1. Start with the measured floor area and the business requirement
A budget built on an estimated area or a rough headcount will move as soon as design starts. Begin with a measured floor area and a written statement of what the business needs the space to do. That statement is what every later cost should trace back to.
- Current headcount and a stated growth assumption
- Departments and the teams that need to sit together
- Work settings such as open desks, enclosed offices and quiet rooms
- Meeting rooms by size and expected daily use
- Storage, archive and records needs
- Accessibility requirements for staff and visitors
- The target move date and any date that cannot move
2. Record what the landlord actually provides
Many budget surprises come from assuming the building provides something it does not. Ask the landlord or managing agent for written information before you price anything. Do not ask your own team or a contractor to open, adjust or test live building systems to find out. Request the records and let the responsible parties confirm them.
- The base building scope handed over to tenants
- Air conditioning capacity and how it is zoned on your floor
- The electrical allocation available to the tenancy
- Ceiling condition and fire system interfaces such as detection and sprinklers
- Any condition survey of the space as it stands
- The landlord approvals needed for drawings and works
3. Separate professional services, construction and purchasing
One combined figure makes it hard to see where money goes. Split the budget into clear groups so each can be reviewed by the right person.
- Professional services covering strategy, design and engineering coordination
- Construction covering strip out, partitions, ceilings, finishes and joinery
- Mechanical, electrical and plumbing works and ELV scopes such as data, access control and CCTV
- Furniture and equipment
- Logistics, protection of common areas, testing and handover
4. Make the assumptions visible
A budget is a set of assumptions with a number attached. Write those assumptions down so approvers know what could change the figure. We do not recommend copying a standard contingency percentage from another project. Set contingency against the risks you can actually name on this building and this brief.
- What is included and what is excluded
- Items the client will supply directly, such as IT hardware
- Provisional sums and what would fix them
- Contingency, the risks it covers and who approves its use
- How taxes are treated in each figure
- How long quotations remain valid and any currency exposure on imported items
5. Make quotations comparable
Bidders can only be compared if they price the same thing. Issue one set of drawings, one specification and one bill of quantities or pricing schedule to every bidder. Then look beyond the headline figure. A lower total often reflects a longer exclusions list rather than better value.
- The same drawings, specification and pricing schedule for every bidder
- Exclusions stated line by line
- Lead times for long items such as furniture and imported fittings
- How each bidder will manage interfaces with the landlord and other trades
- The proposed delivery approach, closeout and handover documentation
6. Know when you need a performance review rather than a fit out
Some teams start a budget because the current office feels too hot, too cold or badly arranged. That is not always a fit out. An occupied office can first have a separate, bounded assessment that defines the cooling and layout issues. That assessment is not a design fee or a construction price, and it does not set the cost of a fit out. If the findings point to wider work, that work is scoped and quoted separately.
The service page sets out the current scope and fees for that assessment.
7. A buyer checklist and the next step
Before you take a budget to approval, check that you can answer each point below. Outtabox is based in Abuja and delivers projects in Lagos, Port Harcourt and across Nigeria. If you would like a view on scope and sequence, send us the outline through the enquiry form.
- Measured area and a written business requirement
- Landlord information received in writing
- Budget split into services, construction, MEP and ELV, furniture and logistics
- Assumptions, exclusions, provisional sums and contingency stated
- Tax treatment and quote validity recorded
- One pricing structure issued to every bidder
- An internal approver named for design and for cost
If you are preparing a project of this kind, send us the outline and we will respond with a view on scope and sequence.