Managing the Budget of Your Specification

A Too Familiar Story

You are a design professional. You carefully built a lighting schedule with manufacturers you trust and believe will meet the design and budget needs of your client. You submit your plan for bid, and move on to the other three projects on your plate. But then you get that dreaded email:
"We need to consider Value Engineering."

What Happened?

Let’s say your specified package should come in around $200,000, but the price of your package is unnecessarily inflated to make another agent's “Value Engineered” package appear more attractive. The owner thinks your package costs $300,000, when the single-agency package only costs $190,000.

What Can I Do?

  • Ask your agency reps for a copy of their quote. Does it match your budget pricing?

  • Break it down. Demand unit pricing on the alternate package. What is even included?

  • Call for a meeting. When all parties must show their math, it usually works itself out.