I'm trying to figure out the best way to charge my clients. I have tried charging by the square foot and by the hour and both have there advantages and there disadvantages. I was just wondering what the rest of you do. And what works best for you and why?

I am interested in your fee structure. I have purchased a not so big house plan which needs to be nodified. I am looking for a residential designer. The house will be located about 40 miles north of Grand Rapids and I hope to build it within the next two years. Send me an email reply to rich@andersontvl.com. If you have a web page profiling your work I would like to check it out.

I charge a percentage based on the final cost of construction. I am a residential designer in Calif. I charge about 3%. AIA folks charge 10%

Some projects I charge by the hour. For example I have a builder who is going to use the same floor plan 8 times but with different elevations. It really only makes sense to charge him by the hour.

You might want to check out the Architecture and Design page on http://www.susanka.com. Sarah has posted a link to her 2000 AIA National Convention lecture, "How to Run and Manage a Residential Design Practice". You can also download the presentation notes, as well as those for her 2004 lecture, "Practicing Residential Architecture". The Sample Brochure for Architecture Firms has also proved a helpful tool for some.

Marie

I charge by the hour, but put a maximum fee based on the construction cost. I started out putting 20% because that's what the interior designer I worked for charged for remodeling. Now I reduce it if clients ask me to because I've only had one job that went over 10%.

I do the design portion hourly, and then do a fixed fee proposal for the construction documents. I can almost always give people the fixed fee proposal after the first design session, and use those drawings to identify the scope of work. I keep good records and generate the fixed fee by comparing it to past projects of similar size and complexity. I used to charge by the hour with a cap, but then got burned pretty badly when a client hit the cap and then felt incredibly free to keep me running in circles chasing new ideas. My clients are not afraid of hourly design, because I do most of it right in front of them, with their active participation. I'm never spending their money on my time without their knowledge and consent. Wendy