[ Industry advisory · Professional services ]
Strategic advisory for QS practices balancing construction-stage work and tax-depreciation volume.
Quantity surveying practices run two very different engines at once — high-touch construction-stage cost work, and high-volume tax depreciation schedules. Each has its own margin, recovery and capacity profile. We help QS firm owners see them separately, price them properly, and structure the practice around how the work actually behaves.
[ What we hear, again and again ]
The pressures inside quantity surveyors & building consultants.
These questions need the business’s information and circumstances to be understood. They are not, on their own, evidence of the cause or the right solution.
- 01Construction-stage fees fixed early while scope and rework expand
- 02Panel and developer concentration leaving the firm exposed to one or two clients
- 03Depreciation-schedule volume masking thin per-report margin
- 04Site visits, travel and inspection time poorly recovered
- 05Director / partner economics blurred between fee-earner and owner roles
[ How we work ]
What the accounting and advisory work can cover.
- 01
Engagement-level margin separated by work type — construction vs tax depreciation vs expert
- 02
Recovery and write-off tracked by client, project and engagement
- 03
Client concentration and panel exposure reviewed when relevant to the engagement
- 04
Capacity planned around site work, report production and review load
- 05
Director economics, structure and wealth treated as a separate conversation
[ The numbers that matter ]
Measures that help owners understand performance.
Not a long list — the handful of numbers that, watched consistently, change how the business is run.
01
Recovery rate by work type
Construction-stage vs tax depreciation vs expert
02
Write-off % by client
What's actually being given away, client by client
03
Reports per fee-earner / month
Real throughput on the depreciation engine
04
Client concentration
Revenue exposure to top developers and panels
05
Director effective return
What ownership actually delivers above salary
These are possible review topics, not a standard calendar. We agree the work, reporting and meeting frequency for your business. Agreed actions have clear responsibilities and are followed up.
- 01
Utilisation, WIP and realisation review
- 02
Partner / owner conversation on profitability and capacity
- 03
Tax, structure and partner / shareholder economics
- 04
Long-term plan — equity, succession and wealth outside the firm
[ The honest line ]
QS firms that see construction-stage and tax-depreciation work as separate businesses — with separate margins and structures — make better calls about pricing, hiring and where to grow.
[ The next conversation ]
Run the two engines separately.
Bring the messy stuff. The numbers, the pressures, the decisions you've been putting off. The first conversation is structured, candid and obligation-free.
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