What is the difference between an RFQ and a tender?

An RFQ is a lighter, faster route used below a monetary threshold, usually decided on compliance and price with a short deadline. A formal tender applies above the threshold and adds advertised competition, functionality scoring and committee evaluation.

Can I negotiate the price on an RFQ?

Generally no. Public procurement is designed to avoid post-submission negotiation and your quoted price is treated as final, though an obvious arithmetic error may be corrected.

etenders rfq

eTenders RFQs explained

The fast, light procurement route, and why preparation beats speed.

5 min read

A request for quotation is the lighter, faster procurement route used below the formal bidding threshold. It closes quickly, asks for far less, and is decided mostly on compliance and price.

That makes it the practical entry point for a supplier without public sector references, provided one thing is true.

What changes compared with a formal tender

The difference that matters day to day is operational rather than legal.

Time: commonly five to ten working days against three to four weeks
Paperwork: a pricing schedule, a declaration and your compliance pack, rather than method statements and CVs
Evaluation: usually compliance and price, with no functionality threshold to clear
Briefings: compulsory site meetings are normal on formal tenders and unusual on RFQs

The short deadline is the real barrier

An RFQ closing in five working days is straightforward if your compliance pack is current, and impossible if you first need to renew a tax compliance PIN, chase a bank letter and commission an affidavit.

This is why RFQs reward preparation more than any other category. The businesses that win them repeatedly are not faster writers, they simply have nothing left to gather when the advert appears.

Do not trust the label

Buyers use these terms loosely. Documents titled request for quotation sometimes carry functionality scoring, and documents titled invitation to bid sometimes ask for almost nothing. Read the returnable schedule list first, because that tells you what will actually be evaluated.

Common questions

What is the difference between an RFQ and a tender?: An RFQ is a lighter, faster route used below a monetary threshold, usually decided on compliance and price with a short deadline. A formal tender applies above the threshold and adds advertised competition, functionality scoring and committee evaluation.
Can I negotiate the price on an RFQ?: Generally no. Public procurement is designed to avoid post-submission negotiation and your quoted price is treated as final, though an obvious arithmetic error may be corrected.