I have an opportunity to start making Commercial Millwork and laminate cabinets and tops for hotels. I have been building cabinets in the residential market for the last 25 years and I am very comfortable with pricing for this market. Coming up with pricing for Commercial Millwork and laminate cabinets not sure how to price? Would appreciate any help with my problem.

Pricing is not the same across the country. You'll need a set of plans to see what the specs are before you even start pricing. Then you need municipality or state requirements for overhead items like on site insurance, bonding, and union requirements as a start. You also have to identify penalty costs for late delivery which equates to higher labor costs for overtime. It's a hard lesson to learn because the competition in your region is not going to be eager to help the competition. You also have to be wary of general contractors that go fishing for new shops. It seems they just love finding new shops and then squeeze them for cheaper bids on the promise of lots of future work. If that comes up, run away. They can just go shopping when the next job comes up. Ask me how I know! My first experience was for a Federal Prison. I knew about half the special requirements required by the Federal Prison System.

Commercial cabinetry in my world never involves a job site visit with regards to pricing. More often than not nothing is built to even visit when you get the plans and request for pricing. Your only option is to price as best you feel comfortable with regards to your shops capacity as it relates to the project and refine from there. So much of it depends on your reputation, your market, and the work at hand. If your being asked to quote work that will be sent out against a bunch of other shops your going to have to be sharp to win jobs. If your being asked to come in and do some boutique work where you have the opportunity to walk an actual job or some similar property as a means of comparison you are likely operating on a different level (your already the semi-chosen source).

The vast majority of bread and butter commercial work you will never have the opportunity to eyeball evaluate the work nor have the time to scrutinize a job at that level. You or your estimators will have to sit in your office and price simply via the plans and specification's supplied to you. At that point its just straight forward estimating.

Hey! Wishing you all the best in your endeavors! When it comes down to it, nailing down the right labor and material budgets and factoring in your company's overhead is key. The AWI conducts a Cost Of Doing Business Survey and shares financial reports from leading commercial millwork companies. These reports shed light on how to budget effectively for projects, ensuring you stay profitable. We've got quite a bit of experience in this area, so if you need any guidance or assistance, just give us a shout. Happy to lend a hand!