Total Synergy is a project management software company founded in 1999 that serves the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. The document discusses common pitfalls that firms face in trying to grow, such as not properly budgeting projects, not tracking progress or setting rates, and reluctance to adopt new technology. It argues that growth requires being clear, effective, efficient and informed, and cannot happen through panic or errors. Branding is also important to differentiate the firm, drive growth, and attract the best talent. The software aims to give firms more time for design by handling timesheets, accounting, administration, and providing project management, collaboration, and accounting tools.
1. A Total Synergy product
GROWTH BY DESIGN
Scott Osborne – CEO, Total Synergy
@scottosborneaus | #MoreTimeForDesign
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FOUNDED: 1999 – FOR AEC INDUSTRY
FIRST CLIENT: CONSULTING ENGINEER
OFFICES: SYDNEY / LONDON
USERS: >16,000
ABOUT TOTAL SYNERGY
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DO YOU HAVE AN
APPETITE FOR BEING
A LARGER FIRM?
HOW BIG IS BIG ENOUGH?
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DO YOU HAVE THE
CAPABILITY?
HOW BIG IS BIG ENOUGH?
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ARE YOU MANAGING
YOUR PRACTICE OR
DOES IT MANAGE YOU?
HOW BIG IS BIG ENOUGH?
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COMMON PITFALLS
TO GROWTH
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THIS PRACTICE RUNS ON
GREAT DESIGN
Reputation and brand vs Billing and Profits
Risks to survival – Cashflow > wages, taxes
Profitable rates + Utilisation = $
COMMON PITFALLS
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GREAT DESIGN
≠
PROFITABLE PRACTICE
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WE DON’T NEED TO
BUDGET PROJECTS
OR TRACK PROGRESS
Fees need to reflect effort expended on projects = time + costs
Successful firms do not pin their fees to the hourly rate – value based fees
Staff need to deliver to the target of work effort
not the total of fees = margin erosion
COMMON PITFALLS
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WE DON’T NEED TO
BUDGET PROJECTS
OR TRACK PROGRESS
Capacity planning reflects the availability of resources
vs the effort estimated – headcount planning
Estimating work and tracking actuals vs budgets
highlights errors/issues – e.g. wrong project/stage or
variations to scope or training issues
COMMON PITFALLS
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I DON’T SET MY RATES,
THE MARKET DETERMINES
WHAT I CHARGE
Engineers/Architects vs Accountants vs Lawyers
COMMON PITFALLS
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I DON’T SET MY RATES,
THE MARKET DETERMINES
WHAT I CHARGE
Value based pricing
Expertise, innovation, timeliness of service etc
Clear on scope and variations – line of communications at all times
COMMON PITFALLS
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WE HAVE TO KEEP
ALL OUR FILES ON
A SERVER IN OUR OFFICE
Partly true depending on file access speeds
Cloud based systems are more secure,
more rigorously protected, mobile and connected
Working files can be synchronised until projects
completed and then should be archived to the cloud
COMMON PITFALLS
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CLOUD IS NOT SECURE
(BUT MY SERVERS ARE!)
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I CANT AFFORD TO SPEND
MORE ON TECHNOLOGY
CAD/BIM | Accounting and office systems
CRM | Forecasting | Resourcing
Project information management | Collaboration
Mobility
COMMON PITFALLS
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WE DON’T HAVE TIME
TO LEARN NEW
TECHNOLOGY
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I DON’T NEED A SYSTEM
TO MANAGE MY FIRM
How do we know?
Real time decisions
Are we stuck in “hamster wheel” mode
COMMON PITFALLS
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WHY BRAND IS IMPORTANT
There is almost nothing you do that can’t be copied in some way
Being ‘design-led’ is not a point of difference
Without a clear point of difference and defined value, you can
only differentiate on price — that’s a race to the bottom.
BRAND FOR GROWTH
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CORE
VALUES
ATTRIBUTES
BENEFITS
BRAND FOR GROWTH
BENEFITS
BENEFITS
• Value
• Innovation
• Efficiency via technology
• Unique specialist knowledge
(sector/location/technology)
ATTRIBUTES
ATTRIBUTES
• What you do
• Technology
• Industry specialization
• Unique expertise
• Business model
• Niche market focus
• Partnerships
• Physical appearance
CORE
VALUES
CORE VALUES
• Who you are
• How you do things
• What you stand for
• Why people (should/will)
work for you
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IDEAS FOR DIFFERENTIATION
Specialisation
Speed of delivery
Technology
Employer brand
Loyalty
BRAND FOR GROWTH
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HOW BRAND
DRIVES GROWTH
Brand creates value, stop eroding margin selling on price
You win word-of-mouth business
You win repeat business from your partners
People (customers, industry partners) recognise your identity
You attract the best talent (and keep them for longer)
BRAND FOR GROWTH
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Growth cannot just happen without panic and errors
Growth is not for the faint hearted
Growth needs to reflect the changing needs of information
Success via growth is the result of being
clear, effective, efficient and informed
SUMMARY
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PROJECT COLLABORATION
PROJECT ACCOUNTING
SYNERGY GIVES YOU MORE TIME FOR DESIGN WITH…
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TIMESHEETS
ACCOUNTING
ADMIN
WHAT IS SYNERGY ABOUT?
MORE TIME FOR
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SYNERGY PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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SYNERGY PROJECT COLLABORATION
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SYNERGY PROJECT ACCOUNTING
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THE SYNERGY PROJECT DELIVERY LIFECYCLE
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GROWTH BY DESIGN
Scott Osborne – CEO, Total Synergy
@scottosborneaus | #MoreTimeForDesign
Editor's Notes
Total Synergy has been build business and project management software since 1999.
We only have an AEC focus — we don’t serve any other sectors.
Our first client was a consulting structural and civil engineer. Still a client today.
Growth does not simply mean more projects = more fees = more staff = more profits
There is an inherent need to look at strategy for growth and to build the business
Infrastructure – premises, IT, systems
Support team – non billable resources (right people doing right job)
Management system
Investment in growth usually precedes actual cash generated by the increased activity = cashflow pressures and possibly even negative revenue whilst the work is undertaken
One of the fundamental principles is to understand your firm’s natural size
Do you have the appetite for being a larger firm?
Agility
Exposure to market fluctuations
Do you have the capability?
Leadership - marketing, finance, operations
In essence…”Are you managing your practice or does it manage you?”
Our experience with Engineering practices spans more than 20 years and we have seen common mistakes:
This practice runs on great design
Reputation and brand vs Billing and Profits
Risks to survival – Cashflow > wages, taxes
Analysis of costs plus a margin for profit allows you to charge correctly
Utilisation of staff (without burning out staff) will then provide p[rofit for growth
CHROFI won design for Times Sq ticket booth but they analyse their non-billable time as much as billable because they understand value of time and profit
Budget at the start of every year their target utilisation taking into account:
Internal meetings including strategy sessions
Business Development functions by three directors
Award submissions
PR and Public Speaking engagements
In essence they design their rates, their costs, their billable hours by studio and director and can reasonable estimate their profits that they use for growth
We don’t need to budget projects or track progress
Fees need to reflect effort expended on projects = Time + Costs
Successful firms do not pin their fees to the hourly rate – value based fees
Staff need to deliver to the target of work effort not the total of fees = margin erosion
We don’t need to budget projects or track progress
Capacity planning reflects the availability of resources vs the effort estimated – headcount planning
Estimating work and tracking actuals vs Budgets highlights errors/issues – e.g. Wrong project/Stage or Variations to scope or training issues
I don’t set my rates, the market determines what I charge
Engineers vs Accountants vs Lawyers
Understand their rates and their costs – raw staff costs + overheads + profits
Staff costs = estimate billable hours per year excl public holidays, leave, pension, insurance etc
Overheads = everything else to keep the doors open for billable team
Profits = not a buffer for scope creep, discount, write offs, rework = return to owners for risk to downturn. Investment, future growth
I don’t set my rates, the market determines what I charge
Value based pricing -
expertise, innovation, timeliness of service etc
Clear on scope and variations – line of communications at all times
We have to keep all our files on a server in our office
Partly true depending on file access speeds
Cloud based systems are more secure, more rigorously protected, mobile and connected
Working files can be synchronised until projects completed an dthen should be archived to the cloud
2 Cloud is not secure (but my office is) - (e.g. disaster recovery — Brisbane floods, double RAID server failure, etc.)
I cant afford to spend more on technology
CAD/BIM has dramatically reduced the requirement for drafting/documentation teams
Accounting and Office systems have dramatically reduced the needs for accounts clerks and secretaries
Why doesn’t management think they need systems that provide positive effective and efficient outcomes for leading and operating their businesses?
CRM = Business Development
Forecasting = Cashflow Management
Resourcing = Capacity planning and team task throughput
Project Information Management = document control and lifecycles + risk management
Collaboration/Contract Admin systems = communication of interactions, search and risk control to deliver projects
Mobility – work doesn’t always remain on premises > Site visits, inspections, client meetings, subcontractor meetings, material inspections, and even personal life gets in the way
We don't have time to learn new technology
But I play buy the latest tech games/devices play with my kids
I don't need BIM, I'm an engineer (e.g. Neil Stebbing winning some of the best architecture design projects because he invested in BIM early
I don’t need a system to manage my firm
How do we know?
Real time decisions
Priority and “Go/No” go on projects
HR and performance metrics
Backlogs and Business Development
Client management – risks, profitability, win/loss
Deadlines and criticality of issues
Cashflow and finance
Are we stuck in “Hamster wheel” mode
Brand is the single thing your competitors can’t copy.
Who has heard of these points of difference?
“Our employees set us apart.” (They’re better than all other employees?)
“We’re trusted advisors to our clients.” (So what)
“We strive for excellence.” (What does that even mean?)
“We provide fantastic client service.” (Hygiene factor — minimum expectation)
And the most common one — “We’re design-led.” (I should hope so)
But what does a brand comprise? A simple way to show that is in three layers:
Core values
Attributes
Benefits
Specialisation in a sector or location — become THE go to expert
Speed of delivery
Use technology your customers want — who are they
Engineers using BIM get more business from BIM-using architects (less of an issue in UK?)
Communicate online — collaborative comms set you apart
Employer brand
Draw the best talent to you without having to pay over market rates — people motivated only by money are not loyal
Partnerships
Your culture and business model should enable you to maintain the best partnerships, get the best work, make the best margin
You’re not eroding margin by selling on price
You win word-of-mouth business
You win repeat business from your partners
People recognise your identity
You attract the best talent (and keep them for longer)
Growth cannot just happen without panic and errors
Growth is not for the faint hearted
Growth needs to reflect the changing needs of information
Success via growth is the result of being clear, effective, efficient and informed
Synergy helps you focus on three core areas of project delivery:
Project management
Project collaboration
Project accounting
We know your project delivery comes with a lot of admin overheads. Most software talks about how to do your accounting and admin.
We want to give you more time for design. We focus on project delivery with things like:
Managing your project work breakdown
Assigning tasks
Tracking time
Sending invoices
Sharing documents
Managing emails
Reporting
Planning
Timesheets accounting admin
Project management is about coordinating the project delivery and throughput
Breaking out the work in a work breakdown structure
Assigning and managing the tasks
Forecasting the capacity, resources and revenue
Managing files and documents
Managing email and communications
Project collaboration is about communicating and sharing
How do you keep track of the conversations?
Who do you connect all the disparate parties to the project?
How do you link this back to project management and project accounting?
Project accounting is about ensuring you’re profitable in the work you do.
Setting budgets
Tracking time with timesheets and timers
Creating accurate invoices that reflect the various rates and fee types on stages
Track and report on your budget vs actuals and your work in progress
Measure your project profitability
Connecting to accounting add-ons like Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online
How that looks in a lifecycle is like this:
Tracking your project opportunities
Breaking your projects down in the work breakdown structure — assigning tasks, tracking time
Forecasting your future — what revenue is coming in, what capacity do you have to deliver the work
Document delivery — sharing project documents, communicating in an online portal, connecting to important add-ons like 12d Synergy, Drawboard
And in the future, we’ll add a contract admin component to complete the cycle