What Should a Signage Quote Include? Checklist

Two signage quotes for the same shopfront can differ by thousands, and it is rarely because one company is greedy. Usually it is because they have quoted for different things. This checklist lets you compare like with like.

What a complete quote covers

• Design and artwork, including proofs and amendments
• Survey, measuring the site properly rather than working from a photo
• Materials and the exact specification, not just "aluminium panel"
• Manufacture
• Illumination, LED type, transformers and any dimming or timer
• Delivery to site
• Access equipment, ladders, tower, cherry picker or scaffold
• Installation labour and fixings
• Electrical connection and certification where the sign is lit
• Removal and disposal of the old sign
• Guarantee period and what it covers
• VAT, stated clearly

The costs most often missing

Access equipment and old sign removal are the two big ones. A cherry picker for a day is a real cost and if it is not in the quote it will appear later. Electrical connection is another, some quotes assume a live supply is already there in the right place.

Questions worth asking

• Do you manufacture this yourselves or buy it in?
• Who installs it, your own team or a subcontractor?
• Is advertisement consent needed, and do you handle the application?
• What is the guarantee and does it cover the LEDs as well as the panel?
• What are the payment terms and is a deposit required?
• What happens if the council asks for a change?

Why in house matters

When one company designs, makes and fits the sign, there is one point of accountability. If something is wrong there is no argument about whose fault it is, and the lead time is not at the mercy of a third party's production queue.

Cheapest is not always cheapest

A thinner substrate, calendered vinyl instead of cast, or non marine grade fixings will save money today and cost you a replacement in three years. Ask what the expected life of the specification is, and compare that against the price.

Get a quote you can actually compare

Our quotes are itemised and fixed, with the survey free and no obligation. Complete Signs has been making signs since 1982 and everything is designed, manufactured and installed by our own team. Call 0800 454 613 or request a call back.