How to Prepare a Maintenance Budget
Does your business prepare a maintenance budget along with other operating factors each quarter? If not, your company’s funds are in danger when system maintenance and damages arise. Maintenance budgets help manage, plan, and prioritize application and structural cost factors, making your company more effective with money.
In this article, we’ll walk through what a maintenance budget is, why you need one, and how to create a budget. Here’s everything you need to know about preparing a maintenance budget:
What Is a Maintenance Budget?
A maintenance budget is a document defining expected costs throughout the year to your building and property. A budget’s outline should separate each maintenance area into categories like preventative or reactive to account for each specific action.
A maintenance budget is an outlined document that proves to your administration that the company needs money for property inspections, maintenance, repair, or new equipment.
Why Do You Need a Maintenance Budget?
A maintenance budget serves as a call to action for additional funding. It’s also crucial because it’s a benchmark tracking what your company is maintaining or repairing throughout the year. Noticing an area that has racked up maintenance costs allows a company to prepare a simplified solution ahead of time.
Creating a maintenance budget provides the best data and information to avoid guesswork at your company. Budget plans improve efficiency and performance, limiting the chance of pleading for emergency funds a business may not own.
Maintenance Budget Types
The two most common maintenance outlines for facility managers are operating and project budgets. Operating budgets include costs that maintain every department’s assets within your organization. The operating budget accounts for equipment, materials, contractors you are interested in, and labor.
Project budgets are used for specific targets set early in the year. Renovations, replacements, or particular pieces of equipment are accounted for in the project budget.
Are you looking for HVAC preventative maintenance tips? Check out these benefits that prevent business downtime and save money.
How to Create a Maintenance Budget
Setting a comprehensive maintenance budget is complex. There are various data, elements, and personnel in play. Begin preparing a maintenance budget for your company with these steps:
Plan for Maintenance and Emergencies
Factor regular inspection and maintenance costs into your operating budget. By maintaining your facilities and property with consistent care, companies can prevent minor damages from becoming extensive and costly repairs.
Internal damage is sometimes unavoidable, even with the best facility care. Many companies recommended setting aside emergency services funds, especially for unplanned weather events.
Are you wondering how much your company should allocate toward an emergency budget? Consider this rule of thumb: for each year your facility or property ages, increase the investment by a small percentage the following year. Buildings inevitably experience more damage as they age.
Hidden Costs
Software licenses, procurement costs, processing fees, or recurring services are hidden costs that can run up maintenance budgets. A review of company budgets in prior years can catch areas to factor into your operating budget.
Recent Costs
Be sure to review recent company budgets and identify areas of overspending. Ask yourself these questions before preparing a new budget:
- Were there certain areas the budget was primarily allocated towards?
- How much did the company spend on proactive and reactive maintenance?
- Did the budget allocate funds toward a specific project or piece of equipment specific to that year?
- Did the company stay under the budget or spend too much?
Always make date-backed decisions with your maintenance budget. You may notice that the company has spent an excess on HVAC system repair in the past couple of years. Contacting an HVAC company and installing a new HVAC unit could be cheaper than continued repairs.
Seasonal Costs
The East Coast experiences extreme weather conditions during summer and winter. As you begin the year preparing a maintenance budget, consider allocating heavier toward seasons with harsh conditions. If your budget is almost dry of cash flow before winter hits, you could be scrambling in freezing conditions, affecting company productivity.
Commercial HVAC Maintenance Cost Estimating
Your HVAC system is complex. Because the system powers multiple operations throughout your building, more strain is accumulated over time. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, HVAC systems power more than 50% of energy usage throughout commercial buildings across the country.
It’s important to schedule yearly or even bi-annual inspections of your company’s HVAC unit before solidifying a maintenance budget. A professional contractor can estimate the life expectancy of your system. If your company needs an installation, it is better to factor a new HVAC system into your project budget rather than continually funding expensive repairs.
Average Commercial HVAC Maintenance Cost
These factors of your system will be considered to determine your commercial HVAC maintenance contract costs:
- System Location
- System Size
- System Type
- Age and Condition
- Usage Conditions
Most contracts and maintenance cost $300 to $500 a year, depending on the size of your facilities and property.
Prepare a Maintenance Budget Today With Service Unlimited
Businesses choose Service Unlimited because they know we deliver quality products and services that exceed expectations. Contact us, and we can help you budget for any of our commercial HVAC maintenance or repair services.
Like any other appliance on your property, an HVAC system needs regular inspection and maintenance. Check out a few ways to increase the lifespan of your unit, and contact Service Unlimited today for HVAC preventative maintenance.
Related Postings
About
Service Unlimited has worked for nearly 60 years to become your single source HVAC solution. We are your partner in providing a climate that boosts your company’s future through the most energy-efficient practices and services that promote the longevity of your equipment.
Recent Posts
When Do You Need to Replace Your Commercial HVAC SystemDecember 19, 2022 - 9:00 am
How to Prepare a Maintenance BudgetNovember 9, 2022 - 9:00 am
Why Are HVAC Maintenance Agreements Important?November 3, 2022 - 9:00 pm
How to Troubleshoot Common HVAC ProblemsOctober 31, 2022 - 9:00 pm
Preparing for Fall: Your HVAC Maintenance ChecklistSeptember 15, 2022 - 9:00 am
Contact
19 Southgate Boulevard,
Southgate Industrial Park,
New Castle, Delaware 19720
(302) 326-COOL