Professionals — FAQs

What services do you provide?

Services can be established on a project by project basis. Typically a project will require a lighting layout and fixture specifications. However, services can include photometric studies, daylighting studies, energy efficiency reviews, site surveys, etc. If you have something else in mind go ahead and call the office and we can discuss it.

How do you charge?

I charge a set fee which is established in my proposal. That fee will not change unless the scope of work is changed by you. You'll know how to budget before we begin, and you'll know what the final price will be before we begin.

What is your payment schedule?

The standard billing policy is 50% up front and the final 50% to release final documents. For projects that are going to take more than two months a payment schedule can be created. These schedules will be created on a project by project basis. Please contact us about more specific inquiries.

No one else does it this way, why do you?

After working in this industry for awhile I realized that budgets and payment schedules often became more complex than the actual design work. There were always surprises when final bills were sent in, no one could truly budget for lighting design costs because charging by the hours yields such a huge range in final prices. Both the client and the designer spend hours making and chasing after payments.

This approach eliminates all of these issues. The most important of which is the budget. As I said before, I charge a set fee for my work and you are given that fee up front. That amount doesn't change so you can actually budget for my services at the beginning instead of scrambling at the end of the project.

I also spend less time invoicing and calling to receive payments. In the long run this also saves you and your clients money because I do not have to build payment for this time into my fees. You are paying for lighting design, not for bookkeeping.

That could be a problem because I pay my consultants after I receive payment from my client.

I have two approaches to that concern. First, I can bill your client directly. That would mean I actually write the proposal to the client and in the proposal I specify that I will be working with your office to coordinate the lighting into the project plans.

However, if you want all the billing to go through your office then another arrangement needs to be made. I write the proposal as a contract with you as the professional, so the payment of fees on that proposal becomes your responsibility. It is under those circumstances that I can establish a payment schedule with you, which then allows you to pre-charge the client for the fees that you will be paying me. I do understand that some government contracts and other circumstances may require a different approach, so please contact me with any questions. There is some flexibility built into the payment policy.