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How-to guideResearch & evidence · Free templateAdded 28 Oct 2026

Compare vendor quotes side by side before you decide

Line up every quote on the same terms, from price and scope to support, lock-in and your data, then have a named person check each figure against the original before the owner chooses.

Use it when For owners buying software, machinery, logistics or services who have quotes in different formats and cannot easily tell which is cheaper or what each one really covers.

Download template

It is a simple text file. Open it in any text editor, or paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask for help filling it in.

How to use it

  1. Write down what you need before you open the quotes. If you start from the quotes, the one with the nicest brochure tends to set the terms.
  2. Give the AI tool the quotes and the comparison headings below. Ask it to fill each line only from what the quote says, to quote the line it used, and to write "not stated" where the quote is silent. It must not guess, round off or fill gaps from the vendor's website.
  3. The checker goes through every figure and every "not stated" against the original quote and marks each line checked. Ask vendors to answer the gaps in writing. Then the owner decides and fills in the decision record.
What you will need before you start
  • The quotes themselves, as the vendor sent them (PDF, email, WhatsApp message or a photo of the printed quote)
  • A short note of what you are buying and what it must do for you
  • The questions you want every vendor to answer the same way, so no quote gets a free pass
  • One person who will check each figure in the comparison against the original quote, and the owner who will make the choice

The template

Fill in the blanks for your business. This is what you get when you download or copy it.

What we are buying

Item or service:

What it must do for us:

Must-haves (a quote that misses one of these is out):

Budget we have in mind, if any:

Decision owner:

Checker (the person who checks every figure against the original quote):

Date we need to decide by:

Quotes received

Copy this block for each vendor.

  • Vendor:
  • Quote reference and date:
  • Quote valid until:
  • Person we spoke to:
  • Where the original quote is saved:

Side by side comparison

Copy this block once for each vendor and fill it from that vendor's quote only. Write "not stated" when the quote does not say, and quote the line from the quote for every figure.

  • Vendor:
  • Price to start (one time):
  • Price that repeats (monthly, yearly or per order):
  • Price after the first year or after any offer ends:
  • Taxes included or extra:
  • What is included:
  • What is not included or costs extra:
  • Delivery or setup time:
  • Support (who, how, how fast):
  • Warranty or guarantee:
  • Minimum term, notice period and exit cost:
  • Our data, records or designs (can we take them with us, and in what form):
  • Payment terms (advance, credit days):
  • Meets every must-have (yes, no, or not clear yet):
  • Checked against the original quote by (name and date):

Questions sent to vendors

List every "not stated" you asked about, who you asked and what they replied in writing.

Things to check with our CA or adviser

  • Whether GST or other taxes apply and whether we can claim any input credit on this purchase
  • Any contract term we do not fully understand, especially lock-in, penalties or automatic renewal

Decision record

  • Vendor chosen:
  • Main reason in one plain line:
  • What we gave up by not choosing the others:
  • Gaps or risks we accepted, and who accepted them:
  • Decided by and date:
  • When we will look at this again (before renewal, after the first order, after three months):

Stop rules

  • Do not decide from the AI comparison until the checker has marked every line checked against the original quote.
  • If a figure in the comparison does not match the quote, the quote wins. Fix the comparison and tell the decision owner.
  • Do not let the AI tool contact vendors, accept a quote or agree to any term. A person does that.
  • Do not paste bank details, signed contracts or other private documents into an AI tool unless you are sure where that data goes.
  • If two quotes cover different things, do not compare them on price alone. Ask the vendors to quote on the same scope first.

Owner and review

Comparison owner:

Keep this sheet with the chosen quote, and look at it again before the next renewal or reorder.

See an example

A made-up example, so you can see what a filled-in version looks like.

This is an illustrative scenario, not a client case study or a measured result. Do not reuse its details as facts about your work.

A sample small garment manufacturing unit in Bommasandra wants a transport partner to take finished cartons from the unit to buyers' warehouses. The owner has three quotes in three different formats: a PDF, a WhatsApp message and a photo of a printed letterhead. Each one is laid out differently, so it is hard to tell which is really cheaper or what each one covers.

Sample inputs

Demonstration inputs only. The vendors are named A, B and C, and every price below is an illustrative example figure, not a real rate. Vendor A: a per-trip rate of ₹4,000 (illustrative figure), loading by the unit's own staff, no mention of damage cover. Vendor B: a monthly fixed fee of ₹50,000 (illustrative figure) for up to a set number of trips, loading included, a six-month minimum term. Vendor C: a per-trip rate of ₹4,500 (illustrative figure), loading included, damage cover up to a stated limit, and delivery proofs shared on WhatsApp after each trip.

Example output

Side by side comparison

[Fact within this demonstration] Vendor A and C charge per trip; Vendor B charges a fixed monthly fee with a six-month minimum term. Loading is included by B and C, not by A. Only C mentions damage cover. Only C says how delivery proofs are shared. Taxes are "not stated" in A's and C's quotes.

Questions sent to vendors

[Fact within this demonstration] Ask A about damage cover and taxes, ask B what happens to the fee in a slow month and how the minimum term ends, and ask C whether taxes are extra.

What the comparison shows

[Inference] The per-trip prices cannot be compared with B's monthly fee until the owner writes down how many trips a normal month needs. Leaving out loading and damage cover may make A look cheaper than it is.

Owner's decision

[Recommendation] Fill in the gaps in writing first, have the checker tick every figure against the three original quotes, and check the tax question with the unit's CA. Then the owner picks and records the reason. This recommendation is not the business's decision.

How to tell it is done well

Must-haves were written before the quotes were read; every line in the comparison quotes the original quote or says "not stated"; the checker has checked every figure against the original quote and signed the comparison; gaps were answered in writing by the vendor; tax and contract questions went to the CA or adviser; the owner made the choice and the decision record says why and what was given up; no vendor was contacted or accepted by the AI tool.

Where a person should decide

The template helps you line up quotes on the same terms and record your choice; it does not tell you which vendor is best, check that a vendor is reliable, or give legal or tax advice. Check GST, input credit and any contract terms with your CA or adviser. A filled comparison is not a decision to buy. Keep consequential actions with the named human owner.

The template lines up quotes and records your choice; it does not pick the best vendor, check a vendor's reliability, or give legal or tax advice. Check GST, input credit and contract terms with your CA or adviser.

Edit your own copy on this site
About this version

New in Kosh at version 1.1. Provider-neutral Markdown instructions; no installation or platform compatibility is implied. Runtime behaviour has not been verified across AI providers. Reuse terms have not yet been published. Background reading: Before the Next AI Subscription, Trace the Operating Thread, on writing down what a purchase is for and who owns it before you buy, and Put the Decision Record Where the Work Happens. Working out what to buy and where a person must decide is part of Kramaniti's Foundation Strategy audit.

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