Convert Quote PDF to Excel on Mac: Compare Supplier Quotes

To convert a PDF quote to Excel on a Mac, run it through a tool that reads the page and ask for one row per line item: supplier, quote number, part number, description, quantity, unit, unit price and line total. Convert every competing quote with the same instruction, so the columns line up and a PivotTable can put the suppliers side by side. Then pull the terms (freight, lead time, validity, payment terms) in a second run with one row per quote, because the lowest unit price is not always the cheapest quote.

The Mac app for that is ignitai. It reads each page with Apple’s on-device text recognition, and an AI builds the table your plain-English instruction describes, so one instruction covers three suppliers’ layouts, a contractor’s estimate and a quote someone printed, signed and scanned. The page images stay on your Mac; only the recognized text goes to ignitai’s servers, where the spreadsheet is built.

The quotes come back the way quotes do: a buyer’s request for forty maintenance parts answered by three distributors, an office’s laptop refresh priced by two resellers, a kitchen remodel bid by three contractors. Each arrives as a PDF from a different quoting system, and the comparison everyone needs is a grid that nobody sent.

In this guide12 sections

Why quotes don’t line up

1. Every supplier has its own layout. One prints quantity first, another prints its own part number first; one calls it “Ext. Price”, another “Amount”. Copying three quotes into one sheet means re-ordering columns by hand, three times.
2. The same item has different names. Each distributor quotes its own SKU. The manufacturer part number, the one field that matches across suppliers, is printed by some and missing from others.
3. Units and pack sizes differ. One supplier prices by the each, another by the box of 100, and some trades price per C (hundred) or per M (thousand). A unit price comparison across those is meaningless until it’s normalized.
4. The terms sit outside the table. Freight, minimum order, validity (“prices valid 30 days”), lead time, payment terms, a volume discount, exclusions. They decide the purchase and they’re in the header, the footer or the small print.
5. Options hide in the lines. Optional items, alternates and “or equal” substitutions sit between the base lines, and a total that includes them isn’t comparable with one that doesn’t.

Convert quote PDFs to Excel on Mac with ignitai

1. Gather the quotes. Born-digital and scanned PDFs can go in the same batch. Photos of quotes run as a batch of their own, because on Mac a drop that mixes PDFs and image files imports only the PDFs. A quote that arrives as a photo in a text message is covered in the scanned-PDF guide for iPhone.

2. Drag the quotes onto the ignitai window, open them with ⌘O, or right-click them in Finder and choose Open With. A paper quote on your desk can come in through File ▸ Import from iPhone or iPad, which scans it with your iPhone’s camera.

3. Describe the rows. A prompt is required, so the Convert button stays disabled until you type one:

   “One row per quoted line item. Columns: supplier_name, quote_number, quote_date, line_number, supplier_part_number, manufacturer_part_number, description, quantity, unit (as printed, such as EA, BX/100 or per M), unit_price, line_total, lead_time (if printed on the line), optional (yes if the line is marked optional or alternate). Repeat supplier_name, quote_number and quote_date on every row. Skip subtotal, tax, freight and total lines. Dates as YYYY-MM-DD; prices as plain numbers without currency symbols.”

   Save the instruction, and the next round of quotes is one click away.

4. Check the page count, then Convert. Before the run starts, ignitai shows how many pages it will use and how many you have left. Each file shows its status as the batch runs, and a notification arrives when the spreadsheet is ready.

5. Check the table in ignitai. Rows are numbered and amount columns are totaled on screen; select one supplier’s rows to add them up and compare with that quote’s printed subtotal. Original Pages keeps every quote a click away. If a column came back empty, ignitai says so: an empty manufacturer_part_number usually means that supplier doesn’t print one.

6. Export to Excel. Prices and quantities are real numbers in the Excel file, so they total the moment it opens; the header is bold and the columns fit their content. Corrections happen in Excel or Numbers.

There is no filename column. Filenames never leave your Mac, so batch output can’t say which file a row came from. That’s why the instruction repeats the supplier’s name and quote number on every row; both are printed on the quote. If a long quote prints them only on page one and its later rows come back without a supplier, convert that quote on its own.

Long quotes and the page allowance. The plan includes 80 pages a week, up to 320 a month; unused weekly pages don’t carry over. Most quotes are a few pages, but a quote with ten pages of terms and conditions spends ten pages, so leave those pages out where that’s easy. Prove the instruction on one quote of four pages or fewer before the full run.

Get ignitai on the App Store — free download; your first document (up to 4 pages) converts free with Sign in with Apple, and one subscription covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro.

A second run: one row per quote

Each run produces one table, and the terms have a different grain from the lines. Run the same quotes again with a second instruction:

“One row per quote. Columns: supplier_name, quote_number, quote_date, valid_until (the date, or the validity period as printed), subtotal, discount, freight, other_charges, tax, total, currency, payment_terms, delivery_terms (such as FOB origin or delivered), lead_time, minimum_order, exclusions. Leave a cell empty if the quote doesn’t state it. Prices as plain numbers.”

Header and footer terms usually sit on the first and last pages, so if a quote runs long, those two pages are enough for this run. The two tables join on quote_number.

Build the comparison in Excel

1. Give every item one key. Add an item_key column: the manufacturer part number where it’s printed, otherwise a short name of your own. A small mapping table of supplier_part_number to item_key, filled once with XLOOKUP, covers the suppliers that print only their own SKUs, and it’s reusable for the next round.
2. Normalize the units. Add units_per_price (1 for each, 100 for a box of 100 or per C, 1,000 for per M) and price_each as unit_price / units_per_price. Every comparison runs on price_each.
3. Pivot the suppliers side by side. Insert a PivotTable with item_key as rows, supplier_name as columns and price_each as values. To highlight the lowest price in each row, use a conditional formatting formula such as =B5=MIN($B5:$D5) across the price cells.
4. Read the gaps. A blank cell means that supplier didn’t quote the item. Compare totals only across the items every supplier quoted, or fill each gap with the next-best price, otherwise the supplier that quoted less looks cheaper.
5. Add the terms. Bring freight, other charges, lead time and validity from the second table onto the comparison. A quote that’s cheaper by 2% but ships in eight weeks against two, or expires on Friday, may not be the one to accept.

The buying side continues from here: once an order goes out, the purchase-order workflow puts the PO lines in rows for matching against the quote and the invoice.

Check the extraction before you choose

• Line arithmetic. A column with =ROUND(H2*J2,2)-K2 (quantity × unit price minus line total) should read zero; for lines priced per C or per M, divide by 100 or 1,000 first. A non-zero row is a misread digit or, now and then, an arithmetic error in the quote itself, which is worth raising with the supplier.
• Subtotal tie-out. SUMIFS of line_total by quote_number should equal the subtotal from the second table, once optional lines are excluded.
• Line count. Where a quote numbers its lines, the last line number should match that quote’s row count.
• Options and alternates. Filter optional to yes and decide line by line whether each belongs in the comparison.
• Validity. Filter valid_until for dates that pass before you’ll decide, and ask those suppliers to confirm the price.

Contractor estimates and bids

Construction and renovation quotes add lump sums, allowances (“tile allowance $8 per sq ft”) and exclusions (“excludes permits and disposal”). Ask for one row per line or section with three extra columns: allowance (yes or no), allowance_basis and exclusions. Two bids with different allowances aren’t comparable until the allowances are equal, and the exclusions column is where a low bid’s missing scope shows up. When the bids are priced against a bill of quantities, every item already has a reference, and the BOQ guide keys the comparison line by line.

Other ways to get quotes into Excel

• Send your own RFQ spreadsheet. When you control the request, send the item list as an Excel file with columns for each supplier to fill in. The answers come back already lined up, and nothing beats data entered at the source. Many suppliers still reply with a PDF from their quoting system.
• Supplier portals. Large distributors often let you download a saved quote or cart as a spreadsheet from their website. Use it where it exists.
• Sourcing software. Companies that run formal sourcing events collect bids as data inside their procurement platform, and the comparison is built in.
• Excel for Mac’s Get Data. Power Query is under Data ▸ Get Data, but Excel for Mac has no From PDF connector; that one is Excel for Windows only.
• Copy and paste from Preview. It works for a short quote with a simple table; on most layouts the columns collapse into one.

Ongoing supplier pricing, as opposed to quotes for a specific request, usually arrives as a catalog; the price-list guide covers that document.

On iPhone and iPad

• iPhone. A quote handed over on paper at a site visit: scan it with the camera in ignitai, tap the saved instruction, and follow progress on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.
• iPad. Quotes that arrive by email can be multi-selected in the Files picker or sent from Mail through the share sheet (there’s no external drag-and-drop into the app on iPad). Sort the finished table by any column, then select rows and copy them before you export.

One subscription covers iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro, and finished files open on your other devices after Sign in with Apple.

Confidential pricing

Quotes often carry negotiated prices and terms a supplier would rather competitors didn’t see. In this workflow the page images stay on your Mac. The recognized text of every page goes to ignitai’s servers, where the AI builds the sheet, and that includes fields you leave out of the instruction. The finished file is stored in your ignitai account until you delete it, and any file, or the whole account, can be deleted from inside the app. If a quote came under a confidentiality agreement, check its terms before converting.

When not to use this

• One short quote. Five lines are quicker to type.
• The supplier sent a spreadsheet. Use it.
• A single lump-sum price. There’s nothing to tabulate; compare the scope and the exclusions by reading them.

Bottom line

To convert a quote PDF to Excel on a Mac, drag every competing quote into ignitai together and ask for one row per line item with the supplier and quote number repeated on each row, then run the quotes again for one row per quote with the terms. In Excel, give each item one key, normalize units to a price per each, pivot the suppliers side by side and add freight, lead time and validity before you pick. Check the line arithmetic and the subtotals first: a misread digit and a supplier’s own error look the same until you check them. Where you can, send your own RFQ spreadsheet and skip the conversion.

FAQ

How do I convert a PDF quote to Excel?

On a Mac, drag the quote PDF into ignitai, ask for one row per line item with the supplier, quote number, part number, description, quantity, unit, unit price and line total, and convert to Excel. The prices arrive as real numbers, so add up the line totals and compare them with the quote’s printed subtotal before you use the sheet.

How do I compare quotes from several suppliers in Excel?

Convert every quote with the same instruction so the columns match, with the supplier’s name on every row. Give each item a shared key, then a PivotTable with items as rows, suppliers as columns and unit price as values puts the quotes side by side. Compare the totals with freight, fees and lead time included, not only the unit prices.

Can I convert a scanned or photographed quote?

Yes, when the quote is printed or typed. Scan it with the camera in ignitai on iPhone, or on a Mac use File ▸ Import from iPhone or iPad, and use the same instruction. Check the line totals against the printed subtotal, as you would for a PDF.