Specification sheet template: enough detail to order without a phone call
A free interior design spec sheet template for Google Sheets and Excel, covering model numbers, finish codes, COM, dimensions, freight terms and pricing. No email required.
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. If the spreadsheet is becoming the system, see how NYA keeps product selections and approvals connected.
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.