Getting Quotes for Your Business Start Up
The simplest thing to do is work with companies that are already approved vendors. You can see a list of ones that we have worked with here. If the company you want to use is not on this list, then you can contact your counselor and ask them if your preferred company is a VR approved vendor. If they are not, then you can ask the company if they would be willing to become a VR approved vendor. If they say yes, then you can provide them this link to Becoming a VR Vendor and inform Karen that you have done this so she knows to expect to hear from the company.
Since you are the expert in your business, you will determine what is needed (with guidance provided by Karen) and what specific item or material will meet that need.
Quotes must contain the following information:
You will be obtaining a multitude of quotes so having them organized will make it easy to access them later when needed. Karen request that you save your quotes as a pdf, use the naming structure below, save them to your Quotes folder and send a copy to Karen via email or fax to 888-855-4894.
To make a pdf, have the quote you need to save or the webpage you need to save open on your desktop:
All quotes, for organization's sake, need to be saved in the same format. When the Save As dialog box opens when creating the PDF you will have the opportunity to name the file. Use this naming structure:
Your initials – brief item description – vendor name – amount
Here are some examples:
KM – Office Supplies - Office Depot - 993
KM – Laptop – Dell – 875
When shopping online and selecting multiple items from one company, put all items into a shopping cart. Follow the checkout screen until you get a total with taxes and shipping, but do not checkout. Do NOT give any payment information. From that webpage, you can hit FILE, then PRINT, then select the PDF maker in the print dialog box, then save it as referenced above. This will allow you to have one file with multiple items in it.
If a vendor is going to email or fax you a quote, they can fax to Karen if necessary and she will forward a copy to you. Quotes in the body of an email are not acceptable. They must be on company letterhead.
This may seem like a lot of specific details but this is a system that has proven itself useful time and again. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Since you are the expert in your business, you will determine what is needed (with guidance provided by Karen) and what specific item or material will meet that need.
Quotes must contain the following information:
- Be on company letterhead or from the company’s website
- Item name
- Item number
- Exact cost (no sale prices)
- Shipping cost if applicable
You will be obtaining a multitude of quotes so having them organized will make it easy to access them later when needed. Karen request that you save your quotes as a pdf, use the naming structure below, save them to your Quotes folder and send a copy to Karen via email or fax to 888-855-4894.
To make a pdf, have the quote you need to save or the webpage you need to save open on your desktop:
- Click on FILE
- Click on PRINT
- Select the PDF maker as the printer (instead of your regular printer)
- Click on PRINT again
- Then save the PDF to your quotes folder
All quotes, for organization's sake, need to be saved in the same format. When the Save As dialog box opens when creating the PDF you will have the opportunity to name the file. Use this naming structure:
Your initials – brief item description – vendor name – amount
Here are some examples:
KM – Office Supplies - Office Depot - 993
KM – Laptop – Dell – 875
When shopping online and selecting multiple items from one company, put all items into a shopping cart. Follow the checkout screen until you get a total with taxes and shipping, but do not checkout. Do NOT give any payment information. From that webpage, you can hit FILE, then PRINT, then select the PDF maker in the print dialog box, then save it as referenced above. This will allow you to have one file with multiple items in it.
If a vendor is going to email or fax you a quote, they can fax to Karen if necessary and she will forward a copy to you. Quotes in the body of an email are not acceptable. They must be on company letterhead.
This may seem like a lot of specific details but this is a system that has proven itself useful time and again. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.