Specification sheet template: enough detail to order without a phone call
A per-item interior design spec sheet template covering model numbers, finish codes, COM, dimensions, freight terms and pricing — everything a purchase order is raised from. Free CSV, no email.
By Idan Mann, founder of NYA
The short answer
A specification sheet records one item completely enough that someone who has never spoken to you could order it. This template covers the eighteen fields a purchase order is raised from — model number, finish codes, COM, dimensions, freight terms and pricing — as a fill-in CSV.
The test of a specification is whether it survives you being unavailable. Not "the walnut one" — the finish code. Not "the large size" — the model number that produces it. Every ambiguity left in a spec becomes a phone call, and every phone call is a place where the wrong item enters production.
What each column carries
One sheet per item. The fields map one-to-one onto the columns of the FF&E schedule, so a schedule row and a spec sheet are the same record at two levels of detail.
| Field | What goes in it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Spec # | Matches the item number on the schedule. One number, used everywhere. | LR-04 |
| Room / location | Where it goes, named as the drawings name it. | Living Room |
| Item | Plain description for anyone reading who is not a specifier. | Lounge chair |
| Manufacturer | Who makes it, which is not always who you buy it from. | Vitra |
| Collection | The line or series. Needed when a model number is only unique within a collection. | Grand Repos |
| Model # | With the variant suffix. Copied from the vendor, not retyped. | AC-402-L |
| Finish code | As the vendor writes it. 'Oak' is not a finish code; 'OAK-NAT-04' is. | OAK-NAT-04 |
| Fabric / material | Including grade, pattern direction and repeat where they apply. | F-220, Grade C |
| COM details | Yardage required, the fabric being supplied, the mill and its lead time. Production does not start until this lands at the factory. | 6.5 yd, Kravet 34567-11, railroaded |
| Dimensions | W × D × H as specified, plus seat height or clearances where they matter to the plan. | 32" W × 34" D × 30" H, SH 16" |
| Weight / crated size | What decides whether it fits a lift, turns a stair, or needs two people. Ask before install day. | 68 lb / 38" × 40" × 36" crated |
| Quantity | For this location. Identical items in two rooms are two specifications, because they ship, arrive and install separately. | 2 |
| Net cost | Your price after the trade discount, per unit. | 2400.00 |
| Markup % | The markup applied to this line, recorded here so the client price can be derived rather than remembered. | 35 |
| Client price | Derived from net cost and markup, never typed — a hand-entered price is a price that disagrees with the invoice. | 3740.00 |
| Lead time quoted | In weeks, with the date quoted and whether it includes transit. It usually does not. | 12 wks, quoted 2026-07-31, ex-works |
| Freight terms | Who owns the goods on the truck and who files the claim if they arrive damaged. | FOB factory, prepaid & add |
| Ship to / sidemark | Your receiver's address and the project reference that travels with the cartons. | Metro Receiving / Bergman — Living Rm |
| Installation notes | Anything the installer needs and the drawing does not say — wall anchoring, assembly on site, access constraints. | Assemble on site; base ships separately |
| Client approved | The date the client accepted this specification. Without it, an order is being placed on somebody's memory. | 2026-07-28 |
Spec sheet, tearsheet, schedule
- A [tearsheet](/glossary/tearsheet) is what the client sees: photograph, dimensions, client price. One page, one decision.
- A specification is what you order from: everything above, most of which the client has no use for.
- A [schedule](/resources/templates/furniture-schedule) is every specification in a table, so the project can be seen at once.
Common questions
- How detailed does a spec sheet need to be?
- Detailed enough that a person who has never spoken to you could place the order correctly. That is a testable standard: hand the sheet to someone in your office and ask them to raise the PO without asking you anything.
- Do I need a spec sheet if I already have a schedule?
- For simple stock items the schedule row is usually enough. For anything custom, COM, millwork or high-value, the spec sheet is where the detail lives that will not fit in a row — and it is what you attach to the purchase order.