Falaah Falaah AI

Quotes

Ask several vendors for a price on an approved request, record each quote with its document, compare them side by side, and award one. Muin drafts the purchase order.

Quotes is where you get quotes from several vendors and pick one. Awarding a quote drafts the purchase order for you.

When you’d use this

  • Your approval rules ask for more than one quote before a purchase.
  • A grant-funded purchase needs quotes under the grant’s procurement rules.
  • You want a price from several vendors before you commit.

Find it

  • Open Quotes in Procurement. The address is /procurement/quotes.
  • Old RFP Management links (/vendor/rfp, /procurement/rfp) open this page.
  • From the Purchase orders empty state, the step Award a quote or create the PO links here.

The quote request list

  • Four figures sit at the top: Quote requests, Open for quotes, Awarded and Total value.
  • Tabs filter by status: All, Draft, Open, In evaluation, Awarded, Cancelled.
  • The table shows Number, Title, Status, Reply by, Quotes received, Estimated value and Awarded to.
  • Select a row to open the quote request.

Start a quote request

Only approved requests can go out for quotes.

  1. Select New quote request.
  2. Request: choose the approved request these quotes are for.
  3. Title: up to 255 characters.
  4. Vendors: search your vendor directory and pick the vendors to invite. You can invite up to 20.
  5. Reply by: the date vendors must reply by. It cannot be before today.
  6. Notes for vendors: optional, up to 5,000 characters.
  7. Select Send to vendors.

Muin confirms how many vendors were invited. If a vendor could not be added, the drawer lists it with the reason, such as “Not a vendor in this organization” or “Already invited to this RFQ”.

The vendors field shows how many quotes are required. That count comes from your approval rules, and from the grant’s rules when the purchase is grant-funded.

The quote request page

The header shows the number, title, status, reply-by date and a Quotes required chip. There are three tabs.

  • Overview: estimated value, published date, reply-by date, quotes received, awarded vendor, decision date and the description.
  • Quotes: every invited vendor, their quote status and the amount.
  • Compare: the quotes side by side, and the award button.

Quote statuses are Invited, Quoted, Under review, Shortlisted, Awarded and Rejected.

Move a quote request along

Each button shows only when its step is allowed.

Status Action Result
Draft Publish (set the close date) Open
Open or In evaluation Record quote Quote saved
Open Close and evaluate In evaluation
Draft, Open or In evaluation Cancel request (optional reason) Cancelled
  • Publishing, closing and awarding need the manage permission for vendor procurement.
  • Recording a quote and cancelling need the edit permission.
  • Cancelling cannot be undone. Vendors can no longer quote and nothing can be awarded. Quotes already recorded stay on file.

Record a quote

When a vendor sends you a price, record it for them.

  1. On the quote request, select Record quote.
  2. Vendor: choose an invited vendor.
  3. Amount: the total the vendor quoted, including delivery. It must be more than zero, with up to two decimal places.
  4. Valid until: optional. It cannot be before today.
  5. Quote document: attach the vendor’s quote so auditors can see it.
  6. Notes: optional.
  7. Select Save quote.

Compare quotes

  • The Compare tab shows each quote as a column.
  • Rows are Total, Above lowest, Quote document (Attached or Not attached), Status and Score.
  • The lowest quote is marked Lowest.
  • A line above the table reads “Quotes required: N. Received: N.”
  • A quote request that was not opened from a request has no comparison. The tab says so.

Award a quote

  1. Close the quote request first with Close and evaluate. Muin awards only a quote request that is in evaluation.
  2. On the Compare tab, select Award to the vendor you chose.
  3. Confirm the vendor and the amount. Add a reason if you want one.
  4. Select Award.

What happens:

  • The quote request closes as Awarded.
  • Muin drafts a purchase order to that vendor. Select View purchase order to open it.
  • The other quotes stay on file with the order.

Fewer quotes than required

  • Only quotes with a quote document attached count toward your organization’s quote target.
  • When you have fewer than the target, the compare tab warns you.
  • You can still award, but you must give a reason. Without one, Muin refuses with “Your organization asks for N quotes; N received. Add a reason to award anyway.”
  • For a grant-funded purchase, the grant’s procurement method can refuse the award outright when it needs more quotes or a formal method. A reason does not override that.

When it goes wrong

  • The request is not in the Request list: it is not approved yet. Only approved requests can go out for quotes.
  • “The reply date cannot be before today”: pick today or a later date.
  • “Invite at least one vendor”: choose a vendor before you send.
  • Award refused because the request is still open: select Close and evaluate, then award.
  • “The winning quote has no amount”: record the vendor’s amount before you award.
  • Award refused because the request is no longer approved: the request changed after the quotes went out. Check it with the approver.

Next step

Open the purchase order Muin drafted, review it, submit it for approval and send it. See Purchase orders and receiving.