A buyer who sends an RFQ needs to know whether your team can quote it, what information is missing and when they will receive the offer. Your reply should answer the question that matters at that stage of the sale.
Below are five emails for acknowledging a request, clarifying a specification, sending a quote, explaining a revision and following up. Each keeps the customer’s reference visible and states the next action, so you can adapt it to your own quoting process.
The templates below use placeholders. Replace them with confirmed facts before sending. Do not promise a quote date, stock position or delivery date that the responsible team has not approved.
Acknowledge the RFQ with a clear next step
Use this when the request is complete enough for your team to begin, but you cannot send the quotation yet.
Subject: RFQ [customer reference] — quote timing
Hi [name],
We have your request for [product or project]. [Owner] is preparing the quotation, and we expect to send it by [date and time].
We are checking [specific open item, if any]. If that affects the timing, I will let you know by [earlier checkpoint].
[Name]
In an Outlook RFQ queue, keep the request open after this acknowledgment. Record the promised response time and owner; replying quickly does not mean the team has completed the quote.
Ask one precise technical question
Use the line reference and the decision that depends on it. Avoid asking the buyer to resend information already present elsewhere in the thread.
Subject: RFQ [reference] — specification needed for line [number]
Hi [name],
For line [number], please confirm [specific dimension, material or equipment revision]. Your attachment lists [what it says], while [other supplied document] lists [conflicting detail].
We need this to select [part or configuration]. We can continue preparing the other lines while you confirm.
[Name]
An agent can read both documents accurately and still lack the answer to a technical conflict. Show the reviewer both sources and identify the exact dimension or revision that needs confirmation.
Ask for the detail that changes the selection. Schneider Electric explains that AC-1 and AC-3 contactor duties cover different types of load. If an RFQ gives an amperage but does not establish the application, a rep needs more than “please confirm the specification.”
For example: “For line 4, will this contactor switch a resistive load or a squirrel-cage motor? Please also confirm the operating voltage and control-coil voltage.” The contactor-selection criteria make those questions relevant to the product choice. Use the same approach for other families: ask about the operating condition or requirement that determines the part, and explain which line cannot proceed without it.
Send the completed quotation
Reference the quotation number, revision and validity. Put exceptions in the message where the buyer can see them, not only in a footnote in the attachment.
Subject: Quotation [number], revision [revision] — RFQ [reference]
Hi [name],
Attached is our quotation for [scope], valid until [date].
Please note [specific exclusion, proposed alternative or delivery condition]. We have marked the affected line in the quotation.
If you want to proceed, please [your agreed ordering step] and reference quotation [number/revision]. Please confirm [any remaining buyer decision] before we accept the order.
[Name]
Your quote record should contain the same reference and terms. Business Central’s salesQuote resource distinguishes the quote from its later conversion to an order. An email attachment should not become a separate, untracked version of the deal.
Explain what changed in a revised quotation
Use this when quantity, specification or commercial terms change after you have sent the first quote.
Subject: Revised quotation [number], revision [revision]
Hi [name],
Following your message on [date], we have changed [specific lines or terms]. The attached revision replaces [previous revision].
[Explain the price or delivery effect in one sentence.] All other terms remain as stated in this revision.
Please use this version when [ordering or reviewing].
[Name]
Confirm that “all other terms” is true. If you automate Sage X3 quoting, check the configured revision controls before sending. The replacement number in the email should match the revision in Sage, not just a renamed PDF.
Follow up with a useful question
Subject: Quotation [number] — next step
Hi [name],
Are you still planning to [buy for the project or meet the stated requirement] by [customer’s date]?
If the scope has changed, send me the updated requirement and I can revise the quotation. The current quotation expires on [date].
[Name]
Use the actual validity date and the customer’s stated plan to decide when to follow up. If the buyer changes the scope, reopen the quote for review before offering a new price or delivery date.
Have Bourne prepare the facts and draft the response
Use the templates above for a consistent response. Choose Bourne when preparing the facts for that response takes too much of your rep’s day. We can build a workflow that reads the request, gathers the quote context and prepares a reply with the specific questions or approved terms the buyer needs.
Your team can review the customer response alongside the quote, with follow-up tied to the same request. Build your RFQ response workflow with Bourne.
Frequently asked questions
What should an RFQ acknowledgment include?
Identify the request, the owner and the expected next response. If information is missing, name it. Do not count the acknowledgment as a completed quotation in response-time reporting.
How do we ask for missing information without delaying every line?
Reference the affected line and continue work on the rest when your process allows it. Tell the buyer what you need and which decision it affects. Keep the unresolved line visible in the draft.
Should the email include the price or only the attachment?
Follow your quotation process. If you repeat a price in the email, ensure it matches the approved revision and includes the relevant basis, currency and exclusions. Avoid creating a second version that can drift from the quotation.
Can AI send these emails automatically?
It can within an approved workflow. Begin with review for technical clarifications, substitutes and commercial commitments. With Gmail automation, a technical permission to send email does not establish commercial authority to offer a substitute or a discount. Require the relevant approval before sending that commitment.
Further reading
Schneider Electric: selecting a contactor
The application details needed to specify contacts and the coil.
Schneider Electric: AC-1 and AC-3 ratings
Why load type matters when interpreting a contactor current rating.
Buğra Gündüz
Buğra Gündüz is the co-founder and CEO of Bourne and co-founder of HockeyStack. He built HockeyStack into an eight-figure AI business. At Bourne, he works with entrepreneurs and established companies to create AI products and services.