Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
(OP)
Hy everybody,
I'm thinking on open a consulting firm and hopufully somebody can answer some questions.
Are the engineering fees different from the drafting fees?, when the company offer both services., or are the drafting fees included on the engineering fees?
Regards
I'm thinking on open a consulting firm and hopufully somebody can answer some questions.
Are the engineering fees different from the drafting fees?, when the company offer both services., or are the drafting fees included on the engineering fees?
Regards
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
It's a fee for service game- if you are intending to provide a "drafting" service- what are your competitors chargeing and for waht quality of service?
If it's "engineering" which can be made up of both design/calculations and drafting, then what you charge your clients has to account for either the blended rates, or you charge differential hourly rates for the different levels of service.
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
(a) started with one single rate as calculated from "rate to meet your needs" in all the "How to be a Consultant" books. I got very little business because I was overpriced.
(b) Developed a graduated fee scale based on the type of work. Low dollar drafting fees were in line with local market prices, and accounted for 60%+ of total work. It paid the bills. The sales gimmick was that the customer was getting an engineer to do this work, not a mere drafter. "Engineering" work that required calculations and higher-education knowledge accounted for about 10%-15% of total work. I charged a higher fee for that. That segment was my "profit". Seemed to work well enough.
The theory of the business is that I could build enough business that I would need to hire real drafters and pay them accordingly, then I could do more engineering work.
TygerDawg
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
Similar to Tyger, I have put together a 4-tiered pricing structure based on the complexity of service and amount of liability. For example, you want a PE stamp, that is an egregiously high rate and once you require that, all my services are provided at the pay level, even basic drafting services.
Otherwise, I track my time based on the tasks I perform and bill my client those hours at that rate, line itemed on the invoice. I also throw in a few "preapproved" surcharge fees based on their requests. The rates pay the bills, the surcharge fees act as my profit.
--Scott
http://wertel.eng.pro
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
Principal engineer, Senior engineer, Project engineer, Engineer
Senior designer, Senior drafter, Drafter
Most, if not all, work requires a professional engineer's stamp in this industry.
Where PE stamp is an option, discount is fair for projects where stamps are not required.
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
David
David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering
www.muleshoe-eng.com
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
The harder I work, the luckier I seem
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
That's kind of what I had in mind. Engineering/Consulting fees at one rate and drafting at a lower rate. I think is fair enough.
Regards
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
I cannot divide engineering from drafting. When I am making a drawing I am also analyzing the final work and calculating the dimensions, details etc.
If the project has a lot of drafting work involved I’ll hire a drafting firm and their costs are disbursements. However driving back and forth to their offices checking their work and other issues relating to getting the drawings done are at the standard rate.
The decision to hire a drafting firm or do the work myself is based on the least cost for the client.
Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng
Construction Project Management
From conception to completion
www.kitsonengineering.com
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
Distinguishing engineer and drafter rates apply to companies with both engineers and drafters. In this situation, it doesn't make sense to bill the client at drafters rates when engineers' drafting work. Usually when a company hires an employee, he/she is designated either engineer or drafter. Each employee usually designated with a single rate based on their classification. At least it is true in the structural side of this business.
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
It is also my experience that people have charge out rates based on either their classification and or individual pay structure. Some offices have a senior engineer rate for everyone in that classification other have individual rates depending on the individual’s salary within the classification. (The deciding factors are usually ease of accounting practices or keeping individual salaries confidential.)
This is Ok as long as the firm is assigning people to the job based on the needs of the client and not on keeping revenue as high as pssable.
Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng
Construction Project Management
From conception to completion
www.kitsonengineering.com
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
- engineer (senior, intermediate, junior)
- drafter
- document control
- procurement
- secretarial/business administration
- project manager
For each project, we assign the function/people as required. Not all projects use all of the different people/functions.
"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
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RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
Originally I differentiated between drafting time and engineering time but quickly switched to an average of the two. It was impossible to separate, since I do both simultaneously, as well as overly complicated to estimate and bill.
However, when I hire a drafter or subcontract the drafting, I do charge a lesser rate.
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
Don Phillips
http://worthingtonengineering.com
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
If you have a written pricing policy showing multiple rates, it is much easier in a court of law to demonstrate that you did NOT give excessive discounts to a particular client because he's a friend or any other ethically-questionable reason.
Going rate with a 60% discount is a much more difficult sell than showing the hours at your different published rates even if the final dollar value is the same.
And although this may sound like a way to cross the line on ethical situations such as discounting or even kick-backs, it is not intended to be so. This example is how you can win that bid without having to compromise your ethics by giving a 60% discount and when you get audited, it won't appear that way either because you are working to your published rates.
--Scott
http://wertel.eng.pro
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
How do you define the amount of hours necessary for a particular project when you make the offer? And how the customer will be sure that you really had used this amount of time after completion of the project?
It is just curious for me, as I said we have different system.
RE: Engineering fee vs. Drafting fee
Eric McDonald, PE
McDonald Structural Engineering, PLLC