Today here at BOS, Haworth Best in Class, we’re going to talk about numbers, two important types of important numbers in fact, and how they come together to create one of most important calculations in contract furniture, cost per square foot.  

On their own, these numbers are pretty obvious. Cost is how much money a client is spending and square feet is the size measurement for the space. Generally speaking, the formula would be determined by dividing the total cost of the space by the total square feet. Sometimes cost is referred to as price, so you may hear it referred to as Price Per Square Foot (or PPSF).  

Cost per square foot is often higher in urban areas. Other factors that can impact this number are location, building class, amenities and lease flexibility.  

We can also break down the ‘cost’ component into various subgroups or budgets. For example, we can take the total furniture spend and divide by total square feet to get a cost per square foot for furniture. We can also do this for things like technology, accessories and branding.  

Finally, understanding the difference between usable square feet, USF, and rentable square feet, RS, can help in accurately communicating cost per square foot numbers.  

Usable square footage is the total space in a building that a company has sole access to, whereas rentable square footage includes any spaces shared with other building tenants. Examples of these spaces could include bathrooms, lobbies and corridors. Depending on the amount of common space in a building, sometimes called a common area factor, a portion of the shared spaces will be calculated for each tenant and used to determine their rentable square feet.  

With all these factors and variations, its easy to understand why cost per square feet can sometimes be more confusing than it might seem. Understanding the different factors will allow you to effectively communicate cost, investment and value to your clients.