What does a strong AV proposal look like?

A strong AV proposal is built on a completed site survey and contains a room-by-room schedule, network requirements, programming scope, commissioning tests, support tier and lifecycle plan. A weak proposal is a kit list with a total at the bottom.

The site survey findings should appear up front: existing infrastructure, ceiling void depth, mains positions, network drops, acoustics notes, daylight and any structural constraints. This is what separates a quote that will hold from one that will hit a £15k change request the day the engineers arrive on site.

The schedule of equipment should be room-by-room rather than a single bill of materials. Each room should list the display or video wall specification, audio system (microphones, speakers, DSP), camera, control system, room booking panel, mounts and cabling. Manufacturer model numbers should be visible so you can validate the spec against your platform requirements. Network requirements should be explicit: PoE budget, VLAN segmentation, bandwidth assumptions, firewall ports, DHCP scope.

Programming scope matters and is often where weak proposals are vague. The proposal should state which control system platform is in use (Crestron, Q-SYS, Cisco), what the user interface will look like, how many room modes, and who owns the source code on handover. Commissioning tests should be enumerated: room calibration, platform sign-on tests, end-to-end conferencing tests with a real meeting, and a documented user acceptance walkthrough.

Then the lifecycle. The proposal should price the support contract alongside the install (annual cost, response SLA, what is included), specify what happens in warranty year 2, and indicate the recommended refresh schedule for the major components (typically 5 to 7 years for displays and conferencing hardware). Payment milestones should track deliverables, not the calendar. For the underlying methodology, see the consultation and design service.

Quick reference: site survey findings, room-by-room schedule with model numbers, explicit network spec, defined programming scope, enumerated commissioning tests, priced support contract, warranty year 2, refresh schedule, deliverable-tied milestones.