Archinect - News

5 Tips for Getting Clients to Pay You on Time

2017-10-09T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by BQE Core.

Putting up with a late-paying client every now and then is definitely annoying, but it usually won't break the bank. If late payments become a regular occurrence, however, you should take action by better communicating with your clients. Otherwise, you risk hurting your cash flow and damaging your firm. Here are 5 ways to avoid a cash crunch by doing your part to help clients make their payments on time.

Verbally read over contracts together

You just received a signed contract from your client. But does that mean your client actually read it and remembers all the details—including payment deadlines? Don't just get a signature from them and tuck the contract away in your file cabinet. Call your client on the phone (or better yet, meet in person) to verbally go over important sections of the contract, including when you're expecting to get paid.

Side note: Going through the contract with your client will also help you manage their expectations ...

Is Your Architectural Firm a Practice or Business?

2016-11-14T09:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by BQE ArchiOffice.

In my experience, most firm owners don’t appreciate the significance of being at the helm of a business. At the risk of sounding cliché, they run a “practice” and they operate it as if they’re just… well… practicing. This problem is evident in each firm’s mission statement. Of the many I’ve read, only a handful acknowledge the firm’s ultimate goal is to sustain itself and be a profitable, successful business. This is a primary reason why architects are notoriously under-compensated.

Mostly, firms use the mission statement as an opportunity to echo what every architecture school pounded into our brains: something touching upon the noble pursuit of our profession, improving the built environment, serving our clients and helping the planet. Neither our employees nor our clients can differentiate one firm from another. Imagine showing up at a conference and everyone is handed a name tag that reads “Joe.” Not much sense in that. Why bother ...

Quickly Recover from Missing Billable Hours and Miscalculated Project Costs

2016-10-10T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by BQE ArchiOffice.

Learn how this Brisbane-based architectural firm is enjoying faster cash flow now.

About

Based in West End, Brisbane, Tim Bennetton Architects is a small, private architectural firm with a single director and three employees. They work in an intimate, responsive environment that collectively values good design, simplicity and positive relationships. This Australian firm goes above and beyond for their clients to ensure that the joy remains through the ups and downs of their projects – from the initial meeting through to completion. Tim Bennetton and his team offer unparalleled service that provides excellent design, as well as an experience in transforming that vision into reality.

Background

Prior to finding the right software for their firm, Tim Bennetton Architects encountered many time tracking issues that made it difficult to estimate project costs and profits. “We used something called Timesheet Professional, which tracked our ti...

Financial Management for the Small Architectural Firm 101

2016-09-12T08:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by BQE ArchiOffice.

Providing great architectural services and running a financially successful firm are not mutually exclusive. It’s quite the contrary. If you are as good an architect as you think, you’ll be successful and it won’t be because of your design skills. However, what separates the great–struggling designers from the great-successful designers isn’t just luck.

It’s not your fault that after all the years of education and training you endured to become an architect, you don’t know the first thing about how to run a business. Sure, you can design – like nobody’s business – but do you truly understand the difference between income and revenue? How about a credit and debit? Do you know what an overhead factor is and why it’s so critical? Do you know what your minimum billing rate is? Did you ever sit down and map out your firm’s operating budget?

Chances are the answer to all these questions is no. So let’s get to work and get you on the right tr...

7 Bookkeeping Tips for Architects

2016-08-08T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by BQE ArchiOffice.

Many architects struggle with staying on top of their finances. After all, they were trained to draw and design, not how to run a business. Here are seven bookkeeping tips to help you better manage your finances with innovative tools.

1. Get Comfortable with Reporting
The first tip is to get comfortable with the reporting system of your accounting software. You spend money on bookkeeping so that you can get valuable information out of the system. This is precisely where the reports come in. If you have a good working knowledge of the reporting area of your accounting system, then you can pull reports, analyze your business and make decisions based on that. Of course you should also consult your bookkeeping and/or accounting professional for help understanding the reports, especially if something doesn’t make sense to you.

2. Know Your Numbers
The second tip comes right on the heels of the second. You should have a working knowledge of ho...