How to Understand + Compare Your Quotes
Understanding and comparing quotes can be a little tedious at the best of times. For non-industry people who don’t spend their everyday in it, the process of deciding on a fair quote for your fitout may be much harder than comparing apples with apples. Often, with several different quotes you’re more likely comparing apples and oranges but it’s sometimes hard to know! Quoting isn’t always transparent so it’s good to have a way to weed out the unfairly high quotes, or those too cheap – you want to make sure that you get a quote that actually includes everything you NEED and were expecting!
“What Am I actually Getting for My Money?”
Something to consider is that for contractors, winning quotes is the hardest part and you will certainly come across a few that quote dramatically lower than others to try win your business. It’s important to note that generally, this is not going to be the most transparent offer. When it comes to building your place of business, you really want to know what you can expect to spend straight up, so that you don’t have any hidden costs or events go uncovered by your shopfitter that send you beyond your budget before the job is complete. It is really important to review the scope of works to ensure your expected inclusions are met, this unfortunately is where disappointment can start. It is best practice to sit down with your ideal fitout team(s) and work through the quote face to face. Be sure to discuss the exclusions! Here are some of the things you really want to consider…
– Does the quote cover design, consultants (including certifier) and council or is it a construction only price?
– Is the quote full of provisional sums or are they fixed costs?
– Is this a fixed price quote? (Fixed rate quotes are generally a bit higher but can save you massively throughout the fitout.)
– Is the time frame given to complete this project realistic? And, Does this quote guarantee a completion date?
– How much is this contractor asking for up front, is the first deposit dramatically higher than the others?
– Was communication with this contractor easy and would you trust them with your business?
– Does this quote cover you for QUALITY materials?
– Who will you be dealing with once the job has started?
As you begin to answer these questions for all your quotes, you’ll begin to see a few quotes float to the top – keep in mind, they are most likely not going to be the cheapest one but certainly the most cost efficient in the end. If there’s still quite a difference in pricing between your top picks, go back to each shopfitter and ask the question – “Why you?”
As the saying goes –
“Good work ain’t cheap. Cheap work ain’t good.”
The difference in price could be years of experience in the trade and a great reputation for quality – ultimately saving you money through a smooth and efficient process. It may be having a notably good design team or perhaps ZERO hidden costs and plenty of guarantees. From here, and after some conversations with shopfitters, you should be able to let your intuition guide you to the price and shopfitter that is RIGHT for YOU.
If you need a quote from one of our local shopfitters, don’t hesitate get in touch, we’d love to hear from you! – P. 0880 348 888 or contact your local Total Fitouts office.