3 common programs for painting and maintenance of your national portfolio (+ their pros and cons)

Maintaining a high brand standard across a nationwide portfolio can be a real challenge for property and facility managers. To overcome this, many like to put in place a Painting and Maintenance Program. Here’s a list of the 3 most common programs (and their pros and cons).

1) Funded Maintenance program

The funded maintenance program is a classic program set out in the 1990’s but is largely dying out these days due to better control of funds by companies themselves. It is a system where you will pay a set amount across the timeframe of your contract, but get your portfolio repainted all in the first year. Your contractor will then come and maintain your portfolio for the remainder of the contract.

Pros:

you get your entire portfolio repainted at a fraction of the total cost in the first year,
Your finance team will have an easy job with a fixed maintenance budget over the course of your contract (providing there are no extras)

Cons:

Locked in contract: You will be locked into a contract that you have to honour for the full term. This is something to look out for if you should choose to select this contract because it will mean that if you have a change of mind or staff halfway through, too bad! Live with it.
Highest overall cost: A funded maintenance program will cost you more over the length of the project because you are essentially relying on a coatings specialist to also be your financing company. A way around this would be to consider using a real financing company to fund you if necessary and using a coatings specialist for what they are best at… coatings!

2) Staged Maintenance Program

The staged maintenance program may be the best option to consider if you aren’t doing a radical rebrand or don’t have the funds to get your entire portfolio done in a short space of time. There are 2 ways these mostly play out. The most common way is when you select a certain amount of your portfolio to be done in a certain space of time. For example, if you have 20 stores nationwide, you could set up 4 stores to be repainted every year over a 5 year period and start again at the end. Another option is to establish priority areas for partial maintenance but watch out for expensive reports if you don’t have the means to do this in-house.

Pros:

It’s cost effective: if you are running on a tight budget, this is probably the best option for you. You can establish your budget and work with you contractor to provide to your needs within whatever priorities you have.
You aren’t locked in: if you change your mind or have a rebrand, this will save you thousands of unnecessary dollars. Any reputable Contractor will rely on their rapport rather than locking you into a written timeframe contract. Instead they will write out a plan to suit your needs and set out to fulfil this for you, whether it be 2 years or 10.

Cons:

A lot of communication: A much higher level of communication is required, especially if you choose to work on priority areas. This can also be a positive if the contractor you choose to use has great communication systems like 5x5 and others in place. If your contractor is using subcontractors, this will be more difficult. (good question to ask).
Your whole portfolio won’t be done at once: this isn’t a huge problem in itself if you already have a maintenance program in place. But if you are looking to do a full rebrand, this may not be the right option for you.

3) Up Front Maintenance program

The up front maintenance program is exactly what is says it is, pay upfront, jobs done upfront. This is the best option if you are having a complete rebrand and the most cost effective way of doing things if you have the funds to do so.

Pros:

Lowest cost overall: The reason it is the most cost effective is because your contractor can focus on getting everything done systematically with minimal distractions, bringing the overall cost down.
Great for a full rebrand: as mentioned before, if you want some level of consistency, make sure you have a nationwide contractor rather than a local company calling themselves nationwide, especially if you are in remote locations.

Cons:

The cost is upfront: you need the budget to be able to do this.
Once it’s done, it’s done: this may sound obvious, but be certain of your contractor, all of your colour and branding decisions and so on… this could end up being an expensive operation if there is any misunderstanding.

Essentially, look out for a contractor that can offer quality control and can verify those working on the ground. Find someone that understands your specific needs and can offer what you are looking for. Good luck!