A Request for Quotation is how ERPNext lets you ask several suppliers for prices on the same items and compare what comes back. It's straightforward until the email doesn't send, or the link you emailed drops the supplier onto a login wall instead of a quote form. Both are known, fixable issues. This guide walks the RFQ flow, shows the supplier-portal setup, and gives the fix for each place it breaks — plus how to run an RFQ with no email at all.
Where the RFQ sits
An RFQ usually starts from a Purchase-type Material Request and ends in a Supplier Quotation you compare and convert to a Purchase Order. This post is the middle step: collecting prices.
Skip the RFQ when you already know the supplier and price; use it when a few percent across vendors is worth a documented comparison. I am Manoj, ERPNext and Frappe implementation lead at Mith Tech in Bengaluru; we set up supplier portals and RFQ flows for buying teams that need competitive quotes on record.
The RFQ flow, end to end
Tap through creating the RFQ, sending to suppliers, the portal response, the Supplier Quotation, and converting to a Purchase Order.
Pull items from a Purchase-type Material Request (or add by hand), then add the suppliers you want to quote. Each supplier needs an email and, for the portal, a contact.
Per the official documentation, when a supplier has a portal account ERPNext emails them a link to submit their quote; their submission becomes a Supplier Quotation against the RFQ. If you'd rather not involve the portal, you can enter each supplier's price manually — the comparison still works.
Where it breaks — and the fix
Select the RFQ problem you're hitting to get its cause, the GitHub issue, and the fix.
Pick the RFQ problem you're hitting.
The wrong-URL trap
The most confusing RFQ failure is when suppliers report the link "doesn't work". Check the URL in the email: the correct supplier-portal form is /rfq/<name>. If the email emits the internal desk URL /app/request-for-quotation/<name> (#34166), suppliers hit a login/permission wall. It's driven by the site's host URL setting and the portal being enabled — fix those, and patch to a build past the bug.
Set it up (or run it without email)
Recipes to create and send an RFQ, enable the supplier portal, and record quotes without emailing suppliers.
The happy path.
1. Buying > Request for Quotation > New
2. Get Items From > Material Request (or add items)
3. Suppliers table: add each supplier + their email/contact
4. Fill "Message for Supplier" (required to send — #49460)
5. Tick "Send Email to Supplier", Submit.
Each supplier gets a portal link: /rfq/<rfq-name>Create the RFQ from a Material Request
Buying → Request for Quotation → New → Get Items From → Material Request (or add items). Add each supplier with an email in the Suppliers table.
Fill the message and send
Populate Message for Supplier (required, or submit fails — #49460), tick Send Email to Supplier, and Submit. Each supplier gets a /rfq/<name> portal link.
Enable the portal for self-service quotes
Give each Supplier contact a website user with the Supplier role so their portal submission records a Supplier Quotation (PR #24622).
Or skip email and record manually
Untick Send Email, then Create → Supplier Quotation from the RFQ and key in the prices suppliers gave you by phone or email. Everything still links back for comparison.
Portal, or manual entry?
FAQ
+How do I send a Request for Quotation to suppliers in ERPNext?
Create the RFQ (pulling items from a Purchase-type Material Request), add each supplier with an email in the Suppliers table, fill the Message for Supplier field, tick Send Email to Supplier, and submit. Each supplier receives a portal link at /rfq/ where they can enter their prices.
+Why is my ERPNext RFQ email not sending?
The most common cause after an update is a blank Message for Supplier field, which throws a validation error on submit (#49460). Fill it, or ensure your email template populates it. Also confirm an outgoing email account is configured and the suppliers have email addresses.
+Why does the RFQ link send suppliers to a login page?
Because the email is emitting the internal desk URL (/app/request-for-quotation/…) instead of the public supplier-portal URL (/rfq/…) — issue #34166. Suppliers without desk access hit a login wall. Ensure the portal is enabled and the site host URL is set correctly, and update to a build that emits the /rfq/ link.
+Can I create an RFQ in ERPNext without emailing suppliers?
Yes. Untick Send Email to Supplier when you submit the RFQ (the request for this is #5493). You can then record each supplier's price by creating a Supplier Quotation from the RFQ manually, and still compare them side by side.
+Why did a supplier submit on the portal but no Supplier Quotation appeared?
The supplier's portal user likely lacked permission to create a Supplier Quotation — the case fixed by PR #24622. Give the supplier's contact a website user with the Supplier role and confirm your build includes the fix, then ask them to resubmit.
+Does this apply to ERPNext v14, v15 and v16?
The RFQ flow and supplier portal work across v14, v15 and v16. Specific bugs — the Message-for-Supplier validation (#49460) and the wrong-URL email (#34166) — are build-specific, so check your patch level if email or the portal link misbehaves.
Closing
The RFQ is ERPNext's competitive-quote step, and its rough edges are all in the delivery — the message field, the portal URL, and the supplier's portal permission. Get those three right (or run it email-free and key quotes in yourself), and you have a clean, comparable set of supplier prices feeding the Purchase Order.
Buying on single quotes because RFQs are too fiddly to send?
We set up the supplier portal, fix the RFQ email and link issues, and wire the RFQ → comparison → Purchase Order flow so competitive quoting becomes routine, not a chore.