How to budget a shop or café fit-out

An empty tenancy is full of possibility, and that’s exactly the problem. It’s easy to imagine the finished space and hard to see the hundred small decisions — and costs — between bare concrete and opening day. Fit-outs that run over budget rarely do so because the counter cost more than quoted. They run over because nobody priced the grease trap, the accessible toilet, the council fees or the three weeks of wages while staff trained.

This guide takes you through seven steps to a fit-out budget you can actually fund. Use it alongside our free fit-out budget checklist, which does the adding up for you.

Step 1: What can you actually do with the space?

Before you sketch a single layout, check three things:

The lease. What alterations need landlord consent? Who pays for what? What must be removed at the end (make-good)? Is the landlord contributing? Business.govt.nz notes landlords often provide incentives, especially on longer leases. Our commercial lease checklist covers these questions.

The council. If the space was used for something different — a shop becoming a café, an office becoming a clinic — talk to the council early. Auckland Council, for example, says you must notify it in writing of a change of use; if work is needed to meet the Building Code, you’ll need a building consent before starting. Changes can include fire safety, sanitary facilities and accessibility.

The building. Business.govt.nz recommends asking for structural assessments and asbestos reports. In older main-street buildings, these can change both scope and cost.

Step 2: Define the scope in writing

Write a one-page brief: what the space needs to do, how many seats or stations, the service flow, the look you want, and what equipment must fit. A clear brief makes quotes comparable and stops scope creep.

Then break the scope into the categories most fit-outs share:

Category	Examples
Pre-construction	Design, drawings, engineering, consents, legal review
Strip-out and structure	Demolition, walls, ceilings, partitions
Services	Electrical, data, lighting, plumbing, drainage, extraction, heating and cooling
Finishes	Flooring, paint, tiling
Compliance	Accessible facilities, fire safety upgrades
Joinery and fixtures	Counters, shelving, displays, storage
Equipment	Kitchen, salon, clinic or workshop equipment
Furniture and signage	Seating, tables, shopfront signage, window graphics
Technology	POS, eftpos, IT, security

Step 3: Get itemised quotes

Ask for quotes that list each element separately. A single lump-sum price makes it hard to see what’s included, compare suppliers or trim scope if you need to.

Check what’s excluded. Common exclusions include consent fees, after-hours work, making good existing damage, and anything “to be confirmed on site”.

Step 4: Add a contingency — and be honest about it

Every fit-out meets surprises: rotten framing behind old linings, wiring that won’t pass inspection, a drain in the wrong place, a supplier price rise. A contingency is not padding; it’s the cost of those surprises.

Allow more contingency for:

• Older buildings
• Kitchens, grease traps and extraction
• Plumbing for basins in salons and clinics
• Structural work or wall removal
• Tight timeframes

The fit-out budget checklist lets you set a contingency percentage and see how it changes your total.

Step 5: Don’t forget GST and the payment schedule

If you’re GST-registered you’ll usually claim back the GST on fit-out invoices, but only after you’ve paid them. On a substantial fit-out, that’s a meaningful amount of cash for a month or two. Budget for it.

Also map the payment schedule. Builders typically want a deposit, progress payments and a final payment. Line those dates up against your cash and any funding drawdowns, so you’re never short mid-project.

On tax: Inland Revenue says commercial fit-outs — such as non-structural walls, cabling and fire protection — can be depreciated separately from the building. It also lists improvements to depreciable property (but not residential buildings) among the items that can qualify for Investment Boost. Ask your accountant how these apply.

Step 6: Add the costs of getting to opening day

These aren’t building costs, but they’re part of the project:

• Bond, bank bond or deposit for the lease — see funding a lease bond
• Rent during the build if there’s no rent-free period
• Opening stock
• Wages for recruitment and training before opening
• Launch marketing
• Insurance from the day you take possession
• A cash buffer for the first quiet months of trading

Many owners leave these out and discover a gap just as the doors open.

Pricing a fit-out now? You can start a 60-second enquiry at any stage to talk through funding — there’s no credit check to ask.

Step 7: Find the gap and decide how to fund it

Add it all up, then subtract:

• Any landlord contribution
• Cash you can put in without stripping your working capital

What’s left is the gap. Common ways to fund it:

Part of the project	Often suits
Big equipment items	Equipment finance
Building work and joinery	Unsecured term funding (typically $5,000 to $500,000) or property-secured
Whole project, larger amounts	Property-secured business loan ($20,000 to $5,000,000)
Opening stock and wages	Short-term working capital

The guiding principle is to match the funding term to how long the fit-out earns. A fit-out that serves the business for years shouldn’t drain one season’s cash. Our page on shop fit-out finance explains the options in more detail.

An illustrative example

Illustrative only. A physiotherapist takes a lease on a former retail tenancy to open a three-room clinic. The brief covers a reception, three treatment rooms, a small rehab area and an accessible toilet. The council confirms a change of use needs to be notified and a consent is required for the new toilet and partitions.

Itemised quotes come in for each trade. The physio adds a contingency for the plumbing and an allowance for asbestos testing, includes the GST on each progress payment, and adds the bond, three weeks of pre-opening wages and launch marketing. After the landlord’s contribution and their own cash, the remaining gap is funded with an unsecured term facility, with equipment finance for the rehab equipment.

Keeping the build on budget once work starts

A good budget can still unravel during construction. To keep control:

• Agree a process for variations. Every change to the scope should be priced and approved in writing before the work is done.
• Hold regular site meetings with your builder, even short ones, to catch problems early.
• Track spending weekly against your budget lines, so you know how much contingency is left.
• Resist upgrades mid-build. “While we’re at it” is the most expensive phrase in any fit-out.
• Keep the opening date realistic. Booking a launch before the build is nearly finished puts pressure on everyone and usually costs money.
• Check the work before the final payment. Make sure everything on the list is complete, signed off and working.

If the contingency starts running low halfway through, pause and reassess before committing to anything optional. It’s far easier to adjust the plan mid-build than to find extra funding after the money has run out.

How long should the whole process take?

Allow time for every stage: lease negotiation, design, quotes, consents, funding, the build itself, and fit-out of equipment and furniture. Consents and specialist trades are the most common sources of delay. Work backwards from your target opening date, add buffer weeks for the stages you don’t control, and remember that rent may be running throughout.

Turn your budget into a plan

Once you know your total and your gap, start your 60-second enquiry. We won’t check your credit just because you asked, your enquiry stays with one team rather than being shopped around, and someone who understands main-street fit-outs will ring you. Please share an accurate total, what’s already covered and your trading position — it helps us match you properly the first time.