Independent cost opinion · Canada
Don't commit to a capital project based on a budget you can't defend.
An independent cost opinion for offices, branches and capital asset renewal. Before the lease is signed, the budget is approved or a contractor is engaged.
We are paid for the analysis, not the project. Our fee is the same whether you proceed or not.
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$3.4M Likely
$3.9M High
$4.6M
- Base building HVAC capacity on floor 3 not confirmed
- Landlord work letter scope not yet defined
- IT and AV relocation excluded from current number
Xenofan, since founding
A number on a spreadsheet is not a budget you can defend.
When a project goes to finance, the questions are predictable.
- Does the budget reflect the actual scope?
- What assumptions and exclusions could change the cost?
- Is the contingency appropriate for the uncertainty?
- What would the alternatives cost?
- What could push the project over budget?
Precise, and no basis for judging it.
- Scope tied to headcount and test fit
- Exclusions listed: IT, AV, furniture, moving
- Contingency sized to the estimate class
- Risks ranked by cost exposure
Most early numbers come from a broker, a designer or a contractor. Each is built for that party's role: making the deal work, fitting the design brief, pricing a defined scope. None is built to be defended in front of a finance committee.
That isn't anyone's fault. It's how the process is structured. Before you commit capital, you need to know what stands behind the number.
A cost opinion at the stage you're in.
Budget opinion before design
We build a conceptual estimate from your brief, headcount, location and building. You get a range, with the basis stated.
Budget review
From a broker, designer or contractor. We test the scope, assumptions, exclusions and contingency behind it.
Options analysis
Compare the cost of different layouts, scopes, specifications or delivery approaches before you choose one.
Capital asset renewal planning
A multi-year schedule and budget for the renewal work your spaces and building systems will need, for a new CFO, an auditor or an insurer.
A report your finance team can use as-is.
You receive a written assessment that includes:
- a cost range with its basis stated
- a cost breakdown by UniFormat or MasterFormat
- the class of estimate, and what that class is suited to decide
- the assumptions and exclusions that matter
- the principal cost risks, ranked
- the options compared, where the information allows
- the questions still open before approval
Typical turnaround: under 6 business days from receipt of information.
The objective is not to make the decision for you. It is to give you better information to make it yourself.
From preliminary budget to informed decision.
- 01 · Context
Understand the decision
What you need to decide, the project stage, the information available and who has to approve it.
- 02 · Costs
Review or build the cost information
We examine the budget you have, or build one if you have none, and identify material gaps.
- 03 · Risks
Assess risks and alternatives
Where the information permits, we evaluate cost exposures and compare alternatives.
- 04 · Decision
Present the findings
A documented assessment you can put in front of finance, executives or a board.
One project. One role. Never both.
Xenofan also delivers commercial renovations in Québec. That is why this rule exists. If we provide the cost opinion on a project, we do not bid on it, build it or manage it.
- 15 years in cost estimating
- $1B+ in career cost estimates since 2011
- Halved budget-at-completion variance for a major account within 3 years
- Fee not tied to the outcome
- Professional fees are not contingent on the project proceeding.
- Principal-led
- Every engagement is led by the principal, from first call to final report.
- Decision-focused
- Analysis organized around cost, risk and alternatives, not only a total.
For those accountable for the capital decision.
Real estate directors, asset management directors and CFOs at law firms, accounting firms, financial institutions and professional services firms, typically with 200 employees or more.
- A lease decision is coming within three years
- A budget has to go to a committee or board
- You have one number and no basis for judging it
- The scope is still evolving
Before you commit, test the number.
Tell us what you're planning, what information you have and what you need to decide. If you don't have a budget yet, that's fine. That is often the right time to start.
Or write to info@xenofan.ca
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