i'm about to do a conversion of a basement space into habitable rooms up to design development phase. what should be the guidelines for assesing the fees. charge per sq. ft? potential cost of project? time spent? the last two difficult to estimate now.
Maybe charge a reduced rate (IMHO) for travel within a certain distance, but start the clock running as soon as you leave your orffice/home.
Be able to provide a running total, so that the client doesn't get surprised at the end of the project with a bill that's twice what they thought it would be. Be meticulous in billing your time, so that the client can tell that you actually spent XYZ hours and aren't just guessing.
Finally, IMHO, bill for time spent on the phone with the client. I've heard some people don't do this, and I think it's mandatory.
Clients always want everything NOW. Calculate an estimate of time which accounts for a normal and productive pace x $30/hr. and then give your self a little bit a cushion (maybe 2 or 3 extra days) in case your plotting goes haywire. At the end, you will finish before schedule, you will have two options a)go to the beach and get payed by the hour to get a tan, or b)goe to client and tell them you expedited the project to your full capability and that you finished two days before schedule (they'll love you).
how accurately can one estimate to the hour how long it would take to do a design. i can give a ball park estimate of say a week to do a job but to get it down to no of hours in the week may seem to me to a little of a guestestimate.
how does one strike a balance b/n giving the client a competitive quote and providing some 'cushion' for a more involved design than anticipated?
Think of similar previous projects and how long they have taken you. Also put your self on their end, would you want to wait four months for a 900 sq.ft. guest house? It does become a guestimate, specially if there are change orders from part of the owner, and if you are just starting; but, do not make the mistake of thinking that because you are just starting you are going to give away your knowledge and professionalism. You are in a business called architecture, you need to pay bills and make money so you can have fun. With that said, set your self a bar, and that bar should be at least $30/hr., as far as being competitive, don't worry about it, you will never know if you are or if you aren't, I would assume that you are being competititve already by only charging $30/hr. (which is dirt cheap for any professional service). In regards to the cushion, this 'cushion' should be a couple of days more or even weeks if that makes you feel comfortable. You need time for the things that could and will go wrong, this time includes those situations in which your client will come in and say........."hmmmm, you know yoiyoi, I was talking to my neighbor this past weekend, and aaaaaa, well she adviced that we should have two more rooms for guests, and aaaaa each room should have a 300 sq.ft. bathrrom". So what I'm trying to say is that the extra cushion is part of what makes a professional service, it makes the ride smooth for you and for them. Please refer to my previous post to see what you can do if you don't use your extra time.
If you've never done it before and don't feel comfortable estimating your time - I think you will have a better result if you either charge a low enough fee that your clients aren't worried about how long it takes (could be $30/hour, but maybe more like 20 depending on where you are) or a fixed fee... People are understandibly uncomfortable with agreeing to sign a contract when they have no idea how much it might add up to be. We prefer to do projects on a percentage basis at this point because then the design fees at least have some obvious relationship to the budget and it's easier for clients to guage and grasp. on the other hand, on smaller jobs where we just do design drawings and don't have to do permit drawings charging a percentage often seems like too much money and so we do it hourly. the catch with that is when you estimate, clients really don't like to pay more than what you estimate it will be - but if you don't give them a number they are hesitant to sign up. We find we usually end up just charging the amount we estimated, and often work more than that and "lose money" (though it's all relative), which is why we hope to only have bigger jobs for percentage in the future and not have to worry anymore - or have clients that make so much money that our hourly fee seems like nothing. You will learn what works for you in time, for now just pick something that doesn't leave you working for pennies and have fun with it.
Aug 3, 04 1:02 am ·
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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT FEES
i'm about to do a conversion of a basement space into habitable rooms up to design development phase. what should be the guidelines for assesing the fees. charge per sq. ft? potential cost of project? time spent? the last two difficult to estimate now.
any ideas and suggestions welcome.
time spens + expenses
$30/hr. (doesn't include any other expenses other than your valuable time as a professional). Give them a timelime and stick to it. Good luck.
Hourly rate plus any expenses.
Maybe charge a reduced rate (IMHO) for travel within a certain distance, but start the clock running as soon as you leave your orffice/home.
Be able to provide a running total, so that the client doesn't get surprised at the end of the project with a bill that's twice what they thought it would be. Be meticulous in billing your time, so that the client can tell that you actually spent XYZ hours and aren't just guessing.
Finally, IMHO, bill for time spent on the phone with the client. I've heard some people don't do this, and I think it's mandatory.
Don't forget to write up a contract that details:
-what you are doing
-how much it will cost
-and fees for changes
Don't agree to a flat fee, you'll always get screwed with change orders. You can give them an estimate for the total, but bill hourly.
in charging per hour doesn't it appear that the quicker you work the less you get paid for a particular job?
yoiyoi,
Clients always want everything NOW. Calculate an estimate of time which accounts for a normal and productive pace x $30/hr. and then give your self a little bit a cushion (maybe 2 or 3 extra days) in case your plotting goes haywire. At the end, you will finish before schedule, you will have two options a)go to the beach and get payed by the hour to get a tan, or b)goe to client and tell them you expedited the project to your full capability and that you finished two days before schedule (they'll love you).
how accurately can one estimate to the hour how long it would take to do a design. i can give a ball park estimate of say a week to do a job but to get it down to no of hours in the week may seem to me to a little of a guestestimate.
how does one strike a balance b/n giving the client a competitive quote and providing some 'cushion' for a more involved design than anticipated?
Think of similar previous projects and how long they have taken you. Also put your self on their end, would you want to wait four months for a 900 sq.ft. guest house? It does become a guestimate, specially if there are change orders from part of the owner, and if you are just starting; but, do not make the mistake of thinking that because you are just starting you are going to give away your knowledge and professionalism. You are in a business called architecture, you need to pay bills and make money so you can have fun. With that said, set your self a bar, and that bar should be at least $30/hr., as far as being competitive, don't worry about it, you will never know if you are or if you aren't, I would assume that you are being competititve already by only charging $30/hr. (which is dirt cheap for any professional service). In regards to the cushion, this 'cushion' should be a couple of days more or even weeks if that makes you feel comfortable. You need time for the things that could and will go wrong, this time includes those situations in which your client will come in and say........."hmmmm, you know yoiyoi, I was talking to my neighbor this past weekend, and aaaaaa, well she adviced that we should have two more rooms for guests, and aaaaa each room should have a 300 sq.ft. bathrrom". So what I'm trying to say is that the extra cushion is part of what makes a professional service, it makes the ride smooth for you and for them. Please refer to my previous post to see what you can do if you don't use your extra time.
If you've never done it before and don't feel comfortable estimating your time - I think you will have a better result if you either charge a low enough fee that your clients aren't worried about how long it takes (could be $30/hour, but maybe more like 20 depending on where you are) or a fixed fee... People are understandibly uncomfortable with agreeing to sign a contract when they have no idea how much it might add up to be. We prefer to do projects on a percentage basis at this point because then the design fees at least have some obvious relationship to the budget and it's easier for clients to guage and grasp. on the other hand, on smaller jobs where we just do design drawings and don't have to do permit drawings charging a percentage often seems like too much money and so we do it hourly. the catch with that is when you estimate, clients really don't like to pay more than what you estimate it will be - but if you don't give them a number they are hesitant to sign up. We find we usually end up just charging the amount we estimated, and often work more than that and "lose money" (though it's all relative), which is why we hope to only have bigger jobs for percentage in the future and not have to worry anymore - or have clients that make so much money that our hourly fee seems like nothing. You will learn what works for you in time, for now just pick something that doesn't leave you working for pennies and have fun with it.
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