How to quote CNC jobs faster without underbidding

To quote CNC jobs faster, cut the time spent working out how you would make the part. Most of a quote is planning: the route, the setups, the cycle time. Decide quickly which RFQs not to quote, start from jobs you have already run, get cycle times you can trust, spread setup properly over the quantity, and let software do the first pass of the plan. And answer within a day. That is what buyers expect, and it is where the wins are.

I build quoting and programming software for machine shops, so I spend a lot of time on this. Every number below links to where it comes from.

Why a day matters

In a Paperless Parts survey of more than 400 part buyers, 67% expected a quote in under 24 hours, and only 6% were willing to wait more than three days. In their 2022 survey of over 600 US buyers, 47% said response speed directly affects whether they work with a shop.

The shop side lines up. In Modern Machine Shop's 2026 Top Shops benchmarking survey, shops that turn quotes around within a day report a 51% win rate on new business, against 41% for shops that take longer.

Where the hours go

A proper quote walks the whole job. ProShop's Paul Van Metre lists the steps: route the part through planning, programming, stock prep, machining, outside processing, inspection and shipping. Estimate setup and cycle time for each step. Add material, special tooling, outside processes, hardware and fixtures. Then apply markup and scrap, and price each quantity break.

Each step needs someone who knows the answer. One shop described quoting to Modern Machine Shop as numerous trips to different people for the information. That is fine for one RFQ. It stops working when ten arrive on a Monday.

Seven ways to quote faster

1. Decide what you won't quote, and say so

Some RFQs aren't worth the time: quantities far outside what you run, lead times you can't meet, jobs that don't fit your machines. Shops in this Modern Machine Shop piece no-quote those on purpose. Tell the buyer. As one person in that article put it, "radio silence is a big mistake."

2. Start from what you've already run

If the part, or one like it, has been through the shop before, its route, times and actual costs are your best estimate. Tie every quote to a part number so the history is there next time. Paperless Parts lists not looking at past quotes as one of the most common quoting mistakes.

3. Check the package before you price anything

Missing revisions, an unreadable callout or a material spec you don't stock will cost you more later than they do now. Comstock Industries grew its quoting checklist from 15 to 45 questions and has department heads sign off that they can make and inspect the part.

4. Plan the route first

The route sets the price. A part that needs a lathe and then a mill carries two setups, two sets of fixtures and the time in between. Choosing stock too tight to save material can force a fixture that eats the profit. Sketch which machines the part goes through, in what order, and how it's held, then price.

5. Use cycle times you can trust

CAM estimates assume the machine moves at its catalogue speed. Modern Machine Shop measured one machine's average rapid rate at 2 m/min against a nominal 10. Time a few real runs on each machine and correct your estimates. Once you trust them, you can shrink the safety factor you add to every quote, and that makes you more competitive.

6. Do the setup math

The Precision Machined Products Association gives the formula in Production Machining: machining cost per part = (cycle time + setup time ÷ quantity) × machine rate. Price material on the blank, because you pay for the kerf.

Here's an example with round numbers. Use your own rates.

	10 pieces	100 pieces
Setup	2 h	2 h
Cycle time per part	12 min	12 min
Setup per part	12 min	1.2 min
Machine time per part	24 min	13.2 min
At $100/h	$40.00	$22.00

At 10 pieces, setup equals the run time, so machining cost per piece doubles. That is the PMPA's point: set a minimum quantity or charge setup separately on small orders.

7. Let software do the first pass

Quoting tools now read the 3D model and the print, find holes, pockets and setups, and apply your shop's rates for an estimator to review. KinetiCAD does the planning itself. It reads the STEP model and the drawing, plans the operations across your machines and tool magazines, writes the NC programs, and prices the job from that plan. The cycle time in the quote is the cycle time of the program. When the job is won, it is already planned and programmed.

Keep an eye on the win rate

Faster quoting only helps if the prices are right. Paperless Parts puts most shops at a 20 to 30% win rate, and its co-founder Jason Ray has said that above about 35% you are probably too cheap. Log every quote, won or lost, so you can see the pattern. Quotes that live in desk drawers and one person's head can't tell you anything.

Send us a part

If you want to see a quote come out of a real plan, send us a STEP file and its drawing with a quantity. We'll plan it across machines like yours, program it and price it with you.

More reading: STEP file to G-code automatically · AI CAM software, compared · Paperless Parts alternative