How the Flow Works

Whether you’re a buyer or supplier, you’ll see exactly how each step comes together from start to finish.

Supplier Journey: From Registration to Buyer Engagement

Join HowToRobot to discover and engage with the most relevant project opportunities.

Registration

You can become a registered Supplier on HowToRobot. After completeing the profile, suppliers can receive notifications about the most relevant RFIs.

Finding Projects

Suppliers receive email notifications when new projects are published.
They can also visit the New Projects page regularly to explore opportunities.
It is crucial to act quickly - some projects close for new submissions within a short timeframe.

Express Interest

Self-Guided: When suppliers express interest in a project, the Buyer is notified.

Expert-Assisted: Both the Buyer and HowToRobot are notified, and follow-up with the Supplier within 4 business days.

Q&A Engagement

Q&A can start immediately or be scheduled in 1–3 business days by Buyer or HowToRobot. Suppliers will be notified when the Q&A is scheduled or launched.

The Q&A inbound period lasts 3 or 5 business days, depending on the Buyer's preference. Buyers are encouraged to respond promptly, allowing Suppliers to ask follow-up questions and maintain engagement.

Review Answers

Suppliers can view answers to their own and other Suppliers' questions (anonymously).

Submit Budgetary Quote (BQ)

Suppliers may submit a BQ once their Interest is approved. BQs are high-level, rough order-of-magnitude estimates rather than detailed, firm quotes. More specific and curated quotes can be developed later in the process, once the Buyer has selected a preferred Supplier.

A Premium subscription is required to submit a BQ. (Suppliers bidding on a project for the first time receive a 4-month Premium trial once their interest is approved.)

We recommend submitting BQs within 14 business days after the Q&A concludes.

Once submitted, the Buyer's contact details are shared with the supplier. Communication continues directly with the Buyer from that point onward.

Buyer Journey: From Request to Budgetary Quotes

Our platform makes it easy for Buyers to connect with the right Suppliers through a structured and transparent process.

Creating a Request

Buyers can initiate a project request in two ways:

Self-Guided: From the Dashboard or the 'Get Quotes' page, Buyers can create and submit their own requests.
Expert-Assisted: Prefer a helping hand? Contact us, and our team will create the request on your behalf.

Approval Before Publishing

Before a request goes live:

Self-Guided: Our engineering team reviews all self-submitted requests to ensure clarity and completeness.
Expert-Assisted: Buyers receive a draft of the request created by our team and must approve it before it's published.

After Approval

Once approved:

Relevant Suppliers are notified via email about the new opportunity.
The request is published and becomes visible on the platform.
Interested Suppliers can express interest by answering a few simple yes/no questions tailored to your request.

Reviewing Supplier Interest

Buyers can review and manage Supplier interest:

Approve or decline each Supplier's expression of interest.
A $500 fee applies when approving the first Supplier for a self-guided project.
Once approved, Suppliers can proceed to the next steps, and their profiles become visible to the Buyer.

Launching the Q&A

The Q&A is where deeper engagement begins:

Ideal Start: After approving three Suppliers, the Buyer is prompted to schedule the Q&A within 1–3 business days.
Flexible Start: If fewer than three Suppliers are approved, Buyers can still initiate the Q&A by scheduling it to begin in 3 business days, or starting it immediately.

The Q&A Process

The Q&A inbound period lasts 3 or 5 business days, based on the Buyer's selection.

Buyers are encouraged to respond to questions promptly to allow Suppliers to ask follow-up questions. Once the inbound Q&A process is initiated on the platform, the Buyer is notified daily about new questions.

Buyers can begin responding right away, there's no need to wait for the inbound period to end. This creates a live, interactive experience for both parties, helping maintain engagement and momentum. It also allows Buyers to accelerate the inbound phase by responding proactively.

After the inbound period ends, Buyers have 5 business days to finalize all answers.

Budgetary Quotes (BQs)

Suppliers can submit BQs once their Interest is approved. These are high-level, rough order-of-magnitude estimates rather than detailed, firm quotes. More specific and curated quotes can be developed later in the process, once the Buyer has selected a preferred Supplier.