What is the difference between a spec sheet and a schedule?

A spec sheet describes one item completely. A schedule lists many items in a table, keyed by room or by mark, so that a contractor can see everything that applies to a space at once. You need both: the schedule for coordination, the spec for ordering.

Who writes the specification — the designer or the vendor?

The designer writes it; the vendor's acknowledgement confirms it. Treat the acknowledgement as a proofreading task rather than a formality, because it is the last moment a wrong finish code is free to correct.

DefinitionUpdated July 31, 20262 min read

Spec sheet: the record that makes an order reproducible

A specification sheet is the complete, orderable record of one item — manufacturer, model, finish codes, dimensions, COM, freight and location. What it must contain so a purchase order can be raised without a phone call.

By Idan Mann, founder of NYA

The short answer

A specification sheet is the complete record of one specified item: manufacturer, model number, finish and fabric codes, dimensions, quantity, COM requirements, lead time, freight terms and the room it is destined for. It is written so that a purchase order can be raised from it without anyone having to ask a question.

The test of a specification is whether someone who has never spoken to you could order from it. Not "the walnut one" — the finish code. Not "the large size" — the dimensions and the model number that produces them. Every ambiguity left in a spec becomes a phone call, and every phone call is a place where a wrong item enters production.

The fields a spec sheet has to carry

Manufacturer, collection and model number, including the variant suffix that encodes size or configuration.
Finish, fabric and trim codes exactly as the vendor writes them — plus the grade, and COM yardage where it applies.
Dimensions as specified, so a substitution can be checked against the plan without re-measuring.
Quantity and the room it belongs to, which is what becomes the sidemark.
Price: net cost, your markup and the client price, kept in the record even if only one of them appears on the client's copy.
Lead time and freight terms, because they set the install date and decide who owns the goods in transit.

One record, several documents. The same item should produce a tearsheet for the client, a line on the proposal, a purchase order for the vendor and a row on the finish schedule — without anyone retyping a model number. Retyping is where errors are born.

Common questions

What is the difference between a spec sheet and a schedule?: A spec sheet describes one item completely. A schedule lists many items in a table, keyed by room or by mark, so that a contractor can see everything that applies to a space at once. You need both: the schedule for coordination, the spec for ordering.
Who writes the specification — the designer or the vendor?: The designer writes it; the vendor's acknowledgement confirms it. Treat the acknowledgement as a proofreading task rather than a formality, because it is the last moment a wrong finish code is free to correct.

Keep reading

Spec sheet: the record that makes an order reproducible

By Idan Mann, founder of NYA

The short answer

The fields a spec sheet has to carry

Manufacturer, collection and model number, including the variant suffix that encodes size or configuration.

Finish, fabric and trim codes exactly as the vendor writes them — plus the grade, and COM yardage where it applies.

Dimensions as specified, so a substitution can be checked against the plan without re-measuring.

Quantity and the room it belongs to, which is what becomes the sidemark.

Price: net cost, your markup and the client price, kept in the record even if only one of them appears on the client's copy.

Lead time and freight terms, because they set the install date and decide who owns the goods in transit.

Common questions

What is the difference between a spec sheet and a schedule?: A spec sheet describes one item completely. A schedule lists many items in a table, keyed by room or by mark, so that a contractor can see everything that applies to a space at once. You need both: the schedule for coordination, the spec for ordering.
Who writes the specification — the designer or the vendor?: The designer writes it; the vendor's acknowledgement confirms it. Treat the acknowledgement as a proofreading task rather than a formality, because it is the last moment a wrong finish code is free to correct.