Is Your Show Services Bill Higher than You Budgeted?

Posted by Cat Virca in Design

You might be able to get money back – you just have to know what to look for.

Sometimes it seems you need a magnifying glass, a fine toothed comb and a map to solve the mystery of the show contractor bill.  The show contractor is the company hired by show management to provide exhibitor services such as material handling, electrical, rigging, cleaning and so on.

Show service bills can be confusing and mistakes often happen by human error such as inputting the wrong number, not reading the numbers correctly or adding inadvertent charges.  This is why you always want to review the bill line by line.   It’s been my experience that as much as 80% of show contractor bills have errors.

There are a multitude of rates – advance discount prices, late pricing, show site rates, over time, surcharges, taxable and non-taxable items.  How do you know which ones are legitimate and which ones might be mischarged?

Have your completed show forms on hand and check them against your bill.  Here are the most common errors:

• Target vs Off Target Move-in – if charged incorrectly, it can cost you 30% more!
• Check labor sheets against the bill –  check the rate and the hours!
• Shipping weights; compare your carrier airbill and certified weight tickets to the amount the show contractor is charging for your material handling weight – it should be within 100 lbs.
• Know how many electrical outlets, cords, and other materials were used on the booth – check it with the electrician before signing the material sheet.
• Quantities of rental furnishings – charged for 6 chairs but you ordered and received only 4 – it happens.

Over the years, I can honestly say that I have saved my clients thousands of dollars by closely reviewing and reconciling show service invoices.  I often find one or more mistakes on each invoice.  More importantly, I was able to reverse the charges in most cases!