> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.seloria.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # RFQs > Create an RFQ from scratch or from an intake, build line items, invite suppliers, and issue — now or later. A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is a priced competition over a defined list of line items. It's the workhorse of the sourcing module and the standard route to a purchase order. Only **buyers, PMs, and admins** can create and issue RFQs. Requestors raise intake requests instead. ## Creating an RFQ **From scratch.** Click **New Request** and choose the **RFQ** card (creates a silent draft and opens the editor), or use the RFQ tracker's new-RFQ entry, which shows a basics-only form and creates the draft when you click **Save as draft**. Either way, the draft then opens in the full RFQ editor. **From an intake.** On an intake's detail page, open the create-RFQ dialog: pick which intake items to include (all are pre-selected), set a title and a supplier response deadline (defaults to 7 days out), and confirm. The new RFQ inherits the intake's division, department, project, and budget, and the selected items become RFQ line items with **all their detail intact** — section grouping, SKU, unit, cost category, estimated budget, and specifications. The RFQ opens directly in edit mode so you can adjust suppliers and terms before issuing. Note: a buyer can only create an RFQ from an intake that a PM has assigned to them. **From an RFI or RFP.** Use **Promote to RFQ** — the scope fields and supplier shortlist carry over (see the Sourcing overview). No one is notified when a draft is created; notifications happen at issue time. ## The RFQ editor The editor is organized in tabs: **Basics**, **Context** (division / department / project), **Line items**, **Suppliers**, **Terms** (currency, tax, incoterm, budget), **Addresses**, and **Specs**. A KPI strip tracks completion, supplier count, item count, days to deadline, and a risk indicator (high when you have fewer than 3 suppliers or under 7 days of response time). There are two dates: the RFQ **deadline** and the supplier **response deadline** — the response deadline is the one quoted to suppliers. ## Line items Line items live in a spreadsheet-style table: * **Sections** group related items (for example "Mechanical," "Electrical"). Add sections, rename them inline, and collapse them while you work. * Each row has **SKU**, **Description** (with an instant hover tooltip when text is clipped), **Quantity**, **Unit** (a dropdown fed by your organization's units catalog), an **estimated price**, **notes**, and a **Cost category** picked per row from your organization's cost categories (Settings → Financial → Cost Categories). New rows start with no category. The category travels with the line all the way to the purchase order, and it is what the **Spend by cost category** report groups by — lines left uncategorized show up there as unassigned spend. * Edits save automatically — a saving/saved indicator confirms each change. * Search by description or SKU, filter by cost category, and switch to **fullscreen** for large BOQs. **CSV import.** Click the download icon to get a 5-column template (**SKU, Description, Quantity, Unit, Cost category**), fill it in, and upload it — `.csv` and tab-separated files both work, so you can paste straight from Excel. Units are matched against your catalog by name or symbol (unmatched values are kept as free-text labels), and imported rows land in their own section for review. Rows without a description are skipped. ## Inviting suppliers Add suppliers from your directory on the editor's **Suppliers** tab, or via **Manage suppliers** on the detail page. Duplicate protection is built in twice: suppliers already on the RFQ don't appear in the picker, and the server ignores any duplicate additions — a supplier can only ever be on the list once. If you add a supplier *after* the RFQ has been issued, Seloria automatically sends them the invitation email so they don't get stranded on the list without ever being notified. ## Issuing: two paths * **Save as draft, send later.** Save the RFQ and leave it in **Draft** for as long as you need — collect approvals, refine the BOQ, adjust the shortlist. When ready, open the detail page and click **Publish RFQ**. * **Issue directly.** If everything's ready at creation time, go straight from the editor to the detail page and publish immediately. Clicking **Publish RFQ** opens a confirmation listing every supplier who will receive the invitation. Click **Confirm & Send**. Each supplier receives an email with the RFQ as a PDF attachment and a personal portal link for submitting their quotation — no account required. Emails are sent in each contact's preferred language. The RFQ status changes to **Issued** once all emails go out, and a banner records the send date. If some emails fail, you're told exactly which suppliers were affected and the RFQ stays in Draft. ## Editing after issue You can still edit an issued RFQ. Once you save changes, the disabled **Issued** button becomes **Re-send**. Re-sending: * Stamps a revision on the RFQ number (`RFQ-012 Rev.1`, `Rev.2`, …). * Marks previously submitted quotations as **superseded**. * Sends fresh portal links to all suppliers. The confirmation dialog warns you about this before anything is sent. ## After issue The detail page tracks the competition across tabs: **Quotations** (submitted bids), **Analysis** (side-by-side comparison), **Questions** (supplier Q\&A — answer clarification questions directly from the tab), and **Documents**. Once quotations arrive, the primary button becomes **Award RFQ**, which can route through an approval if the amount exceeds your organization's threshold, and then generates purchase orders per awarded supplier. ## Audit history The **History** tab is a day-by-day feed of everything that happened: creation, every edit with before → after values per field, status changes, publishes and re-sends — each entry timestamped and attributed to a user. The same feed exists on POs, RFIs, and RFPs.