The 24-Hour
Quote Scorecard
A 5-minute diagnostic. 7 questions. A clear picture of where your RFQ-to-quote process is leaking jobs.
When a quote takes three days, the job often goes to whoever answered first — price never enters into it.
No email required. No sign-up gate. Just download it.
What's in it
The 7 questions
- 1
Where do RFQs land?
- 0Scattered across personal inboxes, WhatsApp, phone calls, walk-ins
- 1One inbox, but only one or two people check it
- 2Central inbox or system, multiple people can see and action
- 2
How long until a new RFQ gets a human response (not a quote — just “got it”)?
- 0Sometimes a day or two, sometimes never
- 1Same day, usually
- 2Within 2 hours, every time, with a clear next step
- 3
When the owner is on holiday or on the floor, can quotes still go out?
- 0No. Everything stops.
- 1Simple ones can. Anything tricky waits.
- 2Yes. The team has templates, margin rules, and a sign-off path.
- 4
How are prices built?
- 0From memory, gut feel, or last year’s spreadsheet
- 1A spreadsheet that mostly works, but only one person really understands it
- 2A documented method with material, labour, setup, and margin rules anyone trained can follow
- 5
What’s your typical quote turnaround on a standard RFQ?
- 03+ days, or “depends”
- 124–72 hours
- 2Under 24 hours, consistently
- 6
Do you know your win rate?
- 0No
- 1Roughly, by feel
- 2Yes, by customer and by job type
- 7
When a customer goes quiet after a quote, what happens?
- 0Nothing. We move on.
- 1Someone follows up if they remember
- 2There’s a follow-up sequence that runs without anyone thinking about it
Score each 0–2, then read your band
11–14 — Speed is not your problem.
Your bottleneck is probably capacity or pricing, not process. The leverage for you sits in margin, mix, and which customers you say yes to — not in getting faster.
6–10 — You’ve got leaks.
A score here usually means jobs are going to whoever quoted first. Two or three changes close most of that gap, and none of them need new software.
0–5 — You’re losing jobs you don’t even know about.
The customer who didn’t reply didn’t necessarily go with someone cheaper — they often went with whoever quoted first. This is fixable in 30 days.
Why it matters
Speed wins jobs
Buyers often accept the first credible quote they receive. Being second by a day can cost you the job regardless of price.
Know your leaks
If you can't name where your quoting process breaks down, this scorecard shows you in 5 minutes.
Fixable in 30 days
Even a score of 0–5 is recoverable. The scorecard tells you what band you're in and where to focus first.
Get the follow-up
What each band should fix first, plus occasional practical notes on quoting and shop systems. No noise. Unsubscribe any time.
Who you're working with
MetaBinary is Joseph Rose. He spent 20+ years building software for enterprise, and held C-suite roles at a manufacturing estimating software company. He built the world's first instant online metal-casting costing engine. You talk to him, not a sales rep.
He has built the software manufacturers quote with — twice.
Want to go further?
Book a free 30-minute Quote Clinic
Score the scorecard and bring your number. Joseph will tell you the single biggest lever for your band — no sales pitch, just practical advice.
Book a Free Quote Clinic