Machine-shop RFQ ownership board
Give each request a scope reference, staff owner and next action before estimating.
No signup. Enter reference codes, add records and download a CSV. Entries stay in the browser tab. Filled fields do not establish completion, approval or compliance.
| RFQ reference | Part and revision reference | Decision stage | Staff owner | Next-action date | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RFQ-EXAMPLE-1 | Part-A-rev-B | Scope clarification | Estimator-A | 2026-10-14 | Confirm requested quantity with buyer |
| RFQ-EXAMPLE-2 | Part-C-rev-A | Buyer decision pending | 2026-10-15 | Assign owner for quoted delivery question |
- Examples are fictional and do not reserve production capacity.
- Keep drawings and personal contact details in approved business systems.
- Verify scope, accepted quote and production-release decisions outside this worksheet.
An RFQ arrives while your estimator is working on another job. The buyer sends a revised drawing the next morning. No one knows who handled the initial request. The shared inbox holds the messages, but your team still needs a current scope and a next action.
Use the RFQ ownership board above to connect each request with its quote, revision, staff owner and decision stage. The starting rows are fictional. The worksheet records your planning information and exports a CSV. It neither checks manufacturing feasibility nor commits your machines to a delivery date.
Use with this guide
Follow up on the current machining quote
Keep the promised lead time and missing decision visible.
Turn shared-inbox messages into owned RFQs
Connect the message thread to one current request.
Review the BlueFinch dashboard
See the available owner workspace without assuming a machining ERP or drawing archive.
Show machining capabilities on a website without unsupported claims
A machine photo does not prove every capability advertised beside it. Keep each public claim connected to what your shop supports.
Browse the complete machine shop guides and worksheets.
Record the scope before estimating
Give each distinct request an RFQ reference. Keep the part reference, current drawing revision, requested quantity and delivery question in the approved quoting system. A changed drawing belongs to the same commercial conversation unless the buyer has requested a distinct project. Do not count each attachment as another sales opportunity. Retain the link between the request and the current scope.
Xometry’s production-quote guidance asks for files, process, material, quantity, inspection requirements and delivery information. Use those categories as questions for your own intake review, not a claim your shop follows Xometry’s workflow. Identify what your estimator still needs before calling the request ready to quote. Keep customer files in approved storage rather than pasting drawings into public planning tools.
Sources for this section: Xometry: Information needed for a production quote
Name stages through evidence
Start with intake review, scope clarification, estimating, quote sent, buyer decision pending and closed. Define the action moving a request between stages. Quote sent needs the latest dated quote reference. Scope clarification needs a recorded question and its owner. Opening a message does not mean a buyer made a decision or confirmed an order. Keep withdrawn and out-of-scope requests under separate outcomes.
HubSpot describes pipeline stages as steps in a process, with customization depending on product and plan. Look for equivalent controls in your CRM. Do not assign a probability because the default software shows one. The stage board on this page contains no forecast. A request waiting for missing quantity information has an unresolved intake question, not a demonstrated chance of revenue.
Sources for this section: HubSpot: Set up and manage pipelines
Assign the next action to an employee
Name the estimator or advisor handling the next decision. Record a due date matching the buyer’s request and your actual commitment. When responsibility changes, transfer the question and its context. A queue assigned to everyone leaves the shop unable to identify who should respond. Keep technical questions with the employee qualified to answer them.
The fictional board contains one intake question and one quote awaiting a buyer decision. An empty staff-owner field stays visible in the worksheet. Filling every field does not approve the scope or complete the quote. Verify the source record before acting. Use internal references here, with personal contact details and confidential files left in your business systems.
Keep acceptance separate from production release
Connect the accepted quote to the purchase order or customer instruction your shop uses. Resolve quantity, revision, delivery and payment differences before treating an order as unchanged. A buyer accepting a price does not answer every technical question. Your production system should show the approved scope and the staff decision governing release.
Keep scheduling commitments in the operational system holding capacity and job status. This board does not reserve a machine, calculate routing or inspect drawings. A sales pipeline needs a link to those decisions, not a duplicate unverified schedule. Review the next action before telling the buyer a slot still exists under an older quotation.
Review unfinished decisions, not inbox size
Open the active RFQs with the estimator at a regular review. Ask which question is missing, who owns the answer and whether the buyer still needs the quoted work. Close a request with a documented outcome. Keep open work visible rather than declaring every unanswered quote lost. Record the observation date when preparing a pipeline report.
BlueFinch’s business dashboard gives owners the functions described on its product page. It is not a machining ERP, production scheduler or confidential drawing archive. The free RFQ board runs in your browser tab and clears edits on reload. Use the exported worksheet to prepare a handoff, then update the actual quoting system your team maintains.
Sources for this section: BlueFinch: Business dashboard scope and demo
Primary sources
BlueFinch last reviewed these sources on October 3, 2026. Payment rules and state requirements can change.
- Xometry: Information needed for a production quote
- HubSpot: Set up and manage pipelines
- BlueFinch: Business dashboard scope and demo
Use this page for general business information. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice.
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- Auto Repair Shop Payment Guide
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- Follow up on a machining quote without changing the promised lead time
- Track drawing revisions beside the machining quote they changed
- Separate a machine-shop buyer, engineer and accounts-payable contact