From an English room schedule to a Belgian electrician's quotation: clarify point counts

An electrical “point” is not a useful pricing unit until the quotation defines what it counts. A client may count a double socket as one location, while a contractor's schedule may list its components separately. Keep location references and quantities distinct, and agree on the counting rule before comparing totals.

This guide concerns the commercial handover of information. It does not specify circuits, cable sections, protective devices or installation methods. The contractor must assess the technical design against the applicable requirements. Belgium's FPS Economy publishes the General Regulations on Electrical Installations; an English room schedule is not a substitute for the required technical documentation.

Separate the room, location and priced unit

Begin with a room identifier and a marked location on the current plan. Describe the client's intended use in ordinary language. Let the competent installer resolve the technical specification rather than asking the client to invent one.

A total of four locations in this table is not a claim that the contractor should charge four identical units. Each request may correspond to a different priced item. The table does not establish that the proposed positions are technically acceptable.

Resolve double-socket ambiguity

Consider a fictional room with three double socket assemblies. One schedule might show three assemblies; another might show six socket mechanisms. Neither count alone tells you whether boxes, covers, wiring, labour or making good are included.

Ask the contractor to state the pricing unit and its composition. Do not multiply a per-assembly price by the number of mechanisms. If two proposals use different units, compare their confirmed scope first instead of treating the lower unit price as the cheaper offer.

Keep cable and building work visible

Add explicit fields for cable-related scope, distribution-board work, chasing, drilling and surface repairs. Mark each as included, separately priced, by another party or unresolved. Avoid both duplicate charging and accidental omissions by linking each responsibility to the relevant item.

The commercial schedule should refer to the installer's technical documents when those are available. It should not silently become an electrical design because someone has added a cable-length column.

Control revisions between languages

Keep the same reference identifiers in English and Dutch or French. Record the plan revision and date on the quotation brief. When the client moves K-01, preserve a change record instead of adding a second line that looks like another requested assembly.

Before acceptance, reconcile the plan, the room list and the priced proposal together. Highlight unresolved selections such as visible finishes. Confirm how later changes will be priced and approved without assuming that an email containing a new plan automatically authorises them.

See the Enfin quotation overview and the guide for electrical contractors. Bring this four-location example to a demonstration and test how the scope, attachments and revised quantities can be reviewed. Ask for evidence before relying on any automatic counting or technical-validation feature.