draft.

Editing a Proposal

Editing rights depend on both role and status: a Sourcing user can only edit a proposal while it's still in Draft, while a Manager can edit it at any stage. Saving changes rebuilds the proposal's line items from your selections, so it's a full re-save rather than a partial patch.

Registering a Purchase Order for the Proposal

Just like with an offer, create a Purchase Order directly from the proposal — its line items (including the margin you applied) are copied over automatically.

Registering an Invoice for the Purchase Order

Works the same way as on the buy side: from the Purchase Order, select which line items to invoice, set the invoice type, dates, and VAT, and the totals are calculated for you.

Registering a Shipment for the Invoice

Same flow as before — create a shipment from the invoice, choose which items are shipping, and set the destination location (required) plus whichever optional details apply.

Registering a Transaction for the Invoice

Register the transaction against the invoice exactly as described for the buy side: pick a From and To account, enter an amount (partial payments are fine), and it moves from Waiting Approval to Approved to Paid.

Proposal Overview Page

The Proposal's own detail page doubles as its overview. Alongside the proposal's line items and totals, it shows a side-by-side comparison of every offer that was considered for each line (so you can see what wasn't picked, and why), plus the downstream chain from each line item through to its Purchase Order, Invoice, and Shipment. You can also export the proposal to Excel from this page — a formatted spreadsheet with address details, line items, and a subtotal/VAT/total summary.

Projects

As a reminder in context: a Proposal always traces back to its parent RFQ, and if that RFQ was assigned to a Project, you'll see it grouped there too. There's nothing extra to configure at the proposal stage — the project link lives on the RFQ itself.

Partners

A Partner is any company you do business with — a supplier, a customer, or a government body. There's a single Partners screen for all of them; the same record type is used on both sides of a deal, whether they're sending you a request or fulfilling one.

Adding Partners

To create a partner, only the Name is required — everything else can be filled in immediately or added later as you learn more about them.

Field	Notes
Name	Required. Must be unique.
Partner Type	Normal or Government. Defaults to Normal.
Description, Industry	Optional, free text.
Business ID, Tax ID, VAT	Optional registration details.
Default Margin	Optional; used as a starting point when this partner appears in pricing calculations.
Address fields	Country, state, city, zip, street, building, floor, room — all optional.

Partner Locations

Each partner can have multiple physical locations — think of these as the actual offices, warehouses, or delivery points you'll ship to or collect from.

Location Type	Typical use
Office	An administrative or business address.
Warehouse	A storage or fulfillment site.
Delivery Location	Where goods should be dropped off.

Required fields when adding a location: type, name, country, city, street name, and street number. State, zip code, building, floor, room and notes are all optional. A location also has a status — Active, Inactive, or Removed — and only Active locations show up elsewhere in the app (for example, as a delivery destination on an RFQ or a shipment).

Contacts

Contacts are added per location, not directly on the partner — open a specific location and add the people you deal with there. This keeps contact details tied to the right office or warehouse when a partner has several.

Only Full Name is required; prefix, position, phone, email, and notes are optional.

Transaction Accounts

A Transaction Account holds the banking details used to send or receive money — account name, bank, currency, IBAN, account number, and SWIFT code. Every transaction account belongs to a specific partner, and it's managed right from that partner's page under Transaction Accounts.

Field	Notes
Account Name	Required.
Bank	Required.
Currency	Defaults to USD if not set.
IBAN, Account Number, SWIFT	Optional.
Status	Active or Disabled.

Organization Accounts

Your own organization is set up as a partner behind the scenes, so "our account" is really just a Transaction Account created under your organization's own partner record. There's no separate form for it — you'll recognize these accounts because they belong to your organization rather than an external partner, and the app refers to them as "our organization account" when you're choosing which account to pay from.

Partner Accounts

Any other Transaction Account — one that belongs to a supplier or customer — works the same way, just created from that partner's own page instead. When you register a transaction, you'll pick a From Account and a To Account from the accounts belonging to whichever partners are on each side of the invoice.

Vehicles

Vehicles are managed on their own screen, independent of any specific shipment — set them up once and pick from the list whenever a shipment needs one.

Field	Notes
Vehicle Type	Optional — e.g. Van, Box Truck, Flatbed Truck, Refrigerated Truck, Semi Truck, and similar.
Brand, Model	Required.
VIN	Required, unique.
Registration	Required, unique.
Status	Enabled or Disabled.

Drivers

Drivers are also standalone records — a driver isn't tied to a particular vehicle in the system; instead, you choose both a vehicle and a driver when you set up a shipment.

Field	Notes
Full Name	Required.
Driver / License ID	Required, unique.
Prefix, Phone, Email, Notes	Optional.

Carriers

A Carrier represents the delivery service or freight provider handling a shipment.

Field	Notes
Name	Required, unique.
Status	Draft, Active, or Disabled. New carriers start as Draft.

Carrier, Vehicle, and Driver are all optional when creating a shipment — assign whichever apply, add an AWB (Air Way Bill) number if there is one, and leave the rest for later if it isn't known yet.

Projects

A Project is a lightweight way to group related RFQs together — useful when several requests belong to the same larger initiative or customer engagement.

Field	Notes
Name	Required, unique.
Description	Optional.
Status	Active, On Hold, Completed, or Cancelled. Defaults to Active.
Due Date	Optional.

You don't create RFQs from inside a project — it works the other way around: when creating or editing an RFQ, you can optionally assign it to a project from a drop-down. An RFQ can belong to at most one project, but a project can have any number of RFQs. Assigning a project is entirely optional and mainly useful for filtering your RFQ list later.