Practical guides for UK architecture practices
Straight-to-the-point articles on running a small practice — RIBA stages, fee management, timesheets, and everything in between.
RIBA Stages Explained for Small Architecture Practices
The RIBA Plan of Work is one of the most useful frameworks in British architecture, but for sole practitioners and small studios, it can feel like it was written for larger firms. Here's what each stage actually means in practice, and how to use them to run a tighter, more profitable studio.
How to Track Project Fees as an Architect
Fee overruns are one of the most common problems in small architecture practices, and one of the most avoidable. The practices that stay profitable tend to track their fees in real time, not at the end of a project when it's too late to do anything about it.
Timesheets for Architects: Why They Matter and How to Make Them Stick
Most architects working on fixed fees think timesheets don't apply to them. They're wrong, and the practices that track time carefully are consistently more profitable than those that don't. Here's why, and how to make it work without it feeling like an admin burden.
How to Write Better Meeting Minutes for Architecture Projects
Meeting minutes are one of those things every architect knows they should do properly, and few actually do. Poor meeting records are behind more professional indemnity claims than most practices realise. Here's how to do them well, without it taking half your afternoon.
How to Manage a Small Architecture Practice
Architecture school teaches you to design buildings. Running a practice is a different skill entirely, one most architects learn through trial and error. This guide covers the core systems that make a small practice work, and the common pitfalls that catch people out.
Spreadsheets vs Practice Management Software: When to Make the Switch
Almost every architecture practice starts with spreadsheets. They're flexible, familiar, and free. For a sole practitioner with two or three projects, they work fine. The question isn't whether spreadsheets are good enough to start, it's how to recognise when they've stopped being good enough.
See how Archject puts this into practice
RIBA stage tracking, fee management, and timesheets — all connected in one place.