From quote to invoice: the steps in a small drawing practice
In a small drawing or survey practice, most of what happens to the money is settled before anyone visits the site. The quote sets the scope and the price, the acceptance turns it into an agreement, and the deposit confirms the booking. The work in the middle is the part you are good at. The steps around it are where things go missing: a quote that didn't say which floors, a deposit nobody raised, a final invoice that doesn't match what was agreed.
This guide goes through the seven steps from quote to paid, what each one needs, and what to check before you move on. The screens are from ArchplanAI, on a sample firm with sample figures.
1. The quote
The quote is the first document the client reads closely, and often the only one they read before saying yes. It should say:
- What is included, item by item. Name the drawings and the parts of the building: which floors, which elevations, whether the roof plan or an outbuilding is in. "A survey of the house" means different things to different people.
- What is not included. Planning fees, the structural engineer, extra site visits, further rounds of revisions: whatever you would otherwise end up explaining later.
- The fee, with VAT shown. If you are VAT-registered, show the net fee, the VAT and the total. If your client is a homeowner, the price you give them before they agree must include VAT.
- The deposit, if you take one: how much, and when it is due.
- How long the quote stays valid. Thirty days is common.
- When the drawings will arrive, in working days from the survey.
ARB, the architects' regulator, says missing or inadequate terms of engagement are "the most common cause of complaints about architects". A clear quote heads off the same kind of argument before it starts.
In ArchplanAI you build the quote from your own fee list: line items priced net, a discount if you want one, and the VAT worked out and shown on the document. It goes out with your logo and details on it.
2. Acceptance
A yes on the phone is good news, but it isn't a record. You want the client's acceptance against the exact quote, so that if anything is questioned later you know who agreed to what, and when.
In ArchplanAI the client accepts in the browser from a link, with nothing to print or sign. When a client says yes by email or on the phone instead, someone in the office can accept the quote on their behalf, and has to give a reason, for example "Confirmed by email on 8 Sep". The job's history records who accepted it and why.
3. The deposit invoice
A deposit confirms the booking, and it means you are not funding the job yourself while you wait. The deposit invoice should show the deposit, the VAT on it if you are registered, the balance still to come, your bank details, and a reference the client can quote when they pay.
In ArchplanAI, the moment they accept, the deposit invoice is ready; or, once auto-deposit is set up in Settings, it raises itself.
4. The work
Once the deposit is in, the job moves into production. Everyone should be able to see where each job is without having to ask.
In ArchplanAI every job sits on one board and moves through seven stages: to be confirmed, confirmed, in progress, QC, revise, approval and completed. Each card shows the reference and the address; one click opens the client and the fee. The technicians' board shows no fees.
5. The quality check
Before anything goes to the client, someone other than the person who drew it should check it. A missing floor is far easier to put right here than after the client has found it.
In ArchplanAI technicians submit their work for QC, and a job sent back for revision keeps its history.
6. The final invoice and the receipt
The final invoice is the agreed total less the deposit. If the quote, the deposit invoice, the final invoice and the receipt don't agree with each other, the client will ask why, and they will be right to.
In ArchplanAI the final invoice is worked out from the job: the accepted total, less what has been paid, with the VAT shown. The quote, the deposit, the balance and the receipt all agree to the penny, and the receipt is issued when you mark the payment received.
7. If it isn't paid
Say on the invoice, or in the terms that go with it, when payment is due, and decide in advance when you will send a reminder. If your client is a business, the law gives you a right to interest and a fixed sum for late payment; it does not apply to homeowners.
In ArchplanAI, once an invoice has gone a week unpaid, it appears on your dashboard with a reminder you send in one click. No reminder is emailed to a client until someone presses Send.
Where the steps come apart
When each step lives somewhere different (the quote in Word, the deposit in the accounts package, the job list in a spreadsheet, the chasing in someone's head), every handover is a chance for something to drop. None of the steps is hard. Keeping them joined up is the work.
That is what architectural practice management software is for, and it is why we built quote to invoice software for drawing and survey practices: the seven steps above, in one place, with every figure agreeing to the penny.
See it with your own jobs. Book a 30-minute setup call and we will put one of your own quotes through it while you watch.