In the hurly burly of finding and competing for work, managing projects with increasing external pressures and keeping the bank manager at bay, staying on top of the finances can seem like a luxury. But unless you maintain a firm handle on fee levels, productivity, cash flow and profitability then you may suddenly find you have been holed and are going down. So keep in touch with the numbers, stay afloat and make sure you reach your destination.

The following topics will be covered whilst the content of the day will be tailored to suit the mix of delegates:

Managing project budgets: setting cost rates, charge-out rates, time recording principles, factors influencing a project budget, handling unknowns/risks, managing changes/extras, monitoring progress and measuring profitability/performance during the project.

Fee calculation, negotiation and management: timing and securing fees in advance, due diligence checks on clients, mailing appointments, different ways of looking at fees (e.g. architect's perspective, client's perspective, market view).

Managing cash flow: understanding the difference between profit and cash, easy cash flows, handling the bank manager (comparing with profit and loss; quick look at management accounts - don't wait until the end of the year to find out), managing drawings.

Speaker: Nick Coates, Nick Coates Business Consultancy, a chartered accountant, advises small and medium-sized businesses on strategic and financial issues. Before this, he spent four years as Finance Director for Bath based architects, Stubbs Rich. He has over 20 years' experience in a variety of businesses in the property sector both at a Director level and as a management consultant.