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From Blueprint to Breakdown: 5 Signs Your Architecture Firm’s Resource Management is Off the Rails

2023-07-13T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Birdview PSA

In the world of architecture, where every project is a confluence of art, science, and logistics, resource management practices and discipline stand as the pillars holding the structure together. Without solid resource management practices, even the most visionary architectural project risks collapsing like a house of cards. On the flip side, architecture firms with mature resource management practices not only avoid this pitfall but actually thrive, growing faster and enjoying higher profit margins.

In this article, we explore some of the signs that your resource management might be in need of fortification and how embracing a strategic approach can be the bedrock of your firm's growth and profitability.

Sign #1: Your Billable Utilization Is Low

Resource utilization report. Image courtesy of Birdview PSA.

In architecture firms, billable utilization is a critical metric. When it’s low, it means that employees are spending a significant amou...

Resource management for architects: Mosaic addresses 6 ways AI optimizes project and resource planning for firms

2021-11-08T08:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Mosaic

In the architecture and engineering industry, firm leadership often find themselves making decisions based on instinct and fear that they don’t have enough work. But the end result is that you’re always at the mercy of the business. Everyone needs visibility into what’s happening to ensure you have control over your projects rather than them controlling you.

Fortunately, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled a more efficient and strategic approach to firm management. Here are six examples from AI-powered resource management software Mosaic.

Suggesting Projects for People

Recommending projects in Mosaic.

It’s Friday morning, and you’re in a planning meeting for the following week. Your mission is to ensure every team member has enough work to keep them busy—easier said than done. You have to know:

What everyone is working on
What deadlines are coming up across potential projects
Team skills, roles, industries, or other project req...

BQE Software Secures Significant Growth Investment from Serent Capital

2021-03-24T19:27:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by BQE Software

The investment further enhances the company's position as a technology leader for professional service firms.

BQE, a leading cloud-based software provider to professional service firms, recently announced that the company received a significant investment from Serent Capital, a growth-focused private equity firm that invests in technology and tech-enabled software companies.

Founded by Shafat Qazi in 1995, BQE Software quickly became a leader in time billing and project management for professional service firms with its original product, BillQuick. After acquiring ArchiOffice and EngineerOffice in 2009, BQE solidified its foothold in the architecture and engineering industries, while expanding the company's offerings to include project accounting and human resource management.

Image courtesy of BQE

“I am pleased to have found an amazing partner with Serent Capital,” said Shafat Qazi, CEO & Founder of BQE Software. “It was extremely importan...

Managing different personalities in the workplace

2020-01-14T11:32:00-05:00

Architecture is a highly collaborative practice that calls us to work with many different kinds of people. Sometimes this brings challenges. With firms seeking to build diverse teams, a diversity of personalities and work styles can be forgotten. Particularly for leaders, it can be bewildering to navigate such a large group of people. As a part of Harvard Business Review's The New Science of Team Chemistry series, Suzanne M. Johnson Vickberg and Kim Christfort with Business Chemistry, a workplace personality classification system write:

"Organizations aren’t getting the performance they need from their teams...But often, the fault doesn’t lie with the team members, our research suggests. Rather, it rests with leaders who fail to effectively tap diverse work styles and perspectives..."

Through research of more than 190,000 professionals, the pair share the differences between four primary work styles, each with their unique strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and triggers.

Four worki...

7 Strategies to Prevent Past Due Invoices

2019-12-05T09:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by BQE Core

How many times have you sent a client past-due invoices, only to hear nothing back?

Small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the U.S. were owed $825 billion in 2016, according to figures released by invoicing financing company Fundbox. And the value of funds tied up in unpaid SME invoices is equivalent to 5% of the GDP!

If you have late payments from your clients, you aren’t alone. In fact, just 30% of businesses in a recent survey by YouGov said all their invoices had been paid on time.

Past-due invoices can have a crippling effect on your business. When an architecture firm isn’t paid on time, it can’t take on new projects, hire new employees, or scale very well. And nonpayments can negatively affect the company’s finances.

7 tips for avoiding past due invoices

It takes the average small business 21 days to get paid. And 81% of small business invoices are 30 days past due, according to Fundbox.

Past due invoices may seem like a fact of li...

7 Steps to Improve Cash Flow at Your Architectural Firm

2019-12-03T14:15:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by BQE Core

As an architect, you want to spend your time designing, creating, and innovating. But as a firm principal, you need to make sure you have a healthy cash flow to pay for those projects and support your passions. Manage your cash flow well, and you can stay in business, even when you’re not operating at a profit.

Unfortunately, many companies fail to properly manage profit and cash flow. According to a study by U.S. Bank, 82% of businesses fail due to cash flow mismanagement. And a survey by Fifth Third Bank found that 4 out of 10 small business owners didn’t have enough cash to meet their business goals.

Examine your own processes. How many days after sending and invoice does it take to see a check show up in your back account? Studies put the average collection period for AEC firms between 70 to 80 days. Can you go that long without getting paid for the work you perform?

If you want to avoid the perils of poorly managed cash flow, pay attentio...

8 KPIs That Can Make or Break Your Architecture Firm

2019-11-05T17:49:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by BQE Core

Your world revolves around projects. And while you know it’s important to keep these projects running smoothly and profitably, it’s not always obvious what you should be tracking to ensure the outcome you desire.

The growth and ultimate success of your firm will be determined by the consistency of results. And those results can only be achieved if your team consistently meets desired goals and targets.

Effective key performance indicators (KPIs) are important metrics to make sure that you can accomplish any business objective.

Whether you’re managing 3 or 300 projects, KPIs can help provide an immediate, comprehensive snapshot of your projects’ status and health. This real-time knowledge helps you continuously improve project management workflow, meet deadlines with confidence, and maximize your time.

1. Overhead Multiplier

The overhead multiplier (OHM) is the cost of non-project-related expenditures (such as indirect expenses including in...