Architectural Fee For A Custom Scope Of Services

I have written a fair bit about Architectural Fees in the past. I guess I remember what a mystery it was to me at one time. I have covered the basics of Fee Tables here and the complexity of the typical Hybrid Project here. The remaining factor in determining the appropriate fee is Scope of Services.

What are you required to do to complete the project?

If the answer is standard Basic Services, then the issue of Scope of Services is settled. Basic Services is the answer for a lot of smaller public projects.

Something different than Basic Services is more likely the case in private work. Private clients don't fit the cookie cutter of public projects. They need more here and less there. That makes determining the appropriate fee more complicated. 

Here's the solution.
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If your client is not experienced at developing projects, there are plenty of things lying outside the scope of Basic Services that they may need.

Things like:

• Site Analysis
• Pre-Design
• More Schematic Design
• Extra assistance during Construction Administration
• Post Construction help moving or setting up management systems

On the other hand if your client is an experienced project developer, their needs may vary quite a lot from standard Basic Services.

• Will Bidding Services be required?
• Do they have staff that will address some Construction Administration issues?
• Is the structure going to be a PEMB? Or precast concrete?
• Are additional consultants required?
• Will M/E be Design/Build?
• Is the client hiring the consultants directly?

In either case, these departures from Basic Services can get complicated. You will benefit from creating a spreadsheet to keep track of what is 'IN' and what is 'OUT'. On the right is the spreadsheet that is included in FeeCalqs. 

click to enlarge

In the first part of the spreadsheet, the extent that Basic Services is required is quantified by percentages. 100% is standard Basic Services. The percentage can be made more or less. The less common, but standard phases are represented, too. 0% means 'not required'. A positive percentage indicates your expectation for including some or all of these phases.

​The next section of the spreadsheet looks at the level of involvement of consultants for structural engineering and mechanical / electrical design. You have a chance to define what part of the project is devoted to those disciplines and what percentage of normal services is required. Or will you just coordinate with someone else's consultant?

​In the final section, you can see a comparison of a standard fee and the fee that is required for this project. Here's where a 'gut check' on what you are seeing is appropriate. 
Lastly you have an opportunity to consider including a contingency of money for any other services that you will be required to provide - walk-through video, zoning representation, Additional Services that have been requested.

This is also where you would include extra consultants' fees.

By just 'filling in the blanks', you have taken a fee for Basic Services and customized it to reflect the project at hand.

Even if you have a well worn system of your own, this type of spreadsheet offers helpful checks and balances.

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You can find more about FeeCalqs in these links:
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FeeCalqs - It All Starts With Fee Tables
Architectural Fees - Hybrid Projects
FeeCalqs
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Use FeeCalqs, a digital Fee Calculation tool.

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