At a glance
| Folder | Put in it | If it is missing, expect |
|---|---|---|
| 00 Cover and basis of pricing | Project, package, what is asked, who asks, return date, a named contact, and the basis-of-pricing paragraph. | A price on the maker’s own assumptions. |
| 01 Drawings | Plans, elevations, sections and details at a stated scale; revision, date and status on every sheet; a drawing register. | “Based on drawing dimensions” and provisional lines. |
| 02 Schedule | One row per item: code, room, quantity, finished size, finish and sample references. See the FF&E schedule. | A lump sum, or an item list of the maker’s own. |
| 03 Specification and finishes | Species and cut, boards, veneer, hardware, finish system and sheen, each fixed by a reference. | “Or similar”, “to suit”, a standard finish. |
| 04 Samples and approvals | Which sample references are signed, proposed or not yet made; who signs; the light to judge them in. | The maker’s default finish priced. |
| 05 Scope split | Who supplies, fixes and connects: fixings, services, power and data, tops, fitting, making good, protection. | Items excluded, or left unstated. |
| 06 Site and access | Address, floor, route and lift sizes, hours, restrictions, survey status. See the delivery access survey. | “Subject to survey”, “ex works”. |
| 07 Programme | Dates, not durations: drawing approval, order, delivery window, site-ready date, fitting window; long-lead items flagged. | A lead time counted from an event you did not choose. |
| 08 Compliance evidence | Fire, timber, test reports and documents wanted. See the fire documentation matrix and FSC and PEFC. | “Certificates on request”, not priced. |
| 09 Return instructions | Return date and format, questions deadline, how options and alternatives are shown, validity wanted. | A return that cannot be compared. |
Folder numbers match the drawing. The names and order are working practice, not a standard: we found none that sets what an RFQ must contain.
The pack is what the price is built on
An RFQ pack goes to every maker you ask for a price on the same package of work. Its job is to leave nothing to guess. A pack that is silent on a line does not stop the quote from covering it: the maker prices its own reading, and the readings differ from one maker to the next. That is the usual reason quotes part, set out in why bespoke quotes differ.
BIID’s practice guidance names two basic procurement routes for FF&E: a nominated supplier, with terms negotiated, and competitive tender, where suppliers bid. The same pack serves both. With a nominated supplier it becomes the agreed basis of the quotation. In competitive tender it is the one thing every bidder prices.
It is also how we work. Our pricing page explains that a quotation starts from approved drawings and material specifications, and that where the specification is not final the figures are provisional, with the assumptions written down. A pack that says plainly what is fixed and what is open lets that happen without guesswork.
The drawing shows the ten folders. Four are needed before a maker can price at all: drawings, the schedule, the specification and finishes, and the site. The other six decide whether the quote comes back on your assumptions or on the maker’s.
Say what is fixed and what is not
A drawing that is complete enough to price is not always complete enough to build. Label the status of each document, and say which parts are open, so the maker can price what is fixed and list assumptions for what is not. Five status words cover most cases:
| Status word | Say it when | What the maker should do |
|---|---|---|
| Issued for quotation | The drawings are complete enough to price, but are not for construction. | Price from them. Shop drawings follow an order. |
| Design intent | The drawing shows what is wanted, and the maker will develop how it is built. | Say what it assumes about construction. |
| Dimensions subject to survey | Sizes will be set after the site is measured. | State who surveys, when, and what happens to the price if sizes change. |
| Allowance | A sum is carried for something not yet defined. | State what the allowance covers and what would settle it. |
| To be confirmed by [date] | A decision is open, with an owner and a date. | Price the stated alternatives as options. |
One more thing to state: whether the drawings are prescriptive or descriptive. NBS explains that in a prescriptive set the design team fixes the product and the maker draws it for manufacture, while with a descriptive specification a specialist completes the design information and design responsibility generally passes with it. A maker who is unsure which you mean may price either. Say which, and do not leave it to the quote to settle who is designing what.
Fill in the scope split: who supplies, fixes and connects
Most quote gaps sit at the edges of the joinery: the wall it is fixed to, the cable that feeds it, the appliance it holds, the stone on top, the decorator who comes after. Put those edges in one schedule, with every cell filled. “By others” is not an answer until it names who.
| Item | Supply | Fix | Connect | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joinery carcases, doors and drawers | [maker] | [maker] | – | Sizes from the survey record [ref]. |
| Fixings to wall and floor | [maker] | [maker] | – | Wall construction stated in folder 06. |
| Power and data to the unit | [electrician] | [electrician] | [electrician] | Maker supplies cable routes and cut-outs. |
| Appliances and sinks | [client] | [maker] | [plumber] | Data sheets issued in folder 03. |
| Stone or glass tops | [stone supplier] | [maker] | – | Template date in folder 07. |
| Making good and decoration | – | [decorator] | – | After fitting. State who protects the work. |
The rows are examples with placeholders: use your own items and the names of the trades on your job. Where you do not know, write “to be confirmed by [date]” and ask the maker to price both ways.
Give dates, not durations
A lead time in weeks starts a clock at an event, and a pack that does not say which event leaves the maker to choose one. Give the dates you cannot move: when drawings will be approved, when the order will be placed, when the site is ready, and the window for fitting. Ask each maker to say what it needs, from what event, to meet them.
Flag long-lead items in the pack so they are ordered against drawing approval and not discovered later. Our lead times page lists the usual ones, such as specialist stone, Murano glass, bespoke ironmongery and fabrics supplied by the designer from mills with their own queues, and counts the clock from written approval of the shop drawings and samples. We state no duration here: the period belongs to the piece, the workshop and the date.
Issue the same pack to everyone, and keep the record
A pack is only useful for comparison if every maker priced the same one. Six habits keep it that way:
- Freeze the pack. Give every file a revision and list them in a register. A document not on the register is not part of the request.
- Issue the same pack to every maker on the same day, with one return date.
- Answer every question to everyone. Keep a log of questions and answers, and send the log to all makers, not only the one who asked.
- Ask for alternatives as options. A substitute for a specified product is priced separately, with its data sheet, so the base price stays comparable.
- Mark the returns on one grid. See comparing bespoke quotes like for like.
- Keep the pack as issued. The quote you accept should name the revision of the register it priced.
If you send us a pack, we review it for buildability and flag what needs refining before it costs time or money, as our how we work page describes. A sketch and a reference image can start a conversation, and the folders above show what turns that into a price you can compare.
Specification wording
Paste into your schedule or specification and replace anything in [square brackets] with your own figures. Wording is a starting point: your specification governs.
Prices are requested for [package] at [project, address] as described in the documents on the RFQ register dated [date], revision [ ]. A document not on the register is not part of this request. Drawings are issued for quotation and are not for construction; shop drawings follow an order. Where information is marked 'to be confirmed' or 'allowance', state the assumption priced. Prices are to be [fixed / provisional] and valid for [ ] days. State every qualification, exclusion and assumption separately, not in the covering letter. Alternatives to the specification are priced as separate options, with data sheets, and accepted only by written approval from [designer].
Responsibility for each item is as Schedule [number]. An item marked 'by others' is excluded from the price, and the schedule names who supplies and fixes it. Dates assumed: drawing approval [date]; order [date]; delivery window [dates] to [address, floor]; site ready for fitting [date]; fitting window [dates]. Tenderers are to state what they need, and from what event, to meet these dates, and to flag long-lead items [list].
Return by [time] on [date] to [name, email] as [PDF and spreadsheet]. Mark each line of Schedule [number] Included, Excluded or Qualified, and state the revision of the register priced. Questions are to be sent by [date]; each answer will be sent to all tenderers.
The drawings and specification in folders 01 and 03 are [prescriptive: products and construction are fixed by the design team, and the maker prepares shop drawings from them / descriptive: the maker completes the design to meet [clause], and design responsibility for that part passes to the maker]. Tenderers are to confirm which they have priced.
Terms used on this page
- FF&E schedule
- A line-by-line list of every furnishing item on a project with its code, room, description, finish, size, supplier, quantity and status, used to specify, price, order and track the items. The most useful versions also record compliance evidence.
- Long-lead item
- An item whose making and delivery takes long enough that its order date drives the project programme, so it has to be ordered earlier than the rest. Typical examples are hand-finished, imported or custom-made pieces.
- RFQ (request for quotation)
- The documents sent to a maker asking for a price on a defined scope. The word is used loosely alongside 'tender'. What binds the parties is the contract or procurement route in use, not the label.
- Basis of pricing
- The paragraph that states what a price is made from: which documents and revision, what is fixed and what is provisional, what is excluded, how long it holds.
Standards and sources
- BIID: Professional Practice Series, FF&E: published 15 Dec 2020, read 5 Nov 2026; used for the two procurement routes (nominated supplier, competitive tender).
- NBS: RIBA Plan of Work 2020 and specification: Dale Sinclair, 17 Jun 2020, read 5 Nov 2026; prescriptive and descriptive information and design responsibility.
- No standard applies: we found no British Standard, contract form or trade guide that sets the contents of an RFQ for bespoke joinery or furniture: the folders are practice guidance.
- Make Bespoke Studio: Pricing and quotation; Lead times: quotations start from approved drawings and material specifications; the lead-time clock starts at written approval of shop drawings and samples.
Questions we are asked
What is an RFQ for joinery or furniture?
A request for quotation: the documents you send a maker so that it can price a defined package of work. In bespoke work that means drawings, a schedule, the specification and finishes, the site and access, the programme, the scope split and how the price is to be returned. The word is used loosely alongside ‘tender’; the contract or procurement route you use decides what binds.
What do I need before I can ask for a price?
At minimum the drawings, an item schedule with quantities, the specification and finish references, and the site address and access. Without these a maker cannot price. If any is not final, label it and ask for provisional figures with the assumptions written down.
Do I need shop drawings before I request a quotation?
No. The pack carries your design-intent drawings. Shop drawings come after the order, and are then checked before manufacture: see what to check before you sign a shop drawing.
Should the pack state my budget?
That is a commercial choice for you and your client. If you do state one, say what it includes (delivery, fitting, tax) and whether it is a ceiling or a guide, so every maker prices to the same thing.
How long should I give makers to return a price?
Ask each maker how long a pack of this size needs, and then set one return date for all. We found no standard period, so this sheet gives none.
Can I send the same pack to several makers?
Yes, and you should: issue the identical pack, with the same revision and the same return date, and answer every question to everyone. Check the rules of your contract or procurement route, because they can limit how tenders may be handled.
Download the factsheet
A two-page A4 PDF with the ten folders, the folder drawing and the basis-of-pricing, scope, programme and return wording, to keep with your project file.