2 ideas are worth a look.
For architecture firms, selling to architects and small architecture practice owners. We explored 6 ideas and searched for each one. 4 already exist.
Already exists, so we dropped them
- Drawing Revision TrackerConstructable already handles drawing distribution and version control for construction teams, including architects. constructable.ai
- Site Instruction RecorderPart3 already gives architects a central record of site instructions and changes with full traceability. part3.io
- Contractor Quote CompareBid leveling software already compares subcontractor bids side by side and flags missing scope items. archdesk.com
- Client Decision LogLoqbooq is a free decision log for teams and stakeholders, and INGENIOUS.BUILD already documents client decisions and approvals for architects. loqbooq.app
Council Pre-App Checklist
A council-specific checklist and document pack builder that tells architects exactly what each local authority needs for a pre-application or planning submission, updated when rules change.
- Who pays
- Architect or small practice owner who submits planning applications
- The problem
- In the buyer's words: 'Anyone else had a permit application delayed or rejected just because the reviewer couldn't find the info they needed?' and 'It depends entirely upon the building department / agency you're submitting plans to.' Every council wants different documents, forms and drawings, and the rules change without notice.
- The gap
- Existing tools are generic. Document management software for architects organises files but does not know what a specific council requires. GOV.UK gives national guidance, not per-council checklists. Proposal and practice management tools do not cover submission packs. Nobody has built a maintained, council-by-council
- Already out there
- PlanMan planman.app
Lists document management software for UK architects. Organises documents but does not encode what each council requires for a submission.
- GOV.UK Making an application gov.uk
National guidance on what a planning application is. Does not give council-specific document lists or a pack builder.
- MHCLG Digital blog mhclgdigital.blog.gov.uk
Government post arguing planning applications should be treated as data. Shows the problem is known but no product for architects exists.
- PlanMan planman.app
- People asking for it
- Permits rejected for poor organization reddit.com
Architect asks if others have had a permit delayed or rejected because the reviewer could not find the information.
- Submitting plans for city approval reddit.com
Comment says it depends entirely on the building department or agency you are submitting to, and to check their permit requirements.
- Building Submission Hell reddit.com
Thread about the pain of building submissions and dealing with local officials.
- Permits rejected for poor organization reddit.com
- The big assumption
- That councils' requirements change often enough and differ enough that architects will pay a subscription rather than keep their own notes and PDFs.
- Test it this week
- Pick 5 councils where the founder has contacts. Build a manual checklist for each in a spreadsheet. Ask 10 architects who submit there whether the checklist matches their experience and whether they would pay for it kept up to date. Count how many say yes and how many already have their own version.
Architect Fee Proposal Builder
A tool that helps small practice owners build staged fee proposals with scope boundaries and exclusions from their own past projects, so they stop undercharging and scope creep is easier to manage.
- Who pays
- Small practice owner
- The problem
- In the buyer's words: 'The ONLY way to reduce proposed fees should be by reducing scope' and 'When you're undercharging for scope from day one, scope creep becomes inevitable.' Practice owners write each proposal from scratch, forget exclusions, and then absorb unpaid work.
- The gap
- Generic proposal tools like Plutio and Smart Pricing Table give templates and e-signatures but no architecture-specific scope library, no reuse of the practice's own past project data, and no staged fee structure tied to RIBA-style work stages. Monograph automates proposals for larger A&E firms but is not built around
- Already out there
- Plutio plutio.com
Proposal software for architects. Handles fixed price, retainer and rush quotes but is a generic proposal tool, not built on the practice's own past project data.
- Smart Pricing Table smartpricingtable.com
Architecture proposal template with assumptions and exclusions. A template, not a system that learns from the practice's own projects.
- Monograph monograph.com
Proposal automation for A&E firms with CRM to content library to e-signature flow. Aimed at larger firms and not built around a small practice's own historical fees.
- Plutio plutio.com
- People asking for it
- I have a small Architecture Firm. Lets discuss fees! reddit.com
Practice owner says the only way to reduce proposed fees should be by reducing scope, and that this will not typically avoid scope creep.
- Stop accepting low fees reddit.com
Architects discuss teaching young architects what scope creep is and how scope reduction only works when everyone does it.
- Stop Scope Creep in Architecture with Effective Pricing linkedin.com
Post says undercharging for scope from day one makes scope creep inevitable.
- I have a small Architecture Firm. Lets discuss fees! reddit.com
- The big assumption
- That small practice owners will trust and use a tool built on their own past project data rather than keep doing proposals in Word and Excel.
- Test it this week
- Ask 10 small practice owners to send you three past fee proposals. Build one new proposal for each by hand using their own past scope and exclusions. Ask if the result is better than what they would have written and whether they would pay monthly for it.