Excel vendor price comparison template
Excel vendor price comparison template
This article provides details of Excel vendor price comparison template that you can download now.
A price comparison template is a useful document for when you need to find the best price before purchasing any goods or services. With the template, you can make comparisons between different suppliers, shops or vendors. Simple as this document is, it’s very beneficial to use, whether you need it for personal purposes or for your business. Read on to learn more about price comparison sheets.
Microsoft Excel software under a Windows environment is required to use this template
These Excel vendor price comparison template, work on all versions of Excel since 2007.
Examples of a ready-to-use spreadsheet: Download this table in Excel (.xls) format, and complete it with your specific information.
To be able to use these models correctly, you must first activate the macros at startup.
The file to download presents four Excel vendor price comparison template
- Competitor price analysis template
- Construction cost comparison template
- VENDOR PRICE COMPARISON TEMPLATE
- Simple price comparison
- Is the process of examining and evaluating a proposed price to determine if it is fair and reasonable without evaluating its separate cost elements and proposed profit. Price analysis may, however, be supported by analysis of some cost elements and/or profit.
- Always involves some form of comparison with other prices.
Hence, you compare prices to determine whether the price from the apparent successful offer is fair and reasonable. The base for your comparison should be a price that you feel is a reasonable estimate of the price that you should pay -- the "should-pay" price.
Should-Pay Price. The should-pay price is the price that, in your best judgment, the Government should reasonably expect to pay for the deliverable based on available information concerning competitive offers, historical prices, commercial prices, pricing yardsticks, and Independent Government Estimates.
Bear in mind that your should-pay price is an estimate. Being an estimate, it is by definition inexact. If you have done a good job of price analysis, your should-pay price will probably be close to the mark. Still, don't be dogmatic about your estimate - to the point of rejecting offers that are close to, but not exactly at, your should- pay price estimate.
If the apparent successful offer is significantly higher or lower than your estimate:
- Determine why there is a significant variance between the should-pay price and that offer and then
Make the critical price-related decisions in awarding contracts through sealed bidding or negotiations.
Comparability. Comparability is the quality or state of being comparable. Products do not have to be alike to be compared. Any two things can be compared, but the comparison may show that they have no characteristics in common. However, if you are attempting to evaluate price
reasonableness, the comparison will not be of any value if the items are unlike in every way.
For price analysis, the items being compared must have enough similar characteristics or qualities to make the comparison useful. The more similar the items are, the easier the comparison. If your examination discloses significant differences, you may need to quantify the effect of those differences (e.g., acquisition of different products, at different times, or in different places) and make adjustments before you can reach valid conclusions about price reasonableness. The greater the dissimilarities and the more subjective your adjustment, the greater the possibility for doubts about your conclusions and the less likely that your analysis will be persuasive.
Multiple Comparisons. Use the information gathered during your market research to make multiple comparisons in determining price reasonableness and increase confidence in your pricing decision.
For example, adequate price competition is normally considered one of the best bases for price analysis. However, you can have apparent competition and still have prices that are unreasonably high. How would you know? You must consider other bases for price analysis (e.g., historical prices, catalog prices, or market prices).
The number of comparisons that you consider should depend on the availability of information and the pricing risk involved in the acquisition.
- If the information is readily available in a form that can be used for price analysis, why not consider it? A quick comparison will increase your confidence of price reasonableness.
If the price is large or you still have concerns about price reasonableness after your initial comparison, the risk involved makes it particularly important to consider other comparisons.
Comparison Steps. Each different comparison will involve different information and some bases will require substantial adjustment prior to making your analysis.
Selecting Prices For Comparison
This section identifies and defines five potential bases for price analysis. After defining each base, special considerations for using each base are outlined.
- 1 - Other Proposed Prices
- 2 - Commercial Prices
- 3 - Previously-Proposed Prices And Contract Prices
- 4 - Parametric And Rough Yardsticks Estimates
- 5 - Independent Government Estimates
Potential Bases. You may select any of the following bases for price analysis:
- Other proposed prices received in response to the solicitation;
- Commercial prices including competitive published price lists, published commodity market prices, similar indexes, and discount or rebate arrangements;
- Previously-proposed prices and contract prices for the same or similar end items, if you can establish both the validity of the comparison and the reasonableness of the proposed price;
- Parametric estimates or estimates developed using rough yardsticks; or
- Independent Government Estimates.
One of the bases for price analysis identified in the FAR is "prices for the same or similar items obtained through market research." Because market research can span commercial prices, previously-proposed prices, contract prices, parametric or rough yardstick estimates, and Independent Government Estimates, this base for price analysis will not be considered separately.
Types of comparisons used in price analysis typically vary with the estimated dollar value of the contract.
Micro-purchases. You may solicit only one quote, if you consider the quoted price is reasonable. Your decision on price reasonableness should be based on information such as:
- Previous prices paid for the same or similar items purchased competitively; or
- Knowledge of the supply or service gained from published prices in catalogs, newspapers, and other sources of market information.
If you suspect that the quoted price is not reasonable or you do not have comparable pricing information readily available, take more aggressive action to collect the information necessary to determine price reasonableness. Normally, you should solicit additional quotes by phone or fax.
Other Simplified Acquisitions. Whenever possible, base price analysis on competitive quotes.
- Promote competition to the maximum extent practicable.
- Synopsize any contract action that exceeds $25,000 in the Commerce Business Daily unless an exemption applies.
- If the contract action does not exceed $25,000 and you do not use FACNET or another method providing access to the notice of proposed contract action through the single Government-wide point of entry, you can normally obtain the maximum practicable competition without soliciting sources from outside the local trading area. You should obtain competition from at least three sources, if three sources are reasonably
available. Consider the following factors when determining the number of sources to solicit:
- The nature of the article or service to be purchased and whether it is highly competitive and readily available in several makes or brands, or is relatively noncompetitive;
- The availability of an electronic commerce method that employs widespread public notice of the requirement;
- The urgency of the proposed purchase;
- The dollar value of the proposed purchase; and
- Past experience concerning specific dealers' prices.
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If you only receive one quote, consider the following bases for price analysis:
- Prices identified during market research;
- Prices found reasonable for previous purchases;
- Current price list, catalog, or advertised prices;
- Prices for similar items in a related industry;
- Price estimates developed during value analysis;
- Personal knowledge of item prices;
- The Independent Government Estimate; or
- Any other reasonable base for price analysis.
Contracts over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold. Consider every type of comparison which you believe provides a valid should-pay price.
- For example, if you have data on previous contract prices and have reason to believe that these data reflect good prior decisions on price reasonableness, then compare the apparent successful offer to those prices. If you have reason to believe that previous contract prices were not reasonable, then give little or no weight to those prices as you perform your price analysis. If you have no price history, you must rely on other comparison bases for your price analysis.
Other Proposed Prices
Proposed Prices. Comparison of a proposed price with other proposed prices received in response to the same solicitation is generally considered one of the best bases for price analysis, because all
offers were submitted to meet the same requirement during the same time period.
Using Proposed Prices. Any proposed price used as a base for prices analysis must meet the following general requirements:
- The price must be submitted by a firm competing independently for contract award.
- The price must be part of an offer that meets Government requirements.
- Award must be made to the offeror whose proposal represents the best value to the Government.
If you have more than one competitive offer, you could use more than one offer in your analysis.
Do not use the price from any offer that you would not consider for contract award as a basis for price analysis.
- Never use an offer from a firm that you have determined is nonresponsible.
- In sealed bidding, never use a nonresponsive bid.
In negotiations, never use a price from a proposal that is technically unacceptable.
You should normally place less reliance on comparisons with other proposed prices when:
- The solicitation was made under conditions that unreasonably denied one or more known and qualified offerors an opportunity to compete.
- The apparent successful offeror has such a decided advantage that it is practically immune from competition.
- Another price comparison, cost analysis, or a cost realism analysis indicates that the apparent successful offer may be unreasonable (too high or too low).
- Government requirements permit offerors to propose widely different technical approaches to contract performance. For example, a ceramic mug and a paper cup may both meet a requirement to hold 8 ounces of
coffee, but that does not mean that $1.00 price for a paper cup is reasonable because it is less than a $5 price for a ceramic mug. Even if no other offeror is proposing to provide a paper cup, the key element of your price analysis should be to compare the paper cup offer with prices paid for similar paper cups.
- Price is not a substantial factor in the evaluation of offers for contract award. However, the Comptroller General (CGEN) has found adequate price competition in cases where price was assigned a weight of only 20 percent in the award decision.
- All offerors are expected receive contract awards. In such cases, there may not be sufficient competitive pressure to foster fair and reasonable pricing.
Commercial Prices
Definition. Commercial prices are prices being paid by the general public for a product. The circumstances of your purchase may be different from the commercial sales, but data on commercial sales can provide valuable information for use in contract pricing.
"Horror stories" about overpricing of Government contracts seem to occur every few years. Most could have been avoided if contracting officers had considered the price that the general public would be willing to pay for the product. Contractors might have logical reasons for charging $435 to provide a common hammer as part of a major systems contract. But, as the Government's agent, could you explain to the general public why you paid $435 for a hammer that anyone could buy in any hardware store for less than $35?
Using Commercial Prices (). You can classify the sources of commercial pricing information into three categories:
- Published price list -- prices taken from a catalog, price list, schedule, or other verifiable and established record that is regularly maintained by a manufacturer or vendor and is published or otherwise available for customer inspection. For pricing purposes (but not cost or pricing data exception purposes), you can consider published pricing
information from the firm submitting the offer and/or published pricing information from other firms offering similar products.
- Published market prices -- prices established in the course of ordinary and usual trade between buyers and sellers free to bargain that can be substantiated from sources independent of the offeror. Normally, market pricing information is taken from independent market reports, but a market price could be established by surveying the firms in a particular industry or market.
- Similar indexes -- commercial item prices established using a means other than those described above. For example, an offeror might provide information on the prices charged commercial customers over a period of time. Such a record would not qualify as published price list or market price, but it would provide a good record of the firm's commercial pricing practices.
Discounts. Commercial sales typically include discounts for different types of customers. Discount amounts typically depend on the product and the marketing strategy of the firm. Common factors affecting discounts include, services provided by the seller (e.g., wholesale and retail sales) and the importance of the sale (e.g., dollars involved or the relationship to other sales).
Rebates. Rebates are often offered to various customers based on the customer's total purchases over a specific period of time. For example, automobile manufacturers typically offer dealers rebates, based on total sales. That is one reason why dealers can advertise sales "at invoice." Dealer profit is based on the rebate amount.
Contracting Situation Differences. Remember that your contracting situation may be different than the situation in the commercial market. For example, the offeror may provide services to commercial customers that are not required by the Government. If the Government is receiving less, you should expect to pay less.