Do quote cycle hours include waiting on the customer?

They should. The allowance is where a pause for a customer answer belongs, so keep it in the percentage rather than the task pace. Then the cycle reflects the real turnaround.

Why compare the cycle with promised days?

Because internal hours look fine until they are spread over the hours a day the team actually quotes. The promised days are what the customer holds, so the comparison catches a late quote early.

How do I measure task completion pace?

Count tasks on completed quotes and divide by the hours spent on them. Separate simple repeat quotes from new complex work, because mixing them hides the slow category.

What if several people work the quote?

Add their hours together for the pace and for the daily hours available. The cycle is then in team working days, which is what the customer experiences.

Contract Manufacturing, Job Shop Quoting & Make-to-Order calculator

Quote Cycle Time Calculator

Convert quote tasks into working days using your completion pace and allowance. The result is checked against the turnaround you promised so you can size the quoting queue before you answer.

What this calculator does

Working days a quote takes at your task pace, checked against the turnaround you promised the customer.

Formula used

Base quote hours = quote tasks ÷ task completion pace
Quote cycle hours = base quote hours × (1 + allowance ÷ 100)
Quote cycle days = quote cycle hours ÷ quoting hours per day
Allowance hours = quote cycle hours − base quote hours; promise margin = promised days − quote cycle days

Inputs explained

Quote Tasks to Complete: Drawing, costing, supplier and approval steps in one quote.
Task Completion Pace: Tasks completed per hour on similar quotes, from history.
Clarification and Approval Allowance: Extra time for questions, review and revision loops.
Quoting Hours per Day: Hours a day the quoting team works on RFQs.
Promised Quote Turnaround: Days promised to the customer from RFQ intake to quote.

How to use the result

Best suited to setting quote turnaround commitments, finding where quoting time goes, sizing estimating hours for a busy month.
Waiting time between tasks is only captured through the percentage allowance. A quote held by a customer answer is assumed to resume at the same pace.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The U.S. prime lending rate is 7.00% (Federal Reserve via FRED, 2026-10-02). Payback and financing math should start from today's rate, not a remembered one.

Common questions

Do quote cycle hours include waiting on the customer? They should. The allowance is where a pause for a customer answer belongs, so keep it in the percentage rather than the task pace. Then the cycle reflects the real turnaround.
Why compare the cycle with promised days? Because internal hours look fine until they are spread over the hours a day the team actually quotes. The promised days are what the customer holds, so the comparison catches a late quote early.
How do I measure task completion pace? Count tasks on completed quotes and divide by the hours spent on them. Separate simple repeat quotes from new complex work, because mixing them hides the slow category.
What if several people work the quote? Add their hours together for the pace and for the daily hours available. The cycle is then in team working days, which is what the customer experiences.

Last reviewed 2026-10-01.