Suppliers
How to compare three supplier quotes without getting caught out
The cheapest quote is almost always the one that says the least. Comparing prices before you compare scope means picking the most incomplete line.
Alexis · Co-founder of Squena · September 3, 2026 · 7 min read
In short
You do not compare three supplier quotes by looking at the totals. You bring them back to the same scope first. List what each offer includes and, above all, what it leaves out — transport, get-in, unsocial hours, crew, consumables, insurance — then add the missing items back by hand at market rate. Only after that does the price gap mean anything.
You asked three suppliers for the same technical package. You get back $14,200, $17,800 and $21,500. That is a 50% spread, on a scope that was meant to be identical. Almost every time, it is not the price that varies. It is what each of them understood from your request.
The gap comes from the brief, not the margins
A supplier prices what they read. If your request says nothing about get-in hours, they assume a normal slot. If it says nothing about overnight security, they do not count it. The lowest quote is often the one from the supplier who assumed most generously — and who will bill you the difference as a variation.
The eight exclusions to look for in every quote
A quote is read by what it does not say. These eight items are the ones that most often turn up as extras, and their absence is almost never flagged.
| Item | The exact question to ask | Rough size if excluded |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | Return trip included, from which depot? | 5 to 12% of the quote |
| Get-in / get-out | How many hours, in which slot? | 10 to 25% |
| Unsocial hours | Night, Sunday, public holiday: what rate? | +25 to +100% per hour |
| Crew on site | Does a technician stay during the event? | $300 to $600 per day, per role |
| Consumables | Cabling, gaffer, batteries, spare lamps | 2 to 5% |
| Equipment insurance | Covered by whom, up to what value? | 1 to 3% |
| Meals and lodging | Yours to cover or theirs? | $40 to $120 per person, per day |
| Replacement kit | What happens if a unit fails? | Cannot be priced — but write it down |
Bringing the three offers back to the same scope
The method takes three passes, and about an hour for a mid-sized technical quote.
- List every item named by at least one of the three quotes. That is your reference scope: the one somebody judged necessary.
- For each quote, mark every item as included, excluded, or not mentioned. Not mentioned counts as excluded until it is confirmed in writing.
- Add the estimated cost of the missing items to each total. The three amounts then become comparable.
In practice the order of the three offers changes about half the time after this step. And the quote that looked most expensive often turns out to be the most complete — so the most honest about what the job actually takes.
What a quote does not tell you
At equal scope, three things weigh as much as the price. None of them appears on the document. The first is the get-in. When several crews share the same stage, somebody has to answer for safety on site. The UK Health and Safety Executive asks event organisers to settle that question before anyone builds anything. A supplier who raises it first has done this before.
- How long they took to answer your request. A supplier who needs twelve days to price will need twelve days to answer the day you have a problem.
- How precise their questions were. The one who asks for the exact address, the ceiling height and the access has worked in a venue like yours.
- What they did last year, if they were already there. That is the most useful piece of information, and the one most often lost.
That last point is what justifies keeping a record per supplier rather than an address book. The contact is not worth much. The history is worth a lot.
The refusal that beats a negotiation
Two signals justify setting an offer aside, whatever its price. The first is a quote with no breakdown. A total and a single line reading « technical services » cannot be compared, and it cannot be checked against an invoice either. The second is a supplier who answers a written question by phone and never puts it in writing.
In both cases, ask for a detailed version before you negotiate anything. A serious supplier provides it. The others have already told you what you needed to know.
Frequently asked questions
How do you objectively compare three event supplier quotes?
By bringing them back to the same scope before you look at the totals. List every item named by at least one of the three quotes, mark for each offer whether the item is included, excluded or not mentioned — not mentioned counting as excluded — then add the estimated cost of what is missing to each total. The order of the offers changes about half the time after that step.
Which exclusions hide most often in a technical quote?
Transport, get-in and get-out hours, unsocial-hour rates, crew staying on site during the event, consumables, equipment insurance, meals and lodging, and what happens if a unit fails. None of these is usually flagged as missing. Each of them can move a total by 5 to 25%.
Should you always take the cheapest quote?
No, and not because cheap is suspicious. Because the cheapest quote is usually the one that assumed the most in its own favour. Once the missing items are added back, it is often no longer the cheapest. Compare after the realignment, not before.
How many quotes should you ask for?
Three is enough to see a spread and understand where it comes from. Beyond that you spend more time reading quotes than negotiating. Below that you have nothing to compare against, and no idea whether the single price you received is normal.
What do you do when a quote has no breakdown?
Ask for a detailed version before discussing the price. A total with no line items cannot be compared with another offer, and it cannot be checked against the invoice when it arrives. A supplier who refuses has told you something useful.
Sources
- Running an event safely — getting started — Health and Safety Executive (UK)
- The Purple Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Other Events — Events Industry Forum