How ERPNext request for quotation sourcing works for buyers
A buyer uses an ERPNext Request for Quotation to ask several suppliers for prices on the same list of items, then keep a record of why one supplier won. The RFQ is created under Buying > Request for Quotation. Each one carries a company, a required date by which suppliers must respond, a list of items with quantities, and a supplier table. The supplier table is what makes the document flexible: the same RFQ can go to one supplier for a single-source purchase or to several suppliers when you want competing prices. Each supplier named in that table receives the request, so the buyer does not need to compose separate emails or track replies in a spreadsheet.
Teams usually move from email and spreadsheets to an RFQ when the sourcing trail starts to matter as much as the price. Typical triggers include recurring purchases of the same items across several suppliers, purchases that need approval from someone who was not on the original email chain, and audits or internal reviews that ask who was invited to quote and when. Before you go live, confirm with your ERPNext administrator which company, buying roles and item master data your buyers will use, and whether suppliers in your list already have portal access. The ERPNext Request for Quotation documentation sets out the fields and the document flow in more detail, and it is worth reading against your own purchasing policy before you decide how strictly to enforce RFQs for each spend category.
Sourcing options in ERPNext and when each fits
This table compares the three ways a buyer can source in ERPNext: an RFQ to one supplier, an RFQ to several suppliers, and a direct purchase order. Each row shows the audit trail, supplier effort, speed and control trade-offs so you can match the option to item value and supplier readiness. Confirm which options and fields your ERPNext version exposes before you write the procedure, because they differ between releases.
| Option | Best fit | Trade-off | What to confirm first |
|---|---|---|---|
| RFQ to a single supplier | Strategic or sole-source items where you already know the supplier and want a documented quote before ordering | Records the quote in the system, but offers no price comparison and gives the supplier the same workflow effort as a competitive round | Whether the supplier has portal access and which quotation fields your version requires |
| RFQ to several suppliers | Higher-value or recurring items where comparing prices, lead times and terms supports the award decision | Strongest audit trail and comparison view, but each supplier must respond, so the cycle takes longer and needs follow-up | How responses are collected: through the portal, or by entering emailed replies yourself |
| Supplier quotation entered by the buyer | Suppliers without portal access who reply by email or phone and still need a formal comparison | Keeps the comparison inside ERPNext, but the buyer carries transcription risk and the record shows the buyer's entry, not the supplier's submission | Who enters the data, how the original email is attached, and who reviews the entry before award |
| Supplier response through the portal | Suppliers already set up with portal users who regularly quote on your RFQs | Lowest transcription effort and clearest record of who submitted what and when, but depends on suppliers accepting portal access | Portal user setup for each supplier contact and the access rights they receive |
| Direct purchase order | Low-value, routine or catalogue items where competitive sourcing costs more than it saves | Fastest route with the least supplier effort, but limited price evidence and weaker support for audit questions on spend | Approval thresholds and the spend limit that requires an RFQ instead |
| Award and conversion to purchase order | Any sourcing round that ends with a winning quotation to be ordered | Converting the chosen quotation keeps the link to the RFQ, but losing supplier quotations must be recorded to explain the decision | Whether your version links the winning quotation to the purchase order automatically |
| Version-dependent behavior | All options above | Menu paths, portal settings and comparison views change between ERPNext releases, so a procedure written for one version may not match another | The exact release you run and its documentation for RFQs and supplier quotations |
Setting up RFQs and the supplier portal in sequence
This sequence takes a team from portal access to a purchase order, with a check at each stage so that supplier visibility, pricing and approvals are proven before live sourcing starts. The result is a tested sourcing path that your buyers and suppliers can rely on.
Confirm portal access and supplier contacts
Your ERPNext administrator confirms that the website and portal features are enabled for the test site and that each test supplier has a Contact record with a valid email address linked to the Supplier. Create a portal user for each supplier contact and send the invitation from the test environment. The step is done when each invited supplier can log in and see the portal home page, but sees no other supplier's data.
Configure item and supplier master data
Buying lead, procurement or the ERPNext administrator sets up the Item records you plan to source, including units of measure, default warehouses and item groups, and confirms that the Supplier records have the correct company, supplier group and default currency. Check that every supplier you invite is also linked to the items it can quote, because the RFQ supplier table depends on these links. The step is done when a test item can be selected on a draft RFQ without validation errors.
Create a test RFQ for two suppliers
A buyer creates a Request for Quotation under Buying with the company, required date and the test items, then adds two suppliers to the supplier table. Submit the document and send it to both suppliers from the test environment. Confirm that each supplier receives its own email link, because this is the point where you verify the RFQ is addressed per supplier rather than shared.
Check that each supplier sees only its own RFQ
Log in as supplier A in a private browser session and open the portal. Confirm that the RFQ addressed to supplier A appears and that the RFQ addressed to supplier B does not, and that no pricing from other suppliers is visible. Repeat the check for supplier B. The step is complete only when both checks pass, and any leak should be treated as a permission issue to fix before go-live.
Submit a supplier quotation through the portal
Supplier A logs into the portal, opens the RFQ, enters unit prices, lead times and any validity notes, and submits the response. Supplier B repeats the process with its own figures. Your buyer then confirms that each response is recorded against the correct RFQ and supplier. The step is done when two draft Supplier Quotation records exist, linked to the original RFQ and carrying the figures each supplier entered.
Record and review supplier quotations internally
If a supplier responds outside the portal, a buyer records the quotation manually from the RFQ. Review each Supplier Quotation for item rates, currency, taxes and validity dates, then submit the ones that will be compared. Confirm that the quotation totals match what the supplier sent, because errors at this stage flow into the purchase order. The step is done when every quotation you intend to compare is submitted and matches the source document.
Compare quotations and convert the winner
Use the comparison view on the RFQ to line up the submitted supplier quotations by item and price, then create a Purchase Order from the quotation you select. Check that the purchase order carries the agreed rates, quantities, taxes and supplier, and that the RFQ status reflects the award. The sequence is complete when the test purchase order is submitted and the outcome is documented, so your team knows which steps to repeat before live sourcing begins.
Comparing supplier quotations before you award
Before you line up competing supplier quotations, agree on the basis for comparison. Every quotation should be read against the same items, the same quantities and the same required date, because a quote that looks cheaper may simply cover a different unit of measure, a partial quantity or a later delivery. Decide in advance how you will treat price basis (unit price, price per pack, or price including freight), delivery terms (who carries transport and risk, and whether the supplier can meet the required date), taxes (inclusive or exclusive, and which rate applies to each supplier), and minimum order quantities, since a supplier with a lower unit price but a high minimum may cost more once you order what you actually need.
Once those rules are fixed, confirm how your ERPNext instance captures each supplier's answer. Supplier responses to a Request for Quotation arrive as supplier quotations, and the fields you rely on for comparison, such as rate, quantity, tax template and delivery date, should be checked against your own data before the team relies on them. Confirm with your implementation lead which comparison views, reports or side-by-side layouts your version provides, and whether any of them can be filtered by item, supplier or required date. Do not assume a standard comparison report exists until you have seen it working on a test RFQ with at least two suppliers. Scoring criteria and sign-off rules are a separate design task, covered in the ERPNext approval workflows topic, so keep award decisions out of the comparison step itself.
Security and access controls for supplier sourcing
Sourcing puts your pricing and supplier relationships in front of outside parties, so access has to be designed before the first RFQ is sent. The cards below cover how supplier users are kept apart from internal data, who may act on RFQs and quotations, and how changes are traced afterward.
Isolating supplier users in the portal
Supplier access in ERPNext is granted through portal user accounts linked to a Supplier record, so each supplier should see only the RFQs addressed to it. Check that each supplier account is tied to the correct Supplier, that one supplier cannot open another's RFQ or quotation by changing an ID in the URL, and that internal fields such as margins, other supplier prices and internal notes are not visible to portal users. Test this with two dummy supplier accounts before go-live.
Role permissions on RFQs
Creating and sending a Request for Quotation, and reading the responses, should be limited to a purchasing role rather than granted to every buyer by default. Map which roles can create, submit and cancel RFQs, and whether buyers can see quotations from suppliers outside their cost center or company. Confirm these rules with a test user for each role, since permissions in ERPNext are set per DocType and can be overridden by user permissions.
Role permissions on supplier quotations
Supplier quotations are the record that holds competing prices, so read and write access should be narrower than access to the RFQ itself. Decide who may enter quotations received by email or on paper, who may edit a submitted quotation, and who may view the full comparison. Confirm with your own environment how amendments to submitted documents are handled before you finalize the role matrix.
Who can convert a quotation to a purchase order
Converting the winning supplier quotation into a Purchase Order commits spend, so this step needs its own control. Restrict the conversion right to a named role, and decide whether an approval workflow must run before a purchase order can be submitted above a set amount. Test that a buyer without the role cannot complete the conversion directly from the quotation screen.
Internal login through LDAP or social login
Internal buyers and approvers can sign in through LDAP against Active Directory or OpenLDAP, with group-to-role mapping applied at each login, or through a social login provider configured with Social Login Key. Choose one identity source for internal staff so that removing a user from the directory also removes sourcing access. Confirm that supplier accounts stay on a separate login path, since they should not depend on the internal directory.
Reviewing supplier access and audit trails
Supplier portal accounts should have a named internal owner who reviews them on a schedule and disables accounts for suppliers no longer in use. Use ERPNext's version history on RFQs, quotations and purchase orders to trace who changed a price or supplier after submission, and confirm with your team how long those logs are retained and exported. Ask your implementation partner to document the review procedure as part of the handover.
Questions buyers ask before setting up ERPNext sourcing
Does ERPNext sourcing cost anything to set up?
The software itself is free to self-host, because ERPNext is open source under GPL-3.0, according to the ERPNext pricing page. The cost of setting up sourcing is the effort to configure it: suppliers, item records, tax templates, approval rules and the portal, plus the infrastructure you run it on. If you use Frappe Cloud instead, hosting is a separate recurring charge, with shared site hosting starting at 5 US dollars per month according to the same pricing page. Ask any partner for a quote that separates one-time configuration work from recurring hosting, support and upgrades.
How long does it take to configure RFQs in ERPNext?
Duration depends mainly on how clean your existing data is and how many people need to approve or respond. A team with a tidy item master, a defined supplier list and one approval path can usually configure the basic flow faster than a team that must first clean duplicate items and agree on approval limits. No fixed duration applies to every organization, so ask for a timeline in the written scope. Include time for testing with a few real suppliers before you send requests to the full list.
What does our team need to provide before sourcing can start?
You need a named owner for purchasing data, a decision on which items and suppliers will use RFQs, and someone who can answer questions about tax, currency and payment terms for each supplier. Your team should also agree who receives supplier responses and who can approve the winning quotation. Without these decisions, configuration stalls because the system needs them as fixed data, not as informal practice.
Can our own team set up the supplier portal without a partner?
Yes, a technically capable team can configure RFQs and the supplier portal using the ERPNext documentation, provided someone understands ERPNext DocTypes, user roles and the Buying workflow. Teams without that experience usually underestimate permission settings, which decide what a supplier can see and edit. A partner is most useful when you need custom scripts, integrations with your procurement or ERP data, or a review of access rules before suppliers are invited.
What makes the effort grow during an ERPNext sourcing setup?
Four factors matter most: the number of suppliers invited to each RFQ, the quality of the item master, the number of approval rules, and any custom printing or scripts. Each supplier adds contact records, portal access and response review. Duplicate or incomplete items make comparison unreliable. Approval rules add states and roles to test. Custom print formats or Server Scripts add development and testing work, and Server Scripts must be enabled by a setting in version 15 and later, so confirm whether your hosting allows them.
Do suppliers need a paid account to respond through the portal?
Suppliers respond through a portal login that you create and control, so the sourcing process itself does not require a separate license from each supplier. Confirm this with your version and hosting model before you invite suppliers, and confirm how supplier accounts are created, reset and removed. Access should be limited to the RFQs addressed to that supplier, and your team should test that a supplier cannot view competing quotations.
How do we check that suppliers see only their own RFQs?
Test it with at least two supplier test accounts and one internal user before go-live. Confirm that each supplier sees only RFQs addressed to them and cannot open other supplier quotations or internal comparison views. Review the role and user permission settings, since those decide record visibility. Record the test results as evidence for your procurement controls, and repeat the test after every upgrade or permission change.
When should we ask a partner for help with ERPNext sourcing?
Ask a partner when the scope goes beyond standard configuration, such as integrating supplier responses with another system, changing comparison logic, or aligning approvals with segregation-of-duties requirements. DeployOpen plans, implements, customizes and tests self-hosted open-source platforms in your own infrastructure, and most engagements are fixed-scope with deliverables agreed in writing before work starts. ERPNext implementation is also available through certified partners, so compare scope, method and quote detail across providers.
Running RFQs day to day after go-live
Once RFQs are live, the work that keeps sourcing reliable is routine upkeep: the supplier master must stay accurate, unanswered RFQs must be chased, the instance must stay on a supported release, and supplier emails must actually arrive. Supplier records feed every RFQ table, so a supplier with an outdated email address, a missing contact or a disabled status silently drops out of a sourcing round. Set a recurring review of Supplier records, check that each supplier linked to a request has a current primary contact, and confirm that the supplier portal user accounts still map to the right company and supplier. Ask the person who owns procurement to name who approves supplier creation and deactivation, because those decisions change who can receive and answer requests.
Review open RFQs on a fixed schedule rather than waiting for a buyer to notice. An RFQ that was sent but never answered is a risk: the required date can pass while the requisition that depends on it stays open. Use the RFQ list to find drafts that were never submitted or sent, and submitted requests with no supplier quotation after the required date. Decide in advance what happens next, such as a reminder to the supplier, a new RFQ to additional suppliers or closing the request. For version upkeep, ERPNext and Frappe releases move frequently. The frappe/erpnext releases page lists minor releases for each supported major version, so apply them to a test instance first, run an RFQ and a supplier quotation through the portal, and only then update production. Confirm your major version is still listed on the supported versions page, because the support status of a version can change.
How DeployOpen scopes and delivers ERPNext sourcing
DeployOpen plans, configures, integrates and documents ERPNext requests for quotation and the supplier portal inside your own infrastructure, on a written scope agreed before work starts. We set up the sourcing flow around your purchasing rules, supplier base and approval practices, then hand over working processes your team can run and change.
How we scope
- We map how your buyers currently issue requests, collect quotes and choose suppliers today.
- We confirm which items, suppliers, companies and approval steps the RFQ process must cover.
- Engagements are fixed-scope, with deliverables and timelines agreed in writing before work begins.
How we build
- We configure RFQ templates, supplier records and portal access for the supplier groups you use.
- We test a full cycle with sample suppliers, from sending an RFQ to converting a chosen quotation.
- We confirm portal permissions so suppliers see only their own requests and quotations.
How we hand over
- We document the sourcing steps, roles and settings so purchasing staff can run the process unaided.
- We walk your buyers and administrators through comparing supplier quotations and creating purchase orders.
- We record configuration decisions so later changes can be reviewed and tested before release.
How we support
- Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as a retainer after handover.
- We can review sourcing settings when ERPNext releases minor or major versions that affect purchasing.
- Ask any provider to confirm which ERPNext version your site runs and which release line they support.
