Practice Management Member Conversations

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  • 1.  Are Billings Really Declining?

    Posted 11 days ago

    I was looking at the recently published August ABI information. It looks like new numbers are out on continued billings decline, and tempered indicators of future confidence present low confidence in the potential for improved business conditions. However, in my network I've seen some firms and professionals are covered up with work. What are PMKC members experiencing? How is the current economic climate impacting your firm? If business is slow, how are you using the time to advance your practice and career?

     

    https://www.aia.org/resource-center/abi-august-2024-architecture-firm-billings-continue-decline



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    Jennifer Kretschmer AIA
    J. Kretschmer Architect
    Los Gatos CA
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  • 2.  RE: Are Billings Really Declining?

    Posted 10 days ago

    Jennifer,

    We design primarily for the Senior Living sector.  Last month, our net billings were the highest in our firm's history.  For us, billings have been uncommonly strong since the first of the year.  That said, our backlog has shrunk significantly and our projected billings for 2025 reflect this as well.  I am not overly concerned yet as we have been too busy and it will be nice to get back to a normal pace.  If we don't see an increase in inquiries soon, quarter 2 of 2025 could be interesting. 



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    Jeffrey Ahl AIA
    arCuretecture, Inc.
    Lincoln NE
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  • 3.  RE: Are Billings Really Declining?

    Posted 6 days ago

    We are having our best year, and our billings have been surprisingly consistent. This is a welcome change from the last few years. I've been curious if there's a way to create an ABI score for your firm that you could index to the AIA's. Inquiries have been strong as well, but typically drop off for us in Q4. No one wants to start anything after mid-November. I also hope that we are at the start of a new business cycle as interest rates decline. There are a number of interesting opportunities out there that would be helped along by this. 



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    Christopher Hamer AIA
    Aria Group Architects, Inc.
    Oak Park IL
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