Furniture, AV and IT: what's not in your fit-out price

Our published office fit-out rates exclude two things outright: VAT and loose furniture. That is stated on our cost guide. Furniture is usually bought separately, and whether VAT is a real cost depends on your business.

But a business moving office spends money on far more than the fit-out contract and a set of chairs. The budget surprises on an office move often aren't overruns on the building work at all. They are items that were never in anyone's budget.

Here is what to list separately, so it is in your numbers from the start.

Furniture, and the grey area around it

Loose furniture means desks, chairs, meeting tables, soft seating and storage. It is normally bought separately, often direct from a furniture supplier.

Fixed joinery, such as the tea point, built-in storage and the reception desk, is normally part of the fit-out. Joinery and tea points come to about 10 per cent of a typical Cat B on our published split.

The grey area is everything in between: booths, pods, lockers, built-in banquettes. Decide early who is supplying them, because they affect power, data, fire detection and the layout, and they are easily left out of both budgets.

IT and connectivity

The fit-out normally provides containment for cabling, and often the data cabling to desks and rooms. What it usually doesn't provide is the equipment: switches, servers, wireless access points, computers, phones and printers. Check where the line falls on your job, because cabling is a common overlap between the fit-out and the IT budget.

Connectivity is separate again. A new internet connection into the building is arranged with the provider, and it can take longer to set up than people expect. Order it early, so you don't end up with a finished office and no connection.

AV and meeting rooms

Screens, video conferencing kit, speakers, microphones and room booking panels are normally an AV supplier's package. The fit-out provides what sits behind them: power and data at the screen position, containment in the wall, and solid backing inside the partition so the screen has something to fix to.

That backing has to go in before the partition is boarded, which is why AV needs deciding during the design, not after handover.

The cheapest time to plan for a screen is before the wall is built. After that, every change means opening it up.

Moving, signage and the rest

Moving. Removals, crates, IT disconnection and reconnection, and the staff time it takes.

The old office. Rent and running costs while you are paying for two buildings, and any dilapidations claim on the premises you are leaving.

Signage and branding. Fire safety signs and safety markings on glazing are normally in the fit-out. Branded graphics, logos and external signs often aren't, and an external sign may need consent from the council.

Fees. If you appoint a designer, project manager, cost consultant or M&E consultant directly, their fees sit outside the contractor's price. So do the landlord's costs of approving the works if your lease passes them on, and your own legal fees.

Security and access control. Sometimes in the fit-out, sometimes a separate specialist package, sometimes tied to the landlord's system. Ask.

Appliances, plants and artwork. Small individually, easy to forget collectively.

VAT. Fit-out work is normally charged at the standard rate. Whether you can recover it depends on your business's VAT position, so check with your accountant rather than assuming either way.

Contingency. Hold one, separate from the fit-out price, for the things you decide you want once you see the space taking shape.

Getting it all on one page

When we price a fit-out, the quote says plainly what is in it and what isn't, so you can build the rest of your budget around it. Send us the floor plan and your brief, and we'll do a free feasibility appraisal on the floor. The rates themselves are explained in what an office fit-out costs per square foot.