Shopfitters Versus Individual Tradespeople

Clearly this is an important decision which must be taken early on. If you decide to use a firm of shopfitters there are obvious advantages:

• They will co-ordinate the various trades, particularly electrician, plumber, carpenter and decorator. You will only have to talk to one or two people from one organisation, not lots of individual workers.
• You will (or certainly should) have a written agreement which will tie them down to a particular completion date, ideally with penalties for failure to complete on time. Having said that, there will be some get-out clauses to cover them in the event of unforeseeable problems once they start pulling up floorboards.
• Assuming you select the right company for your particular needs, you will get the benefit of their experience of fitting out similar units in the past. They will probably come up with good ideas on layout, the most durable materials for food prep surfaces and so on.

However, using shopfitters will not be right for everyone. It’s an expensive option.

It really depends on your circumstances. If you are planning a sizeable operation and you have enough money at your disposal then using shopfitters makes sense. The bigger chains wouldn’t consider anything else – but they will have worked out a deal with one particular company whereby in exchange for a lot of work (carried out in the shortest possible time), the price will be kept low.

This illustrates one of the problems of the small business which I have alluded to before. A lot of companies and organisations prefer dealing with larger customers. Small business owners, sadly, often find that they simply don’t have much clout.

One compromise would be to co-ordinate everything yourself at the outset but plan to use shopfitters to revamp the place three years down the line on the assumption that things are going well. By that stage your bank will be happy to provide the necessary finance.

Whatever you decide, you should obtain quotes from at least two firms and make sure that they are used to carrying out contracts for operations of your size.

If you take over an existing business and you don’t intend to do much beyond redecorating the unit and making slight alterations to the layout then, of course, shopfitters won’t be necessary.

If you decide not to use shopfitters there are a number of key points to bear in mind:

• Get the ball rolling sooner rather than later. Whether it’s a quote from the decorators, the floorlayers or the electricians, start things moving as quickly as possible. This way you will create a bit of room for manoeuvre later on if and when problems arise. You should ideally have reached the stage of accepting quotations for the major works approximately eight to ten weeks before your planned opening.
• Be organised and always think a bit ahead. You should always be aware of what’s coming up. And don’t keep it all in your head. Have a do list, a timetable or a flow chart – whatever works for you – and update it on a daily (hourly in the last few days) basis.
• Get quotes – including the terms of any guarantees – in writing wherever possible. It doesn’t mean that everything is sure to be problem-free but what you’ve agreed to is there in black and white – and you have a much greater prospect of some meaningful comeback in the event of later disputes.
• Be very wary of using friends or friends of friends. I know it’s often financially tempting to do this but it’s fraught with difficulty. You’ll inevitably have a less professional approach with them and may well feel awkward about insisting on having things in writing. They might treat your project as one which they can fit round their main job. If things go wrong you’ll find it harder to complain and you might jeopardise your friendship.
• Co-ordinate the tasks carefully. Don’t have the decorators booked for a time when the joiners will be using an electric saw and creating lots of dust. This really can be a challenge and there will probably be times when you’ll wish you had used shopfitters.
• Be prepared to take a hard line if necessary. Let’s say the electrician confirms he will be at the shop all day Thursday to finish the re-wiring. Then he phones on Wednesday to say he can’t make Thursday after all because of some other job which has gone on longer than expected. You know the decorator is planning to start on Friday and it doesn’t suit you to have the electrician working that day.

• Try to defer payment of your start-up costs. One of the frightening aspects of this stage is the number of substantial bills you incur. And the total always seems to come to more than you originally estimated. Obviously your finance should be in place by this stage, but the longer it is until you draw down some or all of the funds the longer it will be until you incur liability for significant amounts of interest. Or if you’re paying some of the bills out of savings the longer you will go on earning interest. And the greater the chances that you will be generating some reasonable income when the time comes to meet the payments.
• Nothing I say here should be interpreted as advice to not pay bills until the very last minute. However, if you speak to companies early on you might well find they are prepared to accept a slightly later than usual payment date.
• Set up a filing system that works for you. You just can’t imagine the frustration which is caused by being unable to lay your hands on an important quotation, specification or other vital document when you really need it. It’s best to have everything in duplicate. If you have a PC with a scanner and the right software you can attend to copying at home (assuming you don’t have a photocopier). Have a list with the names and phone numbers of everybody involved in the project with day and, if possible, evening phone numbers. Have a copy of this list and your mobile phone with you at all times.

Whether you use shopfitters or not, remember that if you need to apply to your local authority for planning permission to change the use of the premises and/or permission to move sinks around, knock down internal walls or create doorways, any such applications will take a considerable time to be decided, even assuming there are no hitches. This can mean delays before some of the work can be started. It all has to be factored into the equation. The time scales will vary from place to place – it is impossible to be categorical. Check with the planning and building control departments at your local council offices – or your architect.