Compare supplier quotes apples to apples.
Suppliers quote in different units, on different GST bases, with freight, levies and exclusions handled differently. QuantDoc normalises what can be normalised exactly, asks you for what can’t, and shows the real difference with every figure traced to the page or row it came from.
Tonnes vs kilograms, freight TBA
Incomplete- Supplier AAs quoted $1,500.00Full scope priced
- Supplier BAs quoted Not stateddelivery unknown
As quoted, ex GST.
Supplier B is only cheaper than Supplier A overall if its delivery costs less than $363.64.
The cheapest-looking quote often isn’t
Most supplier comparisons start with the totals at the bottom of each quote. That is understandable and usually misleading. One supplier quotes ex GST and another inc GST, so the totals differ by ten percent before anything else. One quotes per tonne, another per kilogram, a third per cubic metre. One includes delivery, another lists freight as “TBA”, and a third adds an environmental levy nobody else mentions. Put those totals in a row and the order you see has little to do with which supplier will cost you least.
A fair supplier quote comparison has to do three things before it ranks anyone. It has to put every price on the same GST basis, using what the document actually says rather than a guess. It has to convert every quantity to the same unit, exactly where that is possible and only with your stated assumption where it isn’t. And it has to separate the scope each supplier priced from the scope it left out, so a missing freight charge isn’t mistaken for a saving.
How QuantDoc does it
- Extracts each line item, quantity, unit, rate, GST treatment, total and term, with a source reference for every figure.
- Checks each quote’s own arithmetic with decimal precision and flags possible calculation issues for review.
- Matches lines across suppliers and classes each match, from exact equivalent to not equivalent. Similar wording alone is never treated as proof.
- Normalises GST and units, recording every adjustment so you can see what changed and why.
- Shows as-quoted, like-for-like, complete-scope and risk views, and labels the result incomplete whenever a required cost is unknown.
Worked example: tonnes vs kilograms, ex vs inc GST, freight TBA
Supplier B quantity: 10,000 kg ÷ 1,000 = 10 t (exact) Supplier B ex GST: $1,250.00 ÷ 1.1 = $1,136.36 Supplier B rate: $1,136.36 ÷ 10 t = $113.64/t Supplier A delivered: $1,200.00 + $300.00 = $1,500.00 ex GST Break-even freight: $1,500.00 − $1,136.36 = $363.64
Example data · calculated by the QuantDoc engine
Tonnes vs kilograms, ex vs inc GST, freight to be advised
What was quoted
- Supplier A: 10 t of 20mm crushed aggregate at $120.00/t ex GST, plus freight $300.00 ex GST.
- Supplier B: 10,000 kg of 20mm crushed aggregate at $0.125/kg inc GST ($1,250.00), freight "TBA".
INCOMPLETE — Supplier A is the lowest fully-priced quote, but Supplier B has unknown costs. No overall winner can be declared yet.
- Supplier B is only cheaper than Supplier A overall if its delivery costs less than $363.64.
Line-by-line matching (2 items)
| Item | Supplier | Match | Normalised rate (ex GST) | Amount (ex GST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20mm crushed aggregate | Supplier A | Exact equivalent | $120.00 / tonne | $1,200.00 |
| Supplier B | Comparable with adjustment | $113.64 / tonne | $1,136.36 | |
| Freight to site | Supplier A | Exact equivalent | $300.00 / each | $300.00 |
| Supplier B | Conditional match | — | Unknown |
| Supplier | As quoted (ex GST) | Like-for-like | Complete scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier A | $1,500.00 | $1,200.00 | $1,500.00 |
| Supplier B | Unknown (unpriced line) | $1,136.36 | Incomplete (delivery unknown) |
Adjustments recorded
- Supplier B: 20mm crushed aggregate: 10000 kilogram(s) = 10 tonne(s)
- Supplier B: 20mm crushed aggregate: GST removed from 1250.00 inc GST → 1136.36 ex GST
3 flags raised · 4 clarification questions drafted
- Supplier B: delivery price to be advised
- Supplier B: unpriced item
- Supplier B: match needs confirmation
A larger example: three suppliers, three units
Example data · calculated by the QuantDoc engine
Three aggregate quotes: tonnes, kilograms and cubic metres
What was quoted
- Ridgeline Quarries Pty Ltd: 40 t 20mm crushed aggregate + 12 t washed sand, priced per tonne ex GST, delivery $370 (2 tipper loads).
- Coastal Landscape Supplies: 40,000 kg "drainage gravel 20mm" + 12,000 kg sand, priced per kg inc GST, freight "TBA".
- Metro Aggregates & Hire: 25 m³ "screened stone" + 8 m³ sand, priced per m³ ex GST, delivery included, $35 environmental levy.
INCOMPLETE — Ridgeline Quarries Pty Ltd is the lowest fully-priced quote, but Coastal Landscape Supplies has unknown costs, and Metro Aggregates & Hire quotes a specification not confirmed as equivalent. No overall winner can be declared yet.
Line-by-line matching (4 items)
| Item | Supplier | Match | Normalised rate (ex GST) | Amount (ex GST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20mm crushed aggregate | Ridgeline Quarries Pty Ltd | Exact equivalent | $48.50 / tonne | $1,940.00 |
| Coastal Landscape Supplies | Conditional match | $52.00 / tonne | $2,080.00 | |
| Metro Aggregates & Hire | Conditional match | — | $1,950.00 | |
| Washed bedding sand | Ridgeline Quarries Pty Ltd | Exact equivalent | $52.00 / tonne | $624.00 |
| Coastal Landscape Supplies | Comparable with adjustment | $55.00 / tonne | $660.00 | |
| Metro Aggregates & Hire | Conditional match | — | $590.00 | |
| Delivery - tipper loads | Ridgeline Quarries Pty Ltd | Exact equivalent | $185.00 / each | $370.00 |
| Coastal Landscape Supplies | Uncertain | — | Unknown | |
| Metro Aggregates & Hire | Uncertain | $0.00 / each | $0.00 | |
| Environmental levy | Ridgeline Quarries Pty Ltd | Missing item | — | Unknown |
| Coastal Landscape Supplies | Missing item | — | Unknown | |
| Metro Aggregates & Hire | Exact equivalent | $35.00 / each | $35.00 |
| Supplier | As quoted (ex GST) | Like-for-like | Complete scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgeline Quarries Pty Ltd | $2,934.00 | — | $2,934.00 |
| Coastal Landscape Supplies | $2,740.00 | — | Incomplete (delivery unknown) |
| Metro Aggregates & Hire | $2,575.00 | — | Incomplete |
Adjustments recorded
- Coastal Landscape Supplies: Drainage gravel 20mm: 40000 kilogram(s) = 40 tonne(s)
- Coastal Landscape Supplies: Drainage gravel 20mm: GST removed from 2288.00 inc GST → 2080.00 ex GST
- Coastal Landscape Supplies: Bedding sand (washed): 12000 kilogram(s) = 12 tonne(s)
- Coastal Landscape Supplies: Bedding sand (washed): GST removed from 726.00 inc GST → 660.00 ex GST
12 flags raised · 10 clarification questions drafted
- Coastal Landscape Supplies: delivery price to be advised
- Coastal Landscape Supplies: unpriced item
- Metro Aggregates & Hire: possible calculation issue
- Coastal Landscape Supplies: no matching item for "Environmental levy"
- Ridgeline Quarries Pty Ltd: no matching item for "Environmental levy"
- Metro Aggregates & Hire: match needs confirmation
- +6 more
What you get for every supplier comparison
Normalised rates
Every comparable rate on the same unit and GST basis, with the conversion shown.Freight and levies separated
Delivery, freight, levies and surcharges tracked separately so they can’t hide inside a total.Specification checks
“Drainage gravel 20mm” and “20mm crushed aggregate” may not be the same product. Doubtful matches are marked conditional.Terms side by side
Validity, payment terms and lead times extracted, with short validity flagged.Clarification drafts
Specific questions and an email draft per supplier. Nothing is sent automatically.Reports
Export to PDF, Excel or CSV with source references for every figure.
Frequently asked questions
How many supplier quotes can I compare at once?
It depends on your plan: the number of quotes per comparison is set per plan and shown on the pricing page. The free preview covers one comparison of up to three quotes.
Can QuantDoc compare a quote in kilograms with one in tonnes?
Yes. Conversions within the same dimension, such as kg to t, mm to m or days to weeks with a stated days-per-week, are exact and recorded. Converting between dimensions, such as cubic metres to tonnes, needs a density you supply, because the right figure depends on the material.
What happens when a supplier writes “freight TBA”?
The freight is treated as an unknown cost, never as zero. The comparison is labelled incomplete, and where possible QuantDoc shows the break-even amount below which that supplier would still be cheaper overall.
Does QuantDoc check whether a supplier’s price is fair?
No. It doesn’t consult external pricing sources or market data. It compares the quotes you upload against each other on the same units, GST basis and scope, and checks each quote’s own arithmetic.
What file formats can suppliers’ quotes be in?
PDF with a text layer, Excel (.xlsx) and CSV. Scanned PDFs have limited support: they are read by OCR on QuantDoc’s own servers, every figure read that way is flagged for checking against the original, and photographed or handwritten quotes are often only partly read.
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