Supplier quote comparison: a worked example and Excel template
Compare three synthetic supplier quotes in PDF, checking quantities, delivery, assembly, VAT and payment terms. A worked example and reusable Excel template.
Three suppliers have quoted for your office furniture. One charges for delivery separately, another includes assembly, and the third quotes only for the chairs. Sorting those headline prices would leave part of the purchase out of the decision.
A useful supplier quote comparison puts the complete order, its terms and the unanswered questions in one place. In this synthetic example, the supplier with the highest price per chair costs €60 less than the other complete offer. The lowest unit price remains an incomplete quote.
Set a common basis for the comparison
Compare the same quantity, specification and services in one currency. Keep mandatory requirements, such as a delivery deadline, separate from preferences you could negotiate.
Our example order is for 24 fictional S24 office chairs, delivered and assembled at a ground-floor office in Madrid. The specification states black upholstery, adjustable height and a five-castor base. We assume an order confirmed on 10 September 2026, with all 24 chairs assembled by 25 September.
Decide what evidence would show that each requirement is met: a product reference, a written delivery date or an explicit statement that assembly is included. Northern Ireland's business guidance on shortlisting suppliers recommends defining product, quality and delivery requirements before evaluating offers. For a real purchase, check product equivalence too; matching a short description does not establish equal quality.
The example: three PDFs for 24 chairs
These quotes were written specifically for the demonstration and contain no customer information. A and B provide a complete price for the requested order; C provides a known product subtotal with several costs unresolved.
The source PDFs are in Spanish, with one page each and references DEMO-A-001, DEMO-B-001 and DEMO-C-001. The suppliers, products, prices and terms are fictional.
| Comparison field (prices in euros) | Supplier A | Supplier B | Supplier C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairs | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Price per chair, excluding VAT | 145.00 | 155.00, calculated | 138.00 |
| Product subtotal, excluding VAT | 3,480.00 | 3,720.00 | 3,312.00 |
| Delivery, excluding VAT | 120.00 | Included | Not stated |
| Assembly, excluding VAT | 180.00 | Included | Excluded; price missing |
| Complete total, excluding VAT | 3,780.00 | 3,720.00 | Unavailable |
| Stated VAT rate | 21% | 21% | Not stated |
| VAT amount | 793.80 | 781.20 | Unavailable |
| Total including VAT | 4,573.80 | 4,501.20 | Unavailable |
B quotes six boxes of four chairs at €187.55 per chair including VAT. That is 24 chairs, and the calculated unit price excluding VAT is €187.55 ÷ 1.21 = €155. Its document also states the €3,720 net amount, providing a second way to check the calculation.
The arithmetic is straightforward once the fields are separate:
- A: 24 × €145 + €120 + €180 = €3,780; €3,780 × 21% = €793.80 VAT.
- B: 24 × €155 = €3,720; €3,720 × 21% = €781.20 VAT. Delivery and assembly must not be added again.
- C: 24 × €138 = €3,312. This subtotal does not cover all requested services and cannot establish the total payable.
The 21% rate comes from quotes A and B. It is not an assumption to apply to C or to your next purchase. VAT rates depend on the country and the goods or services involved; keep the tax fields separate and resolve missing information before calculating a complete total.
What the trial produced and what we corrected
We submitted the three PDFs in Ilisai's test environment and checked each generated workbook against the originals. It took an initial generation and five correction rounds to obtain the checked file used for this example.
The selector displayed Auto; we did not verify which underlying model handled each request. The PDFs and workbook are in Spanish, with four tabs: Extraccion (extraction), Resumen (summary), Preguntas (questions) and Plantilla (template).
| Check | First workbook | Checked workbook |
|---|---|---|
| C's €3,312 | Presented as a comparable net total | Product subtotal only; complete totals unavailable |
| Calculations | No formulas | Conversion, subtotal, VAT and difference formulas checked |
| Reusable template | Only Concepto and Valor headers | Three empty supplier columns and instructions for missing costs |
Some intermediate corrections also introduced broken references or removed decision text. For the final repair, we attached the downloaded workbook again and supplied precise changes to its formulas, labels and recommendation. We then recalculated a working copy, compared the figures with all three PDFs and inspected all four sheets. B's conversion gives 24 chairs and €155 per chair excluding VAT; C's missing costs remain unknown.
That checking work is part of this example. The prompts below are reusable adaptations of the workflow, and a new comparison may need its own corrections. We measured no time saving or customer outcome.
Turn the PDFs into a checked Excel comparison
Ask for an extraction with document and page references, review it, then request the workbook. That review point helps catch a misread quantity or missing charge before it affects the recommendation.
- Prepare the quotes. Use the latest version of each document and check that its tables and terms are legible. Use files your business permits you to share with the selected tool.
- Describe the order. Specify quantity, product requirements, currency, services and deadline. Ask for a clear flag when a supplier has quoted a different quantity or an alternative product.
- Check the extraction. Open each original and compare the quantities, amounts, tax fields, delivery and payment terms. Keep “included”, “excluded” and “not stated” distinct.
- Download and open the Excel file. Check its formulas and retain the extracted fields, unanswered questions and a blank template for the next purchase.
Adapt this prompt to your own quotes:
1I have attached three PDF quotes for [quantity and product], including
2[required services], in [location and currency]. We need the complete
3order delivered, with all required services completed,
4by [date]. The order would be confirmed on [date].
5
6Extract each quote's reference, product, total quantity and unit,
7unit price and product subtotal excluding VAT, delivery, assembly,
8complete total excluding VAT, VAT rate and amount, total including VAT,
9delivery commitment, payment terms, validity and warranty.
10Give the source document and page for every field.
11
12Separate explicit statements, calculated values and missing fields.
13Do not invent values.
14Do not treat missing charges as zero.
15Do not assume a VAT rate.
16Check boxes versus individual units. Do not add charges already included.
17
18Show the extraction table and discrepancies for me to review.
19Keep incomplete quotes separate from fully comparable offers.After checking the table, request the workbook:
1Use the extraction I have reviewed and these corrections: [list, or
2“none”]. Create a downloadable Excel file with Summary, Extraction,
3Questions and Template worksheets.
4
5Store amounts as numbers and use formulas for calculations. Separate
6the price excluding VAT, total including VAT, delivery and payment terms.
7Keep unknown fields visible. An incomplete total must not be ranked
8as the cheapest offer. Leave Template blank for reuse, without the
9example's data.
10
11Recommend an option conditionally against the order requirements and
12list unanswered questions for each supplier. Do not send messages
13or place orders.Choose conditionally and keep the open questions
For the 25 September deadline and the example specification, B is the provisional choice among complete offers: €60 less excluding VAT and €72.60 less including VAT than A. This assumes confirmation on 10 September with delivery and assembly still included.
| Term | Supplier A | Supplier B | Supplier C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery and assembly | By 18 September | By 22 September | Date unconfirmed; assembly excluded |
| Payment | 50% on order; 50% before dispatch | 30 days from invoice; no deposit | 100% in advance; payable total unresolved |
| Quote valid through | 10 September | 11 September | 30 September |
| Commercial warranty | 2 years; detailed terms missing | 2 years; detailed terms missing | Not stated |
All dates in the table refer to 2026. A requires its €2,286.90 deposit on 10 September, with another €2,286.90 before dispatch. B provides a payment term but no invoice date, so we cannot calculate a calendar payment deadline.
If the chairs had to be assembled by 18 September, A would be the documented option that meets the earlier deadline, subject to its order and deposit conditions. B's stated date would not be sufficient. C gives an indicative 10–15 business days from receipt of payment, without confirming a date; the buyer needs both a firm commitment and an assembly arrangement.
Before approval, resolve these questions:
- A and B: obtain the detailed commercial warranty terms and exclusions. Confirm availability and keep delivery and service scope in writing.
- B: establish when the invoice will be issued so payment can be scheduled.
- C: ask for delivery cost, an assembly option and price, VAT breakdown, the complete amount payable, a confirmed completion date and warranty details.
The €60 difference is arithmetic within a fictional exercise. It is neither a measured customer saving nor a forecast of what using AI will save your business. No real supplier's reliability has been assessed.
Use the template within your purchasing process
Use the workbook to prepare a decision another person can check against the original quotes. For larger purchases or enterprise procurement, retain each quote version, the person who checked the figures, the selection criteria and the purchase approval.
The Plantilla tab is a manual form with no automatic calculations. Fill it with your own quotes, check its totals yourself and leave complete totals blank while a required cost is unknown.
A price comparison cannot establish financial stability, delivery capability or compliance with your purchasing process. If you use a weighted score, set the criteria and weights before scoring; do not award quality points based only on an unverified product description.
Download the comparison and its three source quotes. All four files are in Spanish.
- Verified comparison and blank template (XLSX)
- Fictional quote from supplier A (PDF)
- Fictional quote from supplier B (PDF)
- Fictional quote from supplier C (PDF)
In Ilisai, you can work with PDFs using a compatible model and request a downloadable Excel file for review. Checking the originals and approving the purchase remain the buyer's responsibilities. The AI document generator page covers available output formats, and the guide to AI for data analysis explains how to check a report before acting on it.
Start with the synthetic quotes, check the method, then compare your own supplier quotes in Ilisai.