When we started our architecture office, the design side came naturally. We'd spent years training for it — studio courses, time at other firms, all of it oriented around making great projects. What nobody really prepared us for was the business side. A few professional practice classes in graduate school, some advice from mentors here and there, and then you're on your own.
The early years involved a lot of guessing. What should we charge for this? Are we actually making money? Can we afford to bring on another person? We were figuring it out as we went, which we've since learned is how almost every small office starts.
Nearly a decade in, our architecture office has grown into something we're proud of — a small team, projects we care about, a few awards along the way. Getting here meant getting better at the business side, and Format Projects is a big part of how we did that. It started as an internal tool, built out of necessity. For the last several years we've been running it in our own office and within a handful of trusted colleagues' offices. We're just now ready to open it up to others.
Not task management. Not accounting.
There's no shortage of tools to help you manage day-to-day work — task lists, team communication apps, scheduling software. And on the other end, your accounting software handles the books. Format Projects handles what sits in between: the operational layer that helps you make confident decisions about your practice.
What should I charge for this service?
What's my real hourly rate?
Is this project profitable?
Can I afford to bring on another person?
Will this be a good year?
How long does this phase typically take?
By tracking budgets, schedules, billing, and hours across your active projects, Format Projects helps you build the dataset that makes your next proposal a confident one. Over time, you stop guessing and start knowing.
What we'll write about here
We're calling this section Field Notes. It'll be an honest record of what we're learning — and what we're still figuring out — about running a small office. We'll write about proposals, fees, hiring, the mistakes we've made, and the things we're still working through. We hope some of it is useful.