When an AV consultant offers to put 1Install forward for a project in return for a fee, our answer is no: we prefer to deal directly with the client, and we do not pay consultants to recommend us. As an AV installer working in Dublin and Cork, we think clients are entitled to know that, and to know why.
Our policy as an AV installer, in plain words
- We prefer to work directly for the client. On a project we take on directly, our contract is with the business owner, facilities manager, IT manager or school that owns the room.
- We do not pay consultants for an introduction. No fee, no commission and no payment for a place on a tender list.
- You see the costs before you commit. Our proposals are built to be explored and adjusted, with the costs shown as you go.
- We are happy to work beside a consultant you have appointed and are paying yourself. What we will not do is pay to be recommended.
That is the whole policy. The rest of this post explains why we hold it.
Why a fee paid to the adviser costs the client
Consultants have approached 1Install offering to recommend us for projects in return for a fee. Every one of those approaches came with a fee, and every time we said no. We are not going to name anyone, and we have no quarrel with consultants as a profession. We do not suggest that anybody who approached us broke the law, either. It is simply not how we choose to win work.
The trouble is easy to see from the client's side of the table. A client takes on a consultant to get an impartial view of which installer and which equipment suit the room. Suppose two installers are in the running, and one of them has agreed to pay the consultant. The advice is no longer impartial, however well meant.
There is a second cost. If the client is never told about the payment, they end up funding it, because in practice a fee like that comes out of the installer's price. And work starts to flow to whoever pays to be recommended, not to whoever designs the best system at a fair price.
The debate behind this post
This post was prompted by two headlines. On 16 September 2026 AV Magazine's website, AV Interactive, ran one article titled "AVIXA urged to look again at risk of bias in AV consultants" and another titled "Strengthening AVIXA's independent/affiliate framework". AVIXA, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, is the AV industry's trade body. We have no intention of summarising that debate here, or of picking a side. The first headline is enough to show that bias in advice is a live question, and for us it comes down to who pays the adviser. The article is at avinteractive.com/news/business/avixa-urged-to-look-again-at-risk-of-bias-in-av-consultants-16-09-2026/.
AVIXA's Consultants Council page already separates two kinds of consultant. An independent consultant, it says, is paid only for consulting and takes no benefits from manufacturers, suppliers, vendors or third parties. An affiliate consultant works for, or is aligned with, a manufacturer, vendor or supplier, and may be given incentives to recommend particular products or services. Either kind is expected to say which they are and to manage conflicts of interest. For a client, knowing that the two categories exist is half the battle.
What Irish law says about corrupt payments
We also see this as a matter of law, with one caution: this section sets out our policy and our understanding, and it is not legal advice.
Under the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018, a person who corruptly offers or gives a gift, consideration or advantage as an inducement to, or reward for, any person doing an act in relation to their office, employment, position or business is guilty of an offence. So is a person who corruptly requests, accepts or agrees to accept one. The Act says that acting corruptly includes acting with an improper purpose.
A company can be guilty of an offence too, where a director, manager, employee, agent or subsidiary commits one with the intention of obtaining or retaining business for it. The company's defence is to prove that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the offence.
None of this means that every referral arrangement is corrupt. A fee the client has been told about and has accepted is not the same as a concealed one, and whether a given payment is an offence turns on the facts. But hidden commissions and undisclosed conflicts of interest, where a trusted adviser is quietly paid by the firm they recommend, are the kind of conduct that anti corruption law exists to deal with. So we keep it simple and do not pay consultants to recommend us. To be plain about it: 1Install is opposed to bribery of any kind.
Where an independent consultant fits
A consultant appointed and paid by the client, with no other income from the project, does a valuable job: preparing the brief, weighing the tenders and inspecting the finished work. We are glad to work alongside one and to have our design questioned.
For a client who has not appointed one, our process sets out how we work with you directly: survey, design, a proposal, installation and support, for anything from a single meeting room to a full fit out.
Five questions for anyone who recommends an installer
- Who pays you for this recommendation, and what are they paying for?
- Does any installer or manufacturer you recommend pay you a commission, a referral fee or any other benefit?
- Would AVIXA's definitions make you an independent or an affiliate consultant?
- Will you put your answer in writing?
- Can the installer's quote be itemised, so I can see what I am paying for?
You are welcome to ask us the same questions. You can budget a room yourself with our meeting room quote builder, find out more about 1Install, or see how we fit Teams Rooms in Dublin and Teams Rooms in Cork.
Questions we are often asked
Does 1Install pay consultants for referrals?
No. We do not pay AV consultants a fee, a commission or an introduction payment to put us forward. We have been asked, and we have said no every time.
Why does it matter who pays the consultant?
Because the consultant's value to you is their independence. If an installer is paying them, you cannot be sure the recommendation is about your room. A payment you are not told about also tends to find its way into the price.
Can we bring our own consultant to a 1Install project?
Yes. If you have appointed a consultant and you are paying their fee, we are glad to work to their brief and to have our design and our quote reviewed. The one thing we ask is that no payment changes hands between the consultant and us.
Are referral fees illegal in Ireland?
Not necessarily. Whether a payment is an offence under the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018 depends on the facts, including whether it was offered or accepted corruptly. A solicitor can answer that for a particular case; this post is not legal advice. Our own policy is simply not to pay consultants for recommendations.
How can a client tell whether advice is independent?
Ask who is paying the adviser and for what, and ask for the answer in writing. AVIXA's Consultants Council expects its consultant members to disclose which category they are in, so an open answer should be easy to give.
Book a consultation or call Dublin on 01 906 9326 or Cork on 021 202 8107.
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