Budgeting for digital signage: every cost to plan for

Budget for more than the screen. A signage setup needs hardware (the screen, a player and a bracket), the work of getting it on the wall with power and a network connection, the software that runs it, and the time it takes to make and update content. The screen and the software are easy to price up. Installation, cabling and staff time are the ones that get left off, so this guide goes through each cost and what pushes it up or down.

There are no figures here, because hardware prices move around and every wall is different. For the Casty side, see the pricing page.

The screen

This is the biggest single choice. A consumer TV costs less up front and does fine indoors for a screen that runs during opening hours. A commercial display costs more, is built to run long hours every day, and often has the player built in, which saves you buying a separate box. Consumer TV or commercial display goes through the choice properly.

What pushes the price of a screen up:

• Size. Work it out from how far away people stand when they read it, and buy for that distance.
• Brightness. A screen facing the street through a window needs a high-brightness display to be readable in daylight, and those cost noticeably more than indoor screens.
• Outdoor use. A beer garden screen needs a weatherproof housing or a purpose-built outdoor display, which is a different price bracket altogether.
• Portrait mounting. If a screen will hang on its side, you may need a commercial display, since many home TVs aren't designed for it.

Price each screen separately. The window screen and the menu board above the counter have different jobs and can be different models.

The player

Every screen needs a player unless the player's built into the display.

An Amazon Signage Stick or an Android media player plugged into the HDMI port is the low-cost route and suits most single screens. Android is also what you need if screens are going to play in sync, as a video wall or a row of screens along a bar, and those want matching hardware.

A Windows PC is the one for PowerPoint files, and PowerPoint has to be installed on it, so budget for the Office licence as well as the PC. ChromeOS devices need Google's Kiosk and Signage upgrade licence for each device, bought from a Google reseller, on top of the device itself.

Commercial displays from Samsung, LG, Sony, Philips and Hisense can run the player themselves, so there's no box to buy. Check the model with us before you order, because firmware versions and other requirements vary. Choosing a media player compares them all.

Keep one spare stick or box in the office if your screens use them. When a player fails on a Friday, a spare gets the screen back the same evening.

Getting it on the wall

Installation is the easiest part to leave off a budget, and it adds up.

You'll want a bracket for each screen: fixed, tilting, or one that pulls away from the wall so you can get behind it. Check the bracket suits portrait if that's how the screen will hang. Ceiling mounts cost more than wall mounts.

You'll probably want an installer too, unless you're confident drilling into your own walls and the screen's light. Big screens, high walls, plasterboard and old stone all need someone who knows what they're doing, and they'll ask for the wall type and the screen's weight before they quote.

Plan for power at the screen. A socket behind the TV, fitted by an electrician, looks far tidier than an extension lead down the wall and is safer in a busy room. Count a socket for the screen and, if the player's separate, one for that too (a double covers both).

If you're going wired, add network cabling. A cable run while the electrician already has the floorboards up costs much less than coming back to do it later. Trunking or cable covers tidy up anything you can't hide.

If you rent the building, read the lease before drilling. In a listed building, check whether fixing things to the walls needs consent.

The network

A screen needs an internet connection to pick up content and changes. The venue's existing Wi-Fi is often enough, as long as the signal's decent where the screen hangs. If it isn't, budget for an access point nearer the screens or a cabled connection. Screens that play in sync need a wired connection. Wi-Fi or wired covers the options.

The software

Casty is hosted, so there's no server to buy and nothing to install on your computers. You log in from a browser on a laptop, tablet or phone. What you pay depends on how many screens and sites you have, and the pricing page has the details.

When you compare signage services, check what's included in the price you're quoted: player software updates, help when something goes wrong, logins for your staff, and features such as scheduling or running several sites.

Content

Someone has to make what goes on the screens. That's either your time or a designer's.

Templates keep this cheap, and if you already make posters in a design app you can upload them as they are. Photography is worth paying for if food is the main thing you sell, because a good photo of the burger will sell more burgers than a clever layout.

Video costs more to make than still images and takes longer to upload and download to each screen. If a video plays with sound in a public area, check your music licensing covers it. And if your brand uses a paid font, check its licence allows use on screens before you upload it.

Then there's the ongoing time. Set aside a regular slot each week for someone to keep offers, events and prices current. With menu boards and datasets the day-to-day changes take moments (a new price, a dish marked as sold out), but someone still has to do them.

Running costs

Electricity is the obvious one. A screen left on overnight costs money and does nothing. On hardware that supports it, operating hours switch the screens off while you're closed, and saving energy with screen operating hours explains how.

Replacements come next. Sticks and home TVs that run long days won't last as long as commercial kit built for the job, so expect to replace them sooner.

And your time looking after the screens. With status and screenshots in the CMS, most of that happens from a laptop, without a trip to each screen.

Putting the budget together

Work it out per screen, then add the costs that cover the whole setup.

For each screen:

• the screen itself
• a player, unless it's built in
• a bracket
• installation
• a socket and, if wired, a network point
• cable covers or trunking

Once, for the whole setup:

• the software (see the pricing page)
• a spare player
• content: templates, photos, a designer if you use one
• someone's time each week

Start with the one or two screens that will earn their keep fastest, often the menu board or the screen where people queue, and add more once you've seen how they get used. Everything goes into the same account, so a new screen later means one more player to connect.