{"compare":false,"blog":false,"article":false,"page":{"title":"Project management for architecture and engineering firms","lead":"PLYNTUM runs the business side of architecture, engineering and interior design projects: fees by phase, hours against each phase, agreed changes, invoices and profitability, in one workspace. It does not replace CAD, BIM or your accounting software. Drawings stay where they are; PLYNTUM keeps track of what each project costs and earns.","sections":[{"heading":"Where fees leak in design and engineering work","html":"

A design fee is usually fixed per phase or agreed as a share of the construction budget. The hours behind it are not fixed. The fee leaks in familiar places: a third concept round when two were agreed, design development that runs long, coordination with consultants nobody priced, extra site visits during construction, and client changes after a phase was signed off.

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None of this shows up in the drawings or in the accounts. It shows up only when hours are recorded against the phase they belong to and compared with what that phase was meant to take.

"},{"heading":"What to track on each project","html":""},{"heading":"How it works in PLYNTUM","html":""},{"heading":"A phased fee, worked through","html":"

A residential project has a fee of 48,000, split across four phases. Each phase is budgeted for a 40% margin at a blended cost rate of 40 an hour, which gives 720 hours in total. The concept phase needs three design rounds instead of the two agreed.

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
PhaseFeeBudgeted hoursActual hoursPhase margin
Concept (15%)7,20010816011%
Design development (30%)14,40021623036%
Construction documents (35%)16,80025225040%
Site supervision (20%)9,60014414440%
Total48,00072078435%
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The project still makes money, but the concept phase almost does not. The extra round cost 52 hours, 2,080 at cost. Seen at the end of the concept phase, it is a change request with a fee. Seen at the final invoice, it is a lesson. The figures illustrate the method; the profit margin calculator runs the same check for your own numbers.

"},{"heading":"Choosing software for an architecture or engineering firm","html":""},{"heading":"What PLYNTUM does not do","html":""},{"heading":"Getting started","html":"
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  1. Pick one current project with a phased fee.
    2. \n
  2. Create a task for each phase with the budgeted hours, and add each person’s loaded hourly cost. Salaries are visible to management only.
    3. \n
  3. Ask the team to record time daily for two weeks, then compare hours with the budget for the phase in progress.
    4. \n
  4. Move changes out of email into tasks on the phase, and invoice the ones that were agreed.
    5. \n
  5. Start on Launch’s 7-day trial. Timesheet approval, profitability and the client portal need Core. Questions about your set-up? Write to us.
    6. \n
"}]},"keyFacts":[["What it manages","Phased fees, hours by phase, agreed changes, project expenses, invoices and profitability for design and engineering work."],["Design tools","It works next to CAD and BIM and does not replace them; there is no integration with them today."],["Profitability","From Core, logged hours become cost at each person’s loaded rate and are set against the fee and direct costs."],["Not included","No drawing register, RFIs or transmittals, no fee calculation from a construction budget, and no proposals yet."]],"faq":[["Does PLYNTUM replace CAD or BIM software?","No. Keep drawings and models in your design tools. PLYNTUM holds the business side: phased fees, hours by phase, changes, invoices and profitability."],["How do we track hours by project phase?","Create a task for each phase you priced, with the budgeted hours, and have people record time against it with a timer or a timesheet. From Core, managers approve timesheets."],["Can we see profit per phase?","From Core, logged hours become cost at each person’s loaded rate. With a task or a project per phase, you compare the hours and cost of each phase with its fee."],["How do we handle client changes after a phase is approved?","Agree each change with the client first (included, charged as an additional fee or declined), then add it to the phase as its own task with an estimate. Invoice the agreed ones."],["What does it cost for a 10-person firm?","Core covers up to 10 members for $150 a month, or $120 a month billed annually, and includes timesheet approval, profitability and the client portal. Launch, with the 7-day free trial, covers 5 members."]]}