Architecture & surveying

Architecture and surveying practices run on project enquiries, bids, and delivery. In the UK, you're balancing partners, project leads, and technical staff—often across multiple disciplines. When enquiries land in email, allocation is meeting-driven, and handover between bid and delivery is informal, projects slip and deadlines suffer.

The operational reality in this sector

Practices take enquiries via web forms, referrals, and direct contact. A partner or bid lead triages, sends a fee proposal, and eventually hands over to the project team. Work is tracked in project or practice management software, but intake and pipeline often live in spreadsheets or inboxes. Handover from bid to delivery can be a kick-off meeting, a shared folder, or "it's in the system." The operational reality is reactive intake, unclear ownership, and "who's leading that project?" when workload spikes.

Common friction we see

• Project enquiries land in multiple inboxes; no single pipeline or triage view.
• Allocation is partner- or meeting-driven; ownership and capacity are unclear.
• Handover between bid and delivery is verbal or in scraps; scope and context get lost.
• Status lives across PM software, spreadsheets, and email; reconciliation is manual.
• Too much time on "who's got this?" and "have we submitted the fee?"
• Clients chase for updates because internal ownership is unclear.

What this looks like in practice

A typical practice has a website form and an enquiries inbox. A partner or bid lead reviews, sends a fee proposal from Word or email, and follows up by memory. When the client says yes, details are shared in a meeting or folder; the project lead runs the job. Progress is tracked in the PM system, but pipeline and handover live in spreadsheets and email. When it gets busy, enquiries queue, handover blurs, and the team works late to meet deadlines. Fee proposals and project start dates slip.

How we typically approach this

We start with discovery: we map how enquiries come in, how bids are produced and allocated, and how handover to delivery works. We design workflows—intake, pipeline, allocation, handover—that fit your practice and integrate with your PM or practice systems. We build or configure so enquiries and projects land in one place, ownership is clear, and handover is documented. We phase delivery so you're not disrupted. Training and handover ensure your team can run it.

What changes after implementation

• One place for project enquiries and pipeline; clear triage and ownership.
• Allocation and handover tracked consistently; fewer lost opportunities.
• Clear handover from bid to delivery; scope and context preserved.
• A single view of what's in progress and what's at risk.
• Less time on triage and status, better client communication.

Tools we commonly work with

We work with what you use: project or practice management (e.g. Monograph, BQE, practice-specific tools), Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, AutoCAD, BIM tools, Xero, and form or CRM tools. We connect enquiry intake, workflows, and handover so you're not duplicating or chasing across systems.

A short example from the field

Illustrative example. A surveying practice had enquiries from their site and email. Fee proposals were sent from Word; handover to project leads was a meeting and a shared folder. We built a single intake pipeline, clear allocation rules, and simple handover checklists that fed into their practice system. Partners could see every live opportunity and project; project leads had a clear handover for each job. Proposal turnaround and project start reliability both improved.

FAQs

We use project or practice management. Do we need to change?
Usually no. We integrate with what you have. The gap we fill is often enquiry intake, allocation, and handover—so projects land in one place and flow into your PM or practice system.

What about bids and tenders?
We can design for enquiry, bid, and project workflows. Intake and handover often share a pipeline; we'll map your actual flows and build to that.

We're regulated. How do you handle compliance?
We work within your professional obligations. We don't store project data beyond what's needed for workflows. We'll agree security and access up front.

Next step

If project intake and handover are holding your practice back, we can help you capture every enquiry, allocate clearly, and hand over to delivery without the chaos. View our services or see how we work.