Prophet 21 Quote and RFQ Automation

How quoting works in P21

A quote in P21 is an Order Entry document with the Quote checkbox set, and the checkbox must be set before you enter any items. Conversion only runs one way: you can go from a quote to an order, but not from an order back to a quote. Forget the checkbox and the practical fix is clearing the document and starting over, which is why reps who quote all day default it on in their user settings. Finished quotes are retrieved later through the separate Quote Search screen.

Converting quotes to orders: two methods, different trade-offs

The quick method is a right-click in the open space of the quote window and choosing convert to order. It is permanent once saved, and the order keeps the quote's ID, which keeps the paperwork trail linked. It is grayed out for quotes containing contract items, though, and those force you to the second method.

The second method is the Quote-To-Order wizard, which is more capable: it converts partially, letting you pick items and quantities, can change the customer, recalculates pricing, copies quotes, and closes them with a quote-complete flag. The resulting order gets a new number and the quote stays open and reusable. At the shops we talk to, teams quoting against blanket demand tend to live in the wizard, while one-shot quoting sticks with the right-click.

The RFQ gap

Customer RFQs arrive the same way orders do: email bodies, PDF attachments, and spreadsheets. P21 has no native intake for them, so an inside sales rep reads the RFQ, hunts down each item, checks pricing, and keys the quote. It is order entry with extra judgment. At shops where quoting drives the business (fastener and industrial distributors, which are a big part of the P21 install base), we often see it eat more skilled time than order entry does. Speed has a commercial cost as well; distributors tell us the first credible quote back frequently wins the order.

Automating RFQ to quote

The mechanics are the same as AI order entry, which is why we recommend shops automate orders first and extend to quotes second: the hard work, matching customer language and part numbers to your item master and pricing, is shared. The AI reads the RFQ, matches the lines, applies that account's contract pricing, and stages a draft quote a rep reviews, adjusts, and sends. Nothing goes to the customer without that review.

One P21-specific note: creating quotes through the API is possible but thinly documented. It is one of those areas where the community still has open questions and the working knowledge is tribal, so this integration rewards teams with prior P21 experience.

This is the system we build for Prophet 21 shops. Talk to us

Off-the-shelf vs custom for P21 quoting

The vendor landscape mirrors order entry. Conexiom's expanded Epicor partnership, announced in July 2026, explicitly covers requests for quotes, and Endeavor advertises RFQ-to-instant-quote on its P21 page. These are real products; expect per-document or subscription pricing, and press hard on how they match your specific items and apply your contract pricing, because that is where quote automation earns or loses its keep.

A custom build costs more up front, and then it's yours: your matching logic, your review workflow, wired to your P21 through its API, with no per-document fees. This is what we build. For most shops it makes sense as the second phase of an order entry build rather than a standalone project, because the matching layer is already paid for.

Frequently asked questions