Capital projects can be a significant undertaking for companies of all sizes, which is why planning is essential for success. By thinking about your project 6 months before budgeting season, you’ll be able to position your project for smoother execution and more accurately account for the associated costs.

In this article, our team of experts will share 6 steps you can use during your pre-budgeting period.

1. Conduct a Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Conducting a comprehensive needs assessment during the pre-budgeting period can help you better understand which properties to allocate funds to during your next budgeting season. Specifically, you’ll want to assess the urgency of each property’s issues and determine what you’d like to get done within the next year-or next couple of years.

Remember: Restoration only remains an option when the existing structure has a certain amount of saturation. So, if you wait too long, this functional, sustainable, and economical option may no longer be available for your property.

2. Define Scope & Objectives 

Defining the scope and objectives for your capital project clearly is the foundation of a successful outcome. Some key things you’ll want to define include:

• Primary project goals and outcomes
• Specific needs the project must address
• Any project boundaries and limitations
• Metrics for what success looks like for your business

Taking the time to define these will help ensure alignment across everyone regarding the purpose and scale of upcoming projects.

3. Develop Your Ideal Timeline

Developing your ideal timeline can never happen too early. In fact, doing this can help you better budget by recognizing when you will need certain allotted funds and how you can best account for those within your yearly budget. Make sure to consider things like your fiscal year, seasonal factors, potential unexpected delays, and internal strategic planning cycles. All of these have relevance when thinking about your ideal project timeline.

4. Research Market Conditions

Researching market conditions can give you a better idea of the costs that may be associated with your capital projects. For example, this research may examine current or projected material costs. It could also allow you to look at all innovative technologies to make the best decision.

5. Explore Funding Options

Exploring funding options can be both internal and external. Internally, this entails determining the financial capacity for your capital projects. While externally, this involves evaluating grants, government funding programs, financing options, public/private partnerships, and other alternatives. Understanding where you funding stands can be highly impactful to your timelines, which is why it’s important to take the time to evaluate viable options.

6. Engage Stakeholders

In any organization, making a decision regarding the maintenance or performance of a building asset, there will be several stakeholders involved with varying interests and concerns. The finance team will want to know that this is the best use of funds for both short-term and long-term returns. The engineering and technical teams will want to know that this is the best performance choice for the building. Then, the impact and sustainability team may look for additional impact and value-based results. Engaging each of these groups independently and together provides the best road towards an aligned decision that everyone can feel confident about.

Want to explore an upcoming project with White Hat Industrial?

Our team of go-to restoration specialists is here to help you restore with our innovative solutions and proprietary processes. We’re here to be your trusted partner.

Simply call us at 937.909.9030 or contact us via email. You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook to learn more about us and the work we do.