Ben SnapeMost small business owners, freelancers, and independent consultants in all industries have one thing in common: they make early invoicing mistakes.
Architects are not an exception. Even if you are a talented architect who is excellent at what you do – you will still screw up sometimes – in paperwork, communication, or time management.
Most invoicing mistakes cause inconveniences: you get paid later than you should, spend more time managing invoices, and so on.
However, some consequences of wrong invoicing and contracts can be devastating. For example, in case of any disputes arise around large projects and high-check customers, you may get into trouble if your paperwork has discrepancies.
Check contracts and invoices before sending them. PlanMan’s invoicing tools let you create invoices from completed project stages and keep them with the project record.
Below is a list of the top contracting and invoicing mistakes we’ve seen most of our clients make at one point.
Not signing a contract
Believe it or not, some people still work that way for “quick” projects. But short cuts make long delays, as Pippin said in the Lord of The Rings. The dangers of working without a contract are so evident that we won’t start the list.
Suppose the client is reluctant to sign a contract – that could be a red flag. Most often, you’d need to negotiate terms – which is why contract negotiation is an important skill set in architecture.
Have a typical contract template at hand and have your client sign it even if you think the project is “small”, “quick”, or “simple”.
There are countless architecture contract templates online. Some of the examples you could use are:
IMPORTANT: Consult a legal professional to validate all online contract templates.
The incongruence of the invoice with the contract
This happens when you forget what was in the contract – or if you used a contract template that does not contain services you’re invoicing for. That is why you always need to ensure your contract includes enough details and amendments covering all services you may invoice for in the future.
Pay special attention to how well your contract explains what your deliverables are. Make sure you and the client are on the same page about the status of all drawings, drafts, and detailed reports that you will eventually send over.
If your invoice covers something not mentioned in the contract, this may cause issues during possible future disputes, so make sure you avoid this mistake.
One of the invoice best practices for architects and city planners is to include references to quotes and estimates. Something that explains the amount in the invoice and refers back to your quotes. This is useful for transparency and a better experience for the client.
Bad communication with subcontractors
If you are working with subcontractors (and you are on complex projects), you need to take their payment schedules and practices into account. If the subcontractors are not aware of when and how you and they are getting paid – that could create extra delays in your project.
Agree how you will communicate with clients, subcontractors and other people involved in the project. PlanMan’s client communication tools keep client emails with the relevant records.
Submitting invoices late
This is a big invoicing mistake. All beginner freelancers and consultants are guilty of that – architects included. They submit invoices late, which may cause issues if the client is a complicated entity with complex processes.
Ultimately, the architect suffers the consequences of not getting paid on time. What is worse, any subcontractors you’re supervising suffer as well, which brings down the general project productivity level.
Agree a billing schedule with the client and review it as the project progresses. Use PlanMan’s invoicing tools to bill completed stages and track what has been sent.
Submitting incorrect invoices & missing details
Inaccurate invoices cause payment delays and accounting and taxation issues, ultimately costing you money. In addition, if you have to re-do your invoices instead of focusing on your clients’ projects, your work’s quality decreases.
Keep contact and billing details up to date in the client record. Check the recipient, amounts and project details before you send an invoice.
Not backing up your invoices in the cloud
Losing past invoices causes all kinds of problems in the years to come. Hard drives die, papers get lost, and if you are not backing up your architectural invoices in the cloud – it’s high time to start doing it now.
Keep supporting documents with the project using PlanMan’s document management, so your team can refer to the agreed work when preparing an invoice.
Have you ever made an invoice mistake?
PlanMan keeps clients, quotes, project stages and invoices together. Try it free for 30 days with your own project records.