Commercial lighting businesses that win more specifications
Lighting design consultancies and commercial lighting suppliers who specify, supply and install need professional proposals, tight project management and accurate job costing. Zigaflow delivers all three.
The complete platform for commercial lighting businesses
Commercial lighting projects involve a long sales cycle, complex product specifications and a delivery process that depends on architects, main contractors and M&E engineers all working in sequence.
Zigaflow gives lighting businesses the tools to manage the full sales and project cycle without the operational overhead.
- Most UK commercial lighting design firms employ between 8 and 40 staff, blending in-house designers with project managers.
- Projects typically range from £15,000 to £500,000, covering offices, retail units, hospitality venues, and industrial facilities.
- Firms juggle multiple concurrent projects with complex BOMs including luminaires, controls, drivers, and bespoke mounting hardware.
- Coordinating between lighting designers, electrical contractors, and main contractors creates frequent specification change and approval delays.
- Manual quoting across spreadsheets and email threads causes version control errors, margin leakage, and slow client response times.
Up and running in four simple steps
Enquiry Capture and Qualification
New project enquiries arrive via architect referrals, contractor tender invitations, direct client contact, or repeat business from existing accounts. Each enquiry is logged with site details, floor plans, specification requirements, and project timeline to assess feasibility and margin potential before committing design resource.
Specification and Proposal Creation
Lighting designers produce detailed luminaire schedules, lux calculations, and control system specifications, which are translated into itemized client proposals with product codes, quantities, and installation allowances. Proposals are issued as branded documents with tiered options or value-engineering alternatives, then tracked for client approval and revision cycles.
Project Delivery and Procurement
Upon award, purchase orders are raised to luminaire manufacturers, distributor suppliers, and controls vendors against confirmed lead times, with procurement tracked against the project programme. Site delivery schedules, installation milestones, and snagging sign-offs are managed to ensure products arrive on time and the project reaches practical completion without delay.
Invoicing, Payment, and Sync
Invoices are raised against project milestones or delivery stages, matching agreed payment terms with main contractors or direct clients, and chased systematically to protect cash flow across concurrent projects. Invoice data, supplier bills, and receipts are synced to accounting software such as Xero or QuickBooks to maintain accurate job costing and period-end reporting.
Want to map out the exact workflow for your business?
Build your workflow free →The problems we solve
Built specifically for your industry - Zigaflow tackles the operational headaches that generic software ignores.
Specification-led sales involve multiple revisions
Commercial lighting specs go through multiple revision cycles as architects and clients change their minds. Each revision requires a new quotation, and version control is a constant problem.
Zigaflow version-controlled quotes track every revision. The client always sees the latest version; your team always knows the history of what was agreed.
Works with your existing tools
Guides written
for your sector
Luminaire Schedule Discipline, Lead Time Management, and Cost Reconciliation for Lighting Designers and Specification Businesses
Lighting specification businesses live and die by four operational disciplines: luminaire schedule accuracy be…
Materials Cost Control for Electrical Contractors: How to Stop Losing Margin Between Quote and Invoice
Electrical contractors regularly win work at the right price only to finish below margin because materials cos…
Architectural & Decorative Lighting
Architectural lighting businesses working on high-end residential and hospitalit…
Explore →Building Automation & Smart Controls
Building automation and controls businesses managing complex system integrations…
Explore →Electrical Wholesalers
Trade counter and online electrical wholesalers serving contractors and installe…
Explore →Emergency & Safety Lighting
Emergency lighting installation and maintenance businesses operating under BS 52…
Explore →Retail Lighting
Retail lighting specialists managing store refits, new openings and multi-site r…
Explore →Ready to grow your Commercial Lighting Design business?
Join hundreds of businesses already using Zigaflow to streamline their operations.






