Project Fee Budgeting for Architects Sadly, there’s no way for an architect to guarantee their projects will be profitable, let alone earn a minimum 20% Net Profit at the completion of any project. There are however ‘best practices’ to apply to ensure that a project is profitable and to even successfully earn a minimum Net Profit of 20%. In my professional opinion, one of the best practices to apply in advance of providing a client with a proposed fee is to always invest the time and expense … [Read more...]
Financial Investing for Your Future (Transcript)
This is the transcript from EntreArchitect Podcast Episode 227, Financial Investing for Your Future. Listen to this podcast episode or download the audio file here. ***Start Transcript*** Mark R. LePage: Do you know if your firm is profitable? Do you know how much profit you're actually making? Do you? Do you know how much profit you should be making? Do you know how much you should be charging to make that profit? Well, you can learn how by downloading our free course … [Read more...]
Three Financial Basics
Every
Entrepreneur Architect
MUST Understand
Financial Management Terminology for Architects For many design professionals the subject of Financial Management is complex and can become problematic if the terminology used in the discussion or writing of this subject are not precise. For clarity, the term, Financial Management, refers to the accrual-basis accounting process of a professional design firm. Accrual-basis accounting is primarily used to determine true profitability and the metrics, or key financial performance indicators … [Read more...]
How Project Accounting Will Transform Your Architecture Firm
Take the Time to Examine Project Financials—You Won’t Regret It Your projects have many moving parts, and sometimes tracking their financials might seem overwhelming. You might not get all the information you want or maybe, you don’t even bother to determine the profitability of each project because it would involve too much time. It’s completely understandable, but if you want to get serious about boosting your firm’s efficiency and profitability, you need to start monitoring your project … [Read more...]
10 Ways An Architect Can Make More Money
This is an edited repost from deep in the archives. Originally published on the week of this blog’s relaunch on December 12, 2012, this article has been the most popular week in, week out. Leave a comment below or post your thoughts over that The EntreArchitect Community Facebook Group and share your tips and tricks. How do YOU make more money? To successfully complete a project, an architect is responsible for making thousands of critical decisions. To complete the development of a … [Read more...]
How To Measure Your Financial Performance as an Architect
The material for preparing an annual budget, an annual profit plan, developing project fee budgets, and calculating billing rates—is the stuff of financial planning. Each is a type of forecast that serves as a benchmark for financial management. Annual profit plans and annual budgets are your firm’s financial goals expressed in dollars—your vision of what you hope your firm will achieve in the coming year. Accurate project fee budgets and profitable billing rates are your tools for achieving … [Read more...]
Putting First Things First for Balance & Prosperity
How To Get To The Business of Your Business In a recent conversation with a professional colleague who is a small firm practitioner (3 people total), he expressed his frustration with not being able to get to the ‘business of his business’. The demands of clients and project activities, plus other daily priorities leaves precious little time to do what he realizes is necessary to sustain his firm financially, from a management perspective. This young architect loves to spend the time … [Read more...]
The Financial Chart of Accounts for Architects
This is a guest post written by Steve L. Wintner, AIA, Emeritus, an architecture management consultant and co-author of the book, Financial Management for Design Professionals: The Path to Profitability. To learn more about Steve, his firm Management Consulting Services or to dive deeper into the subject that Steve is sharing with us here at EntreArchitect, visit his website at ManagementConsultingServices.com. The Financial Management Cycle Effective financial management is a … [Read more...]
A Financial Management System for Architects
This is a guest post written by Steve L. Wintner, AIA, Emeritus, an architecture management consultant and co-author of the book, Financial Management for Design Professionals: The Path to Profitability. To learn more about Steve, his firm Management Consulting Services or to dive deeper into the subject that Steve is sharing with us here at EntreArchitect, visit his website at ManagementConsultingServices.com. A Financial Management System for Architects & the ‘P2P Format’ The vital … [Read more...]
Bookkeeping Basics for Small Firm Architects
Helping Firms Embrace the Language of Business “Bookkeeping?!?! Psshh. It’s confusing, boring, and I don’t want to do it!” “I went to school for architecture, not business!” “Pencils I know, scales and tracing paper I know! Deciphering the client’s needs and wants? Bring it on! But bookkeeping?!?! What manner of evil is this?" These are the sentiments of many firms in the architecture community. There’s absolutely nothing creative about it and yet it is crucial to the growth of all … [Read more...]
How To Build a Successful Architecture Firm With No Debt
For the first four years, Fivecat Studio could be found at a basement studio in our little cottage in the woods of Chappaqua, New York. The space was just large enough for one Dell workstation, a couple of bookshelves, a desk chair, a telephone, five cats and me. Each morning I would eat breakfast, kiss Annmarie good-bye and “commute” down 12 steps to Fivecat Studio World Headquarters. We were 29 years old and life was good. Annmarie’s studio was in another room on the main level of the … [Read more...]
Financial Management for Architects
This is a guest post written by Steve L. Wintner, AIA, Emeritus, an architecture management consultant and co-author of the book, Financial Management for Design Professionals: The Path to Profitability. To learn more about Steve, his firm Management Consulting Services or to dive deeper into the subject that Steve is sharing with us here at EntreArchitect, visit his website at ManagementConsultingServices.com. Financial Management for Architects & the ‘P2P Format’ The vital relationship … [Read more...]