Factor Blog for Architecture & Engineering Firms

Architecture and engineering (A/E) firms tend to use one of two primary economic models. The first is characterized by what we’ll call “passive project management” and the other is centered around “active project management.” Here are examples of the approaches, benefits of the different models, and how to know if you’re using the right one.

It is important as an architecture or engineering (A/E) firm owner to manage your firm’s valuation in order to ensure that it’s accurate and meets expectations. But it’s important to note that too much management of your stock value can cause internal buyers to be apprehensive. This is particularly true if you haven’t educated your employees (i.e., the next generation of owners) about how an A/E firm is run.

At the end of a fiscal year, many firms look to recalculate their value. We’ve found that too many of them believe a change in valuation is something that happens to them rather than something they control and manage.

It’s become clear that the COVID-19 pandemic will have long-lasting effects on how architecture and engineering (A/E) firms operate. While some will go back to work in-office, many will continue to work remotely. Here’s how to manage the performance of staff working from home.

Most architecture and engineering (A/E) firm strategic plans address activities for the next 3-5 years. Trying to tie a budget to such long-range goals is challenging, yet it’s important to have some metrics to give your plan substance. But if you’re doing quarterly budgets, as we often suggest, how do you tie these two things together?

Beyond Forecasting: The Beauty of a Quarterly Rolling BudgetJanaury 18, 2021As architecture and engineering (A/E) firms get up to speed in the new year, one of management’s top priorities is creating a budget. Of course, that’ll be especially important and challenging after a year that was anything but normal and therefore can’t really be used

As an architecture or engineering (A/E) firm owner, you work hard to grow the value of your company and deserve to benefit from that work whenever you’re ready. The intense stressors of 2020 have led many principals to feel that the time is now… or at least, soon. But it’s important to take the proper preparation steps to ensure you get maximum value for your firm.

In our work with successful A/E firms, we’ve found that following these 10 rules are critical for effective accounting and financial management.

While developing and sticking to a budget is a common practice for business in many industries, that isn’t necessarily the case with architecture and engineering (A/E) firms. Yes, it’s true that sticking to a budget in the face of unexpected events can be hard. But that doesn’t mean that budgeting is a waste of time. Quite the opposite, actually.

One of the best uses of downtime is providing training for project managers (PMs). In fact, as baby boomers continue to retire in ever-greater numbers, the loss of project management expertise is having a bigger and more negative impact on A/E firms with each passing year.