LIVE Q&A SESSION 6:
July 23rd, 2020: 5pm (Pacific Time – US & Canada)
Chat Transcript:
Where are you joining from?
Claire:
Montreal
Adam:
Los Angeles
Adrian:
Sydney
Anna:
Atlanta, GA
Robert:
Dallas, Texas
Elizabeth:
Los Angeles
Steven:
San Antonio, Texas
Julia:
Los Angeles, CA
Jefferson:
jefferson from Los Angeles, CA
David:
los angels california
Jeffrey:
Norfolk Virginia
ann:
New York
Jeffrey:
Cincinnati, Ohio
VALERIE:
Indiana US
Susan:
San Diego
Foti:
montreal
Patricia:
Austin, Texas
Sylvia:
Vancouver, BC
Stephanie:
San Diego
brian:
Houston
Drake:
US DC
Nicole:
NYC
Terry:
South Carolina
Juris:
Dallas Texas
james:
brooklyn
michael:
Sydney australia
Gwen:
Austin, texas
Stephanie:
Springfield, MO
Cristina:
toronto
Arlene:
Philadelphia, PA
Arno:
vancouver
Helen:
Sausalito, CA
Joe:
Houston, Texas
Tom:
madison wi
Veronica:
Laredo, Texas
Ted:
vancouver
Adrian:
What is the best way to advise clients of extra fees due for additional work resulting from further documentation required by Council for DA approval, OR changes requested by the client.
Juris:
Fee estimate: I tend to under estimate time for a project. I’ve learned to double the time which comes closer to actual time used.
Helen:
No deposit.
Jeffrey:
always get a retainer
brian:
yes, deposit required
Stephanie:
yes, a deposit
ann:
we ask for it with new clients
michael:
wont start work unless contract signed and 33% down
Jeffrey:
I have started to consider using a flat fee on one payment before starting the work
Susan:
In Interior Design….no money no work
KELVIN:
only for certain project types
Sylvia:
We usually get a retainer which will be applied to the final invoice. Works well, we usually don’t do more work than the amount of the retainer.
Veronica:
limit the number of changes, ask for additional fees after a certain number of changes (not the same as corrections)
Walter:
Ian, Great answer
KELVIN:
As a senior staff member, in person mentoring is more effective
Jeffrey:
My office is private and I limit the clients access, they are all welcome if they bring donuts
Adrian:
I would prefer to be working 50%/50% from work and the office.
Elizabeth:
If your office is a part of your property but separated from the residence, it is still OK.
Jeffrey:
outstanding and thank you very much
Sylvia:
Thank you both, very interesting Q+A.
Adam:
Thanks you!!
Peter:
Thanks you for a very interesting seminar. have a good day
Veronica:
wonderful presentation! thanks!
Ted:
Thank you!
Jamal:
Thank you
Steven:
Thank you for the great information!
Susan:
Fabulous!!
Henrik:
All very interesting/relevant. Thank you
Juris:
Great discussions!
Susan:
Yes possibly suzi@susanobrien.biz
Pres elect ASID SD
Foti:
thank you
Anna:
thanks!
Claire:
Montreal
Adam:
Los Angeles
Adrian:
Sydney
Anna:
Atlanta, GA
Robert:
Dallas, Texas
Elizabeth:
Los Angeles
Steven:
San Antonio, Texas
Julia:
Los Angeles, CA
Jefferson:
jefferson from Los Angeles, CA
David:
los angels california
Jeffrey:
Norfolk Virginia
ann:
New York
Jeffrey:
Cincinnati, Ohio
VALERIE:
Indiana US
Susan:
San Diego
Foti:
montreal
Patricia:
Austin, Texas
Sylvia:
Vancouver, BC
Stephanie:
San Diego
brian:
Houston
Drake:
US DC
Nicole:
NYC
Terry:
South Carolina
Juris:
Dallas Texas
james:
brooklyn
michael:
Sydney australia
Gwen:
Austin, texas
Stephanie:
Springfield, MO
Cristina:
toronto
Arlene:
Philadelphia, PA
Arno:
vancouver
Helen:
Sausalito, CA
Joe:
Houston, Texas
Tom:
madison wi
Veronica:
Laredo, Texas
Ted:
vancouver
Adrian:
What is the best way to advise clients of extra fees due for additional work resulting from further documentation required by Council for DA approval, OR changes requested by the client.
Juris:
Fee estimate: I tend to under estimate time for a project. I’ve learned to double the time which comes closer to actual time used.
Helen:
No deposit.
Jeffrey:
always get a retainer
brian:
yes, deposit required
Stephanie:
yes, a deposit
ann:
we ask for it with new clients
michael:
wont start work unless contract signed and 33% down
Jeffrey:
I have started to consider using a flat fee on one payment before starting the work
Susan:
In Interior Design….no money no work
KELVIN:
only for certain project types
Sylvia:
We usually get a retainer which will be applied to the final invoice. Works well, we usually don’t do more work than the amount of the retainer.
Veronica:
limit the number of changes, ask for additional fees after a certain number of changes (not the same as corrections)
Walter:
Ian, Great answer
KELVIN:
As a senior staff member, in person mentoring is more effective
Jeffrey:
My office is private and I limit the clients access, they are all welcome if they bring donuts
Adrian:
I would prefer to be working 50%/50% from work and the office.
Elizabeth:
If your office is a part of your property but separated from the residence, it is still OK.
Jeffrey:
outstanding and thank you very much
Sylvia:
Thank you both, very interesting Q+A.
Adam:
Thanks you!!
Peter:
Thanks you for a very interesting seminar. have a good day
Veronica:
wonderful presentation! thanks!
Ted:
Thank you!
Jamal:
Thank you
Steven:
Thank you for the great information!
Susan:
Fabulous!!
Henrik:
All very interesting/relevant. Thank you
Juris:
Great discussions!
Susan:
Yes possibly suzi@susanobrien.biz
Pres elect ASID SD
Foti:
thank you
Anna:
thanks!
Questions answered:
Stephanie: (2:48)
The $6M question: How do you know how much to charge for a project? How do you know how much time it will take?
Claire: (9:12)
1. When analyzing a project from different angles to come up with a fixed fee, how do you reconcile a calculation based on estimated hours and one based on rough percentage of construction cost, which tends to be significantly lower?
2. Do you consider it critical to provide a separate fee proposal prior to an agreement/contract or can one document serve as both?
Stuart: (16:18)
A number of my peers in the industry say they charge a deposit before starting work on a project. I don’t do this, because I don’t think clients will accept it. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Alora: (24:35)
Over many years of practice I’ve noticed when I provide a fixed fee proposal, with a fixed scope of work, clients tend to take advantage of the fact that they aren’t being charged by the hour, and ask for endless changes, etc.
How do architects ensure the scope of work remains fixed for a fixed fee?
Anonymous: (27:21)
We typically advise our clients to allow 10%-12% of the constrcution cost for architectural fees, is this still relevant?
Adrian: (31:54)
What is the best way to advise clients of extra fees due for additional work resulting from further documentation required by Council for DA approval, OR changes requested by the client.
Stephen: (34:24)
What percentage of total fee should the deposit be?
Adrian: (35:55)
What is the best way to justify a required deposit before starting work?
Miriam: (38:23)
As a Design – Build construction firm, can you address :
1. How should a builder approach design fees prior to the construction contract?
– We engage in a ‘professional services agreement’ but what is a fair design fee for preliminary drawings – floor plan and one or two elevations, prior to final construction contract and construction drawings.
2. What is fair? Does the client ‘own’ the prelim.?
3. How do you tie the preliminary design fee into the final construction contract?
Simon: (43:35)
I’m a sole practitioner and work from home. Since COVID it’s been easy to have meetings with potential clients over zoom (and they expect me to be at home)… but when COVID ends, I don’t want to get an office, but also don’t want to invite clients to my house because it seems unprofessional. Is this a valid concern?
Adam: (50:12)
I am a home technology systems designer. We help develop a scope of work, solicit bids, and curate a team of experts to complete the “build”. The simplest way to charge for our services is based on a percentage of the overall installation contract price. However, my concern is that this structure may be viewed as a conflict of interest whereas I am “pitching” higher priced systems.
Is this only in my head? Should I pursue this path, or calculate my fees a different way?
The $6M question: How do you know how much to charge for a project? How do you know how much time it will take?
Claire: (9:12)
1. When analyzing a project from different angles to come up with a fixed fee, how do you reconcile a calculation based on estimated hours and one based on rough percentage of construction cost, which tends to be significantly lower?
2. Do you consider it critical to provide a separate fee proposal prior to an agreement/contract or can one document serve as both?
Stuart: (16:18)
A number of my peers in the industry say they charge a deposit before starting work on a project. I don’t do this, because I don’t think clients will accept it. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Alora: (24:35)
Over many years of practice I’ve noticed when I provide a fixed fee proposal, with a fixed scope of work, clients tend to take advantage of the fact that they aren’t being charged by the hour, and ask for endless changes, etc.
How do architects ensure the scope of work remains fixed for a fixed fee?
Anonymous: (27:21)
We typically advise our clients to allow 10%-12% of the constrcution cost for architectural fees, is this still relevant?
Adrian: (31:54)
What is the best way to advise clients of extra fees due for additional work resulting from further documentation required by Council for DA approval, OR changes requested by the client.
Stephen: (34:24)
What percentage of total fee should the deposit be?
Adrian: (35:55)
What is the best way to justify a required deposit before starting work?
Miriam: (38:23)
As a Design – Build construction firm, can you address :
1. How should a builder approach design fees prior to the construction contract?
– We engage in a ‘professional services agreement’ but what is a fair design fee for preliminary drawings – floor plan and one or two elevations, prior to final construction contract and construction drawings.
2. What is fair? Does the client ‘own’ the prelim.?
3. How do you tie the preliminary design fee into the final construction contract?
Simon: (43:35)
I’m a sole practitioner and work from home. Since COVID it’s been easy to have meetings with potential clients over zoom (and they expect me to be at home)… but when COVID ends, I don’t want to get an office, but also don’t want to invite clients to my house because it seems unprofessional. Is this a valid concern?
Adam: (50:12)
I am a home technology systems designer. We help develop a scope of work, solicit bids, and curate a team of experts to complete the “build”. The simplest way to charge for our services is based on a percentage of the overall installation contract price. However, my concern is that this structure may be viewed as a conflict of interest whereas I am “pitching” higher priced systems.
Is this only in my head? Should I pursue this path, or calculate my fees a different way?
References:
1. The Best Method for Calculating Design Fees:
https://blueturtlemc.com/blog/the-best-method-for-calculating-design-fees/
2. Fee Proposal Workshop:
https://blueturtlemc.com/feeproposalworkshop/
3. Fee Proposal Fundamentals:
https://blueturtlemc.com/fee-proposal-fundamentals/
https://blueturtlemc.com/blog/the-best-method-for-calculating-design-fees/
2. Fee Proposal Workshop:
https://blueturtlemc.com/feeproposalworkshop/
3. Fee Proposal Fundamentals:
https://blueturtlemc.com/fee-proposal-fundamentals/
To Register for a future session Click here
