The lease on the new floor is signed, the builder has a start date and the director wants one number for the furniture. The designer's plan shows desks and a meeting table, but nobody has listed every chair, pedestal and lounge with a size, a finish and a price. That list is the furniture schedule, and it turns a floor plan into an order you can approve.
This guide explains what goes in each column, shows a sample schedule built from six products, and covers power, data and delivery notes. Workstations are usually the largest line, so our office workstations are a good place to start.
What a furniture schedule covers
A furniture schedule lists every loose item in a fit-out: desks, chairs, pedestals, tables, lounges and storage that are not fixed to the building. Built-in joinery, partitions and carpet usually sit in the builder's scope, so keep them on a separate list. Designers often call it an FF&E schedule, short for furniture, fixtures and equipment.
One schedule does several jobs. It becomes the quote request, the order, the delivery checklist and, later, a record of what the business owns. It also prevents the two classic fit-out mistakes: furniture that does not fit the room, and items nobody remembered to order.
The columns every furniture schedule needs
Keep one row per item per room, and give every row the columns below.
- Code: a short tag such as WS-01 for workstations or CH-02 for meeting chairs, marked in the same place on the floor plan.
- Room: the space the item goes to, using the room names on the plan.
- Item: the full product name, so nobody swaps in a lookalike.
- Size: width, depth and height in millimetres, as the product page states them.
- Finish and colour: top, frame and upholstery, using the product's own colour names.
- Quantity, unit price and line total: with a note on whether prices include GST.
- Link: the product page, so anyone can check the specification.
- Power and data: which positions need outlets, data points or cable entry.
- Delivery notes: flat-packed or assembled, the delivery city and any access limits.
Open office: workstations, chairs and pedestals
Specify the workstations first, because their size sets the room layout. The Worksmart 3 Person Single Sided Workstation - No Screen ($1,016) is a run of three desks at 4500 x 750 x 750mm, with 1500mm per top. A 5400mm version gives 1800mm per top. Tops come in Casnan, Virginia Walnut, Regal Walnut or White on a White or Black frame, and each worktop has an integrated cable entry hole.
Give chairs their own line with the adjustments listed, so a cheaper chair cannot slip into the order. The Cascade Mesh Chair ($292) has a synchro mechanism, adjustable lumbar support and removable adjustable arms. Its seat height runs from 500mm to 600mm, it is rated to 110kg and it carries a 5 Year warranty.
Pedestals need a separate line too, because some staff share desks and others need more drawers. The Casnan Premier Mobile Pedestal ($249) has 3 lockable drawers on metal runners and measures 468 x 510 x 685mm. It is delivered flat packed, which belongs in the delivery notes.
Meeting room and reception
Record the size and shape of each meeting table, because both decide the chair count. The Casnan Premier Boardroom Table ($491) is boat shaped, 2400 x 1200 x 720mm, on a stable H base with 25mm tops and sides. Allowing about 600mm of table edge per person, plan on four chairs along each long side.
The Bunny Boardroom Chair ($451) comes in Black PU or Terracotta PU, so the schedule must name one. It has a synchron mechanism with 3 locking positions, adjustable seat height and back angle, and fixed arms on a 660mm black nylon base. It carries a 135 kg weight limit and a 5 year warranty.
Reception seating is easy to forget until the week before move-in. The Blitz Lounge ($404) is a black PU modular lounge that works alone or as a run, so a quantity of three gives one bench of seating. It has chrome feet and a 120kg weight limit, needs minor assembly and is backed by a 5 year warranty.
A sample furniture schedule for a six-person office
Here are the six products above as a schedule for a small office with an open work area, a meeting room and a reception. Prices are per item and include GST.
| Code | Room | Item | Size and finish as stated | Qty | Unit price | Line total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WS-01 | Open office | Worksmart 3 Person Single Sided Workstation - No Screen | 4500 x 750 x 750mm, 1500mm per top; Casnan top, White frame | 2 | $1,016 | $2,032 |
| CH-01 | Open office | Cascade Mesh Chair | Seat height 500mm to 600mm; black mesh back, black seat | 6 | $292 | $1,752 |
| ST-01 | Open office | Casnan Premier Mobile Pedestal | 468 x 510 x 685mm; 3 lockable drawers | 6 | $249 | $1,494 |
| MT-01 | Meeting room | Casnan Premier Boardroom Table | 2400 x 1200 x 720mm; boat shape, H base | 1 | $491 | $491 |
| CH-02 | Meeting room | Bunny Boardroom Chair | Black PU, fixed arms, 660mm nylon base | 8 | $451 | $3,608 |
| LG-01 | Reception | Blitz Lounge | Black PU, chrome feet, modular | 3 | $404 | $1,212 |
| Total including GST | $10,589 | |||||
Check each line total against quantity times unit price before the schedule goes out for approval, then add the flat $75 metro delivery charge for the order. For a bigger project, read our fit-out planning guide to ordering office furniture in bulk.
Power, data and delivery notes for Australian buildings
Mark every position that needs power or data, because the electrician and IT contractor will price from the same plan. The Worksmart tops have cable entry holes, so note where each run sits against floor boxes or wall outlets. A meeting table may also need power and data beneath it for screens and laptops.
Delivery notes save the most trouble on move-in day. Deliveries go to the ground-floor entrance, so in a multi-storey building, arrange who moves furniture to your floor and book the goods lift with building management. Goods arrive flat-packed unless the product page says assembled, so allow time for assembly before staff arrive.
Each product page also has a Delivery line naming its metro cities. In the sample, the Cascade and Bunny chairs list metro Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The other four items list metro Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth and are not available for delivery in SA, so an Adelaide office would need other choices for those lines.
Furniture schedule — frequently asked questions
What is a furniture schedule?
A furniture schedule is a list of every loose furniture item in a fit-out, with its code, room, size, finish, quantity and price. It works alongside the floor plan, which shows where each coded item goes.
Who prepares the furniture schedule for an office fit-out?
The interior designer usually prepares it on a designed fit-out, while an office manager often writes it for a smaller move. Either way, the person approving the budget should sign off the final version.
What is the difference between a furniture schedule and a joinery schedule?
A furniture schedule covers loose items you can move, while a joinery schedule covers built-in cabinetry made to fit the building. Joinery is usually priced by the builder or joiner rather than ordered as finished furniture.
Should a furniture schedule include prices?
Yes, a schedule used for approval should show unit prices and line totals. Note whether the prices include GST, so the total matches the budget line it is checked against.
Shop the range
Every product in this guide is listed below in the order it appears. Our meeting tables and office storage ranges hold more sizes and finishes.
- Worksmart 3 Person Single Sided Workstation - No Screen ($1,016): a three-desk run for open offices, with a cable entry hole in each top
- Cascade Mesh Chair ($292): an adjustable mesh task chair for staff at workstations all day
- Casnan Premier Mobile Pedestal ($249): three lockable drawers on metal runners for each desk position
- Casnan Premier Boardroom Table ($491): a 2400mm boat-shaped meeting table on a stable H base
- Bunny Boardroom Chair ($451): an adjustable PU boardroom chair with fixed arms, in black or terracotta
- Blitz Lounge ($404): modular black PU reception seating that joins into a longer run
Metro delivery is a flat $75 per order, and prices include GST.
