RIBA Starting A Practice 2nd Edition

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Simon F
2nd Edition
on
Foxell
Practice
Starting a
A Plan of Work
SP
Simon F
EC
Fo
2nd Edition
on
Foxell
IM
e
Practice
Starting a
EN
A Plan of Work
EN
Starting a Practice, 2nd edition
IM
© Simon Foxell, 2015
Published by RIBA Publishing, part of RIBA Enterprises

erprises Ltd, The O
Old Post Office,
St Nicholas Street, Newcastle upon Tyne,, NE1 1RH
1R
ISBN 978 1 85946 580 6

EC
Stock code 83519
The right of Simon Foxell to be identified as the Author of this Work has been
asserted in accordance with the Copyright, D
Designs and Patents Act 1988 sections
77 and 78.
ed. No part of this pub

All rights reserved. publication may be reproduced, stored in
SP
tem, or transm
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recor
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ataloguin
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A catalogue recordrd for this book is available from the British Library.
Publisher: Steven Cross

Commissioning Editor: Sharla Plant
Project Editor: Richard Blackburn
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While every effort has been made to check the accuracy and quality of the
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www.ribaenterprises.com
PREFACE 1st EDITION
PREFACE
1st Edition
Why are you reading this guide? Thank you for buying a copy, but you
shouldn’t even be thinking about starting your own practice.
actic
ctic
Almost everyone who has considered the prospects for the arch architectural
profession in the UK and beyond in recent times has concluded th that the
EN
future, at least in the short and medium term, will belong to thosthose with
the financial and organisational muscle to secure similarly
ecure work from sim
large-scale client bodies and groups. They y generally agree th
that those
commissioning buildings are now, and will be for the fore foreseeable future,
looking for building designers who can deliver quickly, efficiently,
economically and reliably: designersers who know their way around the
IM
construction and property industries
ustries and are able to work directly with
other members of the supply equal footing. Clients will be
y chain on an equa
looking for ‘safe pairs of hands’, who are a ‘fi‘fit’ with their own outlook and
have a track record of delivery.
delivery
If you are ambitious us and talented yyou should logically work for an
EC
organisation that opportunity to design some of the

at will give you the o
biggest and most exciting project
projects around, with the backup and firepower
that you will needeed to make yyoyour mark. Unsurprisingly, you are also likely
to be better
tter paid in such an organisation. Most other professions think this
etter
way: academics want to w work in the best and most prestigious universities,
doctors
ctors hospitals, engineers for the big global consultancies.
rs in the top hosp
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architects – over half the architects (54%) surveyed in 2002 were

But not archit
private practice, and just under half of those (23%) were sole
principals in priv
priva
practitioner
practitioners.
The
e notion of the celebrity, hypercreative and globetrotting architect has
become
me ubiquitous, and has eclipsed the existence of the well-staffed office
working in fame’s shadow. Maybe this has fired up a profession already
romantically wedded to the idea of the small creative studio or atelier to
believe that the only way of ‘making it’ is to do so in their own name on
the back of their individual genius.
Don’t do it. There are already too many small practices out there, including
mine, surviving on a proportionately very small part of the construction
spend in the UK and beyond. But if you do, then certainly read this guide
first. It will not tell you how to design; it assumes that you know how to
do that already, and this will be the last mention of building regulations
and door schedules. Its subject is running a business as an architect. In a
deregulated and computer-enabled world this is no longer so different
iii
STARTING A PRACTICE A PLAN OF WORK
from managing many other service-driven, ideas businesses, especially

in the ‘creative economy’ sector. But it is not an activity architects are
educated for, despite being essential, and it can feel like a strange and
hostile world.
Starting a practice should be approached with all the seriousness and

enjoyment of a design project, and in that spirit the chapters are arranged
in the form of the RIBA Plan of Work: taking the idea from inception and
feasibility through to post-occupancy evaluation. And, just like a buildin
building,
ildin
you really shouldn’t start a practice until you’ve got a very good
d idea of
what it is for, what it is going to be made of and how it will work.
ork.
EN
I started my own practice twenty years ago. It was a straightforward
ightforward
ghtforward
affair, beginning with one day a week (plus evenings and weekends), and an
involved picking up jobs via contacts, working to a standard fee scale a and
not worrying about things such as business plans,, cash professional
ash flow or profe
indemnity insurance. I had a drawing board and pewriter, and although
nd a typewriter,
I rapidly bought one of the first rudimentary computers I
y consumer-level cco
IM
did not need much more. A lot has changed ged make it a much
ed since then to ma
more complicated affair, although even n more seem to be set up
ore practices see
today than ever – many blossoming briefly and then d disappearing, leaving
dis
only the more robust and canny in n their wake.
EC
This guide is the result of those

ose years spent making a practice
se twenty years; yyea
work – largely by trial and error. Years spent o observing and discussing
with my peers how they more recent years, spent researching
y do it and, in m
and writing on professional
ssional issues and oorganising events and conferences
or
to throw light on, among other subjec
subjects, procurement, running small
architectural practices
tices and the role of architects in cities and society.
actices
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I do not claim
m to run a mo successful or higher achieving practice than
more suc
anyone else
lse certainly the reverse is true. The advice given in this
e – almost certai
certain
guide is very
ery the sspirit of ‘don’t do what I do, do what I say’. It is
ry much in th
borne out off experience
xperienc and observation, but it has no magic recipe for
success – running business is a creative activity and does not work to a
ng a b
pre-set formula. Th
The guide is here to be used: to suggest other ways of
doing things, ways that may not always feel immediately comfortable, to
remind you of what may seem to be blindingly obvious and to provide
companionship and support. I hope that it will help you think about why
you want to set up a practice and, if you really insist, how you might go
about it and, ultimately, succeed at a difficult game in a tough world.
Simon Foxell
May 2006
iv
PREFACE 2nd EDITION
PREFACE
2nd Edition
Eight years on, on the other side of a deep and long-lasting recession and
with a new RIBA Plan of Work, this is the first wide-ranging ing revision of
ging
this guide. Although the basic advice remains the same, me, many details have
changed; references to faxes have gone and ones to networking
o social netw
come in, but despite it all you will still need to plan
lan for your new b business.
EN
The financial crash of 2007-8 resulted in redundancy
dundancy
undancy for larg numbers of
large n
architects, if not immediately, then shortly ly after. Many new a architectural
practices have set up as a result, finding ngg work where they could as the
economy gradually restarted and revealing vealing
ng a great dea
deal of ingenuity and
resourcefulness in the process. In consequence, comp competition is tougher
IM
than ever for new start-ups and d if you are going tto do it you really need to
believe that it is the right thing g for you and be prepared to do everything
ing
required of you to make itt work. The warn warning given in the first sentence of
the original preface stilllll stands
stands.
That said, some newew doing wonderful work, organising

w practices are d
doin
EC
themselves in interesting innovative ways in response to the changing

teresting and innov
world around using imaginative methods to find clients
d them, as well as us
and sites, realise
ealise grow as practices. If you have the energy and
se projects and g
the determination,
ermination, ahead and join them, you probably won’t regret it.
rmination, go ahea
But read
ad this book first.
SP
Simon
mon Foxell
November 2014
v
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Simon Foxell is an architect and principal of The Architects Practice, based
in North London. He was an RIBA Council member from 1999 to 2005 and
has been a main board director of the RIBA. He has chaired various RIBA
committees, including the Small Practice committee, Policy and Strategy
and London region.
He established The Architects Practice in 1986 and remains its principal. The
EN
practice works predominantly in the residential, commercialal and education
m 2007 to 2010 he
sectors and the results have been widely published. From
uncil
ncil on their schoo
was lead client design advisor to Birmingham City Council school
procurement programmes.
ks, and
Simon is the author of several bestselling books, d is a core mem
member of
the multidisciplinary construction industry think
hink Edge.
ink tank, the Edge
IM
EC
SP
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This guide could not have been written without the many clients of The
Architects Practice, who, for the past thirty years, have allowed me to
practise on them in an attempt to work out how to successfully conduct the
business of architecture. Thanks are due to them all for their forbearance
and understanding. This guide is dedicated to them, and nd
d esp
especially to the
great majority who have willingly come back for repeatpeat treatm
eatm
treatment.
EN
Substantial thanks are also due to the many who ho
o have helped dire
directly in
the writing of this book. Richard Brindley, from om the RIBA, wwho pproposed
peth
eth Clements, Oliv
that I should write it in the first place. Elspeth Olive
Oliver Smith,
Robert Sakula, David Lovegrove, Charlie Andrew Kirby all
e Hussey and Andr
read versions of the original draft of the e text and came b back with many
useful insights, comments and suggestions.
gestions. Phyllida MMills of MillsPower
Architecture, Matthew Springett tt of Matthew Spri
Spring
Springett Associates, Daisy
IM
Froud and Tom Coward of AOC OC
C and Jane Leac of I-architect have provided
Leach o
advice and insights for the secondnd edition. I am very grateful to all of them.
Responsibility for the final
nal version of the te
text, however, remains with me.
Finally, thanks are owed d to all my fami

famil
family, who have had to live with both an
EC
architect and an author, when I coucould have chosen far more straightforward
ways of earning
ng house remains almost finished.
g a living. The hous
Simon Foxell
xell
ell
June 2014
14
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vii
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
Stage 0 Strategic Definition ....................................................... 1
Strategy formulation ..................................................... 1
Business mentor.............................................................
.... 6
Feasibility study .............................................................
...............
....... 7
Escape routes ...............................................................
........................
....................... 13
EN
Stage 1 Preparation and Brief ..................................................
.........................
................................. 15
Stage 2 The Outline Business ess

ss Case ......................
...................................................
..................... 17
SWOT analysiss ..............................................................
...............................
........................ 17
Market research
earch...........................................................
........................
....................... 20
IM
Advice...........................................................................
...............................
................................ 21
Business ..........................................................
ess training .............
............ 21
Investment
vestment and risk .. ..................................................... 22
....
The business case (OBC) ................................. 22
he outline busine
busines
EC
Stage 3 The Business Plan ........................................................ 25

business plan ........................................................ 25
The busine
The company ............................................................... 27
e co
com
Business potential........................................................ 31
Busin
Your offer ..................................................................... 33
Yo
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Practice promotion ...................................................... 37

Business arrangements ................................................ 38
Finances........................................................................ 49
Company or trading name .......................................... 53
Stage 4 – Part 1 Business Design ........................................................... 57

Practice culture ............................................................ 57
Design culture.............................................................. 61
Service delivery ............................................................ 62
Practices and policies ................................................... 63
Information management .......................................... 64
Knowledge management ........................................... 71
Developing standards ................................................. 73
Training and CPD ......................................................... 75
Health and safety ........................................................ 76
ix
Stage 4 – Part 2 Component Selection .................................................. 79

Graphic identity ........................................................... 79
Premises ....................................................................... 81
Office basics ................................................................. 82
Equipment ................................................................... 83
Bank account ............................................................... 84
Insurance ...................................................................... 85
Professional advisers ...................................................
......
..... 89
Keeping account ..........................................................
....... 91
................
Tax, National Insurance and VAT ................................
................... 94
....................
EN
Pensions .......................................................................
........................ 96
Stage 5 – Part 1 Getting Noticed ...........................................................

............................. 99
.................................
Marketing ....................................................................
.................................
.............................. 99
Publicity materials .....................................................
.................................
........................... 101
Overcoming procurement ent ........................... 104
nt barriers ..............
IM
Stage 5 – Part 2 Winning Work ...........................................................
.................................
........................... 107
Working at risk ..........................................................
............................
................................ 107
Negotiation................................................................
................................
............................... 108
Saying ‘No’
o’ .................................................................
..............................
........................... 110
EC
Generating
ting your own wo work ...................................... 111
Stage 5 – Part 3 Appointments

ppointments
pointments an and Fe Fees ............................................ 113
Appointment ....... ............................................................. 113
........
............................................................................. 116
Fees...................
Expenses ..................................................................... 120
xpenses ......
.......
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Stage 5 – Part
art 4 Working ..................................................................... 121
Work
Professionalism .......................................................... 121
Profe
Organisation .............................................................. 123
O
Or
Project staffing .......................................................... 123
Records ....................................................................... 124
Quality control........................................................... 125
Change control .......................................................... 127
Standard procedures ................................................. 127
Resourcing ................................................................. 127
Time management .................................................... 128
Research and innovation .......................................... 129
Risk ............................................................................. 130
Locums ....................................................................... 130
Money ........................................................................ 131
Trouble ....................................................................... 132
Taking on staff ........................................................... 132
x
CONTENTS
Stage 6 Keeping Going........................................................... 135

Maturing .................................................................... 135
Benchmarking ............................................................ 136
Reviewing .................................................................. 137
Office manual ............................................................ 137
Quality management ................................................ 140
Workload ................................................................... 141
Skills............................................................................
.......
..... 142
Planning for disaster .................................................
.................
....... 142
Work–life balance......................................................
.........................
....................... 143
EN
Stage 7 Evaluation and Looking ................................ 145
ng Ahead ...........
................
The (next) businesss plan ........................
............................................
....................... 145
Forward planning ng ......................................................
............................. 146
Practice positioning
tioning ................................................... 147
g .....................
Size and growth
owth ........................................................
rowth .....................
...................... 148
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Staff progression
ogression .......................................................
................ 148
Succession
ession .................................................. 150
n planning ......
Conclusion ......................................................................................................
.................................
............................ 151
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Bibliography ...................................................................................................
................................. 153
Websites .........................................................................................................
................................ 155
Index ............................................................................................................... 159

ex ............................
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xi
STAGE 0 STRATEGIC DEFINITION
STAGE 0
Strategic Definition
At the point when you are considering starting a practice
ptio and
you need to do a strategic appraisal of your optio
options
tivations,
opportunities. What are your aims and motivations, ons, strengths
and weaknesses and what are your chances ces of making
EN
come,
ome, lifestyle an
it a success? How will it affect your income, and
ambitions? Can you afford it and is this the right ttim
time?
This will be the first iteration of the business fin
fina
financial model.
Strategy formulation
IM
Start with the big picture and
nd begin to map ouout a business strategy for
your new venture. As thiss is the outset of yyou
your business development
brush. You don’t wa
journey keep it broad-brush. want to be boxed in by too many
preconceived normss or obstacles. This is your chance to use your well-
EC
kills before getting down to hard practicalities in the later

trained creative skills
stages.
s What are
e your
our core aims – w
write down as many as you can think of and
hone them that you really believe in.
hem into a few tha
s What
hat
at are your values? What are the standards that you will judge
yourself
rself by a expect others to judge you by?
and exp
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s How entrepr
entreprene
entrepreneurial are you? Are you willing to take big risks or would
something tried and tested for a more modest reward?
you prefer so
som
s
s Try to for
forg
forget for a moment that you are architects and think about what
sort
ort of oorganisation could deliver your aims and values. Do you have a
rtic
particular passion? Can you see any gaps in the market?
s Get into the heads of your ideal clients. What are they looking for? What
will win their confidence and work?
s Do you envisage a business with a narrow focus based on deep expertise
or one with many strings to its bow, happy and keen to operate in
different fields, learning and adapting as it goes.
s Do you want to start small and grow or do you have the capacity to
make a big splash from the beginning and confidently start as you mean
to go on?
With some aspirational ideas for your business in place, run a few tests and
ask yourself some basic questions:
1
Why?
Given the challenges, the crowded nature of the field and the low financial
rewards, even for those who succeed in other ways, the first question you
need to be able to answer when considering setting up your own practice
is ‘why?’
There are three main reasons for starting a new business in the UK:
s redundancy/unemployment;
s the desire to make money for yourself;
s the freedom that can result from being your own boss.
EN
All these reasons apply to architects, but you may be as much in search
of artistic freedom and recognition of authorship as thehe independence
to make your career a success or failure on your own your
wn terms. Assess yo
you
motivations, in part to find out if you seriously wantt to take the ide
idea
further, but also to make sure the firm you plan
lan your
an to build fulfils yyo
IM
ons for setting up a business and
ambitions. If you can, avoid negative reasons
only proceed if it is really what you want
nt to do and will be best at.
There are many ways for architects to work and make ccareers using their
interesting and particular set of skills. architectural practice is
lls. Running an a
ar
only one of them – even if the training focuses mo most architects’ ambitions
EC
narrowly onto it – and is the response of many architects

e conventional resp
respo
in their thirties who decide
dee to strike out on ttheir own. The result is the
establishment of large numbers lookalike practices, which commonly
mbers of looka
lookali
base their offers of services
ervices around the schedules in the standard forms
of appointment. Why, as a creative p person or group, would you want to
follow them? Consider different approach and developing your
sider taking a di
dif
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business around enthusiasms and particular skills. See if you can spot
und your ent
enthusiasm
and fill any
ny market for your services. The most successful firms
y gaps in the mar
marke
are those which have chos
chosen to be entrepreneurial and have a distinctive
chose
quality that marks them out. Why not join them instead?
In the report ‘The Future for Architects?’, published by the RIBA’s thinktank
he Fu
Building Futures in 2011, it was noted that several firms felt that the term
‘architect’ was restricting their ability to charge for work outside the
traditional scope of services, and they were opting to work under other
labels such as ‘spatial agency’ or ‘design house’. Think about how you want
to define yourself.
2
Some successful alternatives to architectural practice taken

by architects:
s Design and/or project management.
s Client agent/adviser.
s Design/project champion.
s Property development.
s Contracting.
s Product design and manufacture.
s Company director.
s Computer game design and development.
ent.
s 3D visualisation.
s Running restaurants and food businesses.
esses.
s Journalism.
s Acting and directing.
s Politics.
I
What?
EC
What are your ambitions? What is iit that you want to achieve and by
when? Do you u want to provide a an excellent service, have a happy office,
deliver projects
ojects damage the planet, address the whole life of
jects that don’t da
dam
buildings cultural contribution? There are a lot of possibilities to
gs or make a cultura
choose
se
e from and you cancan’t have them all.
SP
Practices that have ssurvived into maturity tend to have gone through a
series of phases
phases, ooften starting with private domestic work, competition
projects for family and other relations, sometimes building more
entries or proje
in
n the way o of credibility than significant construction projects. Only in
later phases are they likely to be working on the type of projects that had
er phas
inspired
red them to start up in the first place. Famously in the 1950s, while
still at university, the Conservative politician Michael Heseltine mapped out
his future career on the back of an envelope – 1950s: millionaire; 1960s:
MP; 1970s: minister; 1980s: cabinet; 1990s: Downing Street – only getting
the last decade wrong (he made it as far as Deputy Prime Minister). Do
something similar; establish what you want to have accomplished by a
number of key dates and then decide on the best vehicle to get you there.
3
You may have had offers of work already and this might be the issue
persuading you to launch a new business. The opportunity could be too
good to miss, although there may be other ways of handling it, including
offering the project to your current employer. Try to look beyond such
opportunities and ensure that they will fit with the practice you really
want to run and the work that you envisage doing and feel confident of
winning.
Who?
Do you already know who you will be starting the practice with? h? Are you a
group of friends who simply want to work together? Or have vee you already
EN
assessed how your skills, personalities and experience might ght
ht complem
complement
each other to form a useful team, and planned the practice ctice on that bas
basis?
Have you tested how well you can work together? Life ife
e partners may wa want
to be work partners as well, but can the relationship
hip
p withstand being
together nearly 24 hours a day? Friendships that ork because of ssimilarity
at work
may not provide the range and variety of approaches
proaches needed to succeed in
IM
a work environment. If you have not already ady
dy worked as a teateam, consider
team
doing a demanding activity together, for voluntary project or a
or example a volun
volunta
survival training weekend, to see how when you really need to
w you get on whe
rely on one another.
Will a diverse team with a range backgrounds, characters, ages, skills

ge of background
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and experiences be the bestt idea, or, alternativ

alternatively, would having a degree
of homogeneity and a shared
hared more of an advantage, enabling
ared outlook be mo
you to drive your ideass through. Think aabout how collegiate you want your
ab
practice to be. Is the
e purpose to deliver the ideas of one or two individuals
or will everyone be given the chance to be creative – how flat, or sharply
pointed, do you
ou want the h hierarchy of your firm to be?
hierarch
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The question
ion
on of ‘who?’ may d do more to define the nature of your practice
than any other. your approach to this issue with all the rigour it
ther. Appraise yo
demands. Do stumble into it simply because it ‘feels right’ at the
o not just st
stu
time.
4
Team roles/team building

The different roles required to successfully take a project from inception
to completion have inevitably been the subject of considerable academic
study.
Two of the better-known categorisations are the Belbin Team Roles,

based on Dr Meredith Belbin’s work at Henley Management College, and
ted with Myers–
the Management Team Roles indicator (MTR-i), associated
Briggs personality types:
Belbin MTR-i
s Plant (creative problem solver) s Coach
ch
s Co-ordinator s Crusader
rusader
s Monitor evaluator s Explorer
s Completer finisher s Implementer
Implemente
s Resource investigator s Innovator
Innovato
s Shaper s Sculptor
culp
s Teamworker s Curator
C
s Specialist s
s Conductor
(see www.belbin.com)
in.co s Scientist
(see www.teamtechnology.co.uk)
American
an attorneys have distilled
d all this into a much simpler
categorisation:
gorisation:
s Finders: those
th who generate new business.
s Minders:
s inders: those
tho who manage and look after both projects and existing
clients.
S
s Grinders:
Grinder those who do the real work.
You will need to have or be all three.
5
When?
Even if you know that you want to start up a new practice, timing is still
essential. Is it a good moment in your career(s)? Have you accumulated the
right level of experience, know-how, contacts and financial means? Are
your families able to support you financially and emotionally at this point
in their lives or are other events going to intervene or command resources
and attention? Is the financial climate conducive to new businesses
entering the market? Might you not be better off giving more time e to the
planning and developing of all aspects of the proposed new business prior
inesss prio
to its launch?
EN
It is more than likely for you to feel that the timing is out of your han
hands,
and that a combination of opportunity, situation, age, general circumst
circumstance
circumstanc
and impatience make this the required or even the ideal deal
eal moment. But e even
then, try to control the timing as far as you are able,
ble, taking
e, if necessary by tta
alternative short-term work until you are ready. y. Do not be rushed iinto
starting up your practice, if only because it takes preparation and
akes a lot of prepara
IM
planning to get it right.
Business mentor
You may find it useful, even at this early stage, to tapta
t into the experience
EC
of someone who has been there ere before and ca can act as a guide through
the business of business as well as be a soundi
sounding board for your ideas. This
might be a friendly, practised
ctised willing to share their experience,
ised architect wil
willi
or someone with good d business nous fro
from an entirely different sector. For
some the advice of a mentor is simply u useful at the outset to help get the
venture underway,ay,
y, but others have continued the relationship over the life
of the practice useful at times of change and stress. If the idea
e and found it usefu
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of a mentorr appeals, choo

choose w wisely. It will be both a business and a social
relationship
hip tested at the toughest of times.
p and may be tes
test
6
Feasibility study
Having asked the big questions, you will need to progress onto a more
detailed feasibility assessment to see if setting up a business, whether on
your own or with others, is something that you want to pursue and take
further. On the assumption you want your new venture to last into the
foreseeable future, the three tests are those of the triple bottom line of
sustainability: economic, social and environmental.
oming
Your appetite for dealing with all these issues and comingg out on top
should help you to decide whether starting on your urr own is for yo
you. You
may reasonably prefer to stay in an established firm, among like-m
like-minded
EN
colleagues and on a career track that could take
ake you to a ppartnership/
partne
directorship within a relatively few years.
Also consider the type of work you want ant current economic and
nt to do. The curre
procurement climate is such that most ost large
rge and mediu
medium-sized projects
will go to the larger practices and d to those with a lelengthy track record;
len
IM
this includes the great majority y of public sector w work. There is still a good
living to be made from the remaining
maining range o of projects, but the overall
diet is inevitably thinner and may not alwa
always offer the same type of job
satisfaction. If you wish significant projects, including in the
h to work on signifi
signific
commercial, health and sectors, then you are likely to be better
d education secto
EC
off working for a larger player. To work

wo on such projects as a new practice,
w
you will either need to have the sp specialist skills that will get your new firm
included in the multidisciplinary teams implementing these projects or have
e multidiscipli
great tenacity
acity and persuasive powers. If your experience is with larger and
the more re complex building types, and you want your new firm to continue
ore
to work projects, then you will need to ensure that your business
rk on similar proje
SP
plan aspiration into account.

an takes this aspirat
7
Feasibility tests: economic, social and environmental
1. Feasibility test – economic issues

Look at a timescale of five years from the start of your practice and
consider the following questions:
i. What will you sell?

s Although architects pride themselves on happily taking on almostmos
any project from a new spoon to a new town, in practice the
mixture between what you want to do and what clientss are likely
to commission you to do is far more restricted. Make e a broad
assumption about the type and size of work you are likely to wi win
each year, as the practice develops and matures,, and match it to
ivering each project.
the likely timescale and your capacity for delivering proje
This may result in only a handful of profitablee projects. Ensure
Ensur
me for running the practice,
you allow enough of the principals’ time p
managing staff, marketing, bidding for or work and doing
doin any
titions. Will you do anything else
speculative projects, such as competitions.
to supplement your fee income?? Many young practitioners
prac teach,
ot
and sub-contract work may be available from other practices.
s If you already have commissionsons or the even the chance of them,
bility factor to your
you can apply a probability you income forecast (1.0 if
.33 if you’re one of three on a shortlist, etc.)
you’ve got the job, 0.33
a up to a surprisingly accurate
– over a number of jobs this can add
forecast.
Add up the likely income for each year (A).

kely fees and incom
ii. Who will the work?

ll be doing th
s Makeke an assessment of how many people you will have working to
deliver projected workload. Include any partners or directors
ver your proj
in your assessment.
ssessme
s Magazines such as Building (www.building.co.uk) publish regular
surveys of staff costs.
s See www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/nice.htm for a National Insurance
contributions calculator.
Add up the salaries for each year plus any National Insurance costs (B).
8
iii. Where will you work?

s Do you need premises, or will you work from home?
If you will be renting accommodation then make an assessment of
your rent for each year, or if you already have premises, calculate the
rent you will lose not letting it out to others (C).
iv. What will your overheads be?

s Make some reasonable guesses for the following: lowing:
– Set-up costs (agents’ and others’ fees, s, deposits, moving charges,
website and stationery design, etc.) .)
– Utility bills (heating, electricity, water, phones, inte
internet
connection, etc.) and business raterates
– Professional fees (accountants, lawyers, PR, etc.)et
– Membership fees (ARB, RIBA, networking g groups – both
individual and practice,ce, etc.)
– Marketing budget (advisers,
dvisers, website, print, entertainment)
ncluding cleaning,
– Premises costs (including cleaning repairs, redecoration, etc.)
– Equipment and (including computers and other
d materials costs (i
equipment as well as software and consumables)
– Leased services
ervices (including subscriptions to journals, information
services,
es, etc.)
e
– Transport
sport costs (including
(inc vehicle depreciation, fuel, servicing
and tax)
– Property, content
contents and public liability insurance
– Professional
fessional indemnity
in insurance
– Bank charges and interest payments.
The RIBA 20
2013-14 Benchmark Survey found that:
– Premi
Premises costs average just over £4,600 per staff member
– IT (including telecoms and equipment) average at just over
£
£1,800 per head
– General office costs are 20% of expenses (excluding salaries)
– Professional costs – 12% of expenses
– Marketing – 5%
– Interest payments – 2%.
(see RIBA Business Benchmarking 2013/14, Executive summary)
Add up your overheads (D).
9
Economic assessment
For each year compare your income, (A), with the sum of your outgoings,
(B) + (C) + (D), and see how soon you can break even and whether
profit begins to build up over time. You will undoubtedly want to play
with these figures so use a spreadsheet to adjust them, but do not be
tempted to make them overly favourable as some large sums are likely
to have been left out along the way. Aim for at least a 15% profit to
allow for fluctuations. Compare your potential income with getting g paid
pa
employment elsewhere. Do a similar exercise with the benefits you are
likely to gain in employment versus self-employment.
N
Starting a practice is not for the faint-hearted and the aim of the above
abo
exercise is to ensure you are investigating it with yourr eyes wide open.
The income of most small practice principals is derisory
isory at a median of
£5
£30,000 per annum in 2013 for sole principals and only rising to £50,000
for principals in partnership. Many inevitably earn considerably less
than that.
The figures you have developed may highlight for some form
hlight a need fo
of investment, even if it is only an overdraft facility to tide you over
in periods of negative cash flow. Iff the financial in input required is any
more than the barest of minimums, ms, you will need to consider where
the investment will come from.om. You may have enough yourself to invest
or be able to extend yourr mortgage(s), or fa family and friends might
be willing to lend you start-up
tart-up capital, but the likelihood is that you
will need to borrow it at a commercial rate of return from a bank or
other financial institution.
stitution. If so, it is more than likely that they will look
for some form off collateral, possibly
possib in the form of a charge on your
house(s). Ensure
sure that you can either afford the investment yourself or
that you know and are willing
w to accept the risk to your property if your
business venture does not succeed in the way you planned.
S
10
2. Feasibility test – social issues

Consider the following sets of questions:
For the one-person practice/sole proprietor

s How are you on your own?
– Do you get lonely or stir-crazy?
– Do you have support and backup from friends/family/colleagues?
– Are you self-willed and disciplined?
– Are you prone to displacement activity or can you deal with distractions?
– Can you multitask?
– Are you multiskilled (as a salesperson/designer/administrator, etc
etc.)?
– Are you willing to do the boring along with the exciting?
– How will you cope when crisis strikes (and it will)?
– How will you deal with being ill?
– Is your social life predominantly work-related?
s How are you as an employer?
– Are you willing to be the sole boss?
re?
– Will you take responsibility for others’ welfare?
– Are you able to delegate?
cipline?
– Can you provide motivation and discipline?
– Are you able to provide a counselling
ng service?
s How are you as an architect?
– Do you need others to discuss,
ss, test and shape ideas with?
o date with professional,
– Will you be able to stay up to pro legal, etc. issues?
– Are you happy promotingting yourself/your firm?
work of professional colleagues to call upon?
– Do you have a network
For the partnership/company
pany
s How are you together?
gether?
– Do you gett along as friends aas well as professionals?
– Have you u worked closely
cl together before?
– Do you complementary skills/personalities?
ou have compl
– Is there
ere an understanding
understan on the likely division of jobs within the practice?
– Are you able to recognise, acknowledge and accept each other’s strengths and
weaknesses?
ses?
– What are e the expectations on working hours, holidays, etc?
– Will there be friction if one partner/director brings in or does more work than
another?
– Will there be friction if one partner/director gets more media attention than
the other(s)?
s How are you as employers?
– As for the one-person practice (see above).
s How are you as architects?
– Do you see eye-to-eye on architectural style and quality?
– Will you work together or separately?
– Do you work well together?
– And as for the one-person practice (above).
11
3. Feasibility tests – environmental and quality of life issues

Working at home
s Have you the space?
s What impression will it put across?
s Will you be able to concentrate in a domestic environment?
s Do you need a break/orientation time between home and work?
s Will you be able to ‘leave work’ at evenings/weekends?
s Will it provide you/your family with privacy?
N
s Will it be appropriate for visitors and staff (consider insurance
urance and
health and safety)?
s Will it restrict the growth of the practice?
Renting premises
s What kind of location do you need?
s How close should it be to potential clients nts and to your ho
home(s)?
s What are the transport links like? How w long will staff have to travel
each day?
s What facilities do you need (eg workspaces, reception,
rec meeting room,
library, kitchen, outside space)?
ce)?
s For how long can you commit?
omm
s What standard of space/facilities
ce/facilities would you accept?
s Do you need room m for enlargement/shrinkage?
enlargement/
s Are shared facilities
ilities an option?
s Do you want to be in a local co community of other architects, etc?
s Do you need nearby ccafés, pubs, print shops, etc?
s Do you need car parkin
parking/bike storage, etc?
Sustainability
s How important
tant wwill sustainability issues be to your new practice?
s Will the practice need to show its environmental credentials in the way
it operates?
Work–life balance
s Do you know how to switch off from work when necessary?
s Will you be able to take time off (eg 4–6 weeks a year) for holidays?
s What will happen if you are ill for a lengthy period?
s Can you arrange appropriate cover while you are away?
See: Stage 3: The Business Plan, page 25
12
Finally, some people are better suited to working for themselves than
others. They apparently thrive on the risks and uncertainties that
accompany starting up from scratch and can handle the potential loneliness
of being outside an established business framework and office. Despite
the importance of having specialist skills on which to market your new
practice, running a firm also requires a high degree of multitasking and
constant switching from one activity to another. Extended periods of time
for concentrating on a single project or problem may become
co a luxury. As
you become an employer you may need to recognise that your time will
at yo
also belong to and be called upon by everyone else in the office
office, and that
you may need to deliberately carve out time for yourself, whether at home,
EN
in the office or elsewhere.
Before you make a career-changing decision

on yourself, ensure
n to start up for yyo
that you feel able to handle the many different pressures tthat come with
running a business.
IM
Escape routes
Like getting married, starting
ing
ng a practice is rela
relatively easy to do, but is
far more difficult to undo.
do. Projects do not fi finish neatly together and
tend to overlap with new ew ones, and issu
issue
issues such as maintaining run-off
indemnity insurance continuing in practice always the
ce tend to make ccon
EC
most straightforward
ward option. It can also be difficult to get back into paid
rward
employment at an appropriate le level after you have been out of it for a
while. There
re are but the best ones rely on you having built up
re exit routes, bu
the business success where you can either hand it over to your
ness to a point of su
partners sell yourself to or merge with another practice or
ers or other staff, se
find n outside buyer. This is not always an option for the small practice,
d an
SP
near the beginning of the practice’s life.

particularly ne
13
CHECKLIST
Project Stage 0: Strategic Definition
s Work out your principal aims and values and what they could look
like if realised.
s Plan backwards from where you want to be in 5 or 10 years to work
out the best route to get there.
s Take a reality check and ask yourself and your partners the basic
questions about why you want to start a practice, what you u want to
do, with whom and by when.
N
s Find yourself a mentor to offer calm and independent
nt advice
advice.
s Carry out a feasibility study looking at the various aspects of running
onmental. Examine the
a business: financial/economic, social and environmental.
potential change to your quality of life.
s Make sure that running a business is for you and that you are
a
IM
prepared to do it for the long term.
EC
SP
14
STAGE 1 PREPARATION AND BRIEF
STAGE 1
Preparation and Brief
A short but essential section on getting the basics right before
en brief.
setting up your business – by preparing a written
tten
This guide encourages you to look at starting a new w practice as a project
to both design and implement. It is a project in which you will be client,
EN
thwhile
hwhile gettin
designer, contractor and user – it will be worthwhile getting it rig
right! All
projects should start with a well-written brief,
rief, what you seek to
ief, explaining wh
achieve from the venture, and setting up p a business is no ex
exception. Take
off your architect’s hat for the time being
ng and concentrate
eing concentrat on your aims
and aspirations as the purchaser and nd userr of a new bubus
business vehicle. The
brief should go on to inform the (Stage 3) and ultimately
e business plan (Stag
IM
determine the way you will run un
n your business and carry out projects.
EC
SP
15
Brief essentials
The mission
s A short (five or six lines maximum) statement of intent – ideally
inspirational.
Objectives
s The aims of the mission – see Stage 3 for further discussion of
objectives.
Priorities
N
s Establishing what is important to you and the business.ss. These could
cou
reflect principles, beliefs or core themes: eg sustainability,
nability, innovation
innovation,
chnology.
social commitment, treatment of staff, digital technology.
How
s The means by which you plan to meet your
ur objectives and priorities.
p
s The management of decisions and responsibilities.
ponsibilities.
Performance requirements and measures

asures
s Benchmarks and targets by whichch to assess and measure your
achievements against yourr objectives.
objectiv
Timeframe
s A programme for progress and development.
deve
Who?
s Who is going
ng to be responsible
res and for what?
s Who should involved? Staff, colleagues, advisers, clients?
ould be involve
Where?
s The target areas, ssectoral and geographical, for your business.
s Office location(s).
CHECKLIST
Stage 1: Preparation and Brief
s Prepare a brief; write down in structured form a clear set of goals.
16
STAGE 2 THE OUTLINE BUSINESS CASE
STAGE 2
The Outline Business Case
This work stage deals with the preparatory work needed prior
to developing a detailed business proposition,, inc
including SWOT
ng. A bus
analysis, advice, market research and training. business plan
should start to develop, including the second
cond iteration of the
EN
financial model.
Having decided to start a new business, you u need make the fir firs
first stab at
fleshing out your proposals. This is not a detailed exercise; it is roughly
eme. It investigates a
equivalent to preparing a sketch scheme. and establishes the
basics, and may still leave you with a number of alterna
altern
alternative options to pursue.
IM
SWOT analysis
The SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportu
opportunities, threats) analysis is a
well-tried and understood
stood assessing where you stand and where
ood means of asse
EC
you might go. It canan be carried out by an individual working alone, but
is also ideal to develop as a group, either in a structured discussion or
brainstorming g session. Involve an
anyone who you think might be able to
contribute or could have a st stake in the success of the practice. Tackle each
sta
section on its own and do n not let either pessimism or optimism get the
betterr of you. SWOT exeexercises should be repeated on a regular (at least
yearly) evaluation tool as the firm is established and develops.
arly) basis as an eval
SP
An example o SWOT analysis is given on the following pages.

of an SW
Alternatives business analysis methods to SWOT include:

Alternativ
PEST(LE)
ST(LE)
i
Political, Economic, Social, Technological, (Legal), (Environmental).
STEEPLED
Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental or
Ethics/Regulatory, Demographic.
de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats (www.debonothinkingsystems.com)
White (Pure facts, logical), Green (Creative),
Yellow (Bright, optimistic, positive), Black (Negative, devil’s advocate),
Red(Emotional), Blue (Cold, control).
Heptalysis
Market opportunity, Product/solution, Execution plan, Financial engine,
Human capital, Potential return, Margin of safety.
17
Example SWOT analysis

Background
A number of locally experienced architects are joining forces to set up a new
partnership. There is the prospect of reasonable work from a previous client and
they have been offered workspace on a business park.

Evaluation
Strengths: Weaknesses:
s Strong skills base developed from years s No previous experience running a
of working on major projects for other business and little knowledge of business
firms procedures
s Good contacts in the development sector s Only large-project experience
ence
s Complementary mix of skills between s Proposed partners rs all of a similar age and
ers
EN
proposed partners background
s Expertise in cladding systems and s Lack of expertise
xpertise in housing sector
se – the
education design kely
ely source of work
most likely
s Good computer skills including BIM s Highh expense of maintai
maintaining licenses for
s Good local knowledge rawing
ng software
drawing
s Hard-working ethic s Low capital base (n(need to get healthy
IM
workflow)
s Business nous
s Imbalance
mbalance b between partners and staff
be
s Active online presence – with many
(currently n
(currentl no staff)
followers
s Potenti
Potential
oten embarrassments in online past
s Offer of office space.
s Offic
O
Office space in out-of-way location.
EC
Opportunities: Th
Threats:
s Major house building programme
rogramme local
locally s Three long-established local firms
– growth area dominate most of the available work in
s Good relationship hip newspaper
ip with local newspa the vicinity (includes previous/current
might lead to o regular
egular publicity or even a employers)
SP
column s Major projects in the area tend to be

s Contactt with previous client
clie suggesting included in county-wide framework deals
tial
potentialal £500,000 project
projec s Only enough funds to survive for nine
s New local networking club
all breakfast ne
n months without fees to cover overheads
proposed – opportu
opportunity to join at start s Local planning authority relatively hostile
s Local ideas competition
mp for town centre to innovative/modern proposals
improvements s One proposed partner being wooed to
s Campaign for new arts centre – could stay at current practice to work on major
offer pro bono design assistance arts project
s Friendship/working relationship with s Most likely potential client is in
firm of engineers might lead to joint financially precarious position.
projects
s Offer of ongoing project work from
previous employers
s Part-time teaching job available
s Semi-retired local practitioner willing to
act as practice mentor.
18
Assessment
There are adequate saleable skills among proposed partners, but
the local area appears problematic, both in applicability of skills to
local needs and the degree of market share in the hands of potential
competitors. The partnership may need to look outside the immediate
area to find projects that are a better match for partners’ current skills.
Current skill areas, including familiarity with working in
n BIM,
B need to
lo
be kept engaged if they are to remain an asset. (Note: the location is an
area of growth and so will need to expand its school
ool provision in time).
Local clients may be persuaded over time, butt they should not be
relied on for immediate income. Marketing g initiatives are potentially
p
worthwhile, but the amount of time and resources they ab absorb must be
carefully controlled. Alternative sources
es of income at early
ear stages may be
vestigation of lo
key to long-term survival. Thorough investigation local opportunities
may be useful – the mentor could d be very useful for this. It will be
important to develop new areaseas of skills to better
bette match the future
needs of the locality.
Actions
s Look for job opportunities
pportunities within
with current areas of expertise, but be
prepared to work further afield
afield.
s Run creditt check on pote
potential client(s).
s Consider consultant to other design firms (eg on cladding).
ider role as consulta
s Develop
evelop marketing strategy,
s including competitions, etc.
s Start practice
pract blog with regular twitter feed – remember to monitor.
s Network
s etwork and
an make contacts.
s Explore opportunities for getting into local supply chains and
S
framework
framew deals.
s Improve understanding of long-term potential of local area (consider
taking on mentor on a consultant basis).
s Look into options for using cloud-based computing services.
s Consider alternative part-time employment (teaching, etc.) while
practice finds its feet. One partner may stay in full-time employment
for initial period.
19
Market research
Carrying out your SWOT analysis will have involved some initial research
into the potential market for your services. This research will continue
throughout the life of the practice, but at this stage it should still be
relatively straightforward to get the type of information you need before
you are in a position to find and convince real clients to hire you.
Your main interest will be in the size of the market and the range off
uld be
services that are likely to be in demand. Other professionals should e
able to help you with this, both your own advisers and others,, including
solicitors, estate agents as well as local authority members and officers.
EN
Other construction professionals may also be happy to advise
dvise you on tthe
market for architects’ services. You may even find thatt some architects a are
prepared to offer advice, despite some of them being long-term
ng potential long-
long-te
competitors.
Other sources of information on the size and potential work

d nature of potentia
IM
include the planning applications area of local authority web
websites, property
ownership data from the Land Registry (www.landregistry.
(www.landregistry.gov.uk)
www.landregistry and the
records of government grant schemes es (see www.gov.uk/browse/citizenship/
www.gov.u
www.gov.uk/
government/government-funding-programmes).
-programmes
programmes). ).
EC
trength and character

You will need to size up the strength charact of the competition
chara
you are likely to come up against.
gainst. This will be rrelatively straightforward if
you are proposing a rural al or town practice b based on the local area, with a
definable number of firms, whether arch architects or others, in practice locally.
archi
It will be more difficult with many existing practices and a
cult in a large city, w
host of specialties
ess and peculiarities.
SP
Consider your
ur network o contacts and how to maintain and develop this as
of conta
a source of work. Even for tthe largest practices a large proportion of work
comes through
rough they know and meet regularly – this is even more
ough people the
important for
or small and vital for start-up practices. Tapping your friends
and family for work mmay be a painful prospect, so discover how to grow
your contact group
up to reach your preferred market.
This is a time for wide-ranging discussion and exploration, not only to

evaluate your potential market, but also to discover how the type of
businesses you may be dealing with work in practice: how they find their
clients; the work styles that work for them; their relationships with clients;
how fees are structured; and what the challenges are for a business in the
location and the fields you envisage.
20
Advice
Get advice. This is worth saying again. Get advice. It comes in many forms,
from legal and financial to branding and managerial. Some of it may be
good, some well-meaning and some downright bad. You will need enough
advice to be able to tell the difference and to make your own judgments,
without being overwhelmed by different voices.
Some advice may be specific and come from those who may become
an essential part of your business set-up (your bank manager,ager, solicitor,
accountant, etc.), and with whom you may choose e to stay associa
associated
for the long term. Other advice is more general and available from
EN
published sources, business presentations and well as from
d courses, as w
government-sponsored programmes such as the Business Sup Supp
Support Helpline
(see www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline)
line
line)) and the Start UUp Loans
Company (www.startuploans.co.uk).
There is a wealth of advice available;

able; newspaper articles, on
ble; in books, in ne
new
IM
eir services and from individuals hoping
websites, from firms selling their
to promote themselves. The e quality applicability of advice will vary
uality and applic
applica
considerably.
Business training
ning
EC
From your preliminary

iminary analysis, of both your current skills and the market
nning
ing to enter, yyou m
you are planning may decide that it would be useful, or even
essential, to get training bef
befo
before or soon after you start your business. Some
oners have put the
practitioners them
themselves through rigorous management courses or
n obtained MBAs pr
even pri
prior to starting their firms; others have enrolled on
SP
orter course
shorter courses.
There is a wide ra
range of courses available, including business seminars
specifically at the business of architecture, dealing with topics
aimed speci
specifica
uch
suchh as mar
mark
marketing or running an effective practice. General business skills
training
ning ppackages are also provided by many organisations including banks,
colleges and universities as well as private companies. If your education
to date has been mainly architectural, then it is more than possible that
you will not have had any business training to speak of, and this may be
the time to take your first course. Do not be put off if it does not seem
immediately applicable to the design profession; it will be useful, even if
it only helps you to better understand your future clients’ thinking and
motivations.
21
Investment and risk

Your initial budget analysis will have generated questions about your
start-up costs, including equipment costs. You need to begin to plan your
strategy for this. Are you going to start small and cheaply and build up
gradually and organically, investing in bigger and better over time? Or do
you want to get going with a big splash, investing heavily and showing real
commitment from the outset – death or glory! – or will it be somewhere in
tart
between? The same will apply to your choice of premises. If you startrt fr
from
a room at home there is every chance you will get stuck there, but if you
take on an office that is good enough to let your clients see, the
he expense
EN
could sink your fledgling firm.
Taking into account the advice you have obtained, work ork
rk out how much
you are prepared to risk to get your new business off ff the ground. Wh What
Wha
level of investment are you prepared to put in and nd how long can yo you go
before you start to break even and begin to pay ack? Are you willing
ay it back?
tment,
to re-mortgage your house to provide investment, ment, or even risrisk losing it
IM
altogether if the business fails? This is a sensitive
ensitive area that n needs to be
ne
ected,
discussed with all those potentially affected,d, including famfamily as well as
business partners, financial advisers, bank manager, et etc. It will influence
etc
not only the size and scope of your the business model you
urr plans, but also tth
ultimately decide to use.
EC
The outline business

ness
ess case (OBC)
By this stage you should ould be starting to sse
see the shape of your proposed
business, if only in n outline. Commit it to paper, describing your aims and
goals and how you ou envisage the ch character of the business, its ethos and
SP
style. Who will be its clien

clients, and where in the market will it sit? What are
the timescales
cales intentions for growth/stability? Where would you like
ales and intentio
your practice
ctice
ce to be in five o or ten years’ time? Some of your plan will be
general and aspirational, other parts more precise and thought out. Not
d aspirationa
aspirational
too much detail ail required in the plan at this stage, but it should include
il is req
a further iterationon oof your cost plan, as you accept or reject options for the
firm’s future.
22
An OBC topic list:

s Strategic objectives
s Proposed key personnel, skills and strengths, past successes
s Proposed advisers
s Services to be offered
s Market for services and barriers to entry
s The competition
s Opportunities
s Threats and risks
s Business strategy
s Proposed business structure and management
nagement skills
s Marketing approach
s Training plan
s Growth plan
s Staff recruitment and
d requirements
requirement
s Premises and equipment
me
s Financial plan and projections
s Investmentt required
s Sources of potential investment
inve
s Long-term
g-term aims.
These
e topics will be developed
d further in Stage 3, The Business Plan.
SP
23
CHECKLIST
Stage 2: The Outline Business Case
s Do a SWOT (strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats) analysis.
s Seek advice.
s Carry out market research – into both services required and the level
of demand for them.
s Size up and understand the potential competition.
s Assess your own skills and knowledge and get appropriate
te training to
EN
fill any gaps.
s Establish a basic risk and investment strategy.
s Prepare an outline business case for your proposed
sed firm, describing
describin in
general terms your approach to all aspects of the
e business.
IM
EC
SP
24
STAGE 3 THE BUSINESS PLAN
STAGE 3
The Business Plan
This work stage concentrates on putting together a business
plan in a format that will be comprehensible both oth to the
practice and to potential funders, bankers, etc. Topic
Topics that
should be covered by the business plan include: company
nclude: compa
EN
bjectives, advisers
history and arrangements, business objectives, advisers,
business potential and competition, services to be of offered,
distinctiveness, pricing structure, capacity, promot
promotion, size
and growth, company structure e and manageme
management, law and
regulation, finances, funding g and naming.
IM
The business plan
Preparing a good business
ess plan is an essent
essential step. Do not start work
without one.
EC
s Preparing a business
siness plan gives yyou the opportunity to lay out why you
are starting up a business, what you are going to achieve, how you aim
to do so, when
hen goals will be a
achieved, and how much it is going to cost
and then
en return in profit.
s You need to go through
throug the business plan process to ensure that you
have
ave thinking straight.
ve got your thinki
SP
s Having the busine

business plan written down allows others to check that it
makes and advise you further.
akes sense a
an
s
s The business
busines plan will be the main tool for raising finance and
busin
investment
nvestme for your business.
investme
s It wil
will become a benchmark to check your progress against over the years
of practice and a useful reminder for when matters start to run adrift.
s Developed versions of the plan can be presented to bank managers,
funders and the like to explain the status, intentions and financial
requirements of your business.
25
Nonetheless many architects practise for years before developing any

business plan at all. Many others never get round to it. The 2014 RIBA
Benchmarking Survey found that only 40% of practices surveyed had a
business plan and only slightly over a third of these had a plan that ran
beyond one year. This may explain why so many start-ups in architecture
stay so relatively unprofitable. Yet there is nothing final or cast in stone
about such a plan; even having a preliminary strategy in place for the
first two or three years of practice is strongly recommended. It can alw
always
lw
be replaced by a more mature and considered plan once there is real al
experience to base it on.
EN
Work out your business plan with care – see it as one of your ur most
our
significant design challenges. Seek out good advice; you u are unlikely to be
an expert in setting up and managing a business – it is not your disciplin
discipline
after all. This is an opportunity to start and forge long-lasting relationships
ong-lasting relation
with advisers who can help you over the many years ahead.
earss of business ahe
See: Advisers, page 28.

IM
Much of the thinking in your business plan should flow fr from the
preliminary SWOT analysis you carried
ied
ed out during the e early stages of
ctural
ural business, but iit should now be
deciding to set up a new architectural
elaborated and transformed into rounded proposition; it will, after
nto a fully rounde
EC
uld
ld become a domin
all, shape your job and should dominant part of your life for the
foreseeable future.
See: SWOT analysis, page 17.
The Business Plan

an can be split into six sections, as follows:
SP
s The company
pany s Promotion and marketing.
− existing
ting arrangements, history,
ng arrangements s Business arrangements
onnel,
nnel, skills, p
personnel, prem
premises, etc. − company structure
− businesss objectives
bjective − management
− advisers. − rules and regulations
s Business potential − size and growth.
− market s Finance
− research − money management
− clients − overheads
− competitors. − financial forecast
s Your offer − funding
− services to be provided − fee collection.
− distinctiveness in the market
− pricing structure
− capacity.
26
The company
Existing arrangements, history, personnel, skills, premises, etc.
In starting a new company you will not be setting out from scratch.
You may already have established links with potential clients and other
useful contacts. You will certainly have valuable qualifications, skills and
experience and you are likely to have a background that will prove useful
in launching a new venture. You may even already have p premises – even if
it is simply space in your own home.
Lay all this out in written form, partly to establishh where you are starting
EN
from, but also to remind you, your colleagues and advisers what yyou have
to base your business on and to build from. You may want tto do something
very different in your new business, but begin
egin yourself better.
gin by knowing yyo
This may also be helpful for learning moreore about your proproposed partners,
and will be especially important if several
everal coming together to set
al of you are com
up a new firm. You may not know w each other as well as you thought, and
IM
sharing background information on may not only be h helpful to the business
but key to developing and maintaining
intaining good p personal relationships.
pe
Note: If your firm is already this becomes an even more

ady established, th
essential element of your can, and should, include copious
ur plan and you ca
information on your
ur performance a and track record to date.
EC
Business objectives
ective
ectives
Carefully consider
onsider
sider your busin
busines
business goals, and set them out either as a list or
ammatic
mmatic form. You sshould already have begun to articulate these
in diagrammatic
goals inn your brief to you
your
yourself in Stage 1. They may be high-level aspirations
or veryy specific achieve
achievement targets, but they should be relatively few
SP
n number an
in and expre
expressed in a straightforward way. They will need to be
agreed among a all the principal players, but buy-in from employees (if you
have any) will bbe important and you may also want to consult on, test and
explain the
them more widely among clients, friends and family. Your business
als need to be forward-looking, robust and capable of standing the test
goals
of time.
me
Peter Barber of Peter Barber Architects defined his objectives (albeit several
years after establishing his practice) as:
s to create delightful and beautiful architecture
s to maintain an adequate level of living
s to grow without threatening the quality of the work.
27
Alternatively you may have more specific aims, such as:

s winning a certain number or value of jobs each quarter
s achieving predetermined client satisfaction levels
s delivering minimum added value on identified projects
s achieving exemplary targets of design and in-use performance
s innovating and establishing new concepts in the industry
s winning at least one industry award per year
s achieving employee satisfaction targets
s growing to a significant size in the industry.
EN
Some of the goals may be aspirational, others ruthlessly practical. They are
ar
needed so that your planning can be focused on achieving later
eving them, and late
on you can assess whether they have been reached. d. All goals should have
ha
a timescale. Some may be permanent features off a long-term
ong-term plan and
a
progress towards them must be measured on a regular basis. OthersOth will have
IM
a limited shelf life and will eventually have to be replaced by new
n goals.
In general keep your general business goals separate from your financial
ones. Financial success may figure ass an essential business
busine aim(financial
survival certainly should), but making
king different
ng money is a diffe
diff level of concern
C
to other business objectives andd focusing on financial
financ objectives may serve
fina
to obscure them.
See: Finances, page 49.

PE
SMART Criteria
a
ting objectives
When selecting objectiv management theorists suggest that they
should be::
lear and unambiguous
Specific: clear una
Measurable: a quantifi
quantifiable indicator of progress
ealistic and attainable
Achievable: realistic
Relevant: worthwhile and current
Time-bound: with an appropriate deadline or programme
Advisers
The importance of good advice and advisers has already been discussed,
and in the eyes of potential investors or clients the credibility of your
business proposition may depend on the backing of heavyweight advisers.
Depending on the size and nature of your business, some advisers will be
an absolute necessity, others a good idea and strongly recommended and
still others a (potentially worthwhile) luxury. Be warned though that many
who call themselves advisers may have little to offer you. Seek out those
who will genuinely help your business.
28
Your bank manager is likely to be one of your essential advisers and may
well be needed as an ally in the years ahead. Banks have a wealth of
experience of both successful and unsuccessful businesses and have a vested
interest in ensuring that their customers are successful. Use their support to
help your company grow and to avoid the numerous pitfalls in your way.
But first you need to choose your bank. Use the time before you start up to
get recommendations on and to interview different banks to see what they
can offer you, how sympathetic they are likely to be to dedesign
e businesses
and whether they will have appropriate staff available o be of useful
e to
assistance when needed.
EN
See also: Bank account, page 84.
Many architectural practices go through patches

atches
tches when the fees
fee are not
coming in as expected, maybe because projects have become
becom delayed or
because clients have their own problemsems with cash flow. At these times
having your bank manager on your decide your financial
ur side may well dec
deci
IM
nee to understand the way
ne
survival. Your manager or bank business adviser needs
your business works and thatt youou know what you
y are doing. Be prepared
als, regularly updated
to keep them, as individuals, upda on your situation and your
projected cash flow, especially
ecially when you can
pecially ca see rocky times ahead.
But recognise that banks are busine

businesses as well, and are not by nature
businesse
EC
altruistic. They can

an pull the plug on you or make life difficult if they suspect
that you are not a good prospect
prospect. It is also their role to make money by
selling you a variety of servic
services. Some of these you will actively want, but
services
others may ay be superfluous o or can be obtained at better rates elsewhere. It
is in your
our interest to build a good working relationship with your bank and
its staff,
ff, but know the limitations of the relationship and be prepared to
SP
elsewhere if necessary.
start again el
elsewher
29
Useful advisers
Other useful advisers may include the following:
s Solicitor – for legal, contractual and business advice, including

company set-up arrangements and liability protection.
s Business adviser – to help you with all those business issues that never
got mentioned on an architecture course, including for example::
marketing, negotiations, profitability, investment and risk.
s Accountant – you may do much of the work on this yourself lf but
EN
you should still have someone to help you through thee detail and
regulations of company accounts, VAT, etc. and to establish
stablish the bes
best
trading and tax arrangements for the business.
s Insurance broker – may be essential to both save
e you money and help
you avoid and get out of trouble.
IM
s PR consultant – to help you establish and
nd then promote the
th right
image and information about your firm. m.
s Web/internet adviser and designer
ner – to enable you to develop your
online presence.
C
s IT consultant – will be necessary
cessary at some point
po in helping you to set up
an efficient system.
s Professional organisations,
sations, such as the
th RIBA and ACA, publish
standards and codes,
odes, guidance, business
bus information, etc., and also
organise conferences,
erences, seminars and
a training events. They will also
deal with specificific queries
queri via their information lines or free telephone
access to
o specialist advisers,
adv and they may even take up your problems
on behalf
alf of the whole profession.
s Government
ment and business
bu sponsored organisations, such as:
− Companies House
es Hou
− Constructing Excellence
− Mentorsme.co.uk.
These organisations also publish guidance on many aspects of starting
and running businesses.
s Co-professionals – may provide friendly useful advice as and when
required, or may possibly take on a practice mentoring role to help
nurture a new business.
s Local trade groups, such as chambers of commerce – may provide local
information and also job leads.
30
Business potential
The market
What and where is the market for your services? How large and how
widespread might it be? You may already have a feel for this if you have
been working for a company practising in the same area or have lived in
the locality of your proposed new firm. But you need to dig deeper and do
your homework on where your work will come from. This is will include the
geographical area you want to work in, the types of projects jects and range
of clients. If you are proposing to sell a specialist service may have to
rvice you ma
travel to access a wider market than if you are planning
lanning broad-based local
anning a broad-b
EN
service. You also need to check on your competition potential for
etition and the pote
collaboration with others.
Architecture is inevitably a business about people. It cannot

out places and peo
peop
all be done at the end of a phone orr via computer netw networks. You have
to meet your clients, visit building
g sites and discuss mmatters directly with
IM
local planners and builders. In any y area there will bbe a level of current and
likely future building activity. enoug tto keep you, and any likely
y. Will it be enough
competitors, busy? How large rge might that area be? Alternatively, how far, or
arge
for how long, are you willing to travel to ccacarry out work? This may in turn
depend on the size off the
he project and th the fees and expenses it will carry.
EC
Look at where you ou can easily travel tto from your chosen base. Draw one
hour, two hour travel areas on maps. These are unlikely to be
urr and greater trave
simple circles
es as good roads aand rail connections, or even local airports,
an
may radically reach in certain directions. Alternatively, turn this
cally extend your re
around where to locate your firm in relation to good market
d to work out wher
locations.
tions.
ons.
SP
Resea
Research
In assessing the potential for selling your services in the marketplace,
you should b be prepared to spend time and effort doing research. If well
rected
ected it is unlikely to be wasted.
directed
Speak to any existing or potential clients. Make contact with individuals

who commission design and who require buildings. Find out how they
choose their architects or procure their buildings and how they plan to do
so in future. What are they looking for when they make their selection?
Talk to other architects in the area, and also to engineers, surveyors and
other construction consultants, planners and estate agents, etc. The
regional office of the RIBA may well be a useful source of information, or
consider attending RIBA regional or branch events and meetings. Identify
from magazines and the local press the types of clients that are appointing
architects you would consider your peers and likely competitors. Try to
develop as full a picture of the building design and construction activity
31
in your chosen area as possible. Who are the key firms and individuals?
Where and how are decisions made? What are the lines of communication?
All of this is much easier to do before you set up your business and
before you develop business relationships or are in competition with your
potential informants. It is also easier to ask the innocent question when you
are new and are not already selling a service. Do not waste the opportunity.
Try to discover whether any likely building programmes are coming g

up. Are the local authorities considering capital spending or repair
air
programmes? Will there be business investment in the area? How is the
local housing market? Are any areas due for regeneration? Find out the
EN
likely procurement routes – if design and build looks likee an option th
then
this may be the time to meet potential bidding contractors.
actors.
ctors. Make sure
you get a good working knowledge of the economy y and how it relat
relates
to potential design work.
Become familiar with the press and media and sources of local
nd with other sourc
source
IM
information, such as local authority websites.
tes. Find out where decision-
makers get their information and advice.e. Make contact w with journalists
wit
and opinion formers, locate and read and Twitter accounts.
d relevant blogs an
Attend local events and meetings, join groups and or organisations. Put your
org
ear to the ground and gather information.
nformation.
rm
EC
Clients
Clients come in many guises;
uises;
ses; from priva
private in
individuals extending their
houses and with littlee experience of arch
architects, to large organisations with
books of rules and guidelines as to whwhat, where and how their consultants
should do what they there are very organised small clients
hey do. Equally, th
SP
and there aree large bodies with n no idea of how to commission or work
with architects. most significant sources of potential clients
ects. One of the mo
are now construction
onstruction contr
contra
contractors working on design and build work, in
public-private partnerships (PPPs) or acting as a single point of contact for
ate partnersh
partnership
ng clients. You might also want to become your own client
commissioning
and acting as a deve
developer or producing proposals to sell on to others. In
d
formulating your business plan you need to decide who are the right clients
and contacts for your company.
You should aim to establish a broad client base. Few architects would
survive for long on work from only one client, however good, or even
from a single client sector – there would be too many peaks and troughs
in demand to maintain a reasonably regular workflow. An ideal mix
contains both private and public sector clients and, that highly desirable
commodity, the regular provider of background bread-and-butter
commissions. A diversity of clients, and therefore jobs, is also useful in order
to avoid pigeonholing, which can threaten the development of a practice’s
reputation. The RIBA benchmark study suggests that no more than 40% of
32
fee income should come from any one client sector or for small practices
from a single client. The RIBA Business Benchmarking 2013-14 report notes
that over half of practices failed to meet this level of client diversity.
As you research potential clients also investigate their advisers. Who is

preparing shortlists for them to select from? Do the local authorities
maintain preselected lists of consultants or do they operate framework
agreements? How do they maintain these lists – can anyone apply or is
there a selection and qualification procedure?
For your initial business plan you will need to decide sectors in which
de on the sect
you plan to pitch for work, and ensure that there between your
re is a match betw
EN
skills and experience and the requirements and nd needs of yo likely client
your lik
base. The public sector has become more difficult work from as new
ifficult to get wor
public procurement regimes have taken hold, but there a are nonetheless
opportunities if you persevere. Some public organisations have a
ublic sector organ
regular need for architects to workk on small sometimes very small)
mall (and som
some
projects.
IM
Consider that almost all your can become repeat clients
ur existing clients ca
in time. They may also be both recommendations and
e a vital source of bo
referrals, and should be advertisement for your practice. Treat
e the best advertise
them with respect from rom Factor looking after them into your
m the outset. Fact
EC
business plan, and d do not neglect ththem, even when there are other, more
the
alluring, clientss in prospect.
The competition
petition
etition
Uncovering
ering the potential ccompetition will probably be a great deal
easier
er than working out who the potential clients are. Remember that
SP
ompetitors m
competitors may also become collaborators or advisers on some projects,
with whom you can commiserate when things have gone
or even friends wit
disastrously wro
wrong. Competitors may have a range of approaches and
different professional backgrounds. You may be as much in
come from dif
ompetitio
mpetitio with a local builder as with another firm of architects. Examine
competition
each competitor’s place in the market for design and other services and
h com
establish how you will differentiate your practice from theirs.
Your offer
The services you plan to provide
If you were about to start a small manufacturing or service business the
most important issue would be the product or service you intended to sell.
The same is true for setting up an architectural firm. There is a core service
that you are likely to offer, but you may not want to do the very smallest of
jobs and you are unlikely to be offered the largest. Similarly you may prefer
to concentrate on just part of the standard service – many architects choose
33
to go as far as obtaining planning consent for projects but no further –

or you may have other services or specialisms you wish to sell. There is no
standard model, or at least there should not be.
You need to do:

s what you do best and are competent at;
s what you can offer economically or at profit to the practice;
s what you feel confident you can sell;
s what there is, or will be, a market for.
EN
This part of the business plan will take some work, includingng gathering
intelligence on your likely market, but you will be in a far
ar better positio
position
once you have developed it. You may even be introduceduced
ced to potential
clients in the course of your investigations.
Start with what you know you can do and what you want to continu continue with.
Add potential services that you feel confidentt you can develop or o know how
IM
to obtain. Finally, list those services you would
uld like to provide
ould provid in the future
but have yet to develop the capacity or experiencerience to offer. The
T same exercise
can be done for sectors and specialisms. ms. It may be useful to
t start from a basic
document, such as the RIBA Plan off Work, but list enthusiasms,
enth
ent skills and
abilities that are outside standard rd frameworks, asa they
th may suggest directions
EC
for your practice that are particular

ticular to you and that
th will make it stand out
from the crowd.
It will also be important nt to assess the opportunities

oppo for selling your services,
and to find those elusive
lusive gaps in the market.
ma Discover which sectors are in
growth or decline,ne,, and be clear on procurement
p routes and selection criteria
SP
and whether your firm can become becom a provider to clients using them. The
considerations
ons for a public sector-led
ssecto programme are very different from
private sectoror or developer markets.
ctor m You may need to develop your services
accordingly.
As a result of the
e liberalisation
libe of professional barriers that has occurred over
recent decades and the widening of market opportunities, an architect can
choose to provide many more services than are shown on the conventional
schedule of architectural services, or listed in the curriculum of an architecture
course. Technology, in turn, has greatly assisted this. Consider the full range of
options available to you, from the material to the virtual and the physical to
the cerebral. Put together a plan that contains not only what you really want
to produce, but what your customers will want to buy from you. You need to
achieve a match between the services you can or want to offer, the value they
provide (which justifies your fee), the demand and the competition.
34
Distinctiveness
Having started to develop your offer of services you may hope and expect
that clients will beat a path to your door to buy them. But they may find it
disappointingly difficult to differentiate you from your competitors, who
are offering a similar, or an apparently similar, package of activities and
potentially a lower price. You will need to ensure that your offer has an
added edge and that you mark yourself out as being identifiably different.
Clients and customers need a good reason to come to you ou rather than go to
one of the many other architectural firms they could have chosen.
e cho
See: Marketing, page 99.
EN
Marketeers have developed an entire language uage to describe tthi
this area,
including advanced concepts of ‘brand’, ‘reputation’ and ‘un ‘unique selling
points’ (USPs). Issues of branding and reputation
eputation are discu
discussed in Stage 5,
but as you develop your potential scheduleule of services, consider what
chedule
you have to offer that would make ke you stand out frfro
from the pack of your
IM
competitors. What do you have e to offer that is an advance on the norm or
ve
fficult
that might be otherwise difficultult to find in you
your business area?
Possible USPs might include

lude
ude a specialism ththat you can already offer or are
prepared to develop,, a particular under
unders
understanding or interest that you can
EC
bring to your work, integration of your architectural skills with

k, or the integrati
another area, such
uch as development or manufacture. Note that architects
tend to have a far stronger belie
belief than their customers in the value of
design quality
ality and style to mmark them out from the herd. You cannot rely
ma
on this alone, especially in tthe early days, before you have developed your
carefully reputation.
ully nurtured reput
reputa
SP
Approach thithis from a client’s point of view. They will be looking for an
excellent service tthat offers them a business advantage or a better home;
they are very u unlikely to be considering appointing you to further your
areer or to give you the opportunity to exercise your creative talent. Your
career
selling
ling points have to be ones that appeal to your clients first and foremost.
ing po
It is a b
bonus if they also appeal to you and your peers.
Pricing structure
As part of your business plan you will need to consider how much you
intend to sell your services for. Pricing tends to be largely dependent on
what the market will bear, but you also need to be aware of how much the
production and delivery of a service is costing you: in time, resources and
overheads. There is often very little relationship between the value of a
service to a client and the expense to you as supplier. You therefore need
to have a position on how to quote and to charge for your work.
35
There are three traditional approaches to calculating fees: as a percentage

of construction costs, on a time basis (at an agreed rate per hour) or as a
lump sum quoted for a service, and it is common for fees to be expressed as
a combination of two or all three of these approaches. All of these methods
are problematic as they neither reflect the value of the service, nor (with
the exception of the time charge) the cost of providing it. Certainly they do
not help you to cost or value your service. You may want to consider fresh
ways of valuing and charging for what you do.
Research the market; find out how others charge for their work k and how
their work is valued by paying customers. Discuss alternative methods of
EN
charging with clients and find out where they consider thatatt architects
provide the greatest value.
The RIBA and the Fees Bureau conduct an annual survey charged
urvey on fees charg
charge
for architects’ services across a range of sectors. Thiss is available in d
detail,
de
at a cost, from the Fees Bureau although headline gures may be found
line figures
in presentations and press articles. The RIBA developed two
A has also develop
IM
spreadsheets for calculating fees that are available to membmembers on its
membe
website along with notes on fee calculation
ation
n and some mo model answers to
common client questions. A worked example of a fee cca calculation is given
in Stage 5 - Part 3.
EC
See: Fees, page 116.
Transparency in charging ng is important, especially

e
espe if there is a dispute at
a later date. Some firmsrms charge on the b basis of a pre-published schedule
ample, the franchise network Architect Your Home has
of charges. For example,
a menu of services clients are invited to select from at a
cess that potential cl
SP
predetermined ed cost. Alter

Alternativel
Alternatively, some firms have successfully charged on
the basis off value delivere
delivered to their clients or shared with them in the risk
lopment.
opment.
of a development.
Take care nott to

o undersell
unders
under yourself – if you develop a reputation for giving
way ch
design ideas away cheaply, or even for free, it can be difficult to charge
effectively for providing more of the same. Unfortunately, the UK is full of
badly paid architecture practices, who are not charging adequate fees or
valuing their services highly enough – do not let your practice join them.
Most clients will have very little idea of what an architect does all day to
justify apparently enormous fees. When it comes to negotiating your fee
agreement with your client, consider explaining in detail the tasks you
will undertake on their behalf. It may come as a shock to you too when
you consider how long it takes to fill in standard documents or write
contractual correspondence. It may also be worthwhile offering some
clients the opportunity to do part of the work themselves – they are likely
to value your contribution all the more.
36
Capacity
As part of your offer you will need to consider the resource and capacity
level you intend to make available and, most importantly, the perception of
that capacity by a potential client. In recent decades there has been a trend
for clients to choose larger than necessary companies for their projects,
possibly because they overestimate the staff numbers required for a project
(and architects do not generally seek to disabuse clients of the sense of
importance that a project has in their minds) and maybe because
bec they want
a resource ‘safety net’ in case of accident, illness, etc. They are also likely to
be looking for the tried and tested over the one-offf and interesting,
interesti and this
too relates to size.
EN
There is clearly some correlation between the e size of a practice
practic and
a its ability
to deal with its workload – whether a multiplicity
plicity of small jobs
ltiplicity job or a single
project that has to be completed within n weeks, rather than months or years
– but it tends to be exaggerated. A well-motivated
motivated small
smal team can achieve
prodigious amounts of work if needs eds be. Plan to be large
la enough so that
IM
you can attract the jobs you want nt and know how to
ant t handle them when they
do come in. Obtaining the capacity
apacity
acity to cope can g generally be dealt with, if
necessary through a mixtureure of hiring, growth
grow and contracting out workload.
The most difficult part iss getting the job in the first place.
Being and staying the right size is onone of the more intractable problems of
EC
running an architectural
tectural practice – tthe expression ‘feast or famine’ comes
itectural
up a lot in discussion
cussion between prapractitioners. Beware of expanding to deal
with a peak k in workflow only to t shrink rapidly afterwards; it can be very
damaging ng to office morale. Similarly, periods of underemployment of staff,
such ass while waiting for that vital project go-ahead, are not only bad for
the
e cash
sh flow butbu can aalso lead to contagious disaffection. If you do plan for
SP
growth, stead expansion and a sustained workload to match should be built

steady expa
into your plan, bbut you should also assume a high degree of volatility in your
bu
workflow.
Practice
actic promotion
In drawing up your business plan you will need to consider how you will
promote the firm. No work will come in if no one has ever heard of you.
Prepare a strategy for selling (however softly) your business. Your plan
should include the production of promotional material such as an up-to-
date website, emailed newsletters, blogging or tweeting regularly about
your activities as well as achieving some standard measurable ‘wins’, such as
getting positive press coverage, winning awards and successful networking.
There are many creative ways to establish your name, but your promotional
style should be your own. Just make sure it is effective.
37
Include an amount in your financial plan for communications and other

promotional activities, expressed either as an annual sum, a sum per
employee or a percentage of turnover. Inevitably almost any amount
will be small compared with the task of establishing your profile, so you
will have to make the money work hard. But having a definite sum will
encourage a focused marketing strategy, and having a cap will help to
make sure it is spent effectively. Someone in the firm, maybe several of
you, will also have to spend valuable, if unpaid, time chasing leads, ta
talking
to potential clients, filling out application and prequalification forms
orms and
ms an
preparing bids. Like providing a financial resource for promotionon this time
needs to be allowed for in your plan.
EN
Make sure you monitor the feedback on your promotional nal effort. This
might be a record of press coverage, a log of enquiries
ess coming in from
individual promotions (advertisements, your website, events,
te, sponsored even
event
involvement in exhibitions, etc.) and their conversion
ersion paying work,
on rate into payi
payin
or client feedback on the service being given or offered.
IM
See: Stage 5, Part 1: Getting noticed, page 99.
Marketing is discussed at much greater

ater length in the se section on getting
work. The reason for including it here
ere is to stress its important role in the
overall business plan. Without a marketing and pr promotional strategy your
EC
sidered approach tto reaching its customers and

business will lack a well-considered
may not survive long.
Business arrangements
ngements
Size and growth
wth
h
SP
What size off company do you w want to be and by when? The right size
may be suggested
uggested
ggested by the ki kind of work you want to win, but this is not
kin
necessarilyy conclusive. T The number of founding partners or directors might
equally suggest once you have established a reasonable partner
estt a size, o
to staff ratio, and group dynamics may suggest an ideal working size.
nd gr
gro
Management gurus often wax lyrical about the perfect size for an effective
team. This is not to suggest you can accurately control the size of the
company, which will fluctuate with workload and other influencing factors,
but you need to plan for the future and it will be an important feature of
how your business runs.
See: Capacity, page 37.
38
A two or three person company needs a very different approach from a six
to ten person firm or bigger concern. Some of the issues of growth can be
dealt with over time, but it is very difficult to retrofit office management
routines once you are underway – projects still have to be delivered while a
new management system is being introduced. If you are planning to grow
relatively quickly then run your firm that way from the start, ensure you
have office space to grow into and that your systems can adapt as you do
so. This may mean higher overheads and more elaborate ep procedures than
necessary during the growth period, but it will be worth rth
h it.
Alternatively, if you are planning to stay small fromm the start then choose
om
EN
simpler systems and keep your overheads down. n. You are less likely to need
complex filing procedures, elaborate accounting ting programs or lelengthy
human resources and quality assurance policies.
olicies. need versions of
icies. You may ne
nee
all the things that larger practices have but they can be ke
kept much more
straightforward and relatively inexpensive,
ensive, what the sales people
ve, despite wha
tell you.
IM
Company structure
You are setting up a business.
ess. You will need to
t decide how to operate
ehicle are you goin
legally. What business vehicle going to travel in? You have four
main options (although gh
h there are some o other choices, such as becoming a
charity, co-operative, employee-owned trust, community interest company
ve, employee-ow
EC
(CIC) or operating
ng from overseas, w which are not discussed further but are
hed). The four optio
easily researched). options – all of which have pros and cons,
depending on the approach an and size of your practice - are as follows:
s Sole trader – the most si simple and straightforward arrangement with a
sim
minimum
nimum of form fillifilling. You are in charge and directly responsible for
fillin
everything, w which mmeans that all your possessions and home are at risk if
SP
you cannot pay y your debts. You can also be made bankrupt. Despite the
title, trader can take on employees. Your most likely tax status will
tle, a sole tr
tra
be as self
self-em
self-employed, although this will need to be confirmed.
s Partnership
Partnersh – a fairly traditional arrangement for an architects’ firm
ith
withth ttwo
tw or more people setting up a business together. Partners share
personal responsibility, but like the sole trader they also carry all the
risk. In a partnership this comes with the added onus of joint and several
liability, meaning that any one partner can be liable for all the debts of
the partnership, should the other partners not be able to pay their share.
As one partner can make business decisions on behalf of all the other
partners they can also leave them, unknowingly, with all the risk and
responsibility. Liability remains after a partnership is dissolved or when
partners retire, or even die (when it will fall upon the partners’ estates).
39
Under the Partnership Act 1890 there is no legal requirement for

a written partnership agreement, however it is usual for a formal
agreement or ‘deed of partnership’ to be drawn up, setting out rights
and responsibilities. A deed would normally be prepared by a solicitor,
but the bones of it should be agreed in advance by the proposed
partners. The deed should deal with issues such as:
– the individual responsibilities of partners
– apportioning of profits and losses
– repayment and interest on capital invested
– retirement of and pension arrangements for partners
– the admission of new partners.
EN
Even such issues as the amount of annual holiday to be e taken shou
should
be considered. Ensure the deed includes clauses to deal with dispute
resolution, just in case arguments develop and processes
rocesses
ocesses such as
arbitration are required. Take professional advice
e on the contents and
vice
preparation of a partnership agreement/deed.ed.
s Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) – a form m of partnership b brought in
bro
IM
by the Limited Liability Partnerships Act way between
ctt of 2000. It is part w
a partnership and a limited liability company combines aspects
pany and comb
of both. The key aspect that has made it a relatively p popular trading
structure for architects is that itt restricts the liabi
liability of the partners to
liabilit
the combined amount that each ach has invested or personally guaranteed
EC
to raise. Management and responsibilities are much the same

d tax responsibilitie
as for partnerships and,, similarly, a deed of partnership is strongly
recommended, but otherwise
therwise
herwise LLPs are al almost identical to limited liability
companies.
An LLP is regarded legal entity from the individual partners
rded as a separate lle
and externally as such. It is necessary to register it with
ally will be treated a
SP
the Registrar
trar of Comp
Companies b by filling out a standard form and payment
of a small
mall
all fee. Annual acaccounts must be sent to the Registrar and they
acco
will be public inspection. Auditing of the accounts is
e available for pub
formally required, b but most small companies are likely to be exempt
bu
from this. No directors are required, but at least two designated partners
o direc
(or ‘members’’ in the language of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act)
will be required to act in roles similar to those of company secretary and
director.
s Limited Liability Company (Ltd) – a legal entity owned by its shareholders
that protects both individual members and shareholders from personal
responsibility for the debts of the company beyond the notional value
of the shareholding and any personal guarantees. A company has a
formal structure, with a board of directors (at least one) and a company
secretary. Although generally protected from the debts and obligations
of the company, directors are required to show a duty of care to the
company, and if they fail in this they may be found liable for debts or
be disqualified from acting as a company director in other companies.
40
This structure allows for capital to be raised by selling shares in the

company to external investors. It also allows non-shareholders to be
appointed as directors, allowing younger (and poorer) employees
of practices to be appointed to senior positions. The management
structure of the company allows for directors and similar appointees
to be changed relatively easily, without having to dissolve and reform
or for new agreements to be drawn up. Companies must submit
annual accounts and tax returns to HM Revenue and C Customs and will
be required to pay the resultant corporation tax. Annual nual aaccounts
and further details on the company must also be Companies
e sent to Com
House. Before setting up a company take legal al and financial adadvice.
EN
A memorandum of association and articles of association need to
be prepared to cover a number of essential registration
tial issues, and re
regist
documents must be submitted along with th the standard fe fees.
Over 60% of practices surveyed by the he RIBA 2013-14 BBenchmarking
Survey operate as limited companies.
anies. This form of bbusiness organisation
offers significant advantages,, especially around risk
r management, but
IM
does require complying withth a formal pre-set sstructure and does not
have the immediate management
ement flexibility and low-level bureaucracy
nagement
of a partnership. Mostt business start-up
start-ups in the UK have no hesitation
in adopting the limited
mited
ted company strustructure and as professional
struct
consultancies slowly
owly
wly become like othother businesses this form of trading
EC
is set to become likely choice.

me an increasingly li
Note: Company
pany directors and secretaries
sse have wide legal responsibilities.
dance
ce prepared by Companies
See guidance Co House, in particular the latest version
P1
1 on Incorporation and
of GP1 a Names at www.companieshouse.gov.uk.
Anyy decision
ecision on which business structure to use needs careful
SP
onsideration. Take a
onsideration
consideration. advice and research the advantages and disadvantages
of the alternati
alternatives
alternatives. There is nothing stopping you changing company
structure at a la
later date, but this can be awkward and may affect client
confidence. S Start with a company structure that you think will last you for
at least
east the first five to ten years of practice.
41
42
COMPARISON OF BUSINESS STRUCTURES
Sole trader Partnership Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Limited Liability Company
(Private company limited by shares)
Registration None required None required Incorporation required at Companies Incorporation required at Companies
House (can be done electronically or House (can be done electronically,
on paper). via the web or on paper).
Registration None None On form LL IN01: Completion of form IN01 comprising:
information s Name of LLP (and if it contains a s The company name (and if it
required sensitive word) contains a sensitive word)
s The situation (i.e. England s The situation (i.e. England
STARTING A PRACTICE
and Wales, Wales, Scotland, or and Wales, Wales, Scotland, or

Northern
N Ireland) and address of Northern Ireland) and address of
the company’s Registered Office the company’s Registered Office
ame, full address and date of
s Name, s Articles of Association (the rules for
birth
h of each member governing the company’s affairs) –
s
s Names of thet formally appointed from a choice of model articles or a
‘designated’
esignated’ members
m (minimum bespoke version
two) s Names of director(s) and the
C
s Statement of Compliance (with the company secretary (optional),
requirements of the Companies Act including full addresses (service
2006 as to registration).
registration) and residential), dates of birth,
A PLAN OF WORK
occupations and business

occupation (if any)
s Statement of capital (Y/N) with
details of share capital and
subscribers if relevant
s Statement of Compliance (with the
requirements of the Companies Act
2006 as to registration).
20
Relevant legislation None Partnership Act Limited Liability Partnerships
ps Act 2000, Companies
pan Acts 1985, 2004 and 2006
1890. Companies Act 2006 and Limited ited with
th any subsequent amendments.
Liability Partnerships Regulations 2008,
ns 20
2009 & 2012.
Legal status No status. No status. A separate legal entity. legal entity.
A separate le
Ownership By sole trader. Equally between Equally between members, unless By members
memb (shareholders).
partners, unless otherwise agreed in Deed of
otherwise agreed Partnership.
in Deed of
Partnership.
Legal agreements None Deed of Deed of Partnership: not required but Memorandum of association and
Partnersh
Partnership: very strongly recommended. articles of association.
not required
but
ut strongly
Administrative
S
Keeping records
recommended.
Keeping
eping records
reco Annual accounts and a return Annual accounts and a return giving
requirements of income and of income and giving
giv key details on the LLP and its key details on the company and its
outgoings. outgoings. mem
members, to be made to Companies directors, to be made to Companies
Registration with Registration with
th House.
use. House.
HM Revenue & HM Revenue & The amount of information required
Customs as self- Customs as self- depends on the size of the company
employed. employed. micro/small/medium/large.
Companies House must be informed
of certain other changes including:
new shares allotted, special or
extraordinary resolutions passed and
mortgages entered into.
Management Minimal Minimal ‘me
No limit to number of ‘members’ of A director or board of directors who
structure partnership but at least two must be
b have certain legal responsibilities.
‘designated members’.
embers’. A minimum of one director to be
appointed officer/s of the company.
Liability Full responsibility Personal Liability for business debts
ebts is limited Liab
Liability for business debts is limited
for business debts responsibility for to the total of monies invested
nvested in and to the total of monies invested in and
o th
with unlimited business debts with guaranteed to the business. s. guaranteed
rant to the business.
STAGE 3
liability.
Homes and
possessions are at
unlimited liability.
Partners have
joint and several
E
Individual liability can remain n in tort.
t Directors
irector can be held responsible if
they haven’t carried
c
duties and might
out their proper
mig be disqualified
risk. liability making fromm holding directorships in other
all partners fully companies.
mpanies
and individually Individual
dividu liability can remain in tort.
responsible for
debts.
Partners’ homes
and possessions are
at risk.
43
THE BUSINESS PLAN
44
COMPARISON OF BUSINESS STRUCTURES continued
Sole trader Partnership Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Limited Liability Company
(Private company limited by shares)
Privacy No public disclosure p
No public disclosure Company accounts and other Company accounts and other
requirement. requirem
requirement. information, including on information, including on
remuneration, provided to remuneration, provided to
Companies House is publicly Companies House is publicly
available. available.
Residential addresses are not
generally disclosed.
STARTING A PRACTICE
Change at the top No bureaucracy, If one of the The

Th company must keep registers The company must keep registers
but change will partners
tners changes with details of its members. with details of its officers.
effectively mean a (or resigns, Companies
mpan House must be informed Companies House must be informed
new start. dies or goes a
(on the appropriate form) if: (on the appropriate form) and within
bankrupt) then
hen s a new member, or designated 14 days if:
the partnership
hip member, is appointed
ap or changed s a new officer is appointed
d
will be dissolved. here are any changes
s there c in members’ s an officer resigns from the
The business can names, addresses
address or other details. company
continue as a s there are changes in an officer’s
new partnership Any
ny Deed of Partnership
Partnersh may also
require
quire amendment. name, address or other details.
A PLAN OF WORK
is formed.
Profits Belong to the sole To be shared To be shared
d equally by the members To be shared by the members
trader. equally by the erwise specified
unless otherwise specified. (shareholders) as specified.
partners unless
otherwise specified.
Tax (generally) Self-employed tax Self-employed tax Self-employed tax and NI status for Corporation
C tax.
and NI status for and NI status for partners. PAYE for employees.
loyee PAYE
PAY for directors and employees.
sole trader. PAYE partners. PAYE for
for any employees. employees.
Employees Normal procedure. Normal procedure. Normal procedure. Directors
Director treated as employees of
It is not a problem company.
compan
for a sole trader to
have employees.
N
Duties None None Accounts must be audited annually Accounts must be audited annually
(but exemption is possible). (but exemption is possible).
Registers of members, directors,
directors’ interests and charges etc.
Naming Free to choose

S Freee to choose
choos LLP name must be registered:
to be kept.
Company name must be registered:
within legal limits: within
thin legal limits: m
s must include the word ‘limited s must include the word ‘limited’ or
s should not be s should not be liab
liability partnership’ or ‘LLP’ (or ‘Ltd’ (or equivalent) at the end of
the same as, or the same as, or quiva
equivalent) at the end of the name the name (with some exemptions)
very similar to, very similarr to, s mustst not be the same as, or very s must not be the same as, or very
another local another local
ocal similar to, another name in the similar to, another name in the
business business company
mpany or LLLP names index company or LLP names index
s must contain s must contain s must contain no n offensive words s must contain no offensive words
no offensive or no offensive or sensitiv words require
s certain sensitive s certain sensitive words require
sensitive words sensitive words consent before use. consent before use.
s must not s must not
include the include the
words ‘limited’ words ‘limited’
or ‘plc’ or any or ‘plc’ or any
equivalents. equivalents.
Stationery Name and business Name and business Must show legibly:b Must show legibly:
(including address. address. s Business name. s Business name.
letterheads, written If not trading If not trading s Situation in the UK. s SSituation in the UK.
orders, emails, bills under own name, under own names, egistered
s The address of the Registered The address of the Registered
s Th
& invoices, etc. – must include own must include Office. Office.
fice
STAGE 3
see appropriate name on business partners’ names on s The fact that the businesss is a Note:
ote: the
th company does not have to
guidance) stationery. business stationery. limited liability partnership. directors’ names on stationery
state directors
but if it does it is required to state
them a
m all.
Name plates Your name Your name All places of business are required to All places of business are required to
should be clearly should be clearly display the company name in characters display
play the company name in characters
displayed. displayed. that can be read with the naked eye that can be read with the naked eye
and that visitors can easily see. and that visitors can easily see.
Note: This is only a guide. Please get legal and tax advice as appropriate and contact Companies House (www.companieshouse.gov.uk) for further advice.
45
THE BUSINESS PLAN
Management
Along with a business structure and general legal and tax regulations come
a variety of management requirements. A business has to keep accounts,
a company needs to appoint directors, health and safety regulations must
be adhered to, insurance has to be maintained and so on. But the real
management requirement is to run the practice in such a way that:
s it achieves its aims
s skills and resources are well organised
s it has the capacity to develop and grow.
Whatever the size of the practice, both the overall business sss and any
individual projects need some degree of planning and allocation
llocation of
resources. This will be as critical for a one-person practice,
ctice,
ice, where time ca can
be short supply, as a multi-person firm, where different the
rent activities are tth
responsibilities of defined groups or individuals. If the
he practice has oor will
have staff, they need to be led and inspired and nd their ambitions rrecognised
and accommodated.
Do not underestimate the amount of time that business m management can

take. A great deal of time will be spent are not essentially
ent on tasks that a
ar
productive, but which are necessary ary practice to be so. It is
y in order for the p
an activity that is not traditionally architects: their training
ally popular with ar
rarely equips them for the roleole and it can keep tthem away from designing.
If you are starting a new business and have n not had experience of taking
responsibility for eitherr running
unning projects o or a business unit, or managing
staff or teams, then discuss this with thothose who have. Build up a picture
of what may be required,
equired, whether it is preparing VAT accounts or filing
documents, or interviewing, managing and even firing staff. Individual
terviewing, mana
manag
managementt issues are d with in Stage 5.
dealt wi
Rules and
d regulation
regulations
Starting a new
ew business mmeans signing up to a wide range of rules and
regulations, many which you will be only broadly aware of. As well as
any of w
legal requirements,
nts you may also have to comply with the requirements
of insurers, clients and landlords and the codes issued by professional
institutes and registration bodies.
46
Rules and regulations affecting architectural practices include:

s Agency Worker Directive and Regulations 2010
s Architects Act 1997
s Architects Code of Conduct 2010 (ARB)
s Building Act 1984
s Bribery Act 2010
s Business Names Act 1985
s Capital Allowances Act 2001
s Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978
s Climate Change Act 2008
s Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Actt 200 2006
s Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations ons 2010
s Companies Acts 1985, 1989, 2006
s Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships
nerships (Accounts
(Account and Audit
Exemptions and Change of Accounting g Framework) Regulations 2012
s Companies (Late Filing Penalties)es) and Limited Liability
Lia Partnerships
ng Penalties) Regulations
(Filing Periods and Late Filing Regula 2008 – SI 2008/497
s Competition Act 1998
s Consumer Protection Act 1987 and Unfa Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
s Construction (Design Management) Regulations 2007 (due for
n and Manageme
replacement 2014)
s Contracts (Rights
ghts of Third Parties)
Partie Act 1999
s Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988
s Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
s Countryside
ntryside and Rights ofo Way Act 2000
s Datata Protection Act 1998
1
s Employers’
ployers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 and Regulations
1998
199
s Employment
mployment Acts 1980, 1982,1988, 2002, 2008
s Employment
Employm Rights Act 1996 and Employment Relations Act 1999
S
s Energy Act
A 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013
s Energy
Energ Efficiency (Eligible Buildings) Regulations 2013
s Enterprise Act 2002
s Environment Act 1995
s Environmental Protection Act 1990
s Equality Act 2010
s Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004
s Fraud Act 2006
s Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Health and Safety
(Offences) Act 2008
s Housing Acts 1996, 2004 and Housing and Regeneration Act 2008
s Housing and Regeneration Act 2008
s Human Rights Act 1998
47
s Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Act 2010

s Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013
s Infrastructure Planning (Decisions) Regulations 2010
s Income Tax Acts 2003, 2005, 2007, etc.
s Insolvency Act 1986
s Large and Medium-sized Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts)
Regulations 2008 – SI 2008/1913
s Limitation Act 1980
s Limited Liability Partnerships Acts 2000
s Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application
tion of
N
Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008
s Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of the Companies
mpanies Act 2006)
2006
Regulations 2009 and (Amendment) 2012
s Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction
onstruction Act 2009
200
s Localism Act 2011
s National Insurance Contributions Act 2008,, 20
2011
s National Minimum Wage Act 1998
s National Planning Policy Framework
s Partnership Act 1890
s Pension Schemes Act 1993 and Pensions Act 20072007, 2011
s Planning Act 2008
s Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
s Planning and Compensation
sation Act 1991
s Planning and Energy Act 2008
s Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation
Conse Areas) Act 1990
s Pollution Prevention
ntion and Control Act
A 1999
s Proceeds of Crime
ime Act 22002
s Regulatory
ory Reform (Fire
(F Safety) Order 2005
s RIBA Code Professional Conduct 2005
ode of Profession
s Small Limited
mited Liability Partnerships
P (Accounts) Regulations 2008
s Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982
oods an
s Sustainable Communities
Comm Act 2007
s Taxes Acts (updated annually)
s Third party (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010
s Town and Country Planning Act 1990
s Town and Country Planning Appeals (Determination by Inspectors)
(Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1992
s Town and Country Planning Rules, Orders and Regulations 1983, 1988,
1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
s Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999
s Working Time Regulations 1998
Note: These are always liable to change and should be checked for currency.
48
Some of the regulations will be dealt with further in the sections on

insurance, tax and premises, and in the various parts of the guide that
cover employment issues, but it is worth considering at the early stages
the framework in which you need to operate and how this affects your
approach to starting up. Some regulations affect all business, regardless of
size, but the greatest regulatory impact will be felt when you become an
employer and will need to familiarise yourself with employment legislation
before taking on your first employee. Business regulation n will tend to affect
you more as the firm gets larger and the structure more complex, but there
ore com
are plenty of regulations to trip up even the smallest
st firm.
EN
See also: Insurance, page 85; Tax, National Insurance and VAT, page 94; Premises, page 81.
It is rare that you will need to consult the e original, primary le

legislation
behind many of the statutory regulations, ons, need to know how
ns, but you do nee
they will affect you and your business, ss, and
nd you should k keep a watchful eye
on new developments. Your advisers sers
ers will help you w within their areas of
wi
IM
ou to generally be a
expertise, but it will be up to you aware and to stay up to
date. If in any doubt, seek specialist
pecialist
cialist advice.
Finances
EC
A basic financial success

uccess
ccess rate is essential
essen
essentia for survival, cash flow needs to be
kept healthy and d the overdraft kept
kep under constant surveillance. Above this
basic level of financial wellbeing you will have further goals, which might
include levels
vels income, investment and marketing expenditure,
els of profit and inc
in
pro bono o work and contribu
contributions to charity. Setting financial goals will
involve
vee the production of the kind of business plan your bank manager
ght recognise;
might recognise involving
involv profit and loss predictions, cash flow forecasts
SP
and analysis of the v value of investments. A worked example is given in the

box below, but m many computer programs are also now available to help you
They can provide more sophisticated analyses and allow you to
with this. Th
nterrogate
rrogate the information in various different ways.
interrogate
49
Financial forecast
Having spent time on researching your business objectives, the saleability
of your own skills and services, the market, your USPs, the size and structure
of your business and so on; all this needs to be consolidated in a plan and
a forecast of your financial needs, profits and losses. You are likely to need
advice from a range of sources to achieve this and you should be aiming
to end up with a short and fairly cogent financial forecast for up to the
next five years. The forecast should show whether you need to raise capital
e ca
to fund your business and, if so, how you will repay any loans. It should
uld
also provide the core evidence to convince a lender to provide e you with
that capital.
EN
See also: Advisers, page 28; Professional advisers, page 89.
As you start to run your business the financial plan n should become a regular
reference to guide your real performance, with h targets achieve and
ets both to ac
ach
to measure progress against. It must be reviewed ewed and updated rregularly
IM
as your true position becomes known, and from the plan
d any departure fro
should provide you with adequate warning ning corrective action. Given
ng to take correc
correct
the uncertain nature of architectural business a foreca
forecast of much more than
a year is likely to be largely speculative
ative and not of g great use, but treat six
gre
months as a minimum. This tends ds to need to review and revise
o result in a nee
EC
your financial plan about once ce a month

month.
SP
50
Financial forecast – worked example

This fictional example of a financial forecast is for a five-person practice,

which has to grow to a six/seven-person practice by the fourth quarter to
deal with a rapidly expanding workload.
Annual budget
Jan–Mar Apr–Jun Jul–Sep Oct–Dec
£k £k £k £k
Receipts
Fee income 32.5 45.2 122.3
1 84.2
Other (disbursements, 0.7 6.6 8.1
8. 8.0
rent charged)
N
Capital injection 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Total receipts [a] 33.2
2 47.7 121.3
1 92.2
Payments
Payments to creditors 0.0 (2.
(2.0) (2.0) (2.4)
IM
Salaries/wages (38.0) ((38.0) (39.0) (52.0)
Rent/rates (6.0) (6.5) (6.5) (6.8)
Insurance 0.0
0. (3.8) (1.4) 0.0
Repairs and maintenance nce (1.5) (0.9) (2.0) (2.8)
EC
Utilities (0.3) (0.3) (0.7) (1.4)

Postage/printing/stationery
ng/stationery (1.3) (3.9) (1.5) (3.3)
Travel (including
ding car (3.3) (3.9) (0.9) (0.8)
expenditure)
ture)
Telecoms
oms (1.5) (1.8) (1.9) (1.6)
Marketing
eting & ppromotion (at 5%) (2.6) (3.0) (2.7) (3.5)
SP
Professional ffees (0.8) (1.7) 0.0 0.0

expenditure (equipment,
Capital expend 0.0 (5.8) (6.0) (1.2)
etc.))
etc
Interest/bank
terest/b fees, etc. (0.1) (0.3) (0.7) (0.2)
Chargeable costs (job expenses) (2.0) (1.4) (10.7) (22.2)
Total payments [b] (57.4) (73.3) (76.0) (98.2)
Net cash flow [a – b] (24.2) (21.5) 54.4 (6.0)

Opening bank balance 15.0 (9.2) (30.7) 23.7
Closing bank balance (9.2) (30.7) 23.7 17.7
Notes: Amount in bank at start of year is £15,000.

Income is real income and not just fee invoices.
Bracketed figures ( ) indicate a negative amount/outgoings.
VAT inputs and outputs are not shown but can affect cash flow within the
quarter.
51
Overheads
Your practice overheads will loom large in the debit column of both the
financial forecasts and your budget so you will need to plan carefully for
them. They will vary from the large, in particular staff salaries and premises
and equipment costs, to the small, such as stationery, utility bills, etc. You
can be fairly sure, however, that they will not have much relationship
to activity level or, more especially, to income, as outgoings tend to be
fairly regular and consistent while payments into your bank account will
ntt w
fluctuate wildly from month to month.
Investment early on in good quality, long-lasting premises, equipment

quipment
EN
and promotion may turn out to be money well spent – but utt only if you are
successful. It can equally drag you down with unsustainable
nable
able debt if you do
not generate the income to support it. You need to assesssess and calculate
the risks involved as part of your entire investmentt strategy. Take adv
advice
if necessary to help with this and seek to compare
are your
our own with o others’
experience, if possible consulting any available
ble
le benchmarking st studies.
IM
See: Benchmarking, page 136.
Despite taking advice and being cautious,

autious,
utious, it is still easy to generate
unnecessary overhead commitments ents Invest in the parts of your
ts early on. Inves
EC
our
ur business plan a
business that are critical to your and not elsewhere. Consider
leasing equipment, at leastt at the start, and hi
hiring staff only when you
have work to give them and not before. Sh Sha
Shared workspaces may provide
you with many of the facilities you requ
require at low cost and will allow you to
requir
expand later on.
Funding
SP
Unless you have your own capit

capital to invest in your new business or are
prepared to o subsist on fresh air, debt is likely to figure prominently in the
first years of running th
the ccompany. This will be a mixture of long-term debt
with structured repayment and short-term borrowing to tide you through
red repaym
more immediate te spe
spending commitments. Some long-term debt may relate
directly to acquisitions in the form of hire purchase agreements or other
asset-based financing, with the debt secured against the equipment, but
if you need to raise significant capital this is likely to be from a bank or a
venture capital provider. The importance of having a bank to advise you
has already been noted earlier in this work stage, but see also Stage 4,
Part 2.
See also: Advisers page 28 and Bank account, page 84.
52
Company or trading name

You have done your groundwork, carried out market research, defined
the services you plan to offer and developed financial forecasts. But
you still need a name for your company (unless you picked this first and
tailored everything else around it). This used to be easy – you took your
own name or names and added an ‘& partners’, and you had your brass
plate made and put it up outside your door. Although this approach is
rs. Wit
still a popular option, it is only one among many others. With a more
complex understanding of, and need for, branding in n bothh the public and
commercial worlds you will need to spend some time ime
me crafting, an
and possibly
EN
market testing, your proposed name.
See: Marketing, page 99.
Large commercial companies are welll knownnown for spendi

spendin
spending substantial
sums on this aspect of their business
ess
ss and numerous na naming and branding
consultancies exist to fill the niche
che advising them. But there
e function of adv
advis
IM
are a few basic considerationss that should be ttak
taken into account when
choosing your name. Brandingding considered in more depth in
ing in general is co
Stage 4, Part 2.
EC
SP
53
Naming your practice

When choosing what to call your business you will need to consider the name
carefully:
s Is it a match for who you are? Pretending to be something that you are not is
usually self-defeating.
s Why not use your own name(s)? This can be reassuring to clients and make
marketing your practice more straightforward, as well as giving status to the
named partners.
s Is it easy to pronounce?
s Is it easy to remember and is it memorable?
s Is it short and snappy or long and serious?
s Does it explain what the firm does or is it deliberately opaque
ue or mysterious?
mysterio
s Does it create an impression or impart a sense of style?
s Does it reinforce the vision you have for your companyy or obstruct it?
s Will it help make your company distinctive?
s Will it allow you room for flexibility or will it hem
m in your structure or product?
s Does it sound radical and provocative or solid professional?
lid and professional
s Will you need to constantly explain it to
o enquirers?
s Does it mean something offensive, in English
nglish or any other
oth language?
s Is it within the rules for companyy names? There are restrictions on the use
of words such as ‘National’, ‘Royal’ There is an extensive list of
yal’ or ‘Institute’. T
‘sensitive’ words available from
rom Companies House.
H
s If you want to use the word architect or architects
arc in your name you should
obtain a written confirmation
rmation from the Architects
A Registration Board that this
is acceptable (to be kept in your files).
files)
s Can it be combined
ned with a logo?
s Will it produce different purposes?
e variations for dif
s Is there another company
compa already using it (or something similar)? Check with
Companies (www.companieshouse.gov.uk).
nies House (www
s Has it already
ready been registered
r as a brand name?
s Is a good internet domain name available for it? Check on www.nic.uk.
ternet d
s When searched for on Google or other search engines, will it appear or will it
be lost among other, irrelevant sites?
s Will you be happy announcing it every time you answer the telephone?
s Will it last or become rapidly dated?
This area is regulated under the various Company and Business Names
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2009. For further information see the
Companies House website (www.companieshouse.gov.uk).
Note: Sole traders and partnerships can operate under their own names or under
another business name. But if you choose another title you need to put your own
name(s) and business address on all your business stationery.
54
CHECKLIST
Stage 3: The Business Plan
s Prepare a business plan for your proposed new venture, giving details of:
– the company
– business potential
– your offer
– promotion and marketing
– business arrangements
– finance.
s Seek out and appoint appropriate advisers,
s, including your:
y
– bank manager
– solicitor
– accountant
– co-professionals.
s Identify through market research
search the sectors/clients
sectors/c you could be
working in/for and targeting.
ng.
s Assess and be prepared
ed to nurture your existing client base.
I
s Establish the servicess you intend to sell
s and a preliminary pricing
structure. Ensure
re these are adequately
adeq saleable and distinctive in your
EC
chosen marketplace.
etpla
s Know how
w you will provide
p the services you will be offering for sale.
s Develop
op a marketing and promotions strategy that will bring you to
the attention of the clients
cl you wish to attract.
s Examine
amine and decide
decid on a legal structure for the company and carry out
SP
whatever preparations for this are necessary.

s
s Prepare fina
financial forecasts and explore potential funding
arrangements.
arrangem
s Chose a name for your business.
55
STAGE 4 – PART 1 BUSINESS DESIGN
STAGE 4 – PART 1
Business Design
This stage concentrates on the design of the working parts
of your business, the methods, techniques and d too
tools that you
need to put in place to ensure that it runs effectively
tively and
efficiently while sending out the right messages
essages about the
EN
business to all those who engage with h it.
‘...design a work environment, coordinate

ate its parts, and provide
pr the
comforts that will engender the goodwill
will necessary to encourage
e staff
nd creativity required
to maintain the high levels of energy and re to serve
clients.’
IM
Jane F. Kolleeny and Charles Linn,
Linn Lessons from
fro the best-managed firms,
Architectural Record, June
e 2002
Practice culture
re
EC
The statement of values and objecobjectives you’ve developed in previous stages

should feed directly
irectly into you
your th
thinking on practice ethos and culture.
g to be relaxed and ffree-flowing with a focus on innovation,
Is it going
anised and efficient with its emphasis on delivery, or something
or organised
else entirely?
ntirely? Practice/of
Practice/office culture is generally recognized as being an
SP
sential
ential elem
essential element in tthe success or failure of firms and needs careful
design conside
consideratio
consideration, not least because it will impact on issues such as staff
satisfaction, out
output and retention, the external image of the practice and
the perform
performa
performance of the practice.
re is n
There no right and wrong way to shape a practice culture, although it is
relatively easy to spot when it is not working well, but some questions may
be helpful in developing a direction:
s Place the following in order of importance: the architecture, the practice,
the client, the team, the building user, society/the wider community,
the fees.
s How important will it be to deliver on time and on budget?
s Will the practice have a shared goal/ethos (eg sustainability)?
s What levels of responsibility and credit will members of the team be given?
s How will new skills and learning in the office be encouraged and
developed?
57
s Will you have a strict system of staff hierarchy and management?

s Will you encourage flexible, shared or part-time working?
s Will you be a fully inclusive practice?
s How significant is a good work-life balance with interests outside
architecture?
s Is socialising together after work/on weekends likely?
s Do you envisage joint and inter-office activities (study trips, sports events,
rtss eve
awaydays)?
EN
Talk to other firms, not necessarily architectural practices, about
bout the way
they organise themselves, how they motivate staff, ensure re that workin
working
hours are reasonable and how they encourage staff to additional
o develop addition
additiona
skills and networks.
Some traditional aspects of architects’ office culture

ulture are now (or p possibly
po
should be) consigned to the past, including the
he predominance o of drawing
IM
boards, dyeline printing and all-nighters. Other previously co
common
practices are now illegal such as workplace
lace unequal pay and
e sexism, unequ
unequa
our new office cult
smoking. It is worth ensuring that your cultu
culture is well ahead
of the pace of social and legal change
ange avoid it unexpectedly
nge in order to av
avo
catching up with you.
EC
Practice management
Management is key to deliveringlivering not on
only a successful office culture, but
also to achieving a smoothly organisation; capable of delivering high
moothly run organis
quality projects in an affordable way. Clearly a large practice is going to
need management ent
nt and may well ha have a team of professional managers to
SP
deliver it, butt it is also a n

necessity in the smallest of firms and you need to
work out what it is going tto lo look like, how it will be run and by whom.
Management include:
ent activities inc
s day-to-day running
unning of the practice including general administration,
reception, travel
vel arrangements, insurances
s ensuring facilities, equipment and supplies are clean and in good order
s health and safety, security and fire precautions
s utilities, ICT systems, networks, software licences and updates
s accounts, petty cash, VAT, cost analysis
s human resources (HR) including recruitment and dismissal, salary
packages, training, CPD
s information management including document control and archiving,
library, office manual
s quality management
s internal and external communication.
58
It may be that one designated person deals with all these activities or that
they are shared between different people in the office. If you want to
free up the design team from administrative activities, a separate office
manager, possibly part-time, may be the answer.
If you are considering appointing an office manager and you are in the
process of setting up your firm this should be an early appointment and
potentially also a senior one. A good manager can bring to the firm a set of
skills that conventional architectural training rarely provides
vides and would add
ovides
a very valuable voice when working out how the practice should be run.
actice shou
Some firms, especially in the US, are raising the status
atus office manager
tus of the offic
EN
to that of Director of Operations (DoO), in recognition critical role
ognition of the criti
played by the person who ensures the practice ce works to its best ability.
Practice management needs to be at a scale your business. Some

cale that suits you
aspects of management are a legal requirement
equirement
uirement or will bbe necessary for the
health of the practice but you shouldn’t systems that will overburden
uldn’t set up system
you. All the following should be isn’t necessary to
e considered but it is
IM
implement every recommendationation on day one
one.
Working methods
You will already have ways of working and
an you may be happy with them –
a
but at the outset give
ive approach to work some thought to make sure
ve your approac
EC
that it:
s is or will be that of your partners, colleagues and
e compatible with tth
ees
employees
s is acceptable clients, colleagues and families
ceptable to your clie
s maintains standards
ntains quality sta
SP
s is safe, lega
legal, fair and honest
s delivers profe
professional levels of service and behaviour
s complies w
s with your insurer’s requirements
s will de
deliver the work programme on time and within cost
s permits your own and your colleagues’ aspirations to be realised
s will provide the right mix of self-discipline and authority with relaxation
and openness
s allows you, your colleagues and staff to have a good work–life balance.
As you start a practice, you are likely to be making the transition from
employee to self-employed, and maybe employer. This requires a different
attitude to work – including managing your own tendency to either over or
under do it, as well as your ability to work with and to get the best out of
others. The working style you adopt on day one of practice may stay with
you for longer than you intended – start as you mean to go on.
59
All practices work to a system of some sort, often one based on the RIBA
Plan of Work or versions of it that have developed over the years. More
established and organised practices have thought through their work
and have developed their own semi- or fully-formalised approach for
the analysis of briefs, development of options, presentation of design
proposals, design documentation, contract administration, project
commissioning, evaluation, etc. Having such a system allows them to
produce work of a consistent quality across the firm and enables the e
development of a house style, if only in the way they approach eachach job,
h job
talk to clients, etc. An effective system will mean that standard elements
don’t have to be reinvented for each project; instead they canan be improved
EN
and developed in the light of experience.
Potential elements of your systems might include:

s process maps to describe the journey through projects
roject
s communication protocols
s in-house standards to be achieved (eg on the use of certain
certa materials,
design clarity, health and safety or sustainability)
tainability)
s details of and means of achieving standards (eg BREEAM,
ng external standar
Soft Landings)
s use of a classification system
em (eg Uniclass2)
s model letters and forms
ms for both internal and external adaptation
and use
s processes and techniques
chniques for client, user and community engagement
and consultation
on
s details of the
he outputs anticipated
a at each stage of the project
s guidelines templates for the production of drawings and
nes and templat
ents at each stag
documents stage
s a library of standard parts available to be used on projects, whether
drawing elements,
ements details, specifications and components
s points for sign-off to be achieved and danger flags to be raised
s guidance on risk assessments
s completion checklists and quality control processes for each stage
s site rules
s evaluation, review and feedback processes to improve working
methods, etc.
Note: This is very much a partial list and detailed help and guidance from
expert advisers should be sought in developing it.
60
All these elements and processes and more will form part of your Office
Manual and Quality Management System discussed further in Stage
6. Template versions of these are available from various organisations
including the RIBA (The RIBA Project Quality Plan for Small Practices
(PQPSP) or the RIBA Quality Management Toolkit). At this stage in the
development of your practice, you should consult them to help shape
your thinking on an effective and suitable working methodology for your
embryonic practice.
Once in place, office systems and routines are often very diffic difficult to
change, at least not without great effort. Many offices fices still find tthemselves
ffices
EN
working in ways that were instigated at the establishment
tablishment of the practice
or were imported from firms where the founders previously worked.
nders had previ
It is important to consider office procedures res
es at the outset wiwith a view
wit
to importance, effectiveness and flexibility
ility that you can
lity over time so th
tha
set up your practice in a way that will
ll remain functional as the firm and
emain functiona
particularly the technology it uses changes and develdevelops.
develo
IM
The RIBA Chartered Practice
e Scheme
The RIBA runs a scheme to o help its members rrun more effective businesses
nsure that the title C
and sets standards to ensure Chartered Practice guarantees
actice.
tice. The Charter
good standards of practice. Chartere
Chartered Practice Scheme provides
kits to member p
guidance and toolkits prac
practices to assist with this. For further
EC
w.architecture.com
.architecture.com
details see www.architecture.com.
n culture
Design
Alongside
gside
side a practice cult
cultu
culture should sit your design culture. This will affect
th how
both ow and w what yoyou design, ensure its quality and, if desired, establish
SP
a consistent ddesign language that recognisably belongs to the practice.

Some practices liklike the idea that every building is different and a response
to the client, tth
the brief and the context. They are undoubtedly making it
more e difficu
difficult to define themselves in the market but may still maintain a
tinctive and consistent design approach that gives them character and
distinctive
ty Think about how you want to develop a coherent body of work
identity.
without necessarily imposing your particular quirks on unwilling clients.
Being clear about your design processes and product in advance may help
you to:
s develop an easily comprehensible portfolio of work
s build a reputation for a certain style and approach
s give you recognisability and identity
s present your proposals clearly and unambiguously – with reference to
previous examples
61
s explain to new clients what you can achieve

s convince clients, planners and communities that you know what you are
talking about and can deliver
s attract new work on the basis that you are a known quantity
s promote your practice at conferences, lectures and presentations
s develop in-depth skills
s better understand your buildings’ performance in use
s continuously improve your work on the basis of lessons learnt
nt fro
from
project to project
EN
s become more efficient and effective at what you do, while maintain
maintaining
quality.
This is, of course, easier said than done, especiallyy at the outset when you
may be less able to pick your clients on the basisis thatt their project is a
match for your design ambitions. You may even ven have to turn do down a few
IM
good clients because there is a mismatch. But if you succeed iin developing
a distinctive quality product and servicee it can pay serious d dividends in the
long term.
Service delivery
EC
What sort of service do you u propose to offer yo

your clients and others,
including planners, fellow w consultants, co
contr
contractors, building users and local
communities? Will it be friendly and inclu
inclus
inclusive or ordered and efficient? How
much time will you be prepared to give to consult, to talk people through
hem
ideas, to allow themem to change their mind and to rework your ideas? Will you
SP
ensure that you ou have all th

the facts and figures at your command before you
cision
ision or a presentati
make a decision presen
presentation or do you prefer to wing it? Will senior
ntain
ain a presence throughout
staff maintain th
thr the job or hand it over to a more junior
team once itt has got unde
un
underway? How long after completion will you continue
to monitor the and ensure that it is delivering as expected?
e project a
Although there may be an ideal, open mode of practice, generous with its
resources and time and always happy to go the extra mile, there will also
only be so much you can afford to do and ways that you can act that work
with the personality of your practice.
The RIBA Plan of Work and appointment documents provide schedules of

services but they do not define the style, enthusiasm, comprehensiveness or
persistence with which they are provided. As with other aspects of practice
design your approach to providing your services shouldn’t be left to chance
or how someone feels on the day; it needs to be planned in advance and
then kept under permanent review so you can learn lessons, develop and
improve upon the way you work.
62
Practices and policies

The working life of any firm requires shape and definition. If it is larger
than just you, you will need to put thought into how it is going to function
practically on a day-to-day basis. And even if it is just you, you will still
need to establish habits and routines to ensure that you achieve your work
commitments in a timely and efficient fashion.
Issues such as working hours, responsibilities, behaviourr and professional

expectations need to be fully considered and set down wn in the office manual
artnership
rtnership agre
in wording mirroring or similar to that used for partnership agreements
and work contracts. In addition some aspects off your office life wi will be
of interest to outside parties including clientss and, if you a unwise
are unw
or unfortunate, possibly to legally minded bodies such as em emp
employment
tribunals or the courts. It is important to policies on employment
o have clear policie
and health and safety, which should be carefully followe
followed and made readily
available, possibly even to the general ublic via your website.
eral public
eed to be written d
Not all practices and policies need down. In some cases it
may be better to lead by example
ample firm’s more low-key and informal
mple on the firm’
activities. Either way it is important to be ccle
clear and straightforward about
your expectations.
Timekeeping
Maintain reasonable
onable
nable working hou
hours. Architecture has a reputation for a
long-hours culture
lture – but no bus
business should expect to run on excessively
long days.. Quality of work susuffers with tiredness and some staff may have
other responsibilities
esponsibilities and iinterests that you need to respect. Late working
uld
shouldd be the exception
exception, and certainly not the rule – otherwise there is
nothing reserve for when it really is necessary. Respect the work–life
othing kept iin reserv
balance of bot
both yo
you and your staff.
Behaviour
Along
long
ng with working methods will go working behaviour. What will be
ropr
appropriate in the workplace, especially as you take on employees?
Smoking has now been banished from the workplace, but other activities
may also need policing or discouragement, including bad language,
personal music players or private email correspondence. At the beginning
these may be dealt with individually, but as the company grows a written
office policy may be needed. But as with so many matters that arise when
setting up and running an office, it is always easiest to start as you mean
to go on – so think and talk about these matters right at the outset so that
you know where you are heading.
63
Professionalism
The issue of professionalism is discussed in greater depth at Stage 5, Part 4,
but at this design stage you should be considering the implications of
running a ‘professional’ firm and in particular what marks you out from
a non-professional company:
s You are expected to act in accordance with standards that are above
and beyond those expected by the law.
s This also applies to your staff, subcontractors and fellow consultants.
tants.
nts.
They all need to have the freedom to act professionally and in
accordance with their conscience.
EN
s Your clients’ and society’s interests are to be put above
e your own.
s You should be competent to carry out the work that
att you accept.
accep
s You should deliver a service that is effective, up-to-date
p-to-date
to-date and well-run.
well-r
well-ru
s You need to be conscientious, honest and act
ct with all times.
h integrity at a
IM
Much of this is laid out in the RIBA’s and ARB’s commentaries
RB’s codes and com
but you need to work out how this applies your practice. Being
pliess to you and you
professional should play to your long-term
g-term advantage bu but you need to act
on and communicate your professionalism
ionalism from it.
onalism to gain fro
EC
Internal communication
If you are setting up a single-handed
gle-handed
le-handed practice then internal communication
may not be high on your ur list of prioritie although you should still take
priorities, a
time out of job-focused ed activities to thin
think about and plan the direction of
your practice. For any larger firm a spe specific means of sharing information
ential.
tial. This might ta
and ideas is essential. tak
take the form of a regular weekly meeting
SP
or perhaps having established tea breaks and eating meals together. Discuss
aving establis
what is coming
ming up. Keep y your colleagues involved in the development of
the practicee and use them tto explore and test ideas and their presentation.
ice
But do not let internal dis
discussions overwhelm the running of the office or
unnecessarily limit individuals’ freedom of action.
mit ind
indi
Information management
In recent years it has become ever clearer that architecture, like many
other business sectors, has become not only information-rich but also
information-driven. This has created the serious challenge for architectural
firms of dealing coherently with a vast amount of information, coming
in from a wide range of sources of variable quality, and going out to
clients, planners, contractors, building users and the media. Computers
have enabled this information flow and are necessarily the main means
of managing it, but they are also very good at concealing information in
hidden corners, files and layers. Information availability is a huge boon to
any practice and makes many things possible, but it also represents a high
64
risk to firms and it must be managed effectively if it is to be kept under

control.
Information will arrive in endless different formats and with content ranging
from complete junk to the vitally important. Systems for filtering and
prioritising it, deciding what to pay attention to, what is to be disposed of
and how, what to store and for how long and what is to be shared or kept
secure and confidential need to be established. In particular some of this
information should be stored in such a way that it becomes es a permanent
mes
and accessible record of the firm’s dealings; a resource e that enables
enab efficient
working methods that reuse and improve on earlier err efforts.
EN
Information management is a well-established ed involving
d discipline in
involvin
the organisation, retrieval, acquisition, security maintenance of
urity and mainten
maintenan
information and data. It is aligned with but is separate fro
from the concept
of knowledge management – see below. ow.
w. You will need b both.
The data trail

IM
As design becomes more interactive,
ractive,
active, with many iindividuals and disciplines
contributing to a single project need to ensure that decisions
ojectt model, the nee
nd them becomes m
leave an audit trail behind more critical. How, why and by
whom were decisions taken, alternatives were considered and what
aken, which alter
altern
evidence was used to inform the de decision? Some of this background detail
decisi
EC
may be captured software systems but the integration of

d automatically by sso
many chains off thought and stran
strands of knowledge into a single judgement
is unlikely to
o be.
A good d data trail will allow you to retrace a line of thinking when
reviewing
wing or revisiting a decision. At other times it may be essential for
ewing
SP
helping
elping you to defend a lawsuit. Practices need to ensure that a project log
is maintained ffor e each job, and that notes and journals, whether electronic
or paper-based, are kept and cross-referenced, so they can be examined in
Information discipline, so easy to ignore in a fast-moving digital
retrospect. Inf
age
ge essential for the long-term health of a practice.
e is essen
See: Keeping a record, page 68.
Filing and storing

At the outset, organising the general to and fro of information will
not appear to be an issue; simple filing systems will seem adequate and
memory a good way of finding material. Five or ten years later you will
wish that you had been more rigorous from the start. This does not mean
that you have to invest in elaborate document tracking software; rather,
as you put items into files or longer-term storage you need to think about
how you will retrieve them quickly when you need to. You should use a
relatively standard method, one that does not rely on a specific individual
remembering where a particular item is located.
65
It is not unusual for clients to ring up years later asking for information
about their buildings. You may have given them all the information in a
maintenance manual, but now they have lost it. You are both their first
and last port of call. Schedules of paint colours, specification information
on equipment, planning consents and the mobile phone number of the
original electrician will need to be retrieved quickly if you are going to
maintain your reputation as fearsomely dedicated and efficient. File such
information well now, so you do not waste hours looking for it laterr – if
you can quickly produce the information for the client, they might ht even
entrust you with another job.
EN
There is an alternative view that you should securely dispose se of all but
the most essential information, as having comprehensive e sets of files
only attracts legal attention and leaves you open to unwarranted
nwarranted and
non-specific searches for information, leading, ultimately,
mately, to claims. TThis
Th
may particularly apply to information generated d byy others: includin
including
co-consultants and manufacturers. Consider discussing
iscussing level of
scussing the right lle
information storage with your insurers as well advisers. Whatever
ell as other advise
advisers
IM
level of information retention you decide require cconstant
e on it will requir
vigilance to keep chaos at bay and prevent
event
ent information o overload. Prepare
ov
well now, as the volume of information with can only increase.
tion to be dealt wi
wit
The two primary categories of information
nformation will need to store are:
rmation you wil
EC
s administration/practice related
lated
s project related.
Keep them separate. From these two de develop further cascading subsets for
However, most of the material you receive
all the rest of yourr information. Howe
in the office will ll fit into neither of these categories, and the great majority
SP
needs be to be put straig the recycling bin. Being ruthless with

straight in th
informationon
n from the start wiwill serve you well, although the time taken
sorting information
nformation
ormation into ca categories will take, and will continue to take, far
cat
more practice ce time than is reasonable.
ice
Make sure that the ttwo main storage methods, paper and digital, use
a similar system of organisation and classification, and that they back
each other up as far as possible. Protect the key information (in whatever
format) from fire, theft and damage – if necessary by using an off-site
storage location. With digital information, storage media has a worryingly
short life before being superseded by newer technology. Copy your
old information onto new storage media as you upgrade, before the
equipment to copy, or even to read, the information becomes obsolete.
Remember that some of the information you hold will be confidential and
commercially sensitive and needs to be treated accordingly. You should also
ensure that you comply with the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 and
other European information regulations (further information is provided by
the Information Commissioner’s Office: www.ico.org.uk).
66
Computers
You will be a very unusual architectural firm if you don’t wholeheartedly
embrace computers. You may still sketch, draw and model and even keep
drawing boards and workshops for the purpose, but almost all of your
communications, written output, accounts, record keeping, drawings and
production information will be done from inside computers. Along with the
rest of the modern world you will be both liberated by and extraordinarily
dependent on them.
The computer systems and programs you adopt will also influe influence your
work output and capabilities and need to be researched earched chosen with
rched and chos
EN
care. You will already have experience and skills programs and
ls in some program
it may seem foolish to jettison this in favourr of other system but issues
systems, b
of cost, flexibility, appropriateness, integration
ration maintainability may
tion and maintain
make it inevitable that you should change ge or modify the ssystems you
nge
work with. Clients and contractors may also influence yyo your choice if they
have their own system and you wish ish to work with th them. But whatever
the
IM
the background story, the choice ce of computers (M (Mac, PC or other), mobile
(Ma
technologies (phones, tablets, software to run on them is a
ts, etc.) and the sof
softw
major decision and needs to be taken with go good external advice, in-depth
research and careful consideration. Changing course in a few years’ time
nsideration. Chang
Changi
could be a very expensive ve and difficult tthing to do. If you are going to
nsive
EC
change to a new system,

ystem, now is the ti time to do it.
BIM
Your big decision
ecision regarding cocomputers will be whether to invest in tooling
ning up your new p
and training practice to work in BIM (Building Information
elling).
lling). BIM is not so
Modelling). something you can tentatively adopt even though
nott all member
members of the practice or all jobs need to use it. But in order to
SP
make it pay it its way you will need to have the workload to justify it.
If you intend to grow your practice to any size and particularly if you
take on any substantial public sector work the adoption of BIM
want to tak
om
fromm the ooutset will be inevitable. The same will apply if you expect to
offerr specialist
sp skills and work as part of a team on larger projects. On the
other hand if it looks as if the practice workload is largely going to be
small and primarily domestic projects, the main project type for smaller
practices, then BIM in its current state is likely to be overkill and possibly
unaffordable. A recent (Jan 2012) estimate of the cost of a single BIM
station in a small practice by the architect David Miller, including hardware,
software and training, put the annual cost at £10,000, paid back by
increased workflow and other advantages.
There is a great deal of advice currently available from the RIBA, amongst
many others, on BIM and it is important that you find out as much as you
can on the subject before making a decision to adopt it, or not (even if only
for now).
67
Backing up
Everyone knows about backing up information stored and in production
on computers – but in practice this essential habit is commonly ignored.
The golden rule is that you should maintain three copies (at least) of
everything: the original, a copy and a second copy. One of the copies
should be stored off-site, possibly in an online storage service; the other
copy should be available on-site for quick retrieval of accidentally deleted
files, etc. You should also ensure that your backup systems allows for both
or b
finding individual files and for the recovery of whole systems when disaster
hen disast
strikes, as it will.
EN
Your IT consultant will be able to advise on the best systems
ms and media to
ensure that you are backing up automatically and regularlylarly across all yo
your
media devices. There is currently a range of cloud systems
stems
ems available that
will allow you to save your data to safe, remote locations;
ations; although yyou
ocations;
should consider the security of your data when you send it off-site and
act accordingly. Most computer operating systems
stems now include a automatic
IM
back up software and these need to be configured
nfigured from the o outset to copy
new files at frequent intervals. If you are rewritable hard discs
e copying to rewri
rewrita
you need to use more than one and switch them over on a regular basis.
They are prone to eventual failure.. In addition you sh
should also copy files
sho
regularly to a permanent recording
dingg media such as DDVD-R and DVD+R discs
EC
that you can use only once and accidentally overwrite.

nd can’t accidenta
You will also need to keep p some paper files if

ep i only to satisfy the rules of HM
Customs and Excise who ho require you keep all tax invoices you receive
equire that yo
and copies of those you issue. Most firm
firms still maintain full paper files with
copies of letters, print outs of emails
emails, drawings and all other information
generated by the office. A near pa paperless office is possible but you will
SP
need to be very rigorous and or organised if you decide to go this way and
you should advice.
ld seek expert adv
advic
Keeping a reco
record
In the current busines
busine
business world, keeping records and maintaining an audit
trail on decisions is an essential prerequisite of good practice.
Traditionally architects have carried a bound book everywhere with them

in which they record their working lives; making notes of meetings and
conversations, doodling and drawing sketch details, jotting down critical
information and measurements, etc. More recently such notebooks have
been supplemented or even replaced by smart phones and tablets, with
photos, possibly annotated, videos, sound recordings and measurements
of various types added to the notes and sketches. Either way the record of
your working life needs to be organised, labelled and retained in the office
archive. Your notes will, or should, be to the standard of a contemporaneous
record that you can later rely on in court. Some information in them will
68
need to be copied across into job files, onto drawings or cross-referenced

elsewhere in your filing system; but it all needs to be clear in its original
form. Dates, times, names and positions should all be recorded, and
information entered such that it will make sense on rereading years later,
after you have forgotten all about it. The danger is that such records can be
full of enigmatic notes – useful briefly at the time, but unintelligible when
you need to revisit them.
Make notes on every phone call, even those made on your ur mmobile
phone when you are out of the office. Much is said on the phone and
e pho
in conversation by way of advice to clients, instructions
ctions builders,
tions to builder
EN
requests for action and information that needss to be remembered
remembered. Write
it down as soon as you can, and if that is nott feasible, reque that the
request th
information is confirmed by email. Make it a habit from the b beginning. It
may take time, but it should also save you searching for bits of
ou time when sear
searc
information later on. When you write own an address or phone number,
te down
also remember to transfer it to your ur main database, p possibly with a note
explaining who it is and their provenance
rovenance relevance. Hours can be
ovenance and rele
relev
IM
spent searching old records fororr an important n number or puzzling over the
num
identity of someone unexplained
plained mentioned iin notes. Avoid the future
frustration of knowing you wrote it down ssomewhere but being unable
to locate it. Technology
gy helped by automating filing, enabling
y has clearly helpe
word searches and saving informati
information as soon as a connection is available
EC
to cloud-based shared
hared servers but yyou still need to maintain discipline to
help it work at its best.
Your record
ord keeping should also include a record of your design thinking
and decision especially any decision that has health and safety
ecision making, espe
implications
lications which there might have been several alternative
ations and for wh
SP
solutions. section on the data trail above. This may be laborious,

olutions. See the sec
prove more than worthwhile in any dispute, and it may even
but it could pro
your own thinking process.
sharpen up you
Timesheets
imesheet
mesheet
Fill out
ut ttimesheets. It may be yet another after-the-event item of record
keeping that stops you getting on with the job in hand, but it can pay
huge dividends in the longer term. The design of timesheets should be
considered as part of the overall approach to developing standard office
documents. Timesheets should record at least every half-hour of the
working day, although some may be even more precise than that.
See also: Developing standards, page 73; Time management, page 128.
69
Timesheets have a number of uses – they can provide:

s a real-time programme of individual projects and a record of work
completed on them
s a record of the time spent on a job for billing and invoicing purposes
s information on the time spent on jobs that can be compared with the
fees generated
s a means of assessing whether the amount of time spent on a project
oject
ject
meets the targets set (including financial ones)
s information on which to base future fee calculations, project
ect
ct
EN
programmes and job resourcing
s an overview of staff activity
s information on staff timekeeping and remuneration
tion
s records for assessing staff efficiency and effectiveness
ctiveness
ness
s the ability to balance fee-earning activities research, pro
ess with education, re
IM
bono work, professional activities, etc.
s a record of CPD carried out.
Computer software is available that individual activity and

att will monitor in
indiv
provide necessary prompts to supply
upply
ly information o on activities and locations
EC
that are not directly computer site visits, etc. These will
er related, such as si
automatically produce timesheets
mesheets records and may be the best fit
esheets and job rec
for your approach to practice.
ractice. Alternatively, you may be happy to use self-
ctice. Alternati
Alternatively
generated spreadsheets paper forms. Consider the options and
ets or to fill out pap
pick the right method your practice.
hod for you and you
Accounting information
nformation
SP
Keeping accounts
ccounts
counts for the p
purp
purposes of HM Revenue and Customs is, of
bligatory
igatory (more de
course, obligatory details are given in Stage 4, Part 2). But it will also
ep
help to keepp your comp
compa
company financially astute and healthy.
See: Tax, National Insurance and VAT, page 94; Keeping account, page 91.
Like keeping track of the time spent on projects, knowing how the
money is being spent and generated is important information for current
and future planning. Information should be recorded in a format that
will provide both historical data (the costs of running the practice and
individual projects) and current data (which allow problems such as cash-
flow crises to be predicted and, ideally, avoided). This will make job costing
more accurate and allow calculation of fee proposals to be based on real
information rather than rule-of-thumb percentages or, even, simple guesses
at the costs of resourcing a project. Having access to reliable information in
turn allows for better future planning and for deciding on matters such as
monthly invoicing targets or overdraft requirements.
70
Knowledge management
In contrast to information management, knowledge management is
about deliberately capturing what you and others in the practice know,
developing it and working out how to share and use it effectively.
Such knowledge is conventionally spilt into codified (or explicit) knowledge

that can be described and recorded and tacit knowledge; knowledge
ing
that includes skill, judgement and intuitive understandingng aand is difficult
to pin down and communicate, but is often the mostt valuableuable part of a
professional’s toolkit. There tends to be a constantt but slow tran
transfer of
knowledge from the tacit to the codified. A good od practice will be enabling
EN
this process to improve the overall capacity off the practice and to help it to
perform consistently at the highest possiblee lev
level.
The practice’s codified knowledge might

ghtt include:
s the contents of the Office Manual
al
IM
s contact databases
s practice data – what it takes task successfully
kess to complete a tta
s templates for letters, documents and for
forms
form
s standard and bespoke
poke
ke details
EC
s product and material and information

aterial samples an
s information journals, conferences, blogs, papers, books, etc.
n gained from journ
s post occupancy
upancy evaluation data and other lessons learnt from previous
cupancy
work
s guidance
uidance information from the RIBA and other professional sources
dance and inform
SP
s information from subscription services (eg NBS, BCIS or BRE)

ss research carried out or commissioned by practice for its own use
esearch carri
carrie
s think pie
s pieces and how-to guides by practice members (and others)
piece
s lessons
essons learnt from CPD sessions
s technical library
s image library.
Develop ways of storing this information so that it can be easily located

and accessed. Some information may need to be further adapted before
use; if so, ensure that the original remains intact and track any changes
that are made to it. The long-term storage methods for information may
be complex, and some larger practices have bespoke software to manage
it electronically. If you plan to grow you may want to seek professional
advice, but as a minimum use labelling and dating systems that enable
efficient storage and will be searchable in the future.
71
You should also be trying to capture the practice’s tacit knowledge,

either by sharing it across the practice so that it doesn’t sit with only one
member of the team (eg through mentoring and internal workshops),
or converting it directly into codified knowledge that can be stored and
passed on indirectly, possibly with contributions from a range of people
over time. Everyone in a practice will have a rich set of skills, knowledge
and experience. A good practice will do its best to tap into them for the
benefit not only of the business but also its employees and sometimes es even
a wider audience.
The practice’s knowledge management system will become another nother

other
EN
element in its quality assurance system and is potentially off great value.
Architects are in the business of selling their knowledgee – whether in tthe
form of information or skill, expertise or judgment – and
nd managing it
effectively is of great importance to your future prosperity.
osperity.
Research
IM
Design inevitably involves research, even if it is only to help mma
make the
choice between potential materials in a building. can be an essential
uilding. But it ca
part of a practice’s approach to workingng and can form an important
element of the service offer to clients. whether gaining new
nts. Consider wheth
whethe
knowledge and information might ht be a significant p part of your working
method and how you would handle the results Would it be for internal
results. W
EC
use only, for reporting to your

our client body or fofor more general publication
and dissemination? Being practice might create wider
g a research-led pra
opportunities, but also rigorous way of working. Research
o requires a more rrig
can also provide an income stream of it its own either in the form of direct
fees or as grants and award
awards.
SP
For further information

nformation ssee the RIBA Research in Practice Guide, 2013.
Giving itt away

Finally on knowledge,
nowledge, tththe practice should consider how much of its
knowledge it wants to share, either at a cost or for free. Most practices are
happy for employees
yee to speak at conferences or write articles in the press
sharing part of what they know and getting in a bit of practice promotion
at the same time. Others are happy to invite all-comers to their in-house
seminars and might combine this with networking and drinks. There are
even a few who see the extensive and open sharing of their knowledge as
a way of becoming a significant source of authoritative information in a
particular field. If the strategy succeeds it can give them high-level access to
decision-makers and potential clients as well as providing the incentive and
quite possibly the funding to do the ongoing research to keep ahead of
their game. Giving away knowledge can, in the right circumstances, be very
rewarding.
72
Developing standards
A great deal of what architects do is the reinvention of solutions already
explored and tested by themselves and others on previous projects.
Whether you are writing a letter, preparing a document or designing and
drawing a detail, consider whether you need to do it from scratch – or
would it be more efficient to adapt an existing model? Alternatively, if
you develop the item from the outset as a template for future use, could
you use it to make your practice more effective in the long ng tterm? This is
common practice with standard contract forms and specificatio
specification
catio clauses,
e. Each solution needs
but is less rigorously applied elsewhere in practice.
EN
to be customised for individual use, but maintaining standards-based
aining a standards-b
approach will, over time, allow for much moreore
re efficient practice
pra and for the
firm to grow in skill and understanding, basedsed on previous e experience.
ex
Potential practice standards

Practice standards can be used in
n a range of applications,
applica including:
IM
s stationery, forms, etc.
s staff contracts
s bid material (staff cvs,
vs, project information,
inform policy statements, etc.)
s appointment documents
ocumen
EC
s office management
gement and project
projec management letters (standard
versions off these are also available
av from RIBA bookshops and others
for adaptation)
aptation)
s contract and instruction forms
tract certificates an
s specification clauses
ecification clause
SP
s construction
constructio details
s complete element
el designs – for example for toilet suites – that can be
used, with
w adaptations, on multiple projects
s images
image (drawings and diagrams, past projects, staff portraits, etc.)
s basic library
s material and product selection – from a limited palette that you are
familiar with.
Practice library
The practice library was once at the heart of every architect’s practice,
occupying shelves of space, supplemented by cupboards and boxes full of
samples. For many practices this is still true, although online access to the
most up-to-date information has made it possible and maybe desirable to
operate with only a core resource.
73
But develop it will, even if it is just to hold information on products and

materials used on past projects and favourite publications that it is difficult
to do without. In order to be of use, the library has to be kept in good
order. Ensure it is someone’s responsibility to look after it and to carry out a
regular audit and an occasional cold-blooded cull.
Library essentials
A vast amount of information can now be accessed online, especiallyy official of
terne
documents and product and standards information. There are also internet-based
ypes that guide
services that offer, on subscription, expert systems of various types guid users
through the latest regulations, standards and products, etc. But some things are a
still worth having in even a basic office library in hard copy.py. These might
mig include:
s professional codes of conduct and guidelines
s planning information – including the National Planning
lanning Policy Framework
Fra
(NPPF) and local and neighbourhood plans
s building regulations and approved documents
s lists/references to British and European standard
tandard documents
documen
s essential codes of practice
s Building Research Establishment (BRE) guides and note notes
s practice and contract administrationtion guides – eg Architect’s
A Job Book
and Architect’s Handbook of Practice
actice Management,
Managem standard letters in
architectural practice, etc.
s practical information – eg g Metric Handbook
Handboo or Neufert (Architects’ Data),
detailing manuals, guides for accessibility, etc.
des on designing fo
s urban design guidance e – eg the Urba
Urban Design Compendium (English
Partnerships), By Design (CABE) and Manual for Streets (DoT) and Manual for
Streets 2 (CIHT))
s historical and current OS and o other detailed maps
s relevant sectoral guid
guidance – eg Building Bulletins (education) or the BCO
Office Fit-Out Guide
s copies of standard forms
form of appointment and guidance for clients
s copies off standard ccontract documents and up-to-date contract guides
s specification n information
infor – eg NBS
s product selector sourcebooks – eg RIBA Product Selector or Barbour
Compendium
s selected product literature and catalogues – and including industry standards
such as the British Gypsum White Book or the Häfele catalogue
s a strictly limited range of product and material samples
s inspirational books and journals
s general reference books – including street maps, a dictionary and a thesaurus
s colour swatch books – including both BS and RAL colour standards
s tree identification guide
s the Office Manual.
Note that some of these documents may no longer be current, but are still very
useful. See Bibliography for references.
74
Equipment
Your proposed office systems will require the right computing and other
tools to make sure they work well. Choose your office equipment to
support and complement what you want to do and how you want to
work as it can also end up dictating your working methods. The subject is
discussed further in Stage 4, Part 2.
See: Equipment, page 83.
Training and CPD
EN
Training and continuing professional development
pment (CPD) aare an obligatory
he RIBA requires ttha
part of a professional’s working life, and the that all of its
members do a minimum of 35 hours and d gain 100 CPD po
poin
points each year.
At least half of the CPD time needs to o be
e structured and at least 20 hours
lum topics
should be spent on 10 core curriculum pics (with 2 h
hours on each topic
each year). These are:
IM
s Being safe – health and safety.
fety.
ety.
s Climate – sustainable architecture.
rchitecture.
s External management
ent
nt – clients, users a
and delivery of services.
EC
s Internal management
ement – professio
professiona
professionalism, practice, business and
management. t.
s Compliance
ce
e – legal, regul
regulator
regulatory and statutory framework and processes.
s Procurement contracts.
ement and contrac
contract
s Designing
esigning building it – structural design, construction, technology
igning and buildin
and enginee
engineering.
SP
s Where peop live – communities, urban and rural design and the
people li
process.
planning pro
proc
s Context – the historic environment and its setting.
s Access
ccess for all – universal or inclusive design.
CPD should be individually recorded online using the RIBA’s CPD recording
manager, located in the member area of the Institute’s website.
Professional CPD is ultimately the responsibility of individuals, but

practices should also plan appropriate training for their staff and for the
development of the practice. Training may vary from providing the practice
with new and updated skills through to team-building exercises. The firm
should ensure that one member of staff is responsible for CPD matters
and that an annual plan for training and education is put in place and
implemented.
75
CPD should be seen as an opportunity for practices to improve their

knowledge and it is possible to be highly creative about the type of CPD
sessions that will best suit the overall needs of the practice.
Health and safety

Setting up a new company and taking on staff and premises brings with it
responsibilities for the health and safety of you, your staff and any vis
visitors.
ide,
e
The extent of these responsibilities is beyond the scope of this guide,
but you should ensure that you are aware of current health and d safety
legislation and take reasonably practicable steps to:
EN
s ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees and
nd
d ot
others
s provide safe methods and places of work
s carry out appropriate risk assessments
s have measures in place to deal with emergencies
encies and imminent danger
IM
s provide appropriate protective equipment
ntt
s protect your staff when they are on site working in difficult
e visits or workin
circumstances
s provide appropriate health and for your staff.
d safety training fo
EC
You and your premises need to comply with the th Workplace (Health, Safety
and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (implementing the European Directive
89/654/EEC on health and
ndd safety at wor The HSE provide a code of
work). T
practice on the implications regulations – see http://www.hse.gov.uk/
cations of the regul
regula
pubns/priced/l24.pdf.
df.
Your responsibilities
bilities
es also extend
e tto your duties as designer, as described
SP
in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM

truction (Desig
2007), including
uding adequately assisting other members of the client, design
cluding
and construction
ruction
uction team. Th These responsibilities can be onerous and need to
be addressed d ass part of practice policy and CPD to ensure that you have
appropriately qualifi
qualified and knowledgeable staff. Note that the current
CDM regulations are due to be replaced by new regulations in 2015 (CDM
2015). This is likely to result in the replacement of the CDM co-ordinator
role by a principal designer (PD) with newly defined duties. See the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website (www.hse.gov.uk) for the latest
information on this.
As a practice you may want to put in place a health and safety policy
that governs all these aspects of running a company. This can be done
in-house, but an external health and safety adviser may bring more rigour
to the process – the adviser may also monitor your performance and
independently ensure your compliance.
76
As you or your staff are more than likely to visit building sites as part of
your working activities, seriously consider qualifying for and obtaining a
CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) card. Some sites will not
allow you to visit without one. A minimum requirement for the card is
a health and safety test run by the Construction Industry Training Board
(CITB). For further information on the CSCS card see www.cscs.uk.com.
The RIBA publishes a Health and Safety Policy template for adoption
and tailoring by practices. The Association for Project Safety
fety (APS – see
www.aps.org.uk) has prepared a number of guides and codes, odes, including the
Guide to the Management of CDM Co-ordination (RIBA Publishin
Publishing, 2007).
EN
Advice is also available from the HSE and otherr organisations such as Safety
in Design (SID) (www.safetyindesign.org.uk).
CHECKLIST
Stage 4 – Part 1: Business design
s Work out the shape of your proposed practice culture – this should
flow from the objectives set
et out in your business
bu plan.
s Establish a practice management
anagement system.
system
s Design the first version
sion of your working
work methodology and ensure it
can develop and light of experience. Do not just go with
d adapt in the lig
what you already
eady know.
s Develop design
esign and service strategies
st for the practice that look into
ad
the future but remain adaptable.
s Set out, or borrow, your
you critical office policies.
s Develop
evelop a strategy for dealing with information – what to file and
what to throw away.
how and w
s Get into the habit of recording (in a retrievable way) information,
phone ccalls and decisions as they happen.
S
s Ensure that timesheets are kept by everyone in the company,

accurately and usefully recording time spent.
s Decide whether or not you are going to embrace BIM from the outset.
s Develop an approach from the beginning that will generate and retain
useful long-term knowledge for the business. Actively manage what
the business knows.
s Develop standard solutions for a wide range of practice activities.
s Ensure your premises are a good and safe place to work.
77
STAGE 4 – PART 2 COMPONENT SELECTION
STAGE 4 – PART 2
Component Selection
The second part of Stage 4 looks at the working parts of the
sure it runs
business, the mechanisms to put in place to ensure
nsure
gs with
effectively and that will help in any dealings h re
regulatory
authorities.
Any work done in the preparation and establishment
blishment
lishment of a b
busin
business plan
should make putting the plan into action all there are still a
ll the easier, but tth
large number of practical actions to be taken – from the ssm
small-scale task of
buying stationery to the major commitment
mitment
ment of taking o on premises.
Graphic identity
Deciding on the letter paper err for the practice is in many ways a symbolic
act of defining the existenceence of the new business.
bus As well as giving factual
isting
information, such as listinging the partners oro directors or providing practical
tterhead should also
information, the letterhead a give clues to other aspects of the
firm, including thehe design approach of the practice and a feel for the spirit of
the business. Inn practice the idea of o the letterhead is now only emblematic of
the graphicc identity
entity and the br b
branding of the firm as a whole. This is a serious
roject of its own, em
design project embracing the website, email headers, reports,
city,
ity, advertising, etc. as well as all the other stationery that a modern
publicity,
practice
ce needs. Many architects
ctice a see this as a challenge well within the scope
of their creati
creative abili
abilities, but in general you are advised to use a graphic
design it on your behalf. This will bring the added benefit of
designer to desi
experiencing h ho
how it feels to be a client of a design business.
The
he graphic identity needs to work in all formats, both electronic and
e graph
graphi
ted. With high-quality printers the need for pre-printed stationery
printed.
is relatively limited. It is probably better to invest in a series of branded
document templates that can be printed off as and when they are needed
– the details on letterheads and stationery change relatively frequently and
this avoids wasted printing and provides greater adaptability.
Business cards, however, should be printed and, despite their long history, are
still the easiest and most popular means of exchanging business details. See
your card as a small, and necessarily discrete, advertisement for your business,
conveying a flavour of the practice’s character and attitude to quality. There
should be enough information on the card to explain itself without your
presence – it must provide name, qualifications, postal, email and web
addresses, plus any contact phone numbers, including your mobile.
79
Standard items of stationery and graphic design

Items of graphic design and stationery for use in an architecture practice
can include:
s company logo
s letterhead (including run-on sheets)
s letterhead for copy letters
s invoice headers (including copies, statements of account, reminders,
s, etc
etc.)
s order headers
EN
s memo headers
s email signatures, headers and footers
s drawing issue sheets
s timesheets
s architect’s instructions
IM
s business cards
s compliment slips
s report cover sheets
EC
s drawing title blocks

s standard ‘project profile’
e’ sheets
s standard web pages
s signage.
SP
Certain information
mation must law, be included on letterheads and other
must, by law
documentss (including busin
business letters, orders for supply of goods and
services, invoices
nvoices receipts, invoices and demands for payment). If you
voices and receip
are operating trader or partnership the names of the owner or
ng as a sole tr
partners mustt appear e either as part of the practice name or elsewhere.
Partners or directors
ctors of LLPs or limited companies do not have to appear,
but if you choose to put one or more on the letterhead then they all
must appear. LLPs and limited companies must acknowledge that they are
such and show the place of registration (England and Wales, Scotland,
Northern Ireland or other specific variations) and their registered address
and registration number. (For more details see Companies House guidance
at www.companieshouse.gov.uk.) If you are VAT registered then your
registration number must also be shown on all invoices and receipts.
80
Premises
See: Working at home, page 97.
You do not need premises to set up in practice. Many architects’ firms

have been started at home, and many have remained there. Others have
attempted to establish virtual practices with no premises at all. This is
an and need to
neither desirable nor possible for most firms who will want
find a suitable property to set up shop in. Not long agoo this w
would have
been a studio space with good daylighting and plentynty of space for drawing
boards. Today, with most work being done at the e computer or dedesk, you are
EN
her office-based bus
more likely to be competing for space with other businesses.
Premises location comparison

on (example)
Home Studio Serviced
erviced Purpose-
office ce
space space designed office
Overheads Minimal Low Me

Medium High
Rent/charges None Low to medium High Medium to high
Location ly
Potentially Out of the way/ Adequate Good to
isolated fficult to
difficult excellent
access
ces
Convenience Good for sole Low High Purpose-

trader designed?
Facilities Basic/small Rough and Good, if As much as

ready anonymous could be
afforded
ublic face
Public Poor ‘Creative’ Adequate Good to
excellent
Growth Poor Good Excellent Limited

S
potential
poten
Resource
source ssharing Poor Possible Good Limited
81
Selecting premises
Issues to consider when selecting premises may include:
s location and accessibility (for you, staff, clients and others)
s space and services
s style – what does the location and nature of the premises say about
the firm
s image and public presence – do you want to show off your skills or
have a street front
s costs (rent, rates, service charges, utilities, etc.) and any available
lable grants
N
s scope for and cost of fitting out
s planning status
s location of your competition
s terms and length of lease
s health and safety
s adequate lighting, ventilation, temperature ature comfort
s sanitary provisions (adequate toilets, possibly
ossibly showers,
showers etc.)
s security (for you and your staff and for your equipmequipment after hours)
s fire risks and precautions
s scope for sharing space and nd facilities with others
o
s space for expansion or ability to reduce sp space required
s activity and behaviourr of neighbour
neighbours
s access to other facilities
acilities and local services
se
s relation to public
blic transport
transp
s car and bike
ke parking.
SP
Office basics
You will probably
ably
bly have a good idea of what you want your office to be like
and the facilitiess yo
you need. This, of course, may not be what you can afford
and you will need to decide on your priorities. Some matters are prescribed
by law, principally the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
1992, which lays down standards for:
s ventilation levels
s temperatures during office hours
s quality and quantity of lighting
s space standards
s number and suitability of sanitary and washing facilities
s supply of ‘wholesome’ drinking water
s provision of rest facilities and eating areas.
82
The Equality Act 2010 also imposes a duty on employers to ‘make

reasonable adjustments’ to avoid putting a disabled person at ‘a substantial
disadvantage’ due to a physical feature including internal and external
features of buildings, furniture and fittings, etc.
You may also want other facilities, possibly including:

s reception area
s meeting space/room
s display space
s kitchen
EN
s break out space
s model shop
s library/reference space
s storage/archive
s parking/bike store.
IM
Equipment
Your main working tools lss will almost undoubtedly
undou be computers and
rious
mobile devices of various us sorts, whether laptops, tablets or smart phones.
EC
ast-moving world th
It is unlikely in a fast-moving that you will end up with a coherent
single system; itt is more probable tth that there will be a profusion of different
devices that needeed to connect wit with each other. But you still need to choose
your main operating system a and equipment with care so that it is capable
ing
of carryingng out the main ta tas
tasks you require. There is plenty of advice
available
able
ble to help you ma make your choice, probably too much.
SP
A broadband connec
connection is a necessity along with office-wide Wi-Fi. Get the
connection available.
fastest connect
Other equip
equipm
equipment you may require includes:
s telepho
elepho
telephones (both landlines and mobiles)
s laptops,
to tablets, etc.
s printer/scanner/copier (at least A3)
s digital camera
s digital projector
s measuring and surveying equipment
s drawing board(s) (despite the computers)
s light box
s cutting mat/trimmer/spray booth.
83
Bank account
It almost goes without saying that you will need a bank account. But this
means choosing a bank, and this needs research and consideration. Banks
are competitive businesses like any other and you should at least expect
them to be keen to have your custom. They also have a range of services
to sell to you, which may or may not be appropriate or useful. Interview
a range of banks to find the one best suited for the circumstances and
ambitions of your business. You need them to look after your money ney
y
(and sometimes that of your clients), to offer useful advice (see also the
he
discussion in Stage 3 on the importance of your bank manager err as business
EN
adviser), to provide overdrafts and loans and above all to stay with you and
support you through good times and bad.
See also: Advisers, page 28.
Choosing a bank
M
Check online reviews and compare otherr users’ experiences and then
possibly ask some of the following questions ons when assessing
asses potential
banks:
s Does the bank take an ethical position concerning
concerni its business?
s Does it have a dedicated small
mall business team?
tea
s Does it have an understanding
tanding of the specific
spec needs of an architectural
business?
s Will your account be handled at a branch
br or regional level?
s Will you have a named senior con contact at the bank?
s What access is there to business advisers?
s What arere the qualifications
qualifica and experience of the business advisers?
s What range
ange of accounts is available?
s What range
nge of services
serv is on offer?
s What are thehe costs
cost of those services?
s What arrangements are required for overdrafts and loans?
s What will happen if you experience financial difficulties (posit various
scenarios)?
s What information will be required from you (and how frequently)?
s How are charges calculated – per transaction or a lump sum annual
charge?
s What are the hidden charges – for example, for sending out letters?
s What telephone services are on offer?
s How user-friendly are the online banking services?
s Will the bank try to sell you other, unrelated services?
84
There is nothing to stop you having more than one account – but
practicality dictates you will do most of your business banking with one
bank, with whom you will want to build a good working relationship.
Insurance
Theories of managerial economics tell us that profit is the reward for risk-
taking. While you will be in business to make a profit, you
ou may not want
sk that the world
to leave yourself completely exposed to all and any risk
may throw at you. This is where insurance comes in – it can be ppurchased
to protect, variously, you and others, your work, your premises an
and your
EN
property. Some insurance may be a legal requirement
rement while other types are
irement
a matter of commercial choice.
Insurance requirements
Types of insurance that may be required
d by architecture
architect practices include:
IM
s Professional indemnity (compulsory
ulsory for practising
practis architects)
s Material loss and damage:
– buildings and contentsents
– computers
– legal liabilities and
nd costs
EC
– cash and securities

curities
– employee e theft
the
– personal accident.
al accident
s Electronic
onic loss and damage:
dama
– data breach or loss
– identity fraud.
f
SP
s Liability:
– employer’s
employe liability (compulsory)
– public liability
li
– cyber
ybe liability.
s Personal
Perso and travel:
– medical
– accident
– possessions
– cancellation
– delay
– legal costs.
s Motor cars and driving:
– driver cover (third party liability compulsory).
s Fire and extended perils:
– employer’s liability (compulsory)
– public liability.
85
Ensure that you have appropriate and adequate insurance to allow you to
practise responsibly and to protect you and the practice should things go
wrong. In all cases get professional advice on the types of insurance and
levels of cover you require.
Professional indemnity insurance (PII)

PII is the minimum insurance necessary to practise as an architect, and the
0,0
Architects Registration Board (ARB) requires minimum cover of £250,000.
PII will probably be one of your most significant business expenses es and ccan
ar. There
rise alarmingly (and occasionally fall modestly) from year to year.
ng from large
are a range of brokers who specialise in arranging PII, ranging
EN
heir
eir advantages, as
companies to smaller individual brokers. Each will have their
cialist advice in th
well as different approaches to providing you with specialist the
event of a claim or potential claim.
Talk to several brokers when you are seeking PII andd get quotes from
fro each.
Ensure the insurance provided is in accordance e with the requirem
requirements of
IM
the ARB and consider the advantages each company
ompany offers. In
Ins
Insurance is
sold on a claims-made basis and a year att a time. This allow
allows you to change
ntain continuity and to establish a
insurers annually, but in order to maintain
working relationship with your brokers plan to stay with one
kers you should pla
for the longer term. Consider thee whole service on ooffer rather than simply
the cost.
EC
The ARB issues guidelines on PII requirements (see www.arb.org.uk). Note

that the ARB views very
y seriously failure to maintain appropriate PII.
eriously a failu
kely to have a weal

A good insurer is likely wealth of experience of the problems that
architects come upp against – make ssure that you use their services to help
SP
practice. In particular, inform them as early as possible

manage your risks in pract
should you be concerned a about a possible claim.
abou
When filling
ng
g out the prproposal forms for insurers, ensure that you answer all
prop
the questionss fully
ully and accurately. Any non-disclosure of information may
provide wriggle e room for your insurer and leave you vulnerable to claims.
Note that the RIBA Insurance Agency (a division of a larger insurance

broker endorsed by the RIBA) has a service specifically tailored to the needs
of small practices. For further details see www.architectspi.com.
Many clients and especially public sector clients tend to be very interested
in your professional indemnity cover and may demand evidence that it is in
place. Your insurance company should provide for this for you in the form
of a certificate of insurance. Some clients are also prone to demand that
you have PII over a certain threshold, whether or not it is appropriate for
the project under discussion. The most contentious of these thresholds is
the £5m cover for much public sector work. This has been greatly criticised
86
over the years but shows no signs of going away. In certain circumstances
this threshold can be negotiated away as it is expensive to maintain
unnecessarily for a small practice, but more frequently it imposes an
unwelcome barrier to smaller practices bidding for and obtaining work.
Choosing an insurer
When selecting an insurance policy provider, you should consider the
following issues:
s compliance with ARB requirements
s limits to cover of liabilities (cover to be as wide
de as possible)
s whether insurance will be on the basis of any one or each
ea and every
claim
s approach to collateral warranties
s legal costs to be included over and above
bove any inde
indemnity limits
s the quality of the claims service
ce
s availability of advice
s wriggle clauses – avoidid policies that attempt
att to use clever wording to
sponsibility
evade liability or responsibility
s experience of provider
EC
s and, only after

fter considering everything
eve else, cost.
Premisess and contents insurance

ins
It is important
mportant to cover yo yourself against loss and damage to both your
mises
premisesses and their con
contents. Consider how your practice would work should
SP
fire, flood or serious theft occur. The loss may not only be in terms of the
costs of the phyphysic
physical material but also the often greater costs of reinstating
systems to wor working order and retrieving vital archived material. Maintain
and
nd keep a g good, up-to-date inventory of your property, equipment, stored
aterial,
terial, e
material, etc. Aim to insure for complete reinstatement (new for old cover).
See also: Planning for disaster, page 142.
Any equipment that is taken off the premises, such as laptops, phones or
cameras, may have to be listed separately. Ensure that such lists are kept
updated as you buy and retire equipment.
One of the most recent forms of insurance is designed to cover you against
a range of online risks, such as computer viruses, hacking, identity fraud and
theft of data. You may be best served by ensuring that these risks are covered
within your main insurance policies, but remember to check, as the potential
damage can be considerable, and if necessary take out a separate policy.
87
Should you lease or rent your premises, insurance may come as part of
the package. Ensure that any such insurance is appropriate for your needs
and that you are aware of the conditions attached to it. In such cases,
contents insurance may have to be sought separately. Note that employees’
and others’ personal possessions may not be covered under the practice’s
insurance policies.
Beware of your insurer’s subrogation rights. Once they have settled

your claim they may seek to recover their loss from a third party. Iff your
insurance (or lease) is held in the name of only one partner, the third
parties might be taken to include other partners, employees, etc. Check
EN
that insurers waive their rights of subrogation against such
h parties.
Employers’ liability insurance

The title of the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance)
surance) Act 1969 ((a
(and
the subsequent similarly named regulations) spells ells out the obligatio
obligation on
all employers in business to have this insurance. ce. There are some e exceptions,
IM
including public organisations and family businesses
sinesses that only employ
ble,
le, and its existe
close relatives, but it is generally applicable, existenc
existence is confirmed
mployers
ployers are obliged to display in
by the certificate of insurance that employers
ises. Cover needs to be for at least £5
an accessible position in their premises.
million, which covers costs of compensation
mpensation your employees’ injuries
pensation for you
and illnesses, whether they are e caused on- or o off-s
off-site, but excepting motor
EC
injuries. Further information n can be obtained ffrom the Health and Safety
gov.uk
gov.u .
Executive, see www.hse.gov.uk.
Public liability insurance

urance
Your employers’ liability
iability insurance only
on
o covers employees and not others
who may visit yourr premise
premises or co
could otherwise be affected by your actions.
SP
urpose of pub
This is the purpose public liab
liability insurance. It is not compulsory but
should be e seriously conside
considere
considered, especially if you have a significant number
of visitors or dealings wwith third parties.
Public liability insuran

nsuran will cover you for damages awarded to a third
insurance
rom death or an injury to them or damage to their
party resulting from
property caused by you or your business. It should also include related legal
fees, costs and expenses. Policies vary, with many potential exclusion clauses
and warranties – take specialist advice if you are considering taking out
public liability insurance.
Health and accident insurance

Running a small business means that you are very dependent on your
own, your partners’ and key members of staff’s health and ability to
work. Considerable loss can result if any of you are unable to work
through illness or accident. Personal accident, life and sickness insurance
(as well as permanent health insurance) exists to cover this eventuality.
88
It normally consists of lump sums to be paid out for various conditions and
disablements, including death, loss of limbs or eyesight, etc. Such insurance
can be written for the benefit of the practice or the individual or a
combination of both. It is different from private health insurance, which is
aimed at paying for treatment. It should form part of the practice’s overall
strategy for dealing with risk and should be a potential part of employees’
benefits packages.
Other insurances
Other insurances you may need to consider include motor and ttravel
insurance and specialist cover for computers and other equipment
equipment.
EN
Insurance advice
When seeking insurance generally you should:
s seek specialist advice
s assess the risks that you and the
he practice may face
fac and seek
IM
appropriate insurance
s remember that it is better to
o take precautions
precaut and avoid unnecessary
risks than to assume that the insurance policy will cover your loss
s keep inventories and
d adequate records,
reco with copies in a safe place
EC
s obtain alternative
ative quotations through
th one or more brokers
s ensure that
at you, your personal
persona assets and your practice are all
adequatelyy protected
protect
s supply full and accurate information
ply insurers with ful
s keep
ep your insurers informed
i of changing circumstances
SP
s inform your
yo insurers, as soon as possible, of any circumstances likely
to
o give rise to
t a claim (including the discovery of mistakes or claims by
clients or others).
o
Professional
fe advisers
You are likely to need a range of professional advisers to support your
business. Select these with care; get recommendations; possibly shortlist
three individuals or firms for a role and then interview them before
agreeing to hire them. In particular you will need to be clear about how
the lines of communication will operate between you. Will you be dealing
largely with one person at senior level? Or an ever-changing contact at a
more junior level of both work and judgement?
89
Accountant
There is a common confusion between the activity of bookkeeping and the
role of the accountant. You (or your bookkeeper) should expect to compile
all the information on your income and outgoings and understand enough
about the workings of the accounts to know where you stand at any point.
Indeed, if your accounts are simple and straightforward you will not need
the services of an accountant at all – you can get HM Revenue and Customs
to calculate your tax liability and pay it accordingly.
See: Keeping account, page 91.
EN
If you need to get an accountant to take your bills and invoices
voices and mmake
sense of them you are probably being unnecessarily profligate.
ofligate. Althoug
Although
your accountant may check the books and straighten comply
n them out to comp
with accounting standards, present them to HM Revenue Customs and
venue and Custom
calculate the amounts due, that is not their main ain role advantage to you.
e or advantag
Their job is to act as your business adviser and
nd sure that the
d help to make sur
IM
financial side of your business is running as effectively and ef efficiently as
possible and that you are complying with requirements of the law in
th the requiremen
requirement
doing so. You need to choose an accountant
ountant who is symsympathetic to your
business needs as well as being reliable
liable knowledgeable. They must be
able and knowle
knowledg
someone to whom you would feel eel happy to turn a as and when necessary.
EC
Business Adviser
Business advice (and training)
aining)
ning) can be ob
obtain
obtained in small packages or as a
continuous service to o you and your comp
company. The advice and assistance is
likely to cover, in much greater detail, many of the topics touched on only
ook.
ok. At the outset o
briefly in this book. of setting up a practice you may want
SP
help defining g your busine

business plan or training staff for new roles. It is all
available, att a cost, either in th
the generic form of training courses or as a
tailored consultancy
nsultancy service directly addressing your particular needs. You
may also findnd that ther
there aare free advisory services in your area sponsored by
ment
Local Government ent or oothers offering help.
As with other services ask around and get recommendations for advisers
who will suit both you and the design sector. There are some companies
that specialise in advising and helping architects and others in the
construction and property sectors – or you may be happy seeking broader
business expertise.
Public relations consultant

You may have a natural flair for relations with the media and be able to
generate your own publicity, but the likelihood is you will not have the
time or the expertise. A PR consultant may not be an early or even an
essential appointment. However, if you want to develop the profile of your
new business early on, or perhaps even start with an attention-grabbing
90
launch, then the advice of a PR consultant will prove invaluable, and it may
prove very helpful in the long-term success of your practice.
If you are considering choosing a PR consultant, do your research and

explore with a variety of potential companies or individuals how you can
work together – what, in practical terms, you might get out of it and how
much it would cost. It is likely that you will need someone with specific
experience of the architectural/design sector, who knows the appropriate
journalists and others to suggest to you or to contact on you
your behalf.
Such experience is also likely to bring an awareness that budge
budgets
udge for PR in
architecture are modest at best, and to know how w to make them stretch
EN
accordingly.
Solicitor
Every so often you will need the skills off a lawyer, whethe
whether to prepare a
deed of partnership, read through a proposed
oposed contract, write a formal
letter to a client to chase an unpaidid invoice or do pro
property conveyancing.
IM
It is worthwhile establishing a relationship
ationship with a
an individual solicitor who
can help you for the majority y of your needs an
and can provide general legal
hould you require ssp
and business advice. But should specialist legal assistance,
tion law, you should seek out a lawyer with the
for example in construction
appropriate skills and d knowledge of the law in that sector.
EC
RIBA Members’’ Information Line

The RIBA offers
ers
rs a members’ info
infor
information helpline (020 7307 3600), which
can provide
e access to a pane
panel oof specialist practice advisers for help and
e on a range of pra
guidance prac
practice issues – from legal and contractual
problems
ems to taxation or pplanning advice. Further details are given on the
ormation
ation Ce
Information Centre pa
page at www.architecture.com.
SP
Keeping ac
account
acc
The deman
demands of running any business mean that an excessive amount
demand
of time is spent keeping accounts in order; recording money spent and
d sums owed and owing and amounts invoiced and paid. And
earned,
although it is an essential part of ensuring the business survives and is
successful, it is unlikely that you started the practice with any appetite or
enthusiasm for the exacting and time-consuming activity of recording every
single transaction you make.
It may sometimes appear that the only reason for keeping such records is
to satisfy HM Revenue and Customs that you are paying the correct amount
of tax and VAT. However, it does have a useful side: it provides an essential
financial management tool that allows you to maintain control of your
profitability and cash flow and to monitor the success, or otherwise, of your
business strategy.
91
Accounting practices and procedures have developed to use your accounts

to help you with this and to produce reports that give an insight into the
health and prospects of your practice.
This guide is not the place to deal with the inner details of accounting
practice – those are readily available elsewhere – but it does look briefly
at some basic principles of keeping the books and making sense of them.
Much bookkeeping work is now handled by computer programs, which
have greatly eased the keeping of accounts, but you should still be familiar
e fam
with the underlying approaches.
A number of systems will be available to you and you should ld

d aim to use
EN
the simplest that is applicable to both your business and your accountaccountant,
now and in the future. Consider setting up your own spreadsheet
preadsheet progr
program
if that is all you really require – at least you will thoroughly
oroughly understand it.
roughly understan
If you are starting a single-handed practice and have ambition to
ve no great ambit
expand, avoid an elaborate system designed to workflow of
o deal with the wor
large numbers of staff and individual profit centres. Alternati
Alternatively, if you do
Alternative
IM
plan to expand, look for a system capable e of coping with a g greater number
of tasks and more complex analysis of results. lts.
Single-entry bookkeeping
The most basic system is a single-entry
le-entry
e-entry procedu
procedure, which can easily be done
EC
eadsheet. This invo

on paper or on a simple spreadsheet. involv
involves recording each item
penditure (payment
of income (receipts) or expenditure (payments) in its own row, with the
ording
ding the date, n
columns separately recording nam
name and unique reference number
etails and amount. T
of the transaction, details Totalling the columns will give you
a simple cash flow w in and out and a b balance between the two. This is, more
ur monthly bank sta
or less, how your statement is presented to you, and if the
SP
dates correspond,
pond, they sh result in the same sums. The information
should re
from this will allow you to puput together a simple profit and loss account for
each period.
od.
d.
See: Financial forecast,

ecast, page
pag 51.
A more developed version of this system breaks down the details column
into subcategories, such as ‘travel’, ‘utility costs’, ‘rent’, etc., as illustrated in
the example financial forecast given in Stage 3, and each of these is then
given its own ‘amount’ column or ledger. This allows the totals to reflect
the different types of expenditure and income over a period and gives you
a greater, at-a-glance understanding of where money is being spent or
earned, and the opportunity to measure progress against pre-set targets or
other benchmarks. Your profit and loss account can now be developed into
something more useful for management purposes.
If your business is VAT registered, the VAT paid should also be recorded
in separate columns. The resulting totals will provide a simple assessment
92
of VAT to be paid at the end of your accounting period. In order to check

your accounts you will need to reconcile them against your monthly bank
statements, taking into account any unpaid invoices, uncashed cheques or
monies that you may owe. Any mistakes that have crept in will have to be
flushed out – sometimes a laborious process. Single-entry bookkeeping is a
good, robust system for a small business without too many transactions, but
it will not, by itself, help you reconcile your accounts or flag up unpaid bills,
etc. For this, accountants long ago developed a more complexm and fiendish
procedure.
Double-entry bookkeeping
EN
The double-entry system is the method used by y accountants and
professional bookkeepers and is so called because transaction is
ecause each tran
transac
recorded twice over, once for value givenn and
nd once for value received.
It records the exchange of goods or services
rvices transaction by
vices for money, tr
tra
transaction. The balance between total
otal value received aagainst total value
given at any time will reveal the financial state of pl
play. Ultimately, once all
pla
IM
bills are paid, the balance should
uld be zero.
The double-entry system may be complex but it is very well suited to

computer systems, which
ch straightforwardly transfer and cross-refer
h can straightforwa
information from one another. Assess the different
e area of data to an
packages that are available and dis
discuss suitability and compatibility issues
discus
EC
with your accountant making a choice.

ntant before makin
Terminology:
logy: double-entry
double-ent bookkeeping
Double-entry
e-entry bookkeepin
bookkeeping has its own strict terminology:
s The
e receipt of value creates a debit.
s The giving of value creates credit.
s Transactions are recorded in a set of books, comprising day books or
S
journals and ledgers.

s Entries are made in the day books or journals; these include a general
journal plus more specific journals such as a cash book, sales book and
purchase book (each recording the transactions under a number of
headings as with the single-entry system).
s The information is then transferred, or posted, to individual ledgers
that deal with specific accounts.
Information can be drawn from both journals and ledgers to provide

detailed assessments for the financial management of the company,
including cash flow, invoice chasing and the identification of waste.
Ultimately, your debit total (comprising assets and expenditure) should
equal your credit total (comprising liabilities and income).
93
Tax, National Insurance and VAT

Tax planning
As you go into business you are going to work for both yourself and the
government. HM Revenue and Customs has an interest in your taxable
revenue and uses you to collect VAT on its behalf. In order to deal most
effectively with this you need to plan your tax so that you pay only the
most advantageous rates and amounts of tax, you have the resources es
to make the payments when the time comes and you do so at the e very
ery
last moment. Tax planning will certainly affect your choice of company
ompany
structure (see Stage 3) and is something you need to addresss in detail with
EN
your accountant right at the outset of starting your business.
ess.
HM Revenue and Customs publishes guidance, informationmation

ation videos and
online presentations on its website to help you through
rough system.
ough the tax system
See www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup for more details. ls.
See: Company structure, page 39.

IM
Income tax
Income tax is the responsibility of individuals
ndividuals to pay, aand if you are going
to be a partner or a director in the business you wil
will need to ensure that
EC
you complete your tax return in the usual way, d deducting any allowances.
Income tax, together with National Insurance, is paid half yearly on the 31st
of January and July, based ed
d on an assessmen
assessment of the previous year’s figures.
You need to register with HM Revenue and an Customs for both income tax
a
ance when you start out on your own. If you are starting
and National Insurance
as a sole trader orr as a partner, your tax status will be updated to that of
self-employed,, although if you ar are gaining income from more than one
SP
source (for example from teach

teaching) then you may still be taxed directly by
your other
er employer(s)
employer(s).
Your taxable
e income
come will
wi be calculated as the amount remaining once you
w
have deductedd from yyour total income any allowable expenses resulting
from running theebbusiness. You should seek advice as to which expenses
are allowable, particularly if you are working from home or other premises
where some expenses may be shared.
See also: Capital allowances, page 95.
If you have, or plan to have, employees you will also be responsible for
calculating and collecting their income tax through the Pay As You Earn
(PAYE) scheme. Again you will need to register with HM Revenue and
Customs, and you will be issued with the information and facilities to carry
this out.
94
National Insurance
National Insurance is collected on top of income tax, either as part of
employment (Class 1 contributions) through PAYE, or, if you are self-
employed, through both Class 2 and Class 4 contributions. Class 2
contributions are collected at a flat weekly rate, usually by direct debit, and
entitle the contributor to incapacity benefit, the basic pension, widow’s
benefit and maternity allowance. Class 4 contributions are collected along
with income tax payments at a rate based on a fixed percentage
rce of income
between set lower and upper limits. They carry no further
rther entitlements.
er ent
A self-employed person is obliged to notify HM Revenue

evenue and Customs
Custo within
EN
three months of their new status. If you have other
ther employment it is likely
you will be required to pay Class 1, 2 and 4 contributions
ontributions as appropriate.
appr
a
Corporation tax
If you have set up as a limited company
pany then the comp
compa
company will pay
ach financial year. T
corporation tax on its profits in each The taxable profit is the
IM
sum of the cash profit at the endnd of the year plus tthe value of any dividends
rectors
ctors may have p
that you and your fellow directors pa
paid yourselves. Corporation
tax is payable by the end of December follo
follow
following the year in question –
ensure you have enough ghh money set aside tto cover this payment.
EC
Capital allowances
ces
Some purchasess cannot be directly set against income within a single tax
year – instead,d,, the capit
capital value has to be written off year by year as the
reciates. This applie
value depreciates. applies to items of plant, computer equipment,
vehicles, allowances apply and small businesses may have
s, etc. Various allow
iall allowances. Thes
special These will need to be checked; but currently the write
SP
down
own allowan
allowance (WD (WDA) is 18% per year. See online HMRC guidance on
capital allowan
allowances ffor further details.
VAT
Value
alue
ue Added
Adde Tax (VAT) is a sales tax levied on goods and services, which
you add
dd to your invoices. It is then repaid, by you, to the VAT office of HM
Revenue and Customs. Unlike other taxes your business only has to register
for VAT once your taxable turnover exceeds a certain threshold (currently
£81,000 over the previous 12 months).
As your business grows you will need to decide when to register for VAT.
There are clear advantages to your clients if you are not yet VAT registered,
and it may also mean less paperwork for you. But note that you may pass
the VAT threshold in middle of a project and your clients will suddenly
be required to pay VAT on all your future invoices. Passing on your VAT
payments through your invoice system can also benefit your business, and
many businesses may decide to register early for the level of respectability
that VAT registration can bring.
95
VAT on architectural services is generally charged at the standard rate of 20%,

which will include the cost of any other expenses or disbursements you are
charging for, whether fully rated or not. This is described as the ‘output tax’.
VAT is usually accounted for and paid quarterly, but if your estimated
taxable turnover is less than £1.35 million you can join the annual
accounting scheme and only report once and pay in increments over
the year. Staying below the same limit also permits you to use the cash
accounting scheme, which allows you to pay VAT only once you have avee be
been
paid yourself, a facility that can significantly aid cash flow.
If your business has paid out VAT when paying for running expenses
xpenses you can
EN
reclaim this ‘input tax’ when preparing the VAT account (although
although there
ther are
some exceptions, such as entertainment expenses and buyinguying cars). However,
Howe
Howeve
note that some of your purchases may not include VAT AT and on others it may
m
only have been charged at 5%. If your input tax exceeds
eeds your output tax
xceeds t
in an accounting period you will be repaid the difference,
ence, but only if the
business is VAT registered. VAT accounts are now
ow normally submitted
sub
subm online
IM
at www.hmrc.gov.uk. Payment, if applicable,le, will be deducted by direct debit
ble,
approximately six weeks after the end of the
he VAT
A period.
VA
Recognising that the preparation of quarterly, or even annual, VAT

accounts is onerous for very small (although it also provides
all businesses (altho
EC
a very useful discipline for other procedures), HM Revenue

her accounting pr
proc
and Customs runs a flat-rate taxable turnover is less than
te scheme. If your ta
£150,000 annually, the scheme
heme allows p payment of VAT at a standard rate
paym
of 14.5% (depending on sector) of taxab
taxable turnover. Assess whether this is
advantageous to you ou before applying
applying.
Other taxes
SP
Other taxess may also apply to the business, such as capital gains tax, vehicle
ty and a TV licence
excise duty licence. Consult your accountant, especially if your
xtend
tend overse
interests extend overseas or into unusual areas of business.
Self-assessment
ent
Under the self-assessment system individuals and companies are responsible
for recording their taxable business activities and calculating and paying
the amounts due on time, regardless of whether they have been sent
reminders or the correct paperwork and forms. Fines and interest payments
may be levied if this is not achieved.
Pensions
Consider pensions for the partners or directors and for others as part of
your long-term tax planning – seek specialist advice. All UK employees over
22 and earning over £10,000 should also be automatically enrolled in a
pension scheme. For more details see www.pensionsregulator.gov.uk.
96
Working at home
One of the great advantages of being self-employed is that you can work at home,
although this is clearly not suitable for everyone. You should consider the following
pros and cons before deciding to set up your business in your own home:
Pros:
s low overheads
s short commuting time
s flexible working hours
s good/comfortable working environment
s informality
s fluidity between work and home life
s the use of house as showpiece.
Cons:
s may need planning consent
s the possible need to pay business rates may change the naturnature of your property
s never being able to leave the office at the end of the day and a lack of
separation between life and work
s no ‘orientation time’ gained during g the journey to work
s distractions (from family, friends,
ds, housework, etc.)
et
s need for self-discipline
s professional isolation and d loneliness
lone
s lack of formal receptionon or meeting rooms
roo
s invasion of privacy
s need for perpetual
tual tidiness
s perception of a lack of seriousness
seriousn
s loss of space
ce in the home
h
s difficulty
ulty of expanding
expan or providing space and facilities for staff.
If you do decide to work
wor at home you should consider the following actions,
which may help yoyou to run your business effectively:
s maintainn separate
separa office and home spaces, even if adjacent
s ensure you have appropriate insurance and that your insurers understand the
work/home arrangement
s have separate home and office telephone systems/numbers
s use a telephone answering service
s set firm times for work; and ‘go home’ in the evening
s use meeting facilities elsewhere for critical meetings
s establish locum and job sharing arrangements with co-professionals
s establish regular social and professional links with other small businesses and
built environment professionals, including participating in RIBA activities and
CPD events
s take proper holidays.
97
CHECKLIST
Stage 4 – Part 2: Component Selection
s Commission a graphic identity, including letterheads, other paper and
electronic documents and templates. Resist the temptation to do it
yourself.
s Think through where to have your office premises. Your choice will
communicate a lot about you and the practice. It will affect how well
w we
ell as your
you will work, the quality of life for you and your staff as well
ability to attract high-quality employees.
N
s Select your bank with care – shop around before making
ing your choice.
cho
s Make sure you are adequately insured, including both insurances
oth those insuran
you must have to practise legally and those which
ch protect you and
the business from undue financial risk should the
he unexpected (but
(b
predictable) happen.
s Appoint and consult professional advisers
ers who can help you
y protect
your business and make it a success.
s Keep full and proper accounts and
nd make the information
inform work for the
practice as well as for HM Revenue
nue and Customs.
Customs
s Plan effectively to minimise
e your tax exposure.
exposu Know what taxes are
EC
due and make sure that you have the resources

resou in place to pay them
when they become due. ue.
SP
98
STAGE 5 – PART 1 GETTING NOTICED
STAGE 5 – PART 1
Getting Noticed
You have set up your practice on the basis of a solid business
plan and you are ready for the launch. You may ayy e
even already
nderway.
have some work to get the new venture underway. way. B
But you
will need to find new clients and projectss in order to de
develop
EN
re they and whe
the practice and keep it going. Who are wher
where are
they going to come from?
Marketing
In comparison with many businesses, sses, architects’ clie
clien
clients are a particularly
IM
diverse group – they can be practically
ractically anyone, anany group or any business.
You could even be your own n client.
ient. It can ther
there
therefore be a difficult group to
target, but it is essential to do so if you are g going to spend what will be a
very limited marketing g budget wisely. In e establishing your business plan you
will have decided to o concentrate
ncentrate on ce certain sectors, and they will be your
cer
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main focus, but there

here are also some o other basic ways in which you should
make yourself known.
In addition broad-brush approach, you need to target specific

n to adopting a bro
broa
areas that
hat your intelligence gathering has indicated will be likely sources
of work.
ork. have enough information about the sector, or possibly
rk. Ensure you hav
subsector,
bsector, to m yourself incisive and useful to a client and to show them
make yo
SP
that you can bbe of practical help. You are in the business of selling them a
problem-solving service; you need to persuade them that the skills you have
on offer are a close fit for the ones they believe they need.
Clients will be interested in whether you have or have access to the

ents wi
resources
rc necessary to supply their needs. A good track record may be
enough to satisfy them that you can handle their project, but you might
also be expected to show that you have a team of staff, consultants and
possibly suppliers and contractors readily available to realise their vision.
The expectations of clients and the reality of resourcing projects are
frequently poles apart, and this can be a significant problem for new and
small practices. You may have to find ways of creatively responding to this
in order to persuade clients that your modest size practice can deal with
their modest size job, even though it is very large and very important in
their eyes.
99
Marketing: the inexpensive basics

Existing contacts Stay in touch with your existing clients and contacts. Word
of mouth and personal recommendation remains the most
effective means of getting work.
Website Without a website you do not exist, at least in most
people’s eyes. Clients will check it both before and after
meeting you. As with other forms of advertising ng it needs to
reati
be legal, decent, honest and truthful, even if creatively so.
Online presence uch as Facebook
Practice and personnel profiles on sites such Faceboo
and LinkedIn will help establish your presence and can h help
to tell a positive and accessible story
ry about your practice.
Social media ng to say then carve
If you’ve got something interesting car
out an identity on your own blog, Twitter or oth
other social
networks. Post images of yourr projects, influences
influe and
experiences on sites like
e Tumblr, Pinterest or
o Flickr.
RIBA RIBA Chartered Practices
ctices can post practice
pract information and
details of up to 10 projects on the www.architecture.com
w
website. Keep information up to date. Your RIBA branch
duce and distribute lists of local practices.
may also produce
Architecture Centres Volunteer
er on projects with
wit and for your local centre.
Get involved
volv
Directories ake sure you appea
Make appear in online directories including
yell.com, thomsonlocal.com
thomson and any other appropriate
especially if the listing is free.
directories, espec
Literature Have at least a printed sheet publicising your practice to
hand out or send out.
han
Networking
ng Go to events and meet people, including colleagues and
potential clients.
pote
Press and media
a Make contact with journalists, submit regular press releases
and news stories, write letters, articles, etc.
Exhibitions Participate in exhibitions and architectural marketing events.
Events Organise activities as part of events such as Architecture
Week. Open your practice for public visits and get your
buildings included in events such as Open House.
Surgeries Participate in Ask an Architect events or architectural
surgeries. If there isn’t already a scheme being run locally,
start one yourself.
Groups and clubs Become active in local groups and activities, whether
connected with architecture and design or not.
Pushiness Being shy and diffident never won any work.
100
Beware of corporate brochures. These cost large sums of money, date very
quickly and are difficult to know what to do with. Most clients will be able
to get everything they need to know from your website. You can always
produce a postcard to act as a physical reminder or advertisement for your
website – it is much cheaper to produce than a brochure.
Websites are critical in the selection of architects by potential clients.

As well as being a form of advertising and promotion they are a source
of information about the practice: clients and their advisers
sers use websites
visers
extensively to vet architectural firms and draw up shortlists.
hortlists. Ensure that
ts. En
your site is not only attractive and easy to navigate,
te, also provides
e, but that it al
EN
the information that clients might be looking for,or, and in an easily printable
form. The content should be there for the clients
ients – not for yyou.
Sending out targeted mailshots and cold-calling

d-calling is always a possibility,
but targeting should be fairly precise and nd any leads need to be rigorously
followed up. It is likely that there are better
tter ways to eexpend your energies
pursuing work. The story with regard
egard advertising is similar – do it for the
gard to advertisin
IM
goodwill and for keeping the practice in the pub public eye, but do not expect
it to show immediate payback ack in the form of wworthwhile work. A three-
year time lag between publicity resulting paid work is considered
ublicity and any re
res
an approximate norm.. Always put yoursyourself in the shoes of the recipient of
yourse
your mailshots/calls/advertising
s/advertising imagine what would convince you to
/advertising and im
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appoint someone e you had never he heard of before.

hea
Respond to advertisements placed in the architectural press and elsewhere

dvertisements plac
from clients
nts architects. They may not happen very often, but
ts looking for arch
archi
can be very well worth pur
pursuing, particularly if you fit a particular age or
geographical
graphical requirement and can act immediately. But do not hold your
aphical requireme
SP
breath successful or immediate result, and avoid excessive investment

eath for a su
successfu
in preparing mmaterials.
mater
marketing data support the notion that your best customers are the
All marketin
already have – so look after them and ensure that you continue
oness you al
alr
to give th
them a good service long after their project has been delivered and
they hhave paid their final invoice. Almost all happy clients will return in
due course with more business. They are also your best sales force – they
can recommend you to a wide range of their contacts and provide useful
references and reassurances to future clients. Cherish them.
Publicity materials
To help you in your marketing effort you need evidence that:
s you are who you say you are
s you have qualifications, experience and a track record
s your practice matches clients’ aspirations.
101
Such evidence will help to provide reassurance to a client that the risk they
are considering taking on in appointing your practice is minimal. It can take
many forms: from yearly accounts and details of insurance to glossy photos
of previous projects and glowing testimonials. You need to have it ready to
be assembled into a format that meets the requirements of the moment.
The same material, in different forms, will be needed to do many different
jobs, from providing copy for magazine articles to filling out complex pre-
qualification questionnaires (PQQs).
The evidence
Evidence of your professional competence and successful track
ack record can
EN
take many forms:
s Presentation drawings and sketches – whether drawnwn up before or
after construction these can become very useful publicity material.
s Photographs – the opportunity to get good images es of your projects
proj is
raphers as far as possible;
often short lived. Use professional photographers po they
re worth it.
can be eye-wateringly expensive, but are
s Client testimonials – best obtained when n the client is most
m enthusiastic
ded. They may not have an obvious
about the service you have provided.
or immediate use, but once you have them they can be drawn upon
whenever appropriate. Also o collect positive ccomments from others,
cians, funders, users
including planners, politicians, user and visitors.
s Press and online coverage
rage – buildings can attract considerable amounts
nd some coverage can be very usefully reproduced
of media interest, and
ur clients’ favour. Me
in yours and your Media appearances may also be useful,
although more e difficult to reprod
reproduce.
s Awards – there are awards
aw schemes for every conceivable aspect and
a
type of project. Enter awards – they are a very convincing recognition
of your practice’s quality and acceptability, and some can provide real
kudos.
s Books – the publis
publishing industry produces huge numbers of books on
architecture and interior design, many of which will need illustrations
and case studies. Publications vary enormously in quality, but being
featured indicates professional standing and will please clients.
s Exhibition catalogues and directories – more evidence of your standing.
s Competitions – successes and shortlistings, or possibly succès d’estime –
critical appreciation – can only enhance your reputation and may make
useful contacts, but take care who you show your more outlandish
ideas to.
s Writings – published articles and papers are all evidence of your
credibility, especially if they show in-depth knowledge of a relevant
subject area. A book in your own name will take this even further.
102
s Research – research developed and published can be very useful

evidence of active and informed involvement in an area, especially if
immediately appropriate to a particular project. It may also lead to
other strands of business activity.
s Company profile – information on the practice tailored to different
audiences and different lengths. It may take the form of sheets that
can be bound or distributed with project sheets, staff CVs, etc. Keep the
information up to date.
s Project sheets – sheets giving succinct details of each project carried
c
out by the practice, or by practice members in previous jobs and roles.
Project sheets should be branded and have a consistent graphi
graphic identity
and layout, and may be bound together for a bespoke do document, made
available on the web, etc. Prepare a newew sheet immediate
immediately following
completion of each project.
s Staff CVs – an important weapon n in your armoury is the experience of the
partners, directors and staff, ass well as other consultants
con to the company.
diff
Keep these up to date and adaptable to different circumstances.
s Roles and appointments ts – in addition to the staff CVs, you may wish
appointmen within the practice, such as
to highlight certain skills or appointments
nning qualificatio
conservation or planning qualifications, academic positions or advisory
n to companies, government
roles in relation g or institutions.
s Project list – a database of past and current projects, cross-referenced to
allow you to produce suisuitably tailored selections of projects.
s Clientt list – a record of yo
your past and current clients and the projects you
ve carried out for them.
have th Ensure that you have each client’s consent
fore releasing any
before an information about them.
s Annual acc
accounts – frequently requested in PQQs or credit applications,
etc. Maintai
Maintain in a form that you are happy to release for external
scrutiny.
S
s Bank reference
re – also a PQQ requirement. Maintain an up-to-date version.
s Insurance documentation – most insurance companies supply certificates
of insurance for issuing to potential clients, etc. Otherwise, ask your
insurer what information they permit you to reveal.
s Quality assurance – documentation of the practice’s quality assurance
procedures and evidence of relevant accreditation, such as RIBA
Chartered Practice status or Investors in People.
s Registration information – information on company, VAT and data
protection, etc.
s Practice policy statements – might include health and safety, equal
opportunities or environmental statements.
103
Overcoming procurement barriers

A constant concern for new practices is how to obtain work from
mainstream clients, particularly those in the public sector. New procurement
systems, attitudes to risk avoidance and the common requirement to
demonstrate extensive prior experience with similar projects all place
considerable barriers in the way of winning such work. It may take time
and commitment to gain such work, but it is not impossible – even for the
very smallest of practices.
Small-scale work
EN
Many public bodies have a requirement for consultants to deal with their
very small projects, repairs, refurbishments, etc. It is not glamorous worwork
and may not pay well, but it may allow you to get a foot oot in the door an and
gain that valuable experience and client base. Alternatively,
ernatively, possible to
rnatively, it is possi
possib
build up experience by working directly for individual
vidual organisations that
ual organisation
operate under a local authority umbrella, such h as schools and com community
IM
centres.
Specialist work
If your practice can supply a specialism
lism
ism that is in suffici
sufficient demand and
without an adequate supply it will give you a way iin to obtaining work
EC
ficult-to-reach clie
with a range of otherwise difficult-to-reach client
clients. Such skills in the past
have included: off-site and modern methods o of construction, cladding,
public consultation and the
he realisation of pu
public art works and projects.
Approved lists
In order to get work
ork from large or p public sector clients it is probable that
eed to apply and th
you will first need then get onto a pre-vetted preferred
SP
t. Contact loca
suppliers list. local auth
authorities, etc. to discover who maintains such
lists and the apply in selection for them. There will also be a
e criteria they ap
app
number off other hurdle
hurdles tto overcome:
s Each local authority
uthority requires different information and a different set of
on q
prequalification questionnaire (PQQ) forms to be filled in.
s Some public bodies require that you are pre-registered with and vetted
by Constructionline, a register of construction-related contractors and
consultants run by Capita for the Department of Business, Innovation &
Skills (BIS). There is an annual fee to pay, which is based on turnover (for
turnover of up to £250,000 the fee is currently £90 plus VAT). For more
details see www.constructionline.co.uk.
s Note that many public bodies require a professional indemnity insurance
level of £5 million. This is far more than many practices carry, and
more than is appropriate for the small-scale work that falls below the
European Union (EU) value threshold.
104
Government Online
The UK Government is currently trying to raise the proportion of central
government spending going to small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs), with a 2015 target of 25%. Part of its efforts include publishing
details of forthcoming government tenders over £10,000, the ‘pipeline’
on its Contracts Finder website, online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk.
Also see www.government-online.net an earlier government attempt to
publicise its contracts that includes contracts also advertised
ise in the Official
tise
Journal of the European Union (OJEU). You can register ter too rec
receive email
updates of tender advertisements.
EN
Frameworks supply teams
The next step up from being placed on a list st of approved sup
supp
suppliers is to
become a framework supplier. This might ht be beyond the rereach of a recently
rea
established practice, but a bid in which part of an integrated
ch the practice is pa
par
supply team of contractors, suppliers
ers and
d consultants wwith enough
credibility would stand a far greater
ater success.
ter chance of succe
IM
OJEU notices
Many practices subscribe e to the Official Jou
Jour
Journal of the European Union
(OJEU) and respond to o advertisements ffor architects’ services that are
placed there for workork across the EU
EU. Al
All public projects for services with a
EC
lifetime contract value greater than €137,000 (central government bodies)

or €211,000 (other
other
ther public sector) aare required to be advertised in the OJEU.
However, there
here record of small to medium-sized architectural
re is a poor rec
practices winning work from this source. The website www.ojeu.com
provides highlights reporting service on OJEU notices.
es a free daily high
highl
SP
Contractors
ontractors
ntractors
Approximately 25% of UK construction and around half of public projects
directly through building contractors with architects and
are procured di
consultants acting as second tier subcontractors. There is no
other consu
consult
procurement
cureme process required to obtain work from contractors although
ocureme
architects
tec are often part of contractors’ bidding teams as they participate
in the overall process. Develop good contacts with contractors who bid for
design and build work both in the public and private sectors.
Advisory work
With the increase in complexity of procurement systems, many clients –
especially in the public sector – require client-side advice on feasibility,
consultation, procurement and briefing. Such opportunities make it
possible to work on large-scale projects without the resource implications of
developing designs to detail design stage. However, this work does require a
considerable degree of experience and expertise and a good understanding
of clients’ procurement needs. The RIBA runs an accreditation system for
105
RIBA Client Advisers; for further details see www.architecture.com. At a

different level, Cabe at the Design Council has a network of Built Environment
Experts (BEEs). See www.designcouncil.org.uk. Many local authorities and
other bodies, including architecture centres, also run design review panels,
advertising in the press periodically to renew their membership. Work for
Cabe and most panels is paid – even though rates are modest.
CHECKLIST
Stage 5 – Part 1: Getting Noticed
s Have a marketing strategy and put it into action.
EN
s Ensure that you have covered the basic and straightforward
orward means
that will get you noticed and that allow you to be found by someone
someon
not looking overly hard.
s Put effort into your website.
s Use social media to build a name and recognition yourself and your
ognition for yourse
IM
practice.
s Pay attention to your existing clientss and contacts. Looking
Loo after them
will show far more results than chasing after new and
a unknown leads.
s Compile (in advance) the evidence potential clients, use for
nce to show pote
EC
publicity, etc. Maintain it in

n a standard format
form that can be quickly
assembled for specific uses.
s Find ways of getting the kind of experience
exp that is called for in your
crea
target sectors. Be ingenious and creative if needs be.
s Get your practice lists, attached to consortia, in supply
tice on approved lis
teams and into
o frameworks.
framew
SP
s Respond advertisements and calling notices looking for architects

d to advertisem
and architectural
chitectural services.
service
s Sell yourself
rself hard – no one else will.
106
STAGE 5 – PART 2 WINNING WORK
STAGE 5 – PART 2
Winning Work
Getting noticed and shortlisted by potential clients is possibly
poin
half the battle, but you still have to win the appointment,
ppoin
lified com
potentially beating several equally well-qualified competitors.
The appointment process is rarely immediate iate and usually
EN
iation, sometimes
involves a period and process of negotiation,
including a decision on how much work to do at ris and
risk a
without a proper agreement. It can ann also be a time to decide
whether the client is one you woulduld prefer not tto become
further involved with, and to o make your excu
excuses and back away.
excus
IM
The ability to convince completeete strangers that yyou are the right architect
for them and their project is a skill that some a appear to have naturally and
others struggle with, butt it is critical for the success of your business. If
you are not a natural then
hen it may be wis wise to seek training in presentation,
otiation techniqu
interview and negotiation techniques.
EC
Working at risk
Many clients
ents will expect you to work for them for free – at least initially.
How much is expected wi will vary from a first discussion about a project,
whenen they will want to hear your preliminary ideas, to taking a project
SP
ight up to pl
right planning consent – with many different degrees between. How
far you are prep
prepar
prepared to go along with this is a business decision, and so is
up to you. Clien
Clients, not unreasonably, will accept what is on offer. You may
feel that yo
you have no choice and that all your competitors are doing it, but
youu may aalso find that many clients respect the value of a service that is
ged for more than one that is given away for nothing.
charged
Consider in advance how much you are prepared to offer at risk to get
started on a project. Ideally have a firm practice position on unpaid work.
You will find it much easier to stick with and to explain to clients if it is an
across-the-board policy, and they will feel that they are being treated the
same as everyone else. Many practices charge for all preliminary work at a
flat hourly rate and do not find it a problem. Certainly it may not do your
bid a lot of good if you are seen as too desperate to get the job or too
much of a pushover in a negotiation.
107
Competitions, although popular with new practices, should be seen as

being in this category, although some practices have built very successful
businesses on the back of them. Calculate your reasons for and the benefits
of entering competitions before putting often considerable resources into
them. The reasons for entering may extend well beyond the prize of winning
an important job – the practice may also benefit from the potential publicity
and exposure, experience and team-building that undertaking such projects
brings. But be certain why you are doing it, over and above the excitement
em
of gambling on the competition itself.
Success in interviews
EN
Make sure that you can perform at introductory meetings gs and formal
forma
interviews – practise if necessary. Consider issues such as:
s background research/knowing your stuff
s dress
s punctuality
s establishing rapport – charisma is important
ortant
s picking the right approach for the
e interviewer(s)
s body language, handshakes, smiling, contact, posture, etc.
miling, eye contac
s maintaining a positive attitude
ude – self-belief and confidence are
essential
s communication skills – be honest and no waffling
s clarity about whatt you are offering
s presentations – keep them brief a
and to the point
s project portfolios
lios – maintain them
t in good order and tailor them
appropriately
iately
s brochures, something specific to leave behind which
res, etc. – have so
includess all contact details
s ensure it is a two-way
two-w interview – and listen to any responses
s impromptu sketching – can be effective, but only do it if you are good
at it.
Negotiation
Securing work at any price is inevitably not good business for either side
and you need the skills to negotiate good deals for your company while
keeping your client happy. The negotiation will not only be about price,
but will also include the nature and extent of the service, programme and
delivery, quality and client expectations. Both sides may have established
rules of engagement that need to be understood and reconciled. The aim
is to ensure that both sides end up with a clear understanding of what
108
they are to both provide and receive, whether it is services or fees, and
that no surprises appear later on that might derail the relationship. This
understanding needs to be expressed in writing, partly in the form of an
appointment document (see Stage 5, Part 3) and partly as an exchange of
letters or memoranda that spell out the terms of the deal.
See: Appointment, page 113.
You need skill and skills to conduct the delicate dance off negotiation
neg well.
As with marketing ability and interview technique, getting proprofessional
nvestment.
vestment.
training may prove to be an extremely valuable investment.
EN
Negotiation techniques
Negotiation is a vital skill for running a successful practice.
practice The following
techniques will give you confidence in your position and will help you to
negotiate successfully:
IM
Set objectives in advance:
s Put your objectives in writing.
ng.
s Identify all the issuess to be agreed.
agreed
s Establish your preferred
erred outcome(s) and priorities:
vic
– scope of services
EC
– your terms
ms and conditions
standa
– design and quality standards
– time required
quired
rinciples to be adhered
– principles adhe to
– fees
fee
– warranties,
warranti etc.
SP
s Know where
whe and how far you are prepared to compromise.
Understand ththe other side:
s Know what
w is of importance to them.
s Know how keen they are to use you and therefore your relative
bargaining power.
s Match their negotiating team with your own.
s Anticipate their offers with considered responses.
s Get your timing right.
Conduct:
s Set the terms of the negotiation.
s Get points of agreement established.
s Clarify and record points of agreement as you proceed.
s Avoid negotiating in a climate of hostility – if necessary delay or postpone.
109
Tactics:
s Recognise and anticipate common negotiating tricks designed to apply
pressure, including:
– the ‘nibble’ – adding additional requirements just after a deal is
concluded
– the ‘flinch’ – deliberately ridiculing an offer using body language
– deferring to a higher authority – apparently being unable to agree
further
– good cop, bad cop
– ‘take it or leave it’
N
– ‘company policy says…’
– appeals to moral authority
– splitting the difference
– deadlines.
s Take a break if necessary.
s Avoid or use with caution similar pressure e tactics.
tacti
s Do not accept the first offer.
s If a lower price is offered, offer a lower
ower level of service.
servic
s Consider breaking the offer/price ce down element b by element.
Know your own value:
s Communicate it confidently.
ntly.
s Be unemotional in weighing
eighing it against tthe offer from the other side.
s Be prepared to walk
alk away.
Remember:
s Use fairness andd even-handedness
even-h as a measure.
s Both sides
des should emerge
eme feeling happy and with honour satisfied.
s You aree going to have to
t work closely together so a good relationship
is important.
tant
s A successfull long-term
long-t relationship may be worth more that a short-
term gain.
s Put a value on goodwill.
Saying ‘No’
Architects tell many stories about the money and effort they would
have saved if they had declined a commission from a prospective client
at their first meeting. These situations are often clear at the time, but a
combination of a desire to please, the challenge of the problem and a
hunger for work frequently gets in the way of better judgement. Resist the
temptation to do all and any work that crosses your path, and maintain
your focus on what you set out to do.
110
When to think twice

s The budget is too small to contain the client’s ambitions.
s There is not enough money available to pay for the project.
s Credit checks are less than satisfactory.
s The client is talking to large numbers of possible architects (and
others).
s The client has already hired (and fired) other architects
cts or has a
reputation for litigation.
s The proposed fees are too small for you to properly resource the
t job.
s There is an expectation of considerable work prior to appointment
ap
(possibly in competition with others).
s Payment of fees is contingent on achieving
hieving planning consent.
s The programme for the work iss too short or you cannot
c provide the
necessary resources for the proposed
roposed timetable.
timetabl
s The appointment is for only
ly one or two stages
sta at a time.
s The appointment requires
quires skills that you
yo do not possess or cannot
obtain.
s The nature of the work conflicts with your principles, preferred style or
working approach,
proach, etc.
s You will be
e expected to work or act in an unprofessional manner.
s You do not think that yo
you will be able to work happily or satisfactorily
with
h the client.
clie
s You
u struggle
struggl to get payment on your first invoice.
SP
s The risks attached

at to being involved outweigh the likely benefits.
Generating
Generat
enerat your own work
The alternative
t to persuading others to hire you is to set up projects
yourself. This usually involves finding and identifying sites and assessing the
building opportunities, possibly talking to planning officers and discovering
site owners. Good local knowledge helps with this, as does knowing where
funding and grants might be accessed and who would be interested in
taking on the risk of developing it.
Introducing a project to a developer or others who are keen to build

(possibly including housing associations and certain private clients)
should bring with it an introduction fee (to be negotiated) and the
strong likelihood of being taken on as the architect. Some architects have
become very good at this and can provide clients very rapidly with option
111
appraisals, feasibility studies and development economics for projects. The

ability to do effective appraisals requires a developer’s understanding of
how particular projects can create a profit or fit within available funding
envelopes, even if it does not require the developer’s willingness to take
the financial risk.
If you are willing to carry that risk, you might choose to act as the
developer yourself and take the project forward (although not necessarily
through all the development stages before selling) using investment entt
funding from banks and others. A number of architects have found und that
hat
this is a very effective way to design and build what they believe
ieve
ve is the
EN
right solution, as well as usefully cutting out the developerr and gaining (or
potentially massively losing) the real profits to be made on a developm
development
project. Some architects do this in a more controlled way by developing a and
then selling their own homes or offices, while others ers separate
rs have set up sepa
development companies and taken a fully commercialmercial
cial approach.
It is beyond the scope of this guide to discuss

sss development in aany detail. It
IM
should not be attempted without appropriate
priate
riate knowledge, sk skill and advice,
but having some of that skill and the ability
ty to understand and find projects
that will attract a developer’s entrepreneurial can be a great strength
preneurial spirit ca
to an architectural practice, and may work when other sources
ay keep it in wor
have run dry.
EC
CHECKLIST
Stage 5 – Part 2: Winning Work
s Ensure that you
u have the skills to convert a lead into a deal. Get training
if necessary.
s Go into interviews prac
practised, confident and well prepared.
s Know your value and ho
how much you are prepared to give to win the
job.
s Know how much youy are prepared to work at risk for a particular job
and client. Beware of being taken for a ride.
s Research your potential client and what matters to them.
s Make yourself familiar with negotiation techniques. Actively consider a
training course. Understand the rules and apply them as unemotionally
as possible.
s Match a lower offer with a lower level of service.
s Consider setting up and generating projects yourself.
s Always be prepared to say no if the costs and risks outweigh the
potential benefits.
112
STAGE 5 – PART 3 APPOINTMENTS AND FEES
STAGE 5 – PART 3
Appointments and Fees
You have agreement in principle with a client that you
will work for them, you now need to agree yourur tterms of
our
ment accur
appointment and fees and get that agreement accurately set
down on paper and signed by both parties.
ies.
es.
EN
Appointment
The RIBA publishes a number of different ent
nt appointment dodocuments to suit
projects of different sizes and types.. Theseese documents rrange from the RIBA
Standard Agreement 2010 (2012 revision) to the RIBA Domestic Project
IM
Agreement 2010 (2012 revision): n): other forms for sub-
): Architect, with o
ot
ltants.
consultants and other consultants.ants. To accompa
accompan
accompany these forms there is also
A Client’s Guide to Engaging (2013 edition, RIBA Publishing,
ing an Architect ((20
May 2013). Further detailsails are given in the book Guide to RIBA Agreements
2010 (2012 revision – Roland
oland Phillips and RIBA, RIBA Publishing, Oct 2012).
EC
These forms, which h are regularly upupdated to take account of changing legal
upda
and economic circumstances,
ircumstances, are a available in both print and online versions.
av
They provide formalising an appointment, although there
e a useful basis for ffo
are alternative available, including the NEC3: Professional Services
ative forms availab
available
Contract Telford, April 2013) and others.
ctt (PSC) (Thomas Tel
Telf
The
e use
se of standard foforms brings many advantages, including backup in the
SP
form of guida
guidance an and advice and the benefit of the experience of others.
still take great care to get the appointment right:
But you must st
ss Set down th
the scope of works accurately.
s Ensure
nsure tthe appointment interlocks with those of other consultants.
s Ensure
su the appointment is appropriate for the project and client.
s There must be clarity on what is to be expected and delivered by all
parties.
113
In particular it is worth noting the impact of the Unfair Contract Terms in

Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, which in Regulation 5 states:
“5(1) A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated
shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good
faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and
obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the
consumer.”
This requires that if the client is a residential occupier (‘the consumer’)

mer’) then
er’) th
the terms of the appointment agreement should be individually ly
y negotiated
with them to make them enforceable. How feasible this is in n practice is
EN
another matter, and it is worth following the advice from the RIBA an and
others on this to ensure that your agreement will have adequate force.
An appointment as a designer also brings with it responsibilities

esponsibilities under
sponsibilities unde
the Construction (Design and Management) Regulationsgulations (CDM). The
tions 2007 (CDM
principal obligations are to eliminate hazardss and risks during de design and
IM
to provide information about remaining risks co-ordinator.
skss to the CDM co-
co-o
In practice it is also frequently necessary to requirement for,
o explain the req
requ
and then to arrange and ensure the appointment
ppointment of, an a appropriate CDM
co-ordinator (or any replacement terminology
erminology for the role) by the client.
Check with the Health and Safety ((www.hse.gov.uk)
y Executive (www.h
www.h for further
EC
information.
However you seek to arrange

nge matters, you nee need to ensure that an
g, iss in place for all p
appointment, in writing, projects that the practice
oth Standard 4 of th
undertakes, so that both the ARB’s Code of Conduct 2010 and
Guidance Note 4 off the RIBA Code of P Professional Conduct are complied with.
SP
114
Professional standards for appointments

ARB Standard 4
4. You are expected to ensure that before you undertake any professional
work you have entered into a written agreement with the client which
adequately covers:
s the contracting parties
s the scope of the work
s the fee or method of calculating it
s who will be responsible for what
s any constraints or limitations on the responsibilities off the
th parties
s the provisions for suspension or termination of the agreement
eeme
s a statement that you have adequate and appropriate
priate insurance cover as
specified by the Board
s your complaints-handling procedure (see Standard 10), including
in details
of any special arrangements for resolving
ng disputes (eg arbitration).
arb
5. Any agreed variations to the written agreement
reement should be recorded in
writing.
6. You are expected to ensure thatt your client agreements
agreem record that you are
Boa and that you are subject
registered with the Architects Registration Board
to this Code, and that the client can refer a complaint to the Board if your
shor of the standards in the Code.
conduct or competence appears to fall short
7. You should make clearear to the client the extent to which any of your
architectural services
vices are being subcontracted.
sub
essional Conduct
RIBA Code of Professional C Guidance Note 4
4.1 Terms of Appointment.
Appointmen
When proposing or confirming
con an appointment, a member should ensure
that
at its terms and
a scope of works are clear and recorded in writing.
4.2 When contracting
contracti to supply architectural services, the terms of
appointment should
s include:
s a clear st
statement of the client’s requirements
s a clear definition of the services required
s the obligation to perform the services with due skill and care
s the obligation to keep the client informed of progress
s the roles of other parties who will provide services to the project
s the name of any other person(s) with authority to act on behalf of the
client
s procedures for calculation and payment of fees and expenses
s any limitation of liability and insurance
s provisions for protection of copyright and confidential information
s provisions for suspension and determination
s provisions for dispute resolution.
115
Fees
Appointment documents will spell out the fees due at various stages of the
project and for any particular tasks carried out, but first you need to agree
the fees and a method for calculating them.
From your side, the fees you charge should:

s allow you to resource the job adequately
s cover additional non-fee earning overheads, such as premises costs,
ts,
administration, insurance, recruitment, training, research and
nd
d marketing
EN
s pay for any specific, job-related expenses
s reward you for any risk taken
s reward you for the reputation, skill and track record
ord of your business
s allow a reasonable level of profit
s be regular enough to ensure reasonable cash
ash fl
flow
IM
s be predictable enough to allow you to plan ahead.
nting your fees in o

There may be good reason for discounting order to attract
new clients or business, but such discounts
scounts will have to be balanced by
iscounts
additional fees charged elsewhere.
ere.
EC
From the client’s point of view,

w, the fees should generally be less than:
ew,
ew
s the added value provided
ided
ded by you services, less any risk they carry in
your service
using your services
s the cost of obtaining
ining an equivalent (or possibly simply adequate) service
aining
from other sources
ources
rces
SP
s the amount
unt
nt that they h available to spend (balanced across the whole
have av
project)
t)
s the amount
ount provide at any one time from their cash flow.
unt they can p
Fees can be calculated

culate in a variety of ways, based on:
s time
s a percentage of the contract cost
s a lump sum (or a series of lump sums)
s a share of any profits made or increase in value achieved
s a combination of the above.
116
The way fees are charged rarely directly reflects either your needs or those
of your client. You need to calculate whether the fees to be paid will
both cover your business requirements and sit within the client’s spending
envelope. You should ideally be able to demonstrate both of these,
and therefore be able to maximise your fee within the client’s available
resources.
A worked example of a fee calculation is given below, although more

accurately it is a calculation of the cost to the practice off run
running a project.
Payment schedule
EN
The proportions of fees to be paid at each stage
gee of a project, as sp
specified
in a payment schedule, has long been a matterter of contentio
contention, p particularly
nge.
ge. It is vital to ge
when the scope of works is subject to change. get this right
so that it will provide a reasonable cash practice to support
h flow to the practi
practic
ionment
ment should be cclearly laid out in
the work on the project. The apportionment
the appointment document, and there provision for fees to be
here should be pro
prov
IM
invoiced for on a monthly (or a more frequent) ba bas
basis.
You should aim to weight the apportionment of fees at the front end of
the job (in line with the hours expended on the project). The fees will have
to cover numerous factors,
ctors,
ors, including:
EC
s the considerable
e costs involved in la
landing the job
s the up-frontt investment and res
resourcing required
s the risk of the job running in
into trouble or even being cancelled at
planning,
ng, procurement or any other stage in the delivery process.
Yourr client may choose not to see it in the same light and it will be down
SP
to
o your negotiating
negot skills
s to achieve a schedule acceptable to both sides.
The RIBA no longer

long publishes any recommended or indicative fee scales
lon
following developments
deve
d in competition law, but fee guidance based on
statistical
tatistical data,
istical d
da including information on proportions charged for each
project stage, is available. The RIBA has also developed a fee calculator that
ject st
is available
l free to members and Chartered Practices from the members’
areas of its website. Full details on fee calculations can also be found in the
Good Practice Guide: Fee Management (2nd ed. 2012) by Roland Philips.
117
Fee calculation – Worked example for an extension to an office building
118
Step 1. Office & staff costs
Staff costs Annual Annual Annual Annual Sick leave Proportion Cost
Salary Office P
Premises holidays (days pa) of time per
ads
Overheads ove
overheads (working days) fee earning week
(a) (b
(b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
Partner £60,000 12,000

£12,000 £1,200 28 0 40% £4,084 =(a+b+c)/((252-d-e) x f)
Architect £35,000 00
£2,400 £1,000 23 4 75% £1,137 =(a+b+c)/((252-d-e) x f)
STARTING A PRACTICE
Assistant £28,000 £2,400 £1 000

£1,000 23 4 85% ,£820 =(a+b+c)/((252-d-e) x f)
Available working days in year = 252
Step 2. Assessed time on project
Job Office extension

EC
Contract cost (h) £600,000
A PLAN OF WORK
Stage 0 Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage

ge 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 7 TOTAL
Strategic Preparation Concept Developed

eloped Technical
ech Construction
Co Handover In Use
definition and Brief Design n
Design Design and
Close Out
Duration: Weeks (j) 1 1 3 6 6 22 2 1 42
Days worked per Partner 1 1 0.5 0.25 5

0.25 0.05 0.5 0.01
week on project (k)
Architect 3.5 3.5 4 2 1.5 1 3 0.5
Assistant 4 4 4 4 4 1 4 4
N
Step 3: Calculation of costs
Stage 0 Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 7 TOTAL
Partner (= g x j x k / 5) 7
£817 £817 £1
£1,225 £1,225 £1,225 £898 £817 £8 £7,033
Architect (= g x j x k / 5) £796 £796 £2,72

£2,729 £2,729 £2,047 £5,003 £1,364 £114 £15,577
Assistant (= g x j x k / 5) £656 £656 £1,968 £3,936 £3,936 £3,608 £1,312 £656 £16,728
SP
Total cost to practice £2,269 £2,269 5,922
£5,922 £7
£7,890 £7,208 £9,509 £3,493 £778 £39,338
Percentage profit allowed 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20%
Minimum stage charge (m) £2,722 £2,722 £7,106 £9,468 £8,649 £11,411 £4,192 £933 £47,205
Step 4: Sense checks

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Stage 0 Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 7 Average pw
Weekly charge (= m / j) £2,722 £2,722 £2,369 £1,578

578 £1,442 £519 £2,096 £933 £1,124
TOTAL %
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% of contract cost (= m / h %) 0.5% 0.5% 1.2% 1.6% 1.4% 1.9% 0.7% 0.2% 7.9%
STAGE 5 – PART 3
Stage % of fee (= m / sum(m)) 5.8% 5.8% 15.1% 20.1% 18.3%

3% 24.2% 8.9%
8 2.0% 100.0%
Culmulative % 5.8% 11.5% 26.6% 46.6% 65.0% 89.1% 98.0% 100% 100.0%
Notes:
1. Step 1 will be the same across all projects in the office.
2. The Contract cost (h) will be used only to sense check your fee calculation in Step 4.
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3. Office overheads include all office costs that are not charged directly for, including support staff, insurance,, vehicles,
icles, training,
tr entertainment,
and need to be apportioned across the office.
4. Step 2 needs to be assessed against the needs of the individual project using experience and timesheet data from m previous jobs.
5. Step 3 will automatically calculate the minimum fee you should charge per stage. The only variable you should adjust is the percentage profit
you allow.
6. Step 4 will give you some figures to check your fee bid against and that you can use to compare with other projects.
7. The fees shown are minimum amounts to keep you afloat as a business and are not necessarily the fees you should propose. That will be down
119
APPOINTMENTS AND FEES
to your commercial judgement.

Additional fees
No one can entirely predict the scope of work required for any project,
which can and often does increase once the project is underway. You
will need to be clear about how any additional fees are charged and be
accurate in the recording of extra services provided. This is often an area of
contention with clients and should be discussed with them early in the life
of a project. Ideally, additional fees should be agreed before the work is
carried out and certainly before they are invoiced. At the same time some
e so
architects have a reputation for charging for every little extra that occurs.
at occurs
ccurs
This does not necessarily improve the standing of the profession whole.
on as a whole
Avoid it if you can.
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Expenses
The appointment should be clear about the expensesnses
es that may be chcharged
and any additional handling fee. Typically, expenses travel,
enses will include tr
postage and printing, but they may also include
ude the purchase a and copying
IM
of documents, drawings and maps. If you pay statutory fees ((such as for
planning and building regulations) directly
y then a charge ffor these should
ectly
also be made.
CHECKLIST
C
Stage 5 – Part 3: Appointments

intments and Fees
s Agree your appointment
ent and ensure it is set down in writing and
signed by both parties.
arties.
s Terms in contracts
racts with residential
residenti occupiers (consumers) need to be
individually negotiated.
gotiated
s Ensure that a Planning Supervisor is appointed under the CDM
regulations
ions when necessary.
neces
s Ensure your
our contract
contrac of appointment complies with both the ARB
nd the RIBA Code of Professional Conduct.
Standard and
s Ensure that you can deliver the agreed services for the agreed fee and
still make a profit.
s Agree a payment schedule that allows you to maintain a near positive
cash flow on the project.
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STAGE 5 – PART 4 WORKING
STAGE 5 – PART 4
Working
This work stage examines the issues you may face as you get
down to work. It anticipates that you are fully able to design
y abl
and deliver all the stages of the RIBA Plan of Work,
ork, a
and
focuses instead on the management of the he office that will
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support and protect you while you do so.
Professionalism
As an architect you have professional al responsibilities.
sponsibilities. Y
Your professional
status is there to both require andd help you to work to a generally high
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d also enable you to act for the greater good
standard. But crucially it should
of society, including to the benefit
nefit of a local co
community, the environment
conomic ends. In a
or for broader social or economic ad
addition, by acting in an
accepted and recognised ed manner, you are partly protected
d professional man
from accusation and d threat
reat of legal act
acti
action.
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Although the immediate

mmediate rules of p professional behaviour are set down in
pr
the ARB’s The e Architects Code: SSt
Standards of Conduct and Practice and the
RIBA Code of Professional Co Conduct, the generally understood character
Con
essionalism
ssionalism across so
of professionalism society is constantly in development. It has been
greatlyly developments in other areas, such as the cases of Dr
y affected by deve
devel
rold Shipman and A
Harold Alder Hey Hospital, as well as a range of cases brought
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against built e environment professionals. One result of this change is that it

enviro
is now not enou
enoug
enough to behave in a professional manner – it is also necessary
to be able tto sshow that you have behaved professionally. Another is the
ssure on companies to not just rely on their professional employees
pressure
to act pro
professionally but also to ensure that they perform as professional
entities themselves and that as corporate bodies they act in accordance
with codes of ethics, standards and conduct, both institutional and ones of
their own devising.
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The Architects Code: Standards of Conduct and Practice (ARB)

The Architects Code consists of twelve ‘Standards’, supported by an
introduction and further explanatory sub-clauses.
As an architect you are expected to:

1. Be honest and act with integrity.
2. Be competent.
3. Promote your services honestly and responsibly.
4. Manage your business competently.
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5. Consider the wider impact of your work.
6. Carry out your work faithfully and conscientiously.
7. Be trustworthy and look after your clients’ money ey properly.
8. Have appropriate insurance arrangements.
9. Maintain the reputation of architects.
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10.Deal with disputes or complaints appropriately.
opriately.
11.Cooperate with regulatory requirements
ents and investigations.
investig
12.Have respect for others.
C
For the full text including the further explanati
explanations of requirements
explanation
associated with each standardard see: www.arb.org.uk/professional_standards/
rd se www.arb.or
regulating_architects/architects_code_2010
chitects_code_2010
hitects_code_2010
PE
RIBA Code of Professional

fessional Conduc
Conduct
The Code comprises:
ises
s three principles
nciples of professional
pro conduct
s professional
ional values that support those principles
s Guidance
ce Notes tha
that explain how the principles can be upheld.
Principles
1. Integrity
Members shall act with honesty and integrity at all times.
2. Competence
In the performance of their work Members shall act competently,
conscientiously and responsibly. Members must be able to provide
the knowledge, the ability and the financial and technical resources
appropriate for their work.
3. Relationships
Members shall respect the relevant rights and interests of others.
For further details see www.architecture.com.
122
Both the ARB and the RIBA have disciplinary procedures to enforce
their codes of conduct – for further information see their websites. Such
procedures are very time-consuming and potentially highly damaging to
an architect’s career and so should be avoided, if at all possible, by proper
compliance with both the spirit and the letter of the individual codes. It
is also beneficial to take an interest in the development of professional
issues and become involved in the activities of the many bodies, such as the
RIBA, ARB, government, local authorities and others, who o are engaged in
ho
ensuring that standards of conduct and practice reflect ct the cchallenges of
working in an ever-changing world.
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Organisation
In order to be able to run jobs while meeting
eting
ng all the require
requirem
requirements of your
clients, insurers and the law, as well as complying with pro
professional codes of
rganised
conduct, you will need to be well organisedsed and have a an adequate level of
management, to ensure that projectsjects
ects run smoothly a and are provided with
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sufficient resources.
There is plenty of management ment advice and a wwide variety of tools available
to help you with this, including
ncluding Plan of Work, the Handbook of
cluding the RIBA Pl
Pla
Practice Management, Job Book and innumerable other
t, the Architect’s Jo
sources of information. following sections flag up a number of issues
tion. The followi
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that you may wish

ish you establish management procedures for
sh to plan for as yo
your practice.
Project
ect staffing
Ensure
suree that a named sse
senior person in the practice is responsible for each
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job
ob that the o takes on. If that person is not an architect it may also be
office ta
necessary to na
name an architect to take responsibility for work carried out
heading of ‘Architect’s Services’ or ‘Services to be Performed by
under the head
an Architect
tec
Architect’.
The proj
projected staff resources, time and programme that any job will require
can be mapped out and a relatively straightforward set of interlocking
matrices produced to show the allocation of staff time to projects and how
individuals’ time will be spread over the various projects and other activities
in the office. If required this mapping can be more sophisticated and made
to link with production schedules, timesheets, job costing and progress
reporting. But, if it is to remain useful, it must be kept up to date to reflect
the realities of delays, interruptions and overruns that affect all jobs.
Such matrices should allow you to ensure that enough of the time of
appropriately skilled and trained staff can be provided for each job, and
will help you not only to keep track of resources, but also to plan ahead.
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Records
As each job gets underway a system of record keeping will start for it.
Most offices have a system of codes, starting with a job number but also
encompassing standard drawing references, filing references, etc. The
reference system should be based on a standard office model and where
appropriate on industry standards, such as Construction Operations
Building Information Exchange (COBie) or Uniclass (Unified Classification
for the Construction Industry)/the Common Arrangement of Work k Secti
ecti
Sections
(CAWS).
Similarly, a number of files will need to be opened to becomeme permanent
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repositories for the history of each job. The number of these
hese files will
depend on a job’s likely complexity. A single file may well be adequate ffofor
a simple domestic job, but on more complex projects ts separate files w
will
typically be required for:
s the client(s) and their affairs
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s planning, statutory undertakers and building
ilding control
s health and safety and the Planning Supervisor
erviso
s the separate consultants
s specification and schedules
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s the tender procedure

s the contractor
s subcontractors and
d suppliers
s minutes of meetings
eting
etings
s architects’ instructions
nstructions
ctions
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s valuations
ns and certificat
certificates
s programmes,
mmes, etc.
mes, delays, etc
s schedules of informa
information required, etc.
s drawing issue an
and received sheets
s drawings (including superseded versions).
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As the job progresses some of these files may grow to require several
volumes and these should be organised to reflect project phases. Computer
records should be organised in a similar fashion and retained. Print out and
file key emails in the same way as other correspondence, together with
any other relevant memos, notes and information from manufacturers,
standards agencies, etc. At the end of each project the records need to be
ordered and decisions made about what is to be kept for the medium and
long term. It is essential to retain any records that mightt bbe needed if a
dispute arises at a later date, but no more than that. The RIBA recommends
e RIB
keeping important records for 17 to 20 years from Practical Com Completion to
ensure that you cover the entire period that legal brought.
all action can be b
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See also: Information management, page 64.
Quality control
An overall project plan and record rd
d should be develo
developed for each job.
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ctice’s overall qualit
This should flow from the practice’s quality control procedure and
become the core text for the e project. It is a live document that will be
amended and updated ass the project proceproceeds and should describe any
procee
tss of the project and how these will be achieved.
particular requirements
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See also: Quality management,

agement, page 140.
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125
Project plan – typical contents

s Description:
– client(s)
– site and constraints
– brief and client requirements
– life cycle.
s Internal organisation:
– named responsible practice members and staff allocated to project
ject
– consultation and communication procedures
N
– programme and timetables.
s Project team:
– team members (client representatives, consultants,
ltants, contractors,
contractors
suppliers, etc.)
– matrix of responsibilities
– administration, communication and coordination
oordination procedures.
proc
s Project development:
– document control and administration
stratio
– review procedures
– development of brief
– health and safety
– design input and outpu
output
– specification
– procurementt and tender process
proces
– contract administration
dministrati
– quality monitoring
– valuation.
ation.
s Change
e management:
– procedures
– records.
s Audit:
– inspections and tests
– documentation
– procedures for corrective action
– post-occupancy evaluation.
s Post-contract:
– inspection
– project reviews and feedback
– maintenance manuals and as-built information
– project records.
126
Change control
All projects develop and change as they progress through the office, with
many of those involved requiring, recommending or making alterations
and adjustments to both the brief and the outcomes as the work proceeds.
Keeping up to date with these changes, understanding their implications and
communicating this to all the parties involved is an important element in the
effective handling of projects. Some practices recommend the use of change-
control forms or other forms of record-keeping to document ment
ent each and every
change on a project, with a collated version being distributed ed to the client
stributed
gular
and to the design and construction teams on a regular lar (monthly) basis.
b Such
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information, useful in itself to help the smooth running of projects, can also
assist in explaining delays and with claims forr additional fees.
fees
Standard procedures
In order to maintain consistent levels
vels of achievement on a repeat basis, you
may wish to develop similar standard
ndard methodologies and solutions that
dard methodolog
methodologi
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can be regularly improved andndd transferred fro
from project to project. Some
standard procedures may be as simple as tem template forms for schedules or
temp
standard phrasing and descriptions; others may be more complex such as a
library of standard details
etails practice-specific specification clauses.
ails or of practice
practice-
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Standardising yourur outputs will be ccostly and time-consuming at the

beginning, at just the time when both money and time may be in short
supply, but it should pay divi
dividends further down the line, as they build up
divide
into an essential for effective practice.
ssential resource fo
See also:
so: Working methods, page 59.
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Resourcing
Every
very projec
project will have both intense and quiet times, and the workload
willl vary cconsiderably over its life. This can put enormous stress on any
ice ability to cope. With luck a diverse set of projects in the office
practice’s
will permit some balance between projects, but it is just as likely to create
simultaneous peaks of activity. Consider strategies for dealing with both
busy times and quiet times that do not make excessive demands on staff or
their personal lives.
127
Resourcing strategies
Potential strategies for managing resources include:
s maintaining a relationship with other practices to share staff time
s using freelance and temporary staff, preferably regulars who
understand your working methods
s recruiting at times of need, and possibly maintaining growth to avoid
subsequent redundancy
s outsourcing intensive work, such as detail drawing programs,
ms,
to external, and possibly overseas, suppliers
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s only accepting work that you can fit into your current staffing
nt staffin
schedule and working at your own speed
s balancing training and research activity with fee-earning
e-earning work
s ensuring that there are projects in the office, for example research
rese
work, which are less time dependent thatt can be turned to when the
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workload is slow
s using competitions and speculative
e work to act as a ‘float’,
‘fl with the
willingness to drop or postpone such work as sched
schedules dictate
s agreeing flexible working practices staff
tices with sta
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s carefully managing staff leave and holidays.

holidays
Time management
ment
Part of the job of controlling and mamanaging the resources of the business
is ensuring thatt time
me is spent usefu
usefully. This does not mean that everyone
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onstantly and furiou

should be constantly furiously busy, but that time is allocated in a
sensible and
nd manner that allows work to be done, deadlines
d effective mann
manne
met and emergencies
mergencies hand
handled without resorting to last-minute rushes,
late-night working
orking and g general panic.
There are some basi

b
basic, and probably very familiar, tools that help with
managing time:
s The diary – the office diary, with everyone’s activities (both regular and
one-off) marked in it, is an essential item of any office. Computerised
diaries and calendars can help deal with the complexity generated by
even a modest number of staff by giving remote access to multiple users.
s Timesheets – already discussed in Stage 4, Part 1, are valuable for
assessing effectiveness against time spent. Detailed logs carried out
for short periods of time (eg two weeks) and filled out continuously
for every five- or ten-minute slot can also be very revealing of how
time is really spent and may help with working out how to use it more
productively.
128
s To do lists – a straightforward but very useful device to remind yourself

and others what needs to be done. Tasks on the list should be given
priority ratings and allocated both an amount of time and a target
completion date or time. If individual tasks are large and unwieldy they
should be broken down into smaller achievable tasks, each with their
own priorities and timings.
s Work schedules – a plan for both short-term (daily) and medium-term
(weekly or monthly) activities that allows activities to
o be mapped out.
Comparison with to do lists will flag up whether it is possib
possible
ossib to complete
the allocated tasks within the time allowed.
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s Delegating – while it is always tempting to do yourself,
o everything yours
effective time management suggests that delegating, and an possibly
po
outsourcing, activities is often far more effective
effective and shou
shoul
should allow you
more time for doing what you are best est at.
In architectural practice, just as in politics, do their best to derail

s, events will d
your plans – it can be very easy to o be led by them an and the pressing need to
IM
respond to the latest issue or crisis. Usually there is more important work to
be done, but as it is not so urgent tempting to put it to one side. Take
ent it is temptin
the rational view – if necessary,
cessary, tell today’s ssiren voices to wait until the
following day, when the usually have blown over. Set your own
e crisis will usual
priorities and stick by them; you wi only be respected for your calmness in
will on
EC
the face of hostilee fir

fire.
Research
h and innova
innovat
innovation
If yourr practice is to stay a
ahead of the competition it has to offer a
continuously
nuously improving service and product. A ‘continuous improvement’
tinuously
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ttitude requ
attitude requires, in tturn, both research – including analysing feedback
from clients and p previous projects and innovation – and putting that
research into acaction. The benchmarking service the RIBA provides as part
Chartered Practice scheme can be used to measure your performance
of its Charte
Charter
against other firms, but you should also gather feedback from your clients
ainst oth
in a stru
structured way at key stages in the life of projects, ideally using a
standard measure such as a recognised key performance indicator (KPI).
Knowing what your clients think can only help you to improve your service
and being able to point to good user satisfaction levels can also become a
powerful marketing tool for the firm.
See also: Benchmarking, page 136.
129
Each project will have both a research and an innovation agenda, possibly
including:
s briefing
s design issues
s products and materials
s specification
s procurement
s construction.
EN
The knowledge gained from each project should be captured red and recorded
for re-use on future jobs. Much of the research activity for both current
and future jobs can be included in required continuoususs professio
professional
development (CPD) programmes.
See also: Knowledge management, page 71.

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Risk
Every project carries risk – some would
ould say that archite
architects accept excessive
mission
amounts of risk with every commission sion they take onon. Risk should be
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ossible
ssible in order tha
managed as proactively as possible that it is anticipated,
understood, minimized and d avoided. Someone should be in charge of
assessing and reducing the he risk on each job
job. Alternatively, maintain a
risk register, recordingg the possible seve
severi
severity and likelihood of each risk
identified and the avoidance and man management actions to be taken. You are
his
required to do thisis for the health an
and safety risks involved in constructing
and maintaining ng your desi
designs – ddo it for yourself as well, but make sure it
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does not turn

urn another box-ticking exercise.
rn into just ano
ents,
nts, contractors and others are formally and fully informed of
Ensure clients,
any risks they arry and any actions that might be taken to avoid them.
ey carry
Locums
If you run a single-handed practice or if all responsible staff are away
simultaneously, you need to have in place a locum to cover for you during
your absence or if you fall sick. The RIBA publishes a standard letter of
agreement for locum appointments, available from the members-only area
of its website.
130
Money
Each job has its own financial dynamic from the moment the appointment
is agreed. This needs to be closely managed to ensure that:
s the job produces the anticipated income
s any significant additional works are recorded and invoiced for
s the allocated budget is not overspent without being acknowledged and
the necessary action taken.
Invoicing should ideally be regular, and at least monthly,

onthly,
onthly although some
y, althoug
EN
practices only charge at the completion of work k stages or when ot other
project milestones are attained. It is always better, possible, to be paid
etter, if possib
in advance rather than after work has been Alternatively, fees
n carried out. Alte
Altern
and other monies can be deposited in a client account for w withdrawal as
agreed. If there is any doubt about a client’s
ent’s willingness or ability to pay
fees, ensure that one of these two latter methods is e em
employed. Consider
issuing clients with a programme payments to be made on a job –
e of likely paymen
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for you, other consultants andd the contractor – so that they are forewarned
and are able to plan their finances
nces in advance
advance.
ments should be ccha

Job costs and disbursements charged at regular intervals along
with fees. Some practices
ctices percentage fee to cover the normal
es charge a perc
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range of job costss while others item

itemise and charge at cost or with the
itemi
addition of a handling Remember that paying out money for items in
andling fee. Remem
advance almost
most higher cost than the stated face value, due
st always has a hig
to bank interest,
nterest, charges for cheques, etc. If you buy goods for use by the
client or for the works, yoyou face increased risk if they are in any way faulty
or needed to be returned. If, for example, you supply an electrical fitting that
eed
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malfunctions
alfunctions and
a causes
cau a fire, it could be very expensive indeed.
Getting invoices paid promptly is an essential part of business practice. File

invoices separately
separa
sep from the rest of the project paperwork and keep your
records
ords so tthat you are aware immediately if invoices become overdue.
ecords
Maintain
ntain a robust system on outstanding invoices that includes reminder
letters, emails, personal telephone calls and, if necessary, solicitor’s letters
and legal action. Some clients are inevitably better than others when
it comes to paying bills promptly and it may be necessary to take their
payment history into account before bearing down on them with the full
force of the law.
131
Should it be necessary, you can make a claim yourself through a

county court (see www.justice.gov.uk) or online via the Courts Service
(www.moneyclaim.gov.uk). If the amount claimed is less than £10,000
and the matter is relatively straightforward (eg not many witnesses need
to be called) then it can be processed on the ‘small claims track’ and you
should not require the services of a solicitor. This can make claiming both
worthwhile and cost-effective and is a good argument for keeping invoices
small and frequent. Further advice is also available from www.direct.gov.uk
t.g
and the Citizens Advice self help guide (www.adviceguide.org.uk). ).
Trouble
EN
Generally it is a lot better, easier and cheaper to avoid trouble than to
extricate yourself when you’re in it. See the RIBA Good od
d Practice Guide
on Keeping Out of Trouble (2006), which covers both oth
th avoiding proble
problems
and knowing what to do when they appear. There ere iss also plenty of advice
nsurers.
sure
available in professional journals and from insurers.
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Should you suspect that a problem has occurredcurred or is likely tto arise, take
self out is immense
immediate action. Leaving it to sort itself immensel
immensely risky and the
chances are that it will not, and may y instead escalate. SSeek advice from an
appropriate party. If there is any possibility
ossibility that the problem could result in
a claim on your insurance policy, your insurers immediately so
cy, always notify you
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that they can help you deal with the problem.
Taking on staff
This book is not the
he place to look for the legal aspects of employing staff
and running ann office; plenty of help elsewhere.
ffice; there is ple
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But as has already been no noted, expanding a firm beyond the sole
noted
practitioner partners marks a gear shift in the nature and
nerr or original par
part
responsibility firm, one that requires a different approach to
ty of the firm
management. Employ
Employees have a number of needs that you will be
responsible for prov
providing, including:
s a decent workplace
s a worthwhile income and other benefits
s an interesting and regular stream of work
s information and communication
s motivation and leadership
s a positive and sociable working environment
s team building
s training and learning
132
s equipment
s reasonable and flexible hours
s holidays and leave
s job security
s equal opportunities and fairness
s career advancement
s respect, recognition and praise.
Plan to be able to respond positively to these requirements

uirements manage
irements and m
EN
the practice so that it can try to fulfil them.
CHECKLIST
Stage 5 – Part 4: Working
s Understand your professional duties, and work (and
(a be seen to work)
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in strict accordance with them.
m
s Plan your resources to match
ch your commitments.
commitm
s Keep up-to-date and
d appropriate records
recor for every job.
s Develop a project plan job. Use it to maintain standards and
lan for every job
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consistency as well as to deal with

wi requirements that are special and
particular to
o the project.
s Use each job
ob to develop and improve standard procedures and
knowledge.
wledge.
s Manage
anage risk rather than
th allowing it to run out of control.
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s Keep a close
clos watch over money, costs and cash flow on each project.
s Inform
s form your insurers the moment you sense trouble.
s Treat your
yo staff better than you treat yourself.
133
STAGE 6 KEEPING GOING
STAGE 6
Keeping Going
Once your start-up business has turned into a more established
presence different pressures will affect the wayayy yo
you work
and the way you use your resources. You will need ed to know
where you stand with respect to both your ur market and your
our
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competitors and ensure you stay ahead d of both. A stea
steady
stream of work to maintain the practice become more
ctice will becom
otect the investm
important, as will the need to protect investment that you
he practice to thi
have all made in building up the this point.
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Maturing
As your new practice emerges
rges
es from the early, sometimes painful, set-
up stage and begins to consolidate its posit
position in the market, you will
ke a different appro
gradually need to take approach to running the business.
Habits, good and bad, taken root, commitments will have been
ad, will have tak
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made and a trackk record will have bbuilt you a reputation among clients
and others. You
ou may still view the practice as young, up-and-coming and
thrusting, and that view may sstay with you for ever, but you also need to
build on the work that has b been achieved and to break free of any early
typecasting
asting that may be rrestricting your growth.
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The running an established business are different from those

he problems of runn
setting one up. Keeping a steady workflow and ensuring that
involved in sett
billing target is achieved become matters of much more
the monthly bil
bill
importance. T
importance There is greater complexity, with jobs now at very different
stages
ges and needing varying degrees of attention, more management effort
ages
is required
quir and you suddenly have new competitors coming up on the
inside track.
No one wants the practice to become stuck in its ways. It needs to maintain
the vigour of its earliest period, to stay up to date and be able to reinvent
itself, as and when necessary, to improve its competitiveness for both clients
and staff. At the same time, the appetite for the long hours and late nights
may have dimmed, and you will want and need to achieve a better work–
life balance.
135
Benchmarking
Find out how you measure up as a practice in comparison with other
businesses – your peers and competition. Benchmarking has now become a
standard business tool to help companies assess their performance against
a series of measures and to compare the results with other anonymous
firms, both in their business sector and beyond. It can be used as a DIY tool,
using your own chosen criteria, or as a formal process that will provide
standardised results.
The RIBA provides a benchmarking service as part of its Charteredered Practice

Scheme (www.architecture.com) and a bespoke benchmarking king
ing service,
EN
aimed specifically at architectural practices, is available from
rom Colander
(www.colander.co.uk). There are also many other, less architect-specific,
benchmarking services available.
Benchmarking
Benchmark assessment topics can include:
M
s company structure
s resources, including capital
s profits and turnover
s costs
s conversion rate of leads
ds into fee-paying work
w
s number, types and sizes
es of live projects
proje
s percentage of repeat
epeat work
s fees and ratess charged
s staff numbers,
mbers, seniority
senior levels and qualifications
s salaries and benefits
s employment
ment terms;
s gender, age
e and ethnic
e origin ratios
s staff satisfaction
s premises: areas, types and costs
s IT systems
s quality assurance systems
s corporate social responsibility (CSR)
s training
s marketing
s research and development
s customer perception and satisfaction.
136
Reviewing
Periodically and regularly review the development of the practice, allowing
for specific time-outs with partners or directors and discussions with staff,
clients, advisers and fellow consultants. Check against the original vision
and practice objectives and take corrective action as necessary.
Office manual
Take stock of what you and the practice know. This guide has emphasised
e
the desirability of capturing your knowledge as itt iss learnt and de
developed.
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Consider whether you are using this knowledge e effectively and ho
how it
might serve you better. If appropriate, formalise
alise and develo the office
develop th
ssibly
ibly in the form o
procedures into a more effective tool, possibly of an office
manual or as part of your quality management
agement
gement system (QM (QMS).
mprehensive
An office manual should be as comprehensivensive and up-
up-to-date as is
reasonable, as well as being easy accessible for a newcomer
y to navigate and ac
IM
to the practice. The manual should
hould
ould give a clear uunderstanding of the
un
practice approach and meansans of dealing with a wide range of situations.
The QMS will amplify this greater detail and depth. A single
is and provide grea
great
person in the office should
hould responsibility for both the manual and the
ould have respon
responsi
QMS. See overleaf for possible outl
outline contents of an office manual.
EC
SP
137
Office manual
The outline contents of an office manual might include:
1. The practice:
– organisation and structure
– practice vision and objectives
– policy statements
– lines of responsibility
– affiliations.
2. Office management:
N
– quality management system
– IT and communications
– knowledge and information management
– standard documentation
– correspondence control – in and out
ut
– filing and record keeping
– archiving
– accounting procedures
– insurances
– equipment and materials
teria
– PR, promotion and marketing
marketin
icy
– transport policy
– auditing.
3. Staff:
– equalal opportunities and employment policy
– health and work conditions
th and safety an
– general terms of engagement
– working hour
hours and overtime
– leave entitlement and procedure
– qualifications/registration/memberships
– code of behaviour
– confidentiality and communications: internal and external
– staff review
– complaints procedure
– discipline procedure
– benefits.
138
4. Training and research:

– aims and objectives
– CPD
– training records
– student employment
– papers and publications.
5. Incoming projects:
– speculative work and competitions
– appointment procedure and sign-off
– internal team selection
– external team appointments.
6. Design management:
– aims and objectives
– design procedures
– quality control procedures
– detail design and production
uction information
informatio
– specification preparation
aration
– design change procedures
roc
– health and safety.
7. Job administration:
trat
– information
ormation collection
– compliance checkin
checking
– permissions and approvals
– cost
st and
an programme controls
– resource management
S
– reporting
po procedures
– cont
contract correspondence
– instructions and certificates
– record-keeping
– meetings
– site visits.
8. General procedures:
– risk register and risk management
– corrective and preventative actions
– emergency procedures
– audit and feedback.
139
Quality management
You may want to take this process further and achieve a recognised quality
management system standard. The best known of these standards is the
ISO (International Standards Organization) 9000 series, which includes ISO
9001:2008 certification, administered by the British Standards Institute
(see www.bsi-global.com). Also known as quality accreditation or quality
assurance (both QA), such standards are intended to help you to:
s achieve greater consistency
s reduce mistakes
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s increase efficiency
s improve customer satisfaction
s market your business more effectively and in new
w sectors and areas
s manage growth more effectively
s continually improve your products and services.
rvices.
vices.
IM
Certification may not necessarily improve e the quality of yoyour product or the
service you give to your clients. However,
ver, you
ou may find th that many clients,
especially those from the public sector,
tor,
tor their suppliers and
r, will require the
thei
consultants to have ISO 9001 certification
tification
fication and so yoyou might lose business
and business opportunities if you
ou do not obtain itit.
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If you choose to become ann RIBA Chartered P Practice you will be required to
operate a QMS of an appropriate
ppropriate although full accreditation is possible
ropriate size a
altho
for both medium and d small practices.
s Practices with up to ten staff shou
should use the RIBA Project Quality Plan for
shoul
Small Projects
ts (PQPSP) another plan of an equivalent standard.
PQPSP) or anoth
anothe
SP
s Medium sized practices of bebetween 11 and 50 members of staff need

to use the Quality Management Toolkit or an equal or better
he full RIBA Qual
Qualit
equivalent.
ent. toolkit incorporates the PQPSP.
nt. The toolk
s Large practices
ices over 50 need to be externally certified to BS EN ISO
ces of o
ov
9001: 2008.
If you do intend to seek certification you are well advised to seek assistance
from an external specialist consultant in order to develop your quality
management system fully in advance. Achieving certification requires
assessment and approval from a recognised accredited certification body,
payment of fees for certification assessments, occasional surveillance visits
thereafter and annual registration. It does not come cheap, but it may
prove necessary and worthwhile.
140
Workload
After several years of practice, the workload should have matured too.
Ideally, you will have fewer small awkward projects that struggle to be
profitable and a greater proportion of larger and possibly more challenging
jobs. You may have successfully obtained a regular flow of work from
mainstream clients and such work will have brought with it more
established staffing and resourcing patterns.
Assess your workload to see if it is providing:

s a range of different projects to balance cross-sectoral
ectoral
ctoral risk
s a range of clients and types of clients, with no more than 25% of fee
income from a single source
s projects at different work stages
s bread-and-butter work, coming in at a regular pace
s higher profile projects that can practice
n help promote the p
s commissions that can help the
he practice develop and maintain specialisms
or expertise in key areas
s work from growth sectors economy
ctors of the econom
s a match between staffing workload
ffing levels and w
s work to enthuse
se yourself and your staff
e and retain yours
yourse
s new clients and new building ty
types.
With more of a track record anand greater experience, marketing the practice
and bringing
ging in work should become more straightforward – but you may
nging
also find depends on you maintaining that workflow. There
nd that more depe
depen
willl be
e a constant need for a stream of new work to replace that currently
underway in thet office,
offi and as the moment requiring the greatest effort to
achieve this will
wil be
b when the practice is at its busiest, there may never be
any time to let up.
141
Skills
As the workload shifts, so will the need to ensure that the practice
maintains the right skills to attract new work and to carry it out. New skills
will be required, following changes in the market, developments in ideas,
products and technology and simply as part of keeping up to date. Some of
these skills can be developed among existing staff as part of training and
CPD, others may require recruitment of new personnel.
ires and
The practice will need to keep track of the range of skills it requires
can develop or afford. Action will be required to maintain and d achieve the
right mixture and level of skills, experience and enthusiasmm if the practice is
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to stay on top of its game.
The practice may also wish to take on students as part art

rt of the staff mix. T
This
will involve commitment to providing training and well as
d experience as wel
nsiderably
work and pay. In turn the practice may gain considerablyrably from the recent
training, curiosity and freshness that a studentnt can bring. The R RIBA has
RI
IM
published guidance on employing students, ts, including model contracts,
which is available from its Professional Education
ucation and DevDevelopment
Deve
Resource website (www.pedr.co.uk).
Planning for disaster

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Disaster may also strike, andnd in many different ways. Some disasters may be
so extreme that recovery y from them wi will on
only be worked out at the time.
ntially catastrophic e
However, many potentially events happen on a regular basis
nesses and are large
to all sorts of businesses largely predictable. Such events can and
should be planned ed
d for, as well as in
ins
insured against.
SP
s Natural disasters
sasters – incl
including fl
floods, burst water pipes (due to cold
r),
weather),), storm damage
damage, e etc. The likelihoods will vary depending on
your location.
ocation.
ation. Consider m measures that can prevent avoidable damage and
allow youu to carry on elsewhere almost immediately should it happen.
s Theft – especially of equipment and, potentially, of stored information.
cially o
fi premises are secure – install security devices and alarms
Ensure that office
as necessary. Maintain a register of all your equipment, recording serial
numbers and values. Follow up with regular checks and audits. Allocate
responsibility for items of equipment to individuals. Lock equipment to
furniture or the building fabric. Permanently mark or electronically tag
equipment. Regularly or automatically back up information and store it
securely, away from the main site.
s Online theft, fraud, impersonation, hacking – the dangers of
unauthorised access to your computer systems are frequently discussed
and can badly damage a business. Maintain high levels of online security
and encourage vigilance. Take appropriate advice and keep up to date.
142
s Vandalism – physical vandalism and computer viruses, etc. can disable

your business. Take precautionary measures to protect staff, premises and
equipment.
s Fire and explosion – can be devastating for a business, but loss of
information can be far worse than the loss of premises or equipment.
s Illness or incapacity of key staff – can strike at any time. How might you
cope? Is all relevant information recorded in a clear manner to allow
work to be picked up by other members of staff? Are e you insured?
s Legal action or a formal complaint – whether from
om contractors,
m clients, co
employees or others, and whether reasonable or not, may need to be
EN
defended. How would you find the time, energy,
nergy, costs and rele
relevant
advice to deal with such a threat?
s Damage to reputation – How would you respond to ne
nega
negative press
stories or scares? Would you know whom
hom you could re
request assistance
from to help manage the issue?
IM
Work–life balance
However it may seem at the time, there is a life beyond architecture and
the making of buildings.
gs. company there is a wider community
s. Around any co
com
of people – friends, relatives and de
depen
dependants – who need attention
EC
as much as the people office. Ensure they are all treated with
eople in the office
consideration and imagination.
Allow for adequate holidays and time off for sickness or for family matters,
and allow richness of the world beyond the office to fully
ow the greater rich
richn
inform
m the way you run your practice.
rm
SP
143
CHECKLIST
Stage 6: Keeping Going
s Benchmark your practice against other businesses and competitors.
s Ensure you carry out regular reviews of the development, standing
and prospects of the business.
s Develop a comprehensive office manual.
s Put in place a quality management system and consider achieving
ISO 9001 certification.
N
s Review the practice’s workload to ensure that it is delivering
vering the
optimum mix of quality and quantity of work.
s Maintain and extend the skills and experience base
ase in the office.
s Plan for disaster – do not be wise only after the event.
event
s Ensure you maintain a good work–life balance
lance – have a life beyond
b
IM
work.
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SP
144
STAGE 7 EVALUATION AND LOOKING AHEAD
STAGE 7
Evaluation and
Looking Ahead
All businesses periodically need to take stock
ck and to renew
themselves. Do this methodically and prepare
epare a new bubusiness
EN
plan just as you prepared the first, butt with a wealth o
of
experience on which to base it. Make consider and
ke sure you consi
con
plan for the future. This may include targeting new
ude both targeti
targe
sectors of work and making changes
hanges personnel, including
ges in personn
those at the top.
IM
The (next) businesss plan
lan
After an immense amount unt of work, you hahave an established and smooth-
running practice thatt is a credit to your bbusiness and professional abilities.
EC
evisit the whole p

It is now time to revisit pro
process. You started by preparing a
business plan – this should now be reviewed and the actual outcomes
ainst the original v
evaluated against vi
vision. How was the performance? Were the
objectives achieved? How wi will this inform the follow-up plan?
The SWOT
WOT analysis must be b repeated – as it should already have been in the
interimm – and the process
erim proce of establishing a new business plan begun. Several
SP
practice’s life there should now be many more people – clients,

years into the practic
users, etc. – whose opinions can be garnered, whether good,
planners, staff, u
use
indifferent. If possible, get an outside neutral person or body to carry
bad or indiffere
study for you, and be prepared to face up to (and possibly share) and
out this stud
actt on the results. Do not forget to take your own views into account.
Note: Specific key performance indicators (KPIs) for ‘client satisfaction –

service’ are available from the Centre for Construction Innovation – see
www.ccinw.com/kpizone.
145
The new business plan should take the results of your analysis into account,
but it does not have to prostrate itself before them. You may wish to
sharpen any new business objectives considerably and, for example, use the
achievement of specific user satisfaction levels as a target to be reached
within a defined time period. Developing a new plan may, in one way, be
more difficult – it can be hard to plot a new direction when you also need to
keep the business going day to day – but you will also come to it knowing
what actions can be effective and where to concentrate your energy.
Remember that the best time to set off in a new direction will be when you
en yo
are at your most successful. It is extremely difficult to manage
e this sort of
EN
change when the business is in the middle of a downturn or decline
decline.
Forward planning
Planning, even for the relatively short term of a businesssiness plan, requ
requires
looking into the future and making predictions. approach this
ns. If possible, appro
in a spirit of serious enquiry, and use one orr more of the form forma
formal techniques
IM
available (see box). Alternatively, gain access
ccess research and
ess to others’ res
resea
analysis into prospects for the sectors you are most intereinterested in. There are
several consultancies that provide this his as a commercial service or can carry
alf..
out tailored studies on your behalf.
EC
The results will be far from foolproof future-gazing does not provide a
oolproof – future-
future-g
great degree of certainty – but both they and the process of reaching them
can help you to focus on issues that are no
not of immediate concern but may
become so in the years
ars ahead.
Architecture hass a tendency to be a responsive profession – waiting for

SP
clients with building

uilding need come to it. The business of architecture, on
needs to com
the other hand, become increasingly entrepreneurial, and it is
and, is likely to bec
those who look forward and take informed risks who are
o are willing to lo
loo
most likely
y to succeed.
146
Looking into the future

The following methodologies can be applied to forward planning:
s Projecting (Quantitative trend analysis) – uses past experience and
data to extrapolate forward. Can be relatively accurate if you have
good figures and the environment is relatively stable. Not good in
periods of change. A starting point for discussion.
s Trend spotting (Qualitative trend analysis) – typicallyy based
ba on the
observations of workshop participants in response to open questions.
Good at spotting change and risk. Weak at differentiating
erentiating be
between
short- and long-term trends.
s Predicting (Delphi survey) – uses the input
ut of panels of ‘e
‘experts’ or
ogether to build a consensus
knowledgeable stakeholders working together
view. More accurate than the view of a single ‘expert’, but may tend
towards the pessimistic. Combine withth other methods.
metho
s Scenario building – the development
opment of alternative
alternat futures for testing
by panels of experts, users,, etc. Will not predict
predi the future but may
indicate areas of potential stability and cha
change. A powerful tool,
but one that dependss on the quality of the scenarios. Useful for
generating debate.
s Backcasting – the
he construction oof narratives exploring how a predicted
or intended future was achieve
achieved by looking back from a future
vantage point.
oint. Can be part of the scenario method. Best at planning
for predetermined
ermined outcomes.
outco
s Wild cards – the use of radical propositions or extreme events to aid
brainstorming
ainstorming and g get debate flowing. May serve as early warning
device but is very dependent on the quality of the participants.
s Future wor
workshops – visioning and brainstorming workshops – often
gather a wide range of ideas and opinions. Can be good for
used to gath
S
large-scale participation but can become unduly downbeat.

large-sca
See A FFuturist’s Toolbox (Performance and Innovation Unit, The Cabinet

Office, 2001).
Practice positioning
Looking into the future, if nothing else, should have helped to suggest
where you see the practice being within five to ten years’ time and how
you want it to be perceived by clients, various communities of interest, your
peers, etc. Backcasting in particular can suggest ways in which the practice
could reposition itself and achieve a more positive and deliberate role and
business outlook.
147
Getting to where you want to be should form an essential part of your new
business plan, but it may take considerable commitment to establish a fresh
or reworked identity. Fees may fall off as the practice repositions itself and
focuses on winning new areas of business on its own terms. It is likely to
require a degree of reskilling and retraining of partners/directors and staff
so that they are able to work in a different sector or take a new approach.
Size and growth

The issue of how big a practice you want to run was raised in Stage
tage 3,
during the previous discussion on the business plan. As you evaluate the
EN
progress of the practice you will inevitably review this.
See: Size and growth, page 38.
Many firms chose to stay at a size that they have e discovered,

scovered, possib
possibly
through trial and error, suits them, while others ers will grow and shshrink to
IM
adapt to match the workload that they have ve at any one time
time. Growth can
clearly bring many benefits, including a wider diversity of p projects and
opportunities for career advancement, t, but in an archit
architec
architecture practice,
as with any other business, it bringss its own problems and needs to be
agement
ement styles that suited a smaller
planned for. Structures and management
EC
outfit may no longer work so well – staffing hi hierarchies may have to be

hiera
established and new premisesses found. The econ
economics of growth can be
a harsh mistress and frequently
quently quest for further growth. The
uently drive a ques
ng
prospect of downsizing g again in the eve
even
event of a recession can also be
daunting.
Some projects are now only availaavailable to practices over a certain size, either
SP
because clients looking for tthe reassurance that size presents or because
nts are lookin
the pace andnd response time
times a are such that only larger practices can provide
the almostst instant ability tto allocate staff to projects, while bearing the risk
that the project
oject
ect might nnever materialise. In addition, the size of practice
that is ‘big enough’
ugh’ to achieve this appears to be growing all the time and
ough’
may always stay, elelusively, beyond reach.
Staff progression
If you have staff, they will have career ambitions. This may lead to them
moving on to gain experience elsewhere or to set up their own firm,
possibly in competition with yours. This can mean the loss of considerable
expertise and knowledge as well as the fracturing of a well-established
team. At its worst they could also take clients and work with them. At its
best it might be a long-awaited relief and provide openings for others in
the firm.
148
Providing opportunities for advancement for talented staff can be a

serious problem for practices and it often produces pressure for growth
and expansion as well as a shift from a partnership to a company structure.
Various ways can be used to recognise and encourage staff, including
titles such as ‘associate’ or financial reward schemes, but these may be
insufficient to prevent them moving on. Ensure this issue is openly discussed
and strategies developed to deal with it if necessary.
Planning for growth/change

As part of your future planning, you should considerder the follow
following issues:
s Review of current performance:
– benchmarking
– risk and risk management
– best practice.
s The vision for growth:
– objectives
– options
– expansion vs. acquisition n or merger
– alternatives (eg consortia,a, joint ventures,
venture partnering)
– branding.
s The business plan:
– opportunity areas as or sectors
– knowledge e and skills
– availablee resources
– innovation specialisms
tion and speci
– changing
nging business structure
stru
– working methods
– business targets
– marketing
marketi
– current
rent client base
– outsourcing
outsourc
– quality
ali management procedures
– infrastructure
nfra
– premises
pre
– satellite offices.
s Finance:
– raising finance
– equity and shareholders.
s Personnel:
– management team
– roles and promotions
– performance and incentives
– reorganising or restructuring.
s Advisers:
– choice of advisers.
149
Succession planning
A more advanced aspect of the staff progression problem is planning for
the succession of the firm as partners and directors decide to retire or step
into another role. This may involve passing the leadership baton to more
junior members of the practice – with an agreement as to how the capital
invested and built up might be released – or possibly even selling the firm
to an external bidder. Inevitably, it is a process fraught with problems – the
possibility of bruised egos and disintegration of the very asset thatt iss be
being
transferred with the loss of key staff. Take advice, address it over long-
er the long
ession
term and possibly restructure the firm with an eventual succession sion in mind
EN
long before it becomes inevitable.
CHECKLIST
Stage 7: Evaluation and Looking Ahead
s Start work on your next business plan. The e best time for this is
i when
the business is at its most successful and running efficiently
efficient and
smoothly.
s Repeat the process of evaluation and SWOT analys
analysis from your first
business plan.
s Take time and space to look
k at the future.
s Consider becoming more
e entrepreneurial and
a taking calculated risks.
s Formulate a plan to position
osition the practice
pra where you want it to be
before the end of the next business planning cycle.
s Plan for the career
reer advancement of your staff and your own
succession.
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150
STARTING A PRACTICE CONCLUSION
STARTING A PRACTICE
Conclusion
The essential question, raised at the start of this guide,
remains: Why would you want to start a practice? ce? The hours
tice?
yle can
are long and the rewards paltry. The lifestyle n be enjoyable
and the achievements, for all their relative satisfying
ve size, very sa
EN
– but would they be enough if you were ere still working ffor that
big outfit where you started your career?
aree
areer?
If you are going to do it, then doing it well and effectively is essential. It is
still true that, despite the prominence companies, most of the
ce off very big comp
really good and exciting work is done by practices an and firms that started
IM
small and can still remember what it was like. If yo you are absolutely sure
tice
that starting up a new practice e is what you wa
wan
want to do, then good luck and
good designing.
EC
SP
151
CHECKLIST
A final summary checklist
Commitment
s Do you know why you want to start a new practice?

s Do you know what it involves?
s Are you prepared to stick with it?
s Can you cope with uncertainty and risk? Can your family or partner?
s How thick is your skin?
The business plan
s What is your business idea?
s Is there a gap in the market?
s Have you done your research?
N
s Who and where is the competition?
s What are your skills?
s Where are you getting your advice?
s Where will you be located?
s Who will buy your service?
s How will you market and promote the e firm?
s How will you finance the business?
s Will it make a profit?
The practice
s Do you have a special vision
ion for the practice and how it will deliver?
s Do you have the necessary
ssary management skills?
s Can you read a page ge of accounts?
s Do you need further
rther training?
s How big do you ou want the firm tto be?
s Do you need
eed staff?
Marketing g
s Are you u prepared to go out and sell the practice?
s Do you have good sales pitch?
e a goo
s Do you know how clients think?
s Do you know how to maintain a successful online presence?
s Do you have a good address book?
Your role
Are you:
s A designer?
s A business leader?
s A professional?
s A manager?
s All of the above?
152
STARTING A PRACTICE BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEBSITES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Good Practice Guide Series, RIBA Publishing
Keeping Out of Trouble, Owen Luder, 3rd edition (2006)
20
Negotiating the Planning Maze, John Collins and Philip Moren (2006)
derson
n (20
Extensions of Time, Gillian Birkby, Albert Ponte & Frances Alderson (2008)
8)
Painless Financial Management, Brian Pinder-Ayres (2008)
EN
Inspecting Works, Nicholas Jamieson (2009)
Building Condition Surveys, Mike Hoxley (2009)
Mediation, Andy Grossman (2009)
10)
Marketing your Practice, Helen Elias (2010)
IM
2011)
11)
Arbitration, Mair Coombes Davies (2011)
avies
es (2011)
Adjudication, Mair Coombes Davies
012)
Insurance, Peter Godfrey (2012)
Fee Management, 2nd Edition,
tion, Roland Phillip
Phillips (2012)
EC
Assessing Loss and Expense, Jeff Whitfie

Whitfield (2013)
Other publications
blications
cations
Guide to using the RIBA Plan of Work 2013, Dale Sinclair, RIBA Publishing (2013)
Handbook
book Management, Nigel Ostime, RIBA Publishing, 9th edition (2013)
ook of Practice Mana
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RIBA Ostime, RIBA Publishing, 9th edition (2013)

IBA Job Book, Nigel O
Small Projects Han
Hand
Handbook, Nigel Ostime, RIBA Publishing (2014)
Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice, AIA, Wiley (2013)
The Architect
coming
oming a
Becoming an Architect, Lee W. Waldrep, Wiley, 3rd edition (2014)
21 Things You Won’t Learn In Architecture School, Adrian Dobson, RIBA Publishing
(2014)
An Architect’s Guide to Running a Practice, David Littlefield, Architectural Press (2005)
The Architect in Practice, David Chappell and Andrew Willis, Wiley-Blackwell,
10th edition (2010)
Leading the Team: An Architects Guide to Design Management, Dale Sinclair,
RIBA Publishing (2011)
Assembling a Collaborative Project Team, Dale Sinclair, RIBA Publishing (2013)
Start Up and Run Your Own Business: The Essential Guide to Planning Funding and
Growing Your New Enterprise, Jonathan Reuvid, Kogan Page, 8th edition (2011)
153
2013 The Financial Times Guide to Business Start Up 2014: The Most Comprehensive
Annually Updated Guide for Entrepreneurs, Sara Williams, FT Publishing International
FT Essential Guide to Writing a Business Plan: How to Win Backing to Start Up or
Grow Your Business. (The FT Guides), Vaughan Evans, Financial Times/Prentice Hall
(2011)
Starting a Successful Business (7th Ed), Michael J Morris, Kogan Page (2011)
How to Prepare a Business Plan (5th Ed), Edward Blackwell, Kogan Page (2011))
he busine
The Small Business Start-Up Workbook: A step-by-step guide to starting the usine
business
you’ve dreamed of, Cheryl D Rickman, How to Books (2005)
EN
ink,
nk, Luke
Start It Up: Why Running Your Own Business is Easier Than You Think, uke Johnson,
Penguin (2013)
urial
ial Mindset and Star
Entrepreneur Revolution: How to Develop Your Entrepreneurial Start a
Business That Works, Daniel Priestley, Capstone (2013)
ost Frequently
Work for Money, Design for Love: Answers to the Most quently Asked Q Questions
usiness David
usiness,
About Starting and Running a Successful Design Business, avid Airey, N
Ne
New Riders
IM
(2012)
The No-Nonsense Guide to Government Rules es and
nd Regulations fo
for Setting up Your
Own Business, Business Link, DTI (2006) – Out of print
4 report,
RIBA Business Benchmarking 2013-14 epo RIBA and Col
Cola
Colander (2014)
EC
RIBA Research in Practice Guide, RIBA (2013

(2013)
010
10 (2012 revision), Rol
Guide to RIBA Agreement 2010 Roland Philips and RIBA,
RIBA Publishing (2012)
BIM in Small Practices: Illustrated Case Studi
Studie
Studies, Robert Klaschka, NBS (2014)
chitects?
itects? Building Futu
The Future for Architects? Futures/RIBA (2011) www.buildingfutures.org.uk/
SP
g-futures/the-
g-futures/the-future-fo
projects/building-futures/the-future-for-architects
The professionals’
onals’ choice: The future
ionals’ ffut of the built environment professions,
ed. Simon Foxell,
oxell, Building Futures/RIBA
Futu (2003)
A Futurist’s Toolbox,
olbox, Performance and Innovation Unit, The Cabinet Office (2001)
ox, Perfo
Perfor
154
WEBSITES
Web references
GOV.UK – Start your own business
www.gov.uk/starting-up-a-business (replaces Business Link)
National Enterprise Network
www.nationalenterprisenetwork.org
HM Revenue & Customs – Starting a business
EN
www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup/
Companies House – Start a Company
/companyRegistration.
companyRegistration
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/infoAndGuide/companyRegistration.shtml
ration
n and Names – G
Companies House – Guidance on Incorporation GP1
bhtml/gp1.shtml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gp1.shtml
IM
mall practice, David M
BIM from the point of view of a small Mi
Miller, NBS, January 2012
ticles/bimsmallpractice
es/bimsmallpractic
www.thenbs.com/topics/bim/articles/bimsmallpractice.asp
RIBA Quality Management Toolkit: Guidance Jan
Janu
January 2007
es/MembersOnly/QM
iles/MembersOnly/QM
www.architecture.com/Files/MembersOnly/QMToolkit/Guidance.pdf
EC
RIBA project quality plan for small proje

projects
projects, Dec 2006
.com/Files/MembersOn
com/Files/MembersOn
www.architecture.com/Files/MembersOnly/QMToolkit/PQPSmallProj.pdf
ulator
lato
RIBA Fees Calculator
tecture.com/files/memb
ecture.com/files/mem
www.architecture.com/files/membersonly/charteredpractice/ribafeescalculator-
tion.pdf
introduction.pdf
The
he office library
lib
SP
Code of Professio
Professional Conduct, RIBA (2005)
Architects Code: Standards of Conduct and Practice 2010 version, ARB
Workplace health, safety and welfare, Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
rkplace h
he
ulation 1992, Approved Code of Practice and guidance. L24, 2nd Ed. HSE (2013)
Regulations
The National Planning Policy Framework, DCLG, 2012 – See Planning Portal
The Building Regulations 2010, 2013 – Approved Documents and guides –
see Planning Portal
Good Building Guides, Good Repair Guides, Information Papers and Digests, BRE
Standard Letters in Architectural Practice, David Chappell, Blackwell Publishing,
4th edition (2008)
Metric Handbook: planning and design data, David Littlefield, Architectural Press,
4th edition (2012)
Neufert – Architect’s Data, updated by Johannes Kister, Wiley-Blackwell, 4th edition
(2012)
155
Architects Working Details, volumes 1–10, Emap Construct (out of print)

Robust Details Handbook, Robust Details (2010)
Manual for Streets, DfT & DCLG (2007)
Manual for Streets 2 – Wider Application of the Principles, Chartered Institute of
Highways & DfT (2010)
Urban Design Compendium, English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation (2000)
By Design, CABE, Thomas Telford (2000) – currently being revised
Building Bulletins, DfE, (various dates) – see www.gov.uk
EN
BCO Guide to Specification, British Council for Offices (BCO) (2009)
RIBA Standard Agreements 2010 (2012 revisions), RIBA (2012)
uidance on hiring an
A Clients Guide to Engaging an Architect (2013 edition): Guidance
architect for your project, RIBA Publishing (2013)
JCT 2011 Contracts, Sweet and Maxwell (2011)
IM
Guides to JCT Contracts (MW11, IC11, SBC11 & DB11), RIBA Publishing (2011)
NBS Building, NBS
RIBA Product Selector, RIBA Enterprises
Barbour Index, UBM
EC
Websites
General
RIBA www.architecture.com
ture.com
ture.
SP
org.uk
RIAS www.rias.org.uk
Smallbusiness.co.uk
ess.co.uk
ss.c www.smallbusiness.co.uk
www.smal
www.smallb
egistration
gistration Boa
Architects Registration Board www.arb.org.uk
Designing Buildings
ings Wiki www.designingbuildings.co.uk
ngs Wik
Banks – all tend to offer start-up advice

NatWest www.natwest.com/business
Barclays www.barclays.co.uk
Lloyds www.lloydsbank.com/business
HSBC www.business.hsbc.co.uk
Co-op www.co-operativebank.co.uk
TSB www.tsb.co.uk/business
156
Business information
Belbin Associates www.belbin.com
Team Technology www.teamtechnology.co.uk
Building magazine www.building.co.uk
Mirza & Nacey www.mirza-nacey.com
The Fees Bureau www.feesbureau.co.uk
Architectyourhome www.architect-yourhome.com
Company structure and naming
EN
Companies House www.companieshouse.gov.uk
Nominet www.nominet.org.uk
Tax
HM Revenue and Customs www.hmrc.gov.uk
rc.gov.uk
c.gov.uk
IM
Data protection
Information Commissioner’ss Office ico.org.uk
org.u
Health and safety

EC
Health and Safety

y Executive (HSE) www
www.hse.gov.uk
Construction Skills
ills Certification Sch
Scheme www.cscs.uk.com
tion Industry Training Board (CITB) www.citb.co.uk
Construction
truction
uction Industry Coun
Construction Council www.cic.org.uk
SP
Insuran
Insurance
RIBA Insurance A
Agency www.architectspi.com
Pensions
nsions
The Pensions Regulator www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk
Procurement
Construction Line www.constructionline.co.uk
Government Online www.government-online.net
SIMAP simap.europa.eu
Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) ted.europa.eu
OJEU Reporter www.ojeu.com
EU Public Procurement ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement
157
Business services
RIBA Enterprises www.ribaenterprises.com
NBS www.thenbs.com
BRE www.bre.co.uk
BSI www.bsigroup.com
Claims
County Court Service courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk
www.moneyclaim.gov.uk
EN
Benchmarking and key performance indicators
Benchmark Index www.benchmarkindex.com
CBI www.cbi.org.uk
Colander www.colander.co.uk
IM
w.com
.com
Centre for Construction Innovation www.ccinw.com
RIBA www.architecture.com
AJ 100 www.theaj.co.uk/AJ100
EC
Employment advice
RIBA Professional Education
n and Development R
Re
Resource www.pedr.co.uk
Government departments/agencies
tments/agencies
ments/agencies
UK Government www.gov.uk
ww.gov.uk
SP
il www.designcouncil.o
Design Council www.designc
www.designcouncil.org.uk
Commission and the Built Environment (CABE) – Archive site (2011)
on for Architecture an
.nationalarchives.
nationalarchiv
webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk and http:/www.cabe.org.uk
e www.en
English Heritage www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional
Environment Agency www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency
Planning Portal www.planningportal.gov.uk
158
STARTING A PRACTICE INDEX
INDEX
accident insurance 88–9 business development 145–9
accommodation see premises business identity 35, 61–2
accountants 30, 90 business information 157
accounting information 70 business liability 43
accounts 41, 91–3, 103 ement
business managementment 46
additional fees 120, 127 business mentors
tors 6
administration, office 46, 58–61, 137–9 bjectives
ectives 3–4, 27–8
business objectives 27–8, 146
EN
administrative requirements 43 businesss ownership 42
advertised work 101, 105, 106 ness planning 25–
business 25–55, 145–7
advertising 101 usiness
iness potential 31–3
business
advisory work 105–6 business risks 22
annual accounts 41, 103 business sectors 3 32–3
appointment documents 113–15 business
usiness statio
station
stationery 45, 79–80
IM
approved lists 104 business str
stra
strategy 1–6
ARB see Architects Registration Board
oard business sstructures 39–45
busines
(ARB) bus
busine
business targets 145
ard (ARB
Architects Registration Board (ARB) bus
us
business training 21
The Architects Code: Standards
and of
EC
Conduct and Practiceice 115,

15, 122 Cabe 106
PII guidelines 866 capacity issues 37
Association forr Project Safety (APS) 77 see also practice size and growth;
audit trails 65, 68–9 workload
auditing accounts 40 capital 10, 41, 50, 52
awardss 10
102 capital allowances 95
cash flow 10, 29, 51
SP
backing up data 68 CDM co-ordinator 76, 114

banks 29, 84–5 CDM Regulations 76, 114
benchmarkin 16, 129, 136
benchmarking Centre for Construction Innovation 145
ibliography
ography 153–4
bibliography change control 127
BIM (Build
(Building Information Modelling) 67 charging see fees; unpaid work
bookkeeping 92–3 Chartered Practice Scheme 61
branding 35, 53 claims 66, 86, 132
brief for starting up 15–16 clients
broadband 83 domestic 114
brochures 101 feedback 38, 129
building contractors 105 lists for publicity 103
Built Environment Experts (BEEs) 106 prospective 32–3, 99, 104–6
business advice 21, 28–30, 90 public sector 32, 33, 86, 104
business cards 79 testimonials 102
business case 22–3 see also marketing
business competition 33
159
Code of Professional Conduct (RIBA) data protection 66

115, 122 data trail 65, 68–9
coding systems 124 debt recovery 131–2
cold-calling 101 delegating 129
commissions 107–11 Department of Business, Innovation &
companies 11, 27–9, 41 Skills (BIS) 104
company accounts 41, 91–3, 103 Design Council 106
company name 53–4 design culture 61–2
company profile 103 design management 139
company registration 41, 42, 80 digital records 66, 125
company structures 39–45 directories 100
EN
competition, business 33 disaster planning 142–342–3
competitions 102, 108 dures 123
disciplinary procedures
computer equipment 75, 83 distinctiveness 35, 5, 61–2
computer networks 83 emplates
mplates 61
document templates 61, 73
computer records 66, 125 tation
documentation on
computer systems 67 codingng systems 124
IM
Construction (Design and Management) filing
ling and storing 65–65–6
65–6, 124–5
(CDM) Regulations 76, 114 graphic identity 7 79–
79–80
Construction Industry Training Board project 60, 66 66, 1
124–5
(CITB) 77 see also record
recor keeping
eme
Construction Skills Certification Schemee domestic
estic clie
clients 114
EC
(CSCS) 77
Constructionline 104 econom
economic assessment 10
consultancy work 105–6 econ
economic issues 8–9
consumer clients 114 see also finances
7–8
contents insurance 87–8 employees see staff
sional
onal development
continuing professional employers’ liability insurance 88
30
(CPD) 75–6, 130 Equality Act 83
SP
mprovement’ 1
‘continuous improvement’ 129 equipment 75, 83
contractorss 10
105 escape routes 13
e appointmen
contracts see appointment d documents; EU procurement 105
commissions expanding the practice 148, 149
Contracts Finder 105 expenses 120
corporate brochures 101
corporation tax 95 feasibility 7–13
county court procedure 132 feedback, client 38, 129
CPD (continuing professional fees 36, 116–20
development) 75–6, 130 see also payments
CSCS (Construction Skills Certification filing systems 65–6, 124–5
Scheme) 77 finances 8–9, 49–52
CVs 103 see also accounts; capital
160
financial advice 29, 30, 90 late payments 131–2

financial forecasts 50–1 legal action 132, 143
financial investment 10, 22, 52 legal advice 91
financial liability 43 legal agreements 43
financial plans 50–2 legal requirements 42, 46–9
forward planning 146–7 legal status 42
frameworks supply teams 105 letterheads 79, 80
fraud 142 liability, business 43
funding 52 library, practice 73–4,
3–4, 1
153–4
see also capital; investment ty companies (Ltd) 40–1,
limited liability
42–5, 80,, 95
EN
government departments/agencies limited liability partnerships ((LLP) 40,
see public sector clients –5
42–5
Government Online 105 cal
al authoritie
local authorities see pu
public sector clients
graphic design 80 locums 130
graphic identity 79–80
mailshots
ailshots 101
IM
health and safety 76–7, 114, 157 manageme
managemen
management
health insurance 88–9 chang
change
changes of 44
home working 12, 81, 97 p
prac
practice 46, 58–9, 135–44
house style 60, 79–80 p
project 123
staff 138
EC
income tax 94 structure 43

agement 64–70
information management market 31
haring
aring 64
information sharing market research 20, 31–2
information n sources 155
155–8 marketing 37–8, 90–1, 99–103
tion
ion storage and retri
information retrie
retrieval 65–6 media 100, 102
ation 129–3
innovation 129–30 mentors 6
urance
ce 30, 85
insurance 85–9, 103
SP
internal
nternal commu
communicati
communication 64 name plates 45
internet-based in info
information 74, 155–8 naming the practice 45, 53–4
interviews, cl
clien
client 108 national insurance 95
nvestment
stment 1
investment 10, 22, 52 negotiation 108–10
e also capital
see networks, computer 83
invoicing 131
ISO (International Standards OBC (outline business case) 22–3
Organization) 9001 140 offer 33–7
office accommodation see premises
key performance indicators (KPI) office administration 43, 46, 58–61,
129, 145 137–9
knowledge management 71–2 office basics 82–3
161
office diary 128 preferred suppliers 104

office equipment 75, 83 premises 9, 81–3
office manager 59 insurance 87–8
office manual 61, 137–9 renting 9, 12
office overheads 9, 52, 116 pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs)
office practices and policies 63–4 102, 103, 104
office premises see premises press coverage 102
office procedures 60–1, 139 pricing structure 35–6
Official Journal of the European Union principal designer (PD) 76
(OJEU) 105 privacy 44
one-person practice see sole traders private company see limitedmited
ted liability
EN
online information 74, 155–8 companies (Ltd)
outline business case (OBC) 22–3 procurement 104–6, 4–6,
–6, 1
157
overheads 9, 52, 116 dvisers
isers 30, 89
professional advisers 89–91
professionall conduct 64, 121–3
partnerships 11, 39–40, 42–5, 80, 94 onal indemnity
professional ndemnity insuran
insurance (PII)
payments 117, 131–2 7,, 10
86–7, 104
IM
pensions 96–7 ofessional
fessional standards ffo
professional for appointments
performance benchmarking 136 115
performance indicators 129, 145 profits 10, 44, 1 116
phone records 69 Project Quality P Plan for Small Practices
PII (professional indemnity insurance) e) (PQPSP)
QPS 61 61, 140
EC
86–7, 104 project

ct sshe
sheets 103
planning project
projects
business 25–55, 145–7 cha
change control 127
project 123, 126 documentation 60, 65–6, 124–5
policies see practice policies
olicies feedback 38, 129
actice
ctice 147–8
positioning the practice management 123
stration
ration 43, 5
practice administration 59–61, plans 126
SP
137–9 quality control 125

ulture
ure 57–61
practice culture records 66, 124–5
entity
ntity 35, 61–2
practice identity resourcing 123, 127–8
y 73–4, 153
practice library 153–4 risk management 130
practice managementment 46, 58–9, 135–44 self-generated 111–12
practice overheads 9, 52, 116 standard procedures 60, 127, 137
practice policies 63–4, 76, 107–8 workload 141
practice policy statements 103 promotion see marketing; publicity
practice positioning 147–8 prospective clients 32–3, 99, 104–6
practice promotion 37–8 public disclosure requirements 44
practice reviews 137 public liability insurance 88
practice size and growth 37, 38–9, 148 public relations consultants 90–1
practice standards 60, 73, 127, 140 public sector clients 32, 33, 86, 104
publicity 37–8, 101–3
162
quality management 61, 103, 125, 137, service delivery 62

140 serviced offices 81
Quality Management Toolkit 61, 140 services offered 33–4, 107
quality of life issues 12 size of practice 37, 38–9, 148
skill mix 142
record keeping 68–9, 124–5 small and medium-sized enterprises
see also accounts; filing systems (SMEs) 105
registration small claims procedure
du 132
company 41, 42, 80 small-scale work 104 04
VAT 95 social issues 11–12
registration information 103 social media ia 100
EN
regulations 46–9 sole proprietor
oprietor 11
renting premises 9, 12 sole traders 39, 42–5, 80
reputation 35, 61–2, 143 solicitors
licitors
citors 91
research 72, 103, 129–30, 139 specialisms 35, 104
resource management 37, 123, 127–8, 141 staff
taff
reviewing the practice 137, 145 costs 8
IM
RIBA CVsVs 103
benchmarking service 136 mana
manag
management of 138
Chartered Practice Scheme 61, 100, pprogression 148–9
prog
129, 136, 140 rroles and appointments 103
ro
Client Advisers 106 skill mix 142
EC
Code of Professionalal Condu

Conductt 115, 12
122 status 44
CPD recording manager 75 succession planning 150
orr 11
fee calculator 117 taking on 132–3
forms of appointment 113 training 75–6, 139
Good Practice Guides 153 see also resource management
urance
rance Agency 86
Insurance staged payments 117, 131
bers’ Info
Members’ Information Line 91 standard forms of appointment 113–14
SP
Qualit Plan for Small Practices

Project Quality standard procedures 59–61, 127, 137
QPSP) 61, 140
(PQPSP) standards 60, 73, 127
Mana
Ma
Quality Management Toolkit 61, 140 coding systems 124
sk manage
risk managem
management 22, 130 forms of appointment 113
e also disaster planning
see ISO 9001 certification 140
roles and appointments 103 professional conduct 115, 121–3
stationery, business 45, 79–80
schedule of services 35 storage media 66
schedules, work 129 storing information 65–6
security 142–3 strategic approach 1–6
see also risk management students 142
self-assessment (taxation) 96 studio space 81
self-employment 10, 39, 94, 95, 96, 97 succession planning 150
see also sole traders sustainability 12
self-generated work 111–12 SWOT analysis 17–18, 145
163
tax invoices 68
tax returns 41
taxation 44, 94–6
team building 5
templates 61, 73
testimonials 102
time management 128–9
timekeeping 63
timesheets 69–70, 128
‘to do’ lists 129
trading name 53–4
EN
training
business 21
professional 75–6, 139
see also continuing professional
development (CPD)
IM
Unfair Contract Terms in Consumer
Contracts Regulations 114
unique selling points (USPs) 35
unpaid work 107–8
EC
6
value added tax (VAT) 92–3, 95–6
websites
practice 100, 101
ion
sources of informationon 155–
155–8
work environment 12
work schedules 129
SP
aviour 63, 121–

working behaviour 121–3
rom
working fromm home see home w working
ours
urs 63
working hours
working methodsodss 59–61
see also standardrd pro
procedures
work–life balance 12, 63, 143
workload 37, 123, 141
workplace see premises
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations 76, 82
164
` Simon Foxell’s insight, clarity and small practice experience has created
the contemporary must-read guide to tackling the many issues in setting
up and maintaining a practice. If all practices treated their businesses
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and review their business plans we would have a profession on top
of its game, of which we could be truly proud.
Jane Duncan, RIBA Presid
a
President Elect
` Written in crisp and direct language sprinkled with witty insights, this book
is a comprehensive and highly practical guide, of value e to all architectural
archite
bette
practices; not only to those just setting up but to all wanting to do better.
Sunand Prasad, Seniorr Partner, Penoyre & Prasad LLP
a
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practi in
to practice. If you are determined to set up your own practice
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a
Robin Nicholson, Cullinan Studio
Rob
This fully revised and updated edition Foxell’s popular text, is a complete
tion of Simon Foxe
p and running your a
guide to planning, setting up architectural practice. Mapped to the
2013 RIBA Plan of Work, it approaches starting a business as if it were a design
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ccessible and easy to use, Starting a Practice provides essential
Comprehensive, accessible
e many issues involve
guidance on the involved in establishing a successful business, including
siness plan, choosi
preparing a business choosing the right company structure, seeking advice,
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The bookok is full of practic
practical advice gained from the author’s 30 years’ experience
but is aimed
imed at starting
starti up now, in the second decade of the 21st Century, with its
particular challenges and opportunities. It is invaluable reading for Part 3 students,
young practitioners
itioners and those considering starting up on their own or wanting to
consolidate an existing business.
Simon Foxell is Principal of The Architects Practice. He has designed buildings
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the prestigious Benedictus Prize by the Union of International Architects.
In recent years he has worked with schools and local authorities, designing
new facilities and advising on development programmes. He was lead
design adviser to Birmingham City Council’s Transforming Education
programme from 2007 to 2010.

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British Library Cataloguin

Publisher: Steven Cross

RIBA Publishing is part of RIBA Enterprises Ltd

organisation that opportunity to design some of the

architects – over half the architects (54%) surveyed in 2002 were

from managing many other service-driven, ideas businesses, especially

Starting a practice should be approached with all the seriousness and

This guide is the result of those

That said, some newew doing wonderful work, organising

themselves in interesting innovative ways in response to the changing

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Finally, thanks are owed d to all my fami

Stage 2 The Outline Business ess

Stage 3 The Business Plan ........................................................ 25

Practice promotion ...................................................... 37

Stage 4 – Part 1 Business Design ........................................................... 57

Stage 4 – Part 2 Component Selection .................................................. 79

Stage 5 – Part 1 Getting Noticed ...........................................................

Stage 5 – Part 3 Appointments

Stage 6 Keeping Going........................................................... 135

Index ............................................................................................................... 159

kills before getting down to hard practicalities in the later

narrowly onto it – and is the response of many architects

Some successful alternatives to architectural practice taken

Will a diverse team with a range backgrounds, characters, ages, skills

and experiences be the bestt idea, or, alternativ

Team roles/team building

Two of the better-known categorisations are the Belbin Team Roles,

You will need to have or be all three.

of a mentorr appeals, choo

off working for a larger player. To work

plan aspiration into account.

Feasibility tests: economic, social and environmental

1. Feasibility test – economic issues

i. What will you sell?

Add up the likely income for each year (A).

ii. Who will the work?

iii. Where will you work?

iv. What will your overheads be?

Add up your overheads (D).

2. Feasibility test – social issues

For the one-person practice/sole proprietor

3. Feasibility tests – environmental and quality of life issues

See: Stage 3: The Business Plan, page 25

Before you make a career-changing decision

near the beginning of the practice’s life.

Performance requirements and measures

An example o SWOT analysis is given on the following pages.

Alternatives business analysis methods to SWOT include:

Example SWOT analysis

they have been offered workspace on a business park.

column s Major projects in the area tend to be

Other sources of information on the size and potential work

trength and character

This is a time for wide-ranging discussion and exploration, not only to

There is a wealth of advice available;