How to brief a supplier so the quotes are comparable
Three quotes that cannot be compared are worse than one. Here is how to write a short brief that makes suppliers price the same thing, and shows you who actually understood the problem.
By Gary Kellett5 min read
For directors about to commission software, a website or an AI project.
I have sat on both sides of this table: as the supplier writing the quote and as the client trying to choose between three that bore no resemblance to each other. One quote was a day rate with no total. One was a fixed price for something slightly different. One was a beautiful proposal for a much bigger project than anyone asked for. Choosing between them was guesswork.
The fix is not a forty-page tender. It is a short brief, usually three or four pages, that makes every supplier answer the same question.
3 to 4 pages
is enough for most SME briefs. Longer briefs tend to describe solutions rather than problems.
What goes in the brief
Step 1: The business problem
What happens today, who it affects and what it costs. Use numbers where you have them: hours a week, errors a month, orders lost.
Step 2: The outcome you want
What will be different when this is done, in terms you can measure. 'Quotes sent within one working day' rather than 'a better quoting system'.
Step 3: What is in and out of scope
List the processes, teams and systems involved. Say clearly what you are not asking for, so nobody prices it.
Step 4: Your systems and data
Name the systems the solution must work with, and where the data lives. Suppliers price integration risk; give them the facts.
Step 5: Constraints
Budget range if you have one, deadlines that genuinely matter, regulatory requirements, and any technology standards you hold to.
Step 6: What 'done' means
Working and tested on your data, documented, with training for your team. Say who signs it off.
Step 7: How to respond
The format you want the quote in, the questions every supplier must answer, and the date.
Make them price the same thing
The single most useful thing you can do is give every supplier the same pricing table to fill in. I suggest these lines.
- Discovery and design, as a fixed price.
- Build, test and deliver, as a fixed price or a capped estimate, with the assumptions listed.
- Data migration and integration, separately, because this is where overruns hide.
- Training and handover.
- Running costs for the first three years: hosting, licences, support and maintenance.
- The cost and process to leave: getting your data and code out, and what it costs.
Watch out: Ask who owns what
Make ownership a required answer. Will you own the code, the documentation and the accounts the system runs on? If not, what does it cost to take them over? A cheap build you cannot leave is often the most expensive option over three years.
Questions every supplier should answer
- What do you think the real problem is, in your own words?
- What would you do first, and what would you deliberately not do?
- What are the three biggest risks, and how would you handle them?
- Who exactly will do the work, and what have they built that is similar?
- What do you need from us, and how many hours a week?
- How will we know it is working, and what will you measure?
The first question is the most revealing. A supplier who restates your problem well has listened. One who restates their product has not.
Comparing the answers
Line the pricing tables up side by side and total them over three years. Then read the answers to the questions. Score each supplier on understanding of the problem, credibility of the plan, honesty about risk, and total cost. Weight understanding highest: a supplier who has misunderstood the problem will cost you more than any price difference.
Be wary of a quote far below the others. It usually means something has been left out, and you will find out what during the project.
Before you decide, have a short call with your top two. Ask them to walk through how they would run the first two weeks, and ask to speak to a client with a similar problem. Listen for specifics. A supplier who has done this before will talk about your data, your people and the risks they would tackle first. One who has not will talk about their methodology. The call costs you an hour and is often the clearest signal you get.
If you cannot write the brief yet
Sometimes the reason quotes do not compare is that the problem is not yet clear enough to describe. That is normal, and it is better to know it before you go to market. Spend a little time mapping the process and comparing the options first, so you know whether you are asking suppliers to configure, sell or build.
That is exactly what my Better Way Review produces: a written concept document setting out the problem, the options compared, and a recommended design. You can hand it to any supplier, including me, and get quotes that line up.
Questions directors ask
How do I compare software development quotes?
Give every supplier the same brief and the same pricing table, then compare total cost over three years, including running and exit costs. Weight each supplier's understanding of your problem above small price differences.
What should a software brief include?
The business problem with numbers, the outcome you want, what is in and out of scope, the systems and data involved, constraints, what 'done' means, and how suppliers should respond.