ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
Architecture Firm Management: Fees, Stages and Cash Flow
The client approved the concept drawings three weeks ago, and the working drawings are half done, but the second stage bill has not gone out because nobody wanted to upset them. Meanwhile your draughtsmen are redoing the plan for the fifth time.
We advise principals on running the practice: fee structure by stage, hours per drawing set, billing triggers, site visit costs and who in the office decides what. We do not design buildings or give engineering or approval advice. Council and licensing questions go to the professionals responsible for them.
Discuss your priorities ↗COMMON CHALLENGES
The pressures
we often see.
- 01Fees are agreed as a percentage of project cost, but design changes after approval pile on hours that nobody bills as an extra.
- 02Stage bills wait for the principal to remember them, so payments for finished drawings arrive months after the work and cash runs thin before festival season.
- 03Junior architects spend days on presentation boards for projects that may never convert, and the cost never appears in any sheet.
- 04Site supervision visits are quoted loosely, then eat travel time across several sites, and the principal ends up covering them for free.
- 05The principal reviews every sheet personally, so work queues up on one desk and the firm cannot take another project until something finishes.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01Fee split across concept, design development, working drawings and site stages, written on the work order
- 02Billing trigger for each stage: what document the client signs before the next bill is raised
- 03Drawing hours logged per project against the hours assumed when the fee was quoted
- 04A change-request log with date, what changed, hours added and whether it was billed
- 05Site visit schedule with travel hours per site, and a rate card for visits beyond those quoted
- 06Who in the office can check a drawing set before it goes to the principal
- 07Consultant fees (structural, MEP, garden design) as pass-through or inside your fee, stated plainly in the agreement
- 08Enquiry tracker showing project type, budget band, last follow-up date and reason for decline
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- List every project where a stage is finished and not yet billed. Beside each, write the stage, the amount and who will send the bill. Send at least two before the week ends.
- Pick one live project and add up the hours your team logged since the last stage bill. Compare with what you assumed when you quoted the fee.
- Hypothetical example: you quoted ₹3,00,000 for working drawings on 300 hours, a rate of ₹1,000 an hour. If the team has already spent 360 hours with the drawings unfinished, the stage is running at a loss.
- Write down who checks a drawing set before you do. If nobody does, name one senior person and give them a one-page checklist to try on the next set.
A PRACTICAL ENGAGEMENT
Start with the priorities
that matter most.
We begin by understanding how your business runs today, find the gaps, and agree the scope in writing. Recommendations are shaped around your team, your resources and your goals.
- A stage-wise billing schedule template with release triggers, sign-off lines and a collections calendar
- A one-page project sheet comparing assumed hours with actual hours for each live project
- A change-request form and fee rule for post-approval revisions
- A review checklist so a senior associate can sign off a drawing set before the principal sees it
Not the right fit when: If the real issue is a stalled approval, a structural concern or a dispute with a contractor, you need the relevant professional or a lawyer. We deal with how the practice runs, not with design or compliance.
Explore a business audit ↗LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
