Your estimator should decide the quote, not spend hours assembling the data.
Send us the RFQ. We return a review-ready estimate package: drawings reviewed, BOM cleaned up, supplier quotes compared, past jobs pulled and missing information flagged. You set the price.
When one or two people quote every job, RFQs back up behind the prep work. We take the prep. The backlog clears without another hire.
black anodize, 8x helicoils M5
need price + lead time by Fri
| Item | Source | Cost | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6061-T6 plate, 1.5" × 6" × 8" | Last PO, Mar | $38.20 | Priced |
| Type II black anodize | Vendor lot min | $125.00 | Priced |
| Helicoil M5 × 8 | Supplier quote | $14.40 | Priced |
| Thread callout, sht 2 | Drawing | — | Ask customer |
Your best estimator is assembling quotes, not pricing them.
Your shop knows how to price work. The slowdown is everything that has to happen before anyone can price it. Every technical RFQ needs hours of gathering and cleanup, and that work lands on the one or two people whose judgment you actually need.
The pricing call takes minutes. The prep takes hours.
Drawings to decode
Multi-sheet prints, revisions, callouts and notes that have to be read line by line before anything gets priced.
BOMs to clean up
Customer BOMs arrive in every format, with inconsistent part numbers and missing quantities.
Missing specs
Finish, tolerance or material gaps found late, after hours already went into the quote.
Supplier delays
Material and outside-process pricing waits on vendors who answer when they get to it.
Quote backlog
RFQs sit for days while the person who can quote is on the floor or in meetings.
Lost jobs
Some work never gets quoted at all because the backlog beat the customer's deadline.
We do the prep. You make the call.
Every RFQ you send comes back as one review-ready estimate package. Here's exactly where the line sits.
We handle
- RFQ intakeEvery file logged, nothing lost in the inbox
- Drawing and spec reviewQuantities, materials, finishes, tolerances
- BOM cleanup and normalizationOne clean, consistent structure
- Supplier quote collectionRequested, collected, compared line by line
- Missing-information detectionGaps flagged before you start pricing
- Historical job and pricing lookupSimilar past jobs and last-paid costs
- Estimate package assemblyOne file, ready for your review
You keep
- Labor assumptionsYour hours, your rates
- Routing decisionsHow the job runs through your shop
- Manufacturability judgmentWhat your shop can and should make
- Margin and pricing strategyWhich jobs you want, and at what price
- Final quote approvalNothing goes out without you
Labor, margin and the final number stay with you.
More quotes out the door, with nothing new to manage
You keep pricing control
We prepare inputs. Every number that matters is still set by your people.
No new hire
Quote capacity grows without recruiting, training or adding payroll for an estimator.
No software
No platform, no integration, no rollout. Forward an email, get a package back.
Faster turnaround
Your estimator starts from a finished package instead of a pile of files.
| RFQ Prep Desk | Doing it yourself | Hiring an estimator | Quoting software | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takes the prep work off your desk | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | Partly |
| No setup or process change | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Collects and compares supplier quotes | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Handles messy PDFs and drawings | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Varies |
| Scales up and down with RFQ volume | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| You keep final pricing judgment | ✓ | ✓ | Shared | ✓ |
| Cost | From $2,000/mo | Your time | $70–100K+/yr | License + setup |
Start with one RFQ
Send one real RFQ. We return the full estimate package and you judge it against how long that quote would have taken your team.
Fixed fee. One RFQ, fully prepped.
- Full prep workflow, engineer-reviewed
- Review-ready estimate package back to you
- NDA signed before you send anything
- You keep final approval on the quote
Guarantee: if it doesn't save you at least one estimator day, we refund it.
Monthly, based on RFQ volume and complexity. Never unlimited.
- Starter · up to 15–20 RFQs · $2,000/mo
- Growth · up to 40–50 RFQs · $3,500/mo
- High volume · $5,000+/mo
Built for custom shops where quoting is the bottleneck
10–75 person manufacturers with enough RFQ volume that the backlog is real, and one or two people still preparing every quote.
A fit if you:
- Run a 10–75 person custom manufacturing shop
- Still have the owner or one senior person quoting
- Quote parts with outside processes and bought-in items
- Have RFQs waiting days for someone to start them
Probably not a fit if you:
- Quote simple parts in minutes already
- Want someone else to set your prices
- Need a full ERP or CPQ system
- Get a handful of RFQs a month
From RFQ to review-ready packet
Send the RFQ
Forward the whole package as-is to one email address. Drawings, specs, BOM, customer notes.
We review and clean
Drawings and specs read, BOM normalized, missing information flagged back to you early.
We price the inputs
Past jobs and last-paid costs pulled, supplier quotes collected and compared side by side.
You make the call
You get one review-ready packet. Set labor, routing and margin, approve, send.
See what quoting prep costs you
Rough math on estimator time. Adjust the sliders to match your shop.
Estimate only. The pilot measures your real before and after.
Your questions, answered
Do you set our prices?
No. We prepare the inputs: quantities, materials, past pricing, supplier quotes and open questions. Labor assumptions, routing, margin and the final number stay with you.
Do you send quotes to our customers?
Never. The package comes back to you. You adjust, approve and send it yourself.
What do we need to send?
Whatever the customer sent you: drawings, PDFs, specs, BOMs, Excel files. Past job exports from your ERP help, but they aren't required.
Is this software?
No. It's a prep desk. There's no integration and nothing to learn. You forward an email and get a package back.
What about confidentiality?
We'll sign your NDA before you send anything. Your drawings and pricing are used only to prepare your quotes.
How fast do packages come back?
It depends on complexity and how quickly suppliers reply. We agree on a turnaround per RFQ type up front and track it.
What's out of scope?
Final pricing, manufacturability sign-off, engineering design work, ERP replacement, scheduling and shop-floor planning.
What if it doesn't save us time?
If the pilot package doesn't save you at least one estimator day, we refund the pilot fee.
Send us a sample RFQ.
Forward one real RFQ, as-is. We'll show you the review-ready package you'd get back, and your estimator can judge the difference.
jason@jasonfishburn.com · NDA signed on request before you send files