Design milestone billing

A design fee needs a recognizable project and an agreed point of acceptance. Billing Coordinator first creates the draft client document with its organization, client and owner. Project Architect records the project name, drawing revision and fee on the billing milestone, then links it to that document. The accepted date helps Practice Principal distinguish work ready for billing from work still being discussed with the client. Keep the supporting acceptance file with that same document so Billing Coordinator can follow the decision without searching a separate email conversation.

A project can have several design submissions. Use a consistent project name and drawing revision convention so a revised drawing package can be distinguished from an earlier accepted issue. Review the particular milestone being charged before moving it from Draft to Submitted.

• Prepare the evidence. Project Architect records the fee basis and accepted drawing issue. Include the acceptance correspondence as a supporting file with a clear title. Check that the parent document belongs to the intended client and practice.
• Decide the milestone. Practice Principal reviews the submitted revision and approves or rejects the submitted charge. Record the decision date and retain the acceptance evidence used for that decision. An altered drawing issue returns to the review conversation.
• Hand over the fee. Billing Coordinator uses the approved milestone to prepare the document lines. Mark the milestone Completed after the billing result is identified and checked. Keep the parent document available when explaining the fee to the client.

Agree who can submit a design milestone and who can approve it. Decide what counts as acceptance for each engagement: for example, an email identifying the drawing issue and fee stage. Define the project naming convention, the drawing revision notation and how an amended fee is reviewed. Agree how to handle several milestones on a single document so that the line descriptions make their origins clear.

Use USD amounts consistently in the pilot. Ask Finance Manager to review the fee basis before importing history with a different currency. Connect the firm’s CAD workspace separately and decide which exported drawings or acceptance files belong with billing evidence.

For a rehearsal, use a residential extension whose schematic design fee is USD 8,000. Project Architect records drawing revision C and attaches the client’s acceptance of that issue. Practice Principal checks the evidence and approves the submitted milestone. Billing Coordinator prepares the invoice line with a description that identifies the accepted design stage.

Then introduce revision D before the invoice is reviewed. The team should establish whether it changes the accepted fee basis, retain revision C’s evidence, and obtain a fresh decision where necessary. Ask Billing Coordinator to explain which issue supports the final charge and locate the related document without relying on memory.

• Milestones awaiting approval — Submitted design fees and their drawing evidence ready for Practice Principal’s decision.
• Design billing board — Milestones grouped by progress so the team can distinguish preparation, decisions and completed billing.
• Accepted milestone billing — Approved and completed milestones beside the documents carrying their fees.

Follow design acceptance to billing, then document preparation to approval. Use the same drawing issue and fee basis at both handoffs.