Factor Blog for Architecture & Engineering Firms

When it’s time to do strategic planning and the topic of benchmarking comes up, architecture and engineering (A/E) firms often ask, “What’s the benefit of it?”
While it may be true that benchmarking for the purpose of comparing your firm to others may not be particularly useful, there are many other uses you may not be considering.

We’re pleased to announce that Architosh named Factor A/E its 2022 AIA National Best of Show in the Cloud category at the national convention and expo in Chicago.

Finding the ideal software solution is an important step in managing your architecture or engineering (A/E) effectively. But it’s just the first step. Next, you’ve got to implement that system, train your people, and get them comfortable using it. Of course, even with the most intuitive systems, implementations can “go sideways” for various reasons. Fortunately, you can take action to ensure a successful system launch.

QuickBooks Online (QBO) is a powerful financial tool that pairs well with architecture and engineering (A/E) project manager platforms. But to migrate your data to QBO efficiently and effectively, you’ve got to know the benefits of making the move and how to prepare properly for it.

The Factor team has wasted no time developing a variety of new and improved features in Q1 2022. Make sure you are taking advantage of all of these exciting enhancements or reach out to a product specialist to learn more.

Architecture and engineering (A/E) firms use various methods to manage the fees of subconsultants (subs) within their projects. Ideally, all the various subconsultant scenarios a firm encounters could be handled in a system that combines project management and invoicing capabilities. Unfortunately, most project management software is designed to handle only one or two scenarios at best. Here is a breakdown of more common scenerios and best practices on how to handle them.

For architecture and engineering (A/E) firms, resource planning is both an art and a science. You’ve got to consider several variables, including team capacity, project timelines, and client budgets. Fail to consider all of these factors, and projects can go “off the rails” very quickly!

If you generate invoices manually every month, you probably don’t look forward to that task. And, if you’re committed to providing precisely the information each client wants to see in a layout that makes sense to them, you face an even more significant time commitment. There is an easier way! Technology can bring you a variety of invoice templates that will satisfy the requests of your A/E clients.

Times are changing. Employees no longer plan to stay with one firm for decades—particularly if it becomes clear that they won’t be getting the role they’re focused on. They want to be PMs and they want to start their training asap. That means A/E firms have to be intentional about how they “groom” their talent if they want the best employees to stick around.

The exclamation “Happy Holidays!” typically rings a little hollow for architecture and engineering (A/E) firm accountants. Instead of being fun and festive, the end of the calendar year is one of their busiest times (along with tax season), as they scramble to complete a variety of tasks. However, there are ways that A/E firm accounting departments can complete those tasks without all of the usual stress.