Shop Drawing Sign-Off on Custom Contract Furniture: What Is Prepared After the Deposit, How Samples Are Adjusted and Why
What the factory prepares before production on custom pieces, how samples are reviewed and adjusted against the reference, and how to keep the sign-off record clear.
For custom contract furniture, the signed drawing is the reference for what the factory builds. Our FBM Furniture Sourcing Guide places the drawing stage inside the order sequence: after the proforma invoice and the deposit, and before production follow-up and quality control. This article explains what that stage is, what the factory prepares for it, how samples are adjusted against the reference and how a contractor can keep the sign-off record clear.
It is written for FF&E contractors assembling a furniture package from China, especially for North American and Australian projects. What it says about our process comes from the Guide’s order sequence and from our pages on samples, finishes and approvals. The checklists are working suggestions for your own schedule, not rules. This article gives no durations: the time a round takes depends on the product and on how quickly comments are returned.
Where sign-off sits in the order
The Guide describes the order in steps. Sourcing comes first: we take you to suitable factories or markets, or source to your requirements from the factories that run the production lines. Once your selection is finalized, we issue a proforma invoice with full product details, prices, deposit, warranty period, Incoterm and estimated dates. You then pay the deposit stated in the proforma invoice. The fourth step is drawing communication, and the fifth is order follow-up and quality control.
The order matters for a contractor because production is not released at the deposit. For custom products, the Guide places the drawings, the material list and your sign-off between the deposit and production, and our samples page says that bulk production starts, for custom products, after the required drawings, materials, fabric and finishes have been signed off. Products selected as existing designs start from an existing reference, but the team may still need to confirm upholstery, colour, fittings and packaging; see our article on custom and non-custom commercial furniture orders.
What the factory prepares
The Guide says that for custom products such as cabinets and custom furniture, the factory makes 2D drawings, and 3D drawings for millwork, together with a detailed material list. The factory then goes back and forth with you until you sign off before production.
Our samples page lists what we ask the shop drawings to show for each item code. Use it as the checklist for your own review:
- Dimensions: the overall dimensions and the dimensions that must be held, checked against your drawing.
- Materials: materials and thicknesses, with the material list.
- Construction: joints, fixing and the interfaces with walls, floors and other trades.
- Hardware and finish: hardware references and finish codes.
- Reference samples: the sample or swatch each finish and fabric is judged against.
A drawing set that answers those five questions for each item code gives the reviewer something specific to accept or to comment on.
Why the drawings go back and forth
The factory prepares drawings from the information you send: your drawing, the dimensions, the material, fabric and finish references for each custom item. If one of those is missing or unclear, the drawing may contain an assumption that you will need to accept or correct. That is the reason for the rounds. The aim of each round is to turn open questions into recorded answers, so that what is signed is a complete description of the item.
Review comments work best when they are tied to the item. Record each comment against the same item code and revision, so that the factory can answer each point and the next revision shows what changed. If several reviewers comment, consolidate their remarks into one instruction for each item before it goes to the factory, so that the factory does not have to decide which comment has priority.
How samples are adjusted, and why
A drawing states dimensions and construction. It does not show how a finish looks, how a fabric falls or how a hinge feels, so those are judged on samples. Our samples page asks you to record what each sample is meant to answer: a finish chip, a fabric cutting, a hardware sample or a complete product sample. Each one is compared with your reference, and the sample is a proposal until you accept it.
Adjustment follows the same discipline as the drawings. When a sample differs from the reference, record the difference against the item and the finish or fabric code, and ask the factory to answer it point by point. A revised sample or drawing comes back to the same item and is reviewed against the same reference. When you accept it, the approved drawing, material, fabric and finish become the reference for bulk production. Keep the approved sample with the record, because the later inspection uses the same reference.
Make each sample answer one question. For a finish, name the substrate, the colour reference, the sheen, the edge detail and the area where it will be used. For upholstery, state the construction if specified, the colour, the repeat, the direction, the backing, the end use and whether you will supply the fabric. For hardware, identify the visible finish, the function and the model where the specification names one.
Send your drawings and schedule
Send your FF&E schedule, quantities and drawings for custom pieces. Our team will review them and get back to you.
Keeping the sign-off record clear
The record should let anyone on the project see, for each item, which decision is holding it open and who is responsible for it. A short table kept with the schedule is enough:
- Item code: the code used in the schedule and on the drawing.
- Revision: the drawing revision the comment or the acceptance refers to.
- Reviewer: the person or party who made the decision.
- Date and status: the date of the decision and whether it is accepted, accepted with comments or returned.
- Remaining issue: what is still open, written so that the factory can answer it.
The contractor may coordinate the information while the client, the project consultant or another named party accepts the final detail. List who accepts dimensions, colour, material substitution and sample appearance before the order is planned around assumed approvals. A general acknowledgement of the design concept is not an acceptance of dimensions or construction, so record sign-off against the current revision.
After sign-off: the reference for production and inspection
The signed-off set becomes the reference for production. It is also the reference for inspection. Before shipment, our own QC team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a QC report with photos and video. If any products fail to meet the agreed standards, they go back for rework and re-inspection until all goods pass. Your own project team is welcome to attend the inspection with us.
Because the inspection uses the signed-off set, the set should be complete when it is signed. A dimension that was left to be confirmed later, or a finish approved on a photograph, is a gap that appears at the inspection and not before. Close it in the drawing round.
Changes after sign-off
Changes are part of projects, and the point is to make them visible. Record and agree a proposed substitution or change before it replaces an approved reference. Update the schedule and the drawing revision, and identify the item codes that the change touches: a quantity change may affect finish variants and packing groups, and a fabric change may mean that the earlier sample approval no longer describes the new assembly. Send the change as one instruction rather than as several informal messages, so that the factory, the inspection and the schedule all refer to the same item.
What to send us to start
Send your FF&E schedule or product list, room by room, with quantities, and drawings for any custom pieces. Add the specifications or reference images, the fabric and finish selections and the project destination. See our FF&E schedule checklist for what a complete schedule contains and our page on samples, finishes and approvals for the approval sequence. FBM Furniture works with companies only: Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers.
Frequently asked questions
What does the factory prepare before production on a custom piece?
For custom products, the Guide says the factory makes 2D drawings, and 3D drawings for millwork, and a detailed material list, then goes back and forth with you until you sign off before production.
When does bulk production start on custom products?
After the required drawings, materials, fabric and finishes have been signed off. Products selected as existing designs start from an existing reference, and the team may still need to confirm upholstery, colour, fittings and packaging.
Who signs off the drawings?
The contractor may coordinate the information, while the client, the project consultant or another named party accepts the final detail. List the approver for dimensions, colour, material substitution and sample appearance before the order is planned.
How long does sign-off take?
We do not give a fixed duration. It depends on the product and on how quickly comments are returned, so plan the programme around the actual items and the open decisions.
What is the signed-off set used for afterwards?
It is the reference for production and for our one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, so it should be complete when it is signed.
How is FBM Furniture paid, and who inspects?
For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.
Send your drawings and schedule
Send your FF&E schedule, quantities and drawings for custom pieces. Our team will review them and get back to you.