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Engineering business consultant Rodney McNabb has led an A&E firm since 2005. Next Phase A&E helps owner-led engineering firms with a core team of 3 to 20 full-time equivalents fix how they price, budget, bill and staff their work.
Most owner-led engineering firms lose control in the same places:
Task budgets set once and never compared with actual effort
Change approvals given after the work is done
Billing and WIP reports only the owner reads correctly
Capacity data spread across several spreadsheets
Recurring processes stalled when the owner is away
Request a meeting. In one free call, we'll show you which of these costs your firm the most.
We work with owners of:
Civil engineering firms
Structural engineering firms
MEP engineering firms (mechanical, electrical and plumbing)
Environmental engineering firms
Geotechnical engineering firms
Fire protection engineering firms
Transportation and traffic engineering firms
The same fixed-fee phases apply to every discipline. For peer forums and industry data, see the ACEC Small Firm Coalition and ACEC Market Intelligence.
Pricing and task budgets: Set a documented pricing method and compare task budgets with actual effort, so you see engineering firm profitability by project.
Billing, WIP and capacity: See all three in one view, with change approvals in place before the work is done.
Recurring processes: Move any process you hold in your head into a written procedure, with a named backup and a trained process owner.
Two guides help you start: how to calculate an engineering firm utilization rate, and how WIP accounting shows which projects hold your cash.
Pick one recurring process, such as change approvals or monthly billing, and ask what happens when you are away. Name a backup, write the approval rules and test a full cycle.
Rodney learned this the hard way. At his own firm, he priced every project and brought in every new client, so a day out of the office meant a day of email. Handing production management to his team gave him back the time to plan.
Construction Documents turns the result into a written SOP, training for the process owner and a verified handoff. A firm that runs without its owner is worth more to a buyer. See A&E firm succession planning.
Pre-Design is a free call of up to 45 minutes. Then you get a fixed-fee Schematic Design proposal.
The Schematic Design diagnostic reviews your task budgets, billing handoffs, WIP schedule and staffing, then gives you options for the first system to build. Design Development builds the one you pick with your data. Construction Documents writes the procedure, trains the process owner and verifies the handoff.
See every phase on our A&E consulting services page, and how fixed-fee A&E consulting compares with other advisors. Not ready to talk? Take the 7-Minute Firm Health Check.
Planning to sell the firm or hand it to partners? See A&E firm succession planning to get your books and procedures ready before the valuation.
Own an architecture firm? See our architecture firm business consultant page, or see all the firms we serve on business consulting for architecture and engineering firms.
When should an owner hire an engineering firm business consultant?
When pricing, approvals and billing still route through the owner, and task budgets keep missing actual effort. An engineering firm business consultant builds the methods and procedures so your staff run them.
What does an engineering business consultant do?
An engineering business consultant reviews how an engineering firm prices, budgets, bills and staffs its work, then builds the methods and procedures to improve margin and cash visibility. Next Phase A&E does this in fixed-fee phases.
What types of engineering firms do you work with?
Civil, structural, MEP, environmental, geotechnical, fire protection, and transportation and traffic engineering firms, each with an owner-led core team of 3 to 20 full-time equivalents.
How should an engineering firm track task budgets?
Set a budget in hours for each task at proposal time, record actual hours against the same tasks, and compare the two at every billing cycle. Variances caught mid-project get a change request. Variances caught at closeout only get a lesson.
Can you help with ownership transition?
Yes. We get the firm ready before the valuation: clean records, written procedures, named backups and trained process owners. The valuation, the deal terms and tax questions belong with your valuation firm, attorney and CPA. See A&E firm succession planning.
Do you provide engineering services?
No. Next Phase A&E provides business advisory only. We do not practice engineering, and we offer no accounting, legal or tax advice.