In this article
- What are material quote requests?
-
Creating a quote request from the resources menu
- Creating a quote from the offsite assessment overview page
- Creating a quote from the onsite assessment overview page
- Want to know more?
What are material quotes requests?
Chalkstring allows you to quickly request material pricing from suppliers by generating a spreadsheet template. The template is downloaded and sent to the supplier to input their pricing against each item, in the Chalkstring format. Once this is completed and sent back, the spreadsheet is imported into Chalkstring and the quote can be applied to projects. See article How to import a material quote
Quotes can be used for tenders and live projects hence quote requests can be generated at any stage. You can generate quote requests in two areas of Chalkstring:
1. 'Resources' menu > 'Material quotes': search through the material database to choose the material you need pricing for.
This would typically be used for standard terms pricing requests and cost planning.
2. Within a project assessment: In the ‘Assessment Overview’ of a specific project package, request a fully quantified quotation for the materials required to deliver a particular package of works.
This would typically be used for project specific pricing, value engineering at tender, and to obtain the best rates once onsite.
Creating a quote request from the resources menu
1. From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the 'Resources' icon.
2. Click the ‘Material quotes’ sub menu.
3. Click the 'Quote request' button in the top right corner.
4. To generate a new quote request, click ‘Material Quote Request’.
5. Give your request a descriptive name to help the supplier recognise what they are being asked to quote for (e.g. Standard price list for 20XX projects in London & the South East).
6. Pick the supplier you intend to send the request to from the drop-down menu if sending to a specific supplier . If you want to send this request to multiple suppliers , leave this blank.
7. To create your quote request, add the activities which need pricing by the supplier by clicking the ‘Add material’ button in the bottom right. This opens your 'Material' database where you can select a material (or multi click for more than one material). Once you have selected all the materials you want to add to the request, click the 'Select items' button in the bottom left.
8. Click 'Save request'.
Once saved, your quote request will be stored in the ‘Material quote request’ list. To access this, click the 'Quote request' button for the main 'Material quotes' page.
9. Click the quote request.
10. Click the 'Download' button in the top right to download the request. Send the spreadsheet to your supplier for pricing.
Creating a quote from the offsite assessment overview page
It is advisable to complete your rate build ups (without necessarily allocating any pricing to them) and your bill of quantities figures, before going through this process. This will ensure your quote request includes everything you will need, and will provide the contractor with an accurate estimation of the quantities of each activity involved. This will enable your supplier to offer you the best pricing they possibly can.
1. Expand the main Chalkstring black menu bar and click on the ‘Projects’ menu.
2. Select the project for the quote request and click the work package that you require pricing for.
3. Click the relevant assessment and view the 'Assessment Overview' page.
4. Select ‘Generate material quote request’ from the 'Assessments Actions' list, or the 'Generate material quote request (Invalid prices only)' if your assessment already contains pricing and you want a list of the materials with current missing or invalid prices.
This will generate and download an excel spreadsheet from the Chalkstring template containing quantified material data for everything within the scope of your current package.
5. Once downloaded, send the spreadsheet to your supplier for pricing.
6. When the spreadsheet is completed and sent back, it can be imported into Chalkstring. See article - How to import a material quote
Creating a quote from the onsite assessment overview page
1. In the main project list, click the 'Onsite' button for the project. This takes you to the blue menu.
2. Within the 'Onsite', click on the live work package you want to request pricing for.
3. From the ‘Assessment Overview’ page, click ‘Generate material quote request’ and a spreadsheet will download containing quantified material data for everything within the scope of your current package.
4. Once downloaded, send the spreadsheet to your supplier for pricing.
5. When the spreadsheet is completed and sent back, go through the process of importing the quote. See article - How to import a material quote
> Back to top