Bookkeeping for architects

What the books involve

• Fees by project stage: concept design, design development, documentation and contract administration invoiced as each stage is reached, with the amount left to bill on every project kept in view.
• Consultants and disbursements: engineers, surveyors and town planners entered as bills, and costs paid on a client's behalf, such as council application fees, invoiced back to that client.
• Project time: hours recorded in practice management software matched to the invoices raised in Xero or MYOB, so the fees billed on each project can be compared with the time spent.
• Software and production costs: drawing, modelling and rendering subscriptions, plus plotting and printing, recorded as regular costs so the practice can see what its tools cost.
• Client payments: stage invoices and variation fees for extra design work followed through to payment, with a monthly list of fees still owing and the projects they belong to.
• Insurance and memberships: professional indemnity insurance and institute memberships recorded as they renew, alongside a monthly reconciliation of every bank and card account.