[ 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.
None of these are signs of a poorly-run business. They're signs that the financial relationship around the business hasn't kept up.
- 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 strategic support actually looks like.
- 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 quarterly
- 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 ]
What good operators in this industry actually watch.
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
- 01
Monthly utilisation, WIP and realisation review
- 02
Quarterly partner / owner conversation on profitability and capacity
- 03
Half-yearly tax, structure and partner / shareholder economics
- 04
Annual 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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