I am an Associate at the firm I work at in Canada. I just brought in a major client (got our foot in the door through personal connections since my friend handles the finances for a developer and let me know they are looking for new architects). The deal has not gone through just yet, but we could be looking at a 300K+ contract, and although it was "personal connections" I did have to put together our portfolio and handle the meetings and essentially "charm" them and convince the client to go with us. It is my first time bringing in a client, it is a part of my job scope as an Associate but my personal contract does not mention a commission for bringing in clients. Is it common to charge a finder's fee in our profession? I have looked into this and their are very mixed messages out there. My sister is a lawyer and they do it all the time at their law firm. It is not clear yet if I will be the project architect for this new job yet since I am very busy but I would still like to get compensated! Should I speak to my boss prior to the contract going through? Any help/advice is much appreciated!
Non Sequitur
Aug 26, 22 12:19 pm
Not common at all... and might be seen the wrong way from other management staff. While you might have brought in this particular client... profitability on the project is not yet known so asking for cash upfront without knowing if the firm will make money is a non-starter. What you should be doing is using this new client as a stepping stone to rise up in the current office and claim a greater % of total office profit shares. A far more reasonable and likely lucrative option vs a one time cash bonus.
musingarchitect
Aug 26, 22 1:25 pm
That is what I was afraid of. I do not want it to be seen the wrong way, especially because I care for this company as if it were my own! Knowing them, they are likely going to pay it out in my year end bonus, but I prefer it doesn't get lumped in with the bonus and for it to be
acknowledged separately. But perhaps that is not how it is done business wise... . They will be opening shares and profit sharing by December to a few of us, and I like the idea of using this client, as a stepping stone and a chance to claim greater profit shares. Thank you!
proto
Aug 26, 22 12:20 pm
if finder's fee not in your contract or office rules, don't expect it
your benefit is likely a bonus at the end of the year for boosting the office income, if the leadership is smart
if no bonus, then bring it up with leadership during reviews cuz that's a big project to secure. If still no love, time to look elsewhere...
Chad Miller
Aug 26, 22 12:29 pm
It's not common in the US. End of year onuses that recognize what you bring to the firm should be expected though. If you don't get one that is sufficient then leave.
reallynotmyname
Aug 26, 22 12:30 pm
And don't ask for or expect anything until your firm has completed and been fully paid for whatever the developer hires them to do.
Also make an effort to understand your firm's profit margin on any work you bring in. For example, don't expect a 20% finders fee when the firm is only going to have 7% profit after expenses.
musingarchitect
Aug 26, 22 1:19 pm
That is a very good point. I never thought about the profit margins. I care for this company as if it were my own. Will try to learn more about the business side of things. I know we charge in phases (normally charging about 50% after preliminary design and prior to submitting for permit) but the last 20% or so I imagine will be paid during construction or when we release construction documents and that could be 1-2 years from now, so will not be ideal to wait for compensation then (however that is really when we will know what the profit margins were).
reallynotmyname
Aug 26, 22 2:22 pm
There is also the profitability aspect determined by how well your bosses at the firm manage the job. You could bring in a project with a totally reasonable scope and fee and then have it run into the ground financially by inefficient principals and PMs.
Everyday Architect
Aug 26, 22 1:36 pm
I'm not going to pretend that this should be the case, but sometimes I wonder if an employee who wants to financially benefit personally from bringing in work (i.e. finder's fee, guaranteed bonus, etc.) would also be willing to take a financial hit personally if they don't bring in enough work (i.e. pay cut rather than laying someone else off, personal loan to cover payroll during slow times, etc.)? This is part of the game when you own the firm, but that's the risk/reward you take on when you own the firm. If you want to be a bit more sheltered from the risk as an employee, perhaps you should also expect to be a bit more removed from the reward?
Of course there is the other side of this that the firm owner should also be willing to do what is needed to encourage the type of employees they want in their firm and retain their talents--namely those people and talents that bring in work, keep clients happy, and make jobs profitable--and if sharing the reward is part of minimizing the risk of losing those employees and the work they could bring to the firm, it should also be factored into the equation.
Bottom line: I don't think there's an issue to having some type of finder's fee, but it's probably something to consider from not just your perspective as an employee, but also from the perspective of your employer and/or the firm partners.
midlander
Aug 26, 22 6:41 pm
at least in bigger corporate firms, bringing in projects is literally the job of senior leadership - they have a target to hit and their bonuses reflect that performance. being able to consistently bring in new clients would be one reason to consider junior staff for promotion towards leading the firm.
if you really enjoyed doing this, talk to your firm leaders and see if they can get you involved in more of this business development part of the work. it's one of several essential functions for the leadership team, and probably the hardest to recruit for. learning the skills to do this consistently and developing judgement on potential good clients would be a valuable skill for your career development.
whistler
Aug 29, 22 4:57 pm
My best finder's fee was taking the project on myself and starting my own firm with a bit more buoyancy of the new project. The project was in 1998, still a client today! That's a long run for a small office.
I am an Associate at the firm I work at in Canada. I just brought in a major client (got our foot in the door through personal connections since my friend handles the finances for a developer and let me know they are looking for new architects). The deal has not gone through just yet, but we could be looking at a 300K+ contract, and although it was "personal connections" I did have to put together our portfolio and handle the meetings and essentially "charm" them and convince the client to go with us. It is my first time bringing in a client, it is a part of my job scope as an Associate but my personal contract does not mention a commission for bringing in clients. Is it common to charge a finder's fee in our profession? I have looked into this and their are very mixed messages out there. My sister is a lawyer and they do it all the time at their law firm. It is not clear yet if I will be the project architect for this new job yet since I am very busy but I would still like to get compensated! Should I speak to my boss prior to the contract going through? Any help/advice is much appreciated!
Not common at all... and might be seen the wrong way from other management staff. While you might have brought in this particular client... profitability on the project is not yet known so asking for cash upfront without knowing if the firm will make money is a non-starter. What you should be doing is using this new client as a stepping stone to rise up in the current office and claim a greater % of total office profit shares. A far more reasonable and likely lucrative option vs a one time cash bonus.
That is what I was afraid of. I do not want it to be seen the wrong way, especially because I care for this company as if it were my own! Knowing them, they are likely going to pay it out in my year end bonus, but I prefer it doesn't get lumped in with the bonus and for it to be acknowledged separately. But perhaps that is not how it is done business wise... . They will be opening shares and profit sharing by December to a few of us, and I like the idea of using this client, as a stepping stone and a chance to claim greater profit shares. Thank you!
if finder's fee not in your contract or office rules, don't expect it
your benefit is likely a bonus at the end of the year for boosting the office income, if the leadership is smart
if no bonus, then bring it up with leadership during reviews cuz that's a big project to secure. If still no love, time to look elsewhere...
It's not common in the US. End of year onuses that recognize what you bring to the firm should be expected though. If you don't get one that is sufficient then leave.
And don't ask for or expect anything until your firm has completed and been fully paid for whatever the developer hires them to do.
Also make an effort to understand your firm's profit margin on any work you bring in. For example, don't expect a 20% finders fee when the firm is only going to have 7% profit after expenses.
That is a very good point. I never thought about the profit margins. I care for this company as if it were my own. Will try to learn more about the business side of things. I know we charge in phases (normally charging about 50% after preliminary design and prior to submitting for permit) but the last 20% or so I imagine will be paid during construction or when we release construction documents and that could be 1-2 years from now, so will not be ideal to wait for compensation then (however that is really when we will know what the profit margins were).
There is also the profitability aspect determined by how well your bosses at the firm manage the job. You could bring in a project with a totally reasonable scope and fee and then have it run into the ground financially by inefficient principals and PMs.
I'm not going to pretend that this should be the case, but sometimes I wonder if an employee who wants to financially benefit personally from bringing in work (i.e. finder's fee, guaranteed bonus, etc.) would also be willing to take a financial hit personally if they don't bring in enough work (i.e. pay cut rather than laying someone else off, personal loan to cover payroll during slow times, etc.)? This is part of the game when you own the firm, but that's the risk/reward you take on when you own the firm. If you want to be a bit more sheltered from the risk as an employee, perhaps you should also expect to be a bit more removed from the reward?
Of course there is the other side of this that the firm owner should also be willing to do what is needed to encourage the type of employees they want in their firm and retain their talents--namely those people and talents that bring in work, keep clients happy, and make jobs profitable--and if sharing the reward is part of minimizing the risk of losing those employees and the work they could bring to the firm, it should also be factored into the equation.
Bottom line: I don't think there's an issue to having some type of finder's fee, but it's probably something to consider from not just your perspective as an employee, but also from the perspective of your employer and/or the firm partners.
at least in bigger corporate firms, bringing in projects is literally the job of senior leadership - they have a target to hit and their bonuses reflect that performance. being able to consistently bring in new clients would be one reason to consider junior staff for promotion towards leading the firm.
if you really enjoyed doing this, talk to your firm leaders and see if they can get you involved in more of this business development part of the work. it's one of several essential functions for the leadership team, and probably the hardest to recruit for. learning the skills to do this consistently and developing judgement on potential good clients would be a valuable skill for your career development.
My best finder's fee was taking the project on myself and starting my own firm with a bit more buoyancy of the new project. The project was in 1998, still a client today! That's a long run for a small office.