We’ve seen it happen more times than we’d like. Let’s look at what those missed approvals really cost and ways your team can avoid them in the future.
Understanding Key Approval Stages
No signage project can move forward without jumping through multiple approval hoops. Missing even one can derail the timeline – everyone’s scrambling to get things done, and nobody’s happy.
1. City Compliance
City sign compliance can be tricky, even if you’ve installed a sign there before. Each municipality has its own rules around signage, and they can change periodically. Before sign installers can start on fabrication, these local codes must be verified and approved by both sign installers and CRE teams, though they may do so at different stages.
Failing to comply with city regulations can result in major project delays, sign redesigns, and even fines.
2. City Permits
Once you have the regulation details sorted out, you need to obtain the right permits to install your sign. Obtaining the required city permits to install a commercial sign can take between 2 and 6 weeks. Though sign installers usually handle the permit process, CRE teams need to account for this step when working with vendors to allow enough time for proper permits to be issued.
If the city doesn’t approve your permit or sign, you need time to reevaluate the details of your project rejection and plan for alternative solutions. That could mean adjusting the sign’s size, lighting, location, or even the materials it’s made of. If you don’t account for this potential setback, you could be squeezing your timeline even tighter.
3. Artwork & Design Approval
The sign design approval process is one of the most important pieces of any project, and there tends to be a lot of back-and-forth at this stage. For CRE teams, it’s about making sure all the listing and branding details are just right. For sign installers, it’s about not moving forward until their client is satisfied with the mock-up. Assumptions are not welcome. For any commercial real estate company, its brand is everything, and any inconsistencies can jeopardize its public image.
The Direct Costs of Missed Approvals
The consequences of missed approvals can be felt on multiple levels; the budget can take a hit from overtime or reworking fees, timeline adjustments, and even the relationship between CRE teams and vendors. It’s more complicated than “putting a sign up late”. Being aware of the risks when an approval is missed can help avoid costly setbacks and communication breakdowns.
Sign manufacturers need lead times for a reason, and any delay could cost you more than just time. Delayed approvals can force the entire project schedule to get pushed back, and that delay costs money; whether it’s overtime labor costs or reworking fees.
For CRE teams, moving timelines is particularly damaging. The fast-paced world of commercial real estate means that any delay will cost you in missed marketing opportunities, delayed listing, and rescheduled events that can really hurt your listing. In such a competitive market, that translates into lost revenue and a potentially tarnished reputation.
The strain of working under tight deadlines and rushed decisions can quickly erode trust between CRE teams and vendors. Some tension is normal when working on such a large project with so many people, but maintaining professionalism and trust is what is going to make your project a success and future projects easier. Fortunately, there are simple steps that both sides can take to help prevent missed approvals in the future.
How to Prevent Missed Approvals
Missed approvals happen for all kinds of reasons, and knowing what they are will help you avoid them in the future. One of the biggest ones is broken or disconnected processes. Lacking a clear workflow makes it easy to lose requests and updates in spreadsheets or email threads. Utilizing a centralized platform that gives both CRE teams and sign vendors full visibility into every project is the easiest way to fix a broken, manual process. Our InstallMySigns platform gives you exactly that and much more.
With this platform, you don’t have to sift through endless email threads to find updates (another main cause of missed approvals). Bringing IMS into your workflow helps you reduce miscommunication and speed up approvals. Everything you need is in one place, and with 24/7 live updates, you always have the most recent information.
Don’t let missed approvals derail your signage project. See why CRE teams love our platform!
