The premier conference and awards gala in the industry, the ElevateAEC Conference & Awards Gala garners the attention of thousands of AEC firm leaders worldwide. It is the largest in-person gathering of industry leaders and award-winning firms, all interested in advancing the “elevate the industry” vision. Through our Call for Presentations, we invite thought leaders from across the industry to contribute their expertise through an educational session delivered live at the conference this Fall in Park City, Utah.
Florida Market Annual State of Fees 2026 Convention & Trade Show
Disclaimer The fees portion of this session is intended to educate attendees about methods for establishing fees for projects and explore different types of contracts suitable for various projects. All attendees should make independent decisions on a case-by-case basis on the fees and structures they will use. Attendees should not discuss among each other, or in other forums and convenings, specifics around their fees or fee structures. Nothing discussed during the program creates, or is intended to create, any agreement with AIA on firm's strategies around its fees, including actual fees/prices a firm will charge, discussion or alignment, or the fee structure to use. This program is registered with the AIA/CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to constitute approval, sponsorship or endorsement by AIA of any method, product, service, enterprise or organization. The statements expressed by speakers, panelists, and other participants reflect their own views and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The American Institute of Architects, or of AIA components, or those of their respective officers, directors, members, employees, or other organizations, groups or individuals associated with them. Questions related to specific products and services may be addressed at the conclusion of this presentation.
Meet the Speaker
Will Swearingen Principal | Senior Director, Transition Services Zweig Group
Investigate and identify key economic and market factors unique to Florida that influence architectural fee setting across project types and regions Identify how architectural firms in Florida are approaching fee setting, based on survey responses Analyze fee-setting practices associated with strong financial performance, including approaches to scope, phasing, and project execution Compare survey findings and industry context to plan more informed, data-aware opportunities for fees.
01
Learning Objectives
02 03 04
National Trends
Architectural billings have been soft since late 2022
Source: AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index
6
Average architecture firm profitability has averaged 15%, but varies considerably from year to year
30%
Firm profitability at architecture firms, annual %
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Financial Performance Report of AEC Firms
2026 Convention & Trade Show
• National trends • Consolidation • Privately Held vs. PE • Technology? Owners can access cheaper, faster alternatives?
Market Conditions and Demand Drive Consolidation
• Vertical Integration • Value Proposition
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The Changing Business Model & Business Impacts What is Private Equity changing and why?
• Standardization of Fees • Emphasis on Profit Margin
• Cross-selling Different Disciplines • Pressure / Opportunity Smaller Firms
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Sellers by State (5/1/25 – 4/30/26)
14
3
2
0
5
10
0
2
4
2
23
3
6
4
16
1
2
2
10
7
24 4
0
52
19
12
3
8
3
18
9
1
6
2
9
1
14
6
2
52
4
455 Total U.S. Sellers
39
0
© GeoNames, Microsoft, TomTom Powered by Bing
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10
Buyers by Type (5/1/25 – 4/30/26)
8%
12%
Who’s Buying & Why • Strategic buyers:
ESOP Private Equity International Private Equity Backed Company Privately Held Publicly Traded
6%
- Geography expansion - Service line adjacency
3%
33%
• Financial buyers:
- Platform + add-on strategies - Recurring revenue + backlog visibility
38%
Note: PE includes family office
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11
PE Disproportionately Targeting Engineering; Private Buyers Still Dominate Architecture
Privately Held Services Interest 2025 Acquisition Data
PE and PE Backed Services Interest 2025 Acquisition Data
8%
11%
15%
Architecture
3%
4%
29%
Architecture & Engineering
4%
Engineering
22%
Environmental
21%
3%
Full Service
MDE
46%
35%
12
Florida Market Analysis
“Florida has always paid in sunshine” – Bryce Bounds, AIA
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2026 Salary Report OF AEC FIRMS
FL 8.7% vs NTL 4.7%
Architecture vs All Disciplines (AEC) 4.4% Increase Average increase in annual base salary
Source: Zweig Group Compensation Data Platform
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Average increase in Arch Annual Base Salary
2026 Salary Report OF AEC FIRMS
FL 6.8% vs NTL 2.2% Emerging Architects: FL vs National Average increase in annual base salary
Source: Zweig Group Compensation Data Platform
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Trends FL architects are seeing in the market
Overall increase in fees
23%
Market becoming more competitive
21%
Changes in fee allocation
19%
Firms are establishing additional fees in pricing structure
16%
Pricing pressure
9%
No notable trends/changes
7%
Entering into hourly contracts more frequently
5%
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Florida Fee & Billing Survey
Estimated % Spend (2024) Estimated % Spend (2025) FL Market Analysis and Opportunity
Commentary
Sector
Residential dominates
Multifamily / Residential
~35-45%
34%
Commercial (office/retail/hospitality)
Strong in South Florida commercial corridors
~20-25%
27%
A notable boom post-CON repeal; several billion/year projects Consistent public investment, especially in Central/North areas
Healthcare
~10-15%
15%
Education
~10%
9%
Other Institutional & Infrastructure
Includes public building, transportation, water/sewer works
~10-15%
15%
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North Florida (Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Pensacola) Education and healthcare share higher weighting: public school expansions, new hospital builds. Residential growing, less density-driven than metros. Regional FL Market Analysis and Opportunity
Central Florida (Orlando, Tampa, Gainesville) Residential (multifamily) strong around college campuses Both healthcare and education (university expansions) significant. Commercial/mixed-use projects concentrated in Orlando, Tampa urban cores.
South Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach) Multifamily/Luxury residential dominates—rental towers, luxury condos, infill. Commercial strong in Miami and West Palm; healthcare and education at a lower percentage.
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Negotiation and Fee Structures
Selection Process & Fees
Direct Selection Negotiated Selection Design / Cost / Best Value Price Competition Other
Public vs. Private Infrastructure vs. Land Development Institutional vs. Commercial Residential vs. Corporate Healthcare vs. Education (K–12, Higher Ed)
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Architecture Fees as a percentage of Construction Costs – National data Multifamily …… 8% of CC
Luxury Single Family …… 12-18% of CC Commercial …… 7% of CC Education …… 8% of CC Healthcare …… 8% of CC Corporate Facility …… 10% of CC
The fees portion of this session is intended to educate attendees about methods for establishing fees for projects. The data presented is national aggregate data. All attendees should make independent decisions on a case-by-case basis on the fees and structures they will use relative to their local market conditions. Source: Zweig Group 2026 Fee & Billing Report of AEC Firms
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Design Fee Determination – Florida data
Professional fee plus reimbursable expenses
Florida DMS Fee Calculation
Hourly rate (with or w/o agreed max)
Fee per sq foot
% of construction cost
% of construction cost not to exceed
Stipulated sum
Single-family residential Commercial development Education (K- 12 & Higher)
0%
24%
20%
26%
21%
9%
1%
0%
41%
37%
16%
4%
3%
0%
43%
19%
1%
1%
14%
20%
3%
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Florida Fee & Billing Survey Markets indicated as the three highest sources of revenue for firms, from greatest to least
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Does your firm charge for the permitting phase of work in the Florida market?
Yes
No
49%
51%
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Florida Fee & Billing Survey
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FL Completion Fees by Profitability
Schematic Design 22%
Design Dev. 18%
Construction Docs 39%
Bidding & Neg. 4%
Construction Admin. 15%
Permitting 3%
Very High Profit High Profit Average Profit Low Profit/Loss
……… ……… ……… ………
19% 18% 23% 24%
……… ……… ……… ………
14% 15% 18% 21%
……… ……… ……… ………
44% 32% 36% 39%
……… ……… ……… ………
3% 10%
……… ……… ……… ………
18% 10% 19% 11%
……… ……… ……… ………
2% 15%
2% 3%
2% 1%
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Florida Fee & Billing Survey
2026 Convention & Trade Show
FL Completion Fees by Profitability
Schematic Design 22%
Design Dev. 18%
Construction Docs 39%
Bidding & Neg. 4%
Construction Admin. 15%
Permitting 3%
Very High Profit High Profit Average Profit Low Profit/Loss
……… ……… ……… ………
19% 18% 23% 24%
……… ……… ……… ………
14% 15% 18% 21%
……… ……… ……… ………
44% 32% 36% 39%
……… ……… ……… ………
3% 10%
……… ……… ……… ………
18% 10% 19% 11%
……… ……… ……… ………
2% 15%
2% 3%
2% 1%
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Florida Fee & Billing Survey
2026 Convention & Trade Show
NTL Completion Fees by Profitability
Schematic Design 16%
Design Dev. 29%
Construction Docs 29%
Bidding & Neg. 5%
Construction Admin. 20%
Very High Profit High Profit Average Profit Low Profit/Loss
……… ……… ……… ………
14% 18% 18% 13%
……… ……… ……… ………
34% 31% 24% 28%
……… ……… ……… ………
26% 26% 24% 28%
……… ……… ……… ………
3% 6% 6% 8%
……… ……… ……… ………
22% 19% 18% 24%
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Fee & Billing Report of AEC Firms
2026 Convention & Trade Show
NTL Completion Fees by Profitability
Schematic Design 16%
Design Dev. 29%
Construction Docs 29%
Bidding & Neg. 5%
Construction Admin. 20%
Very High Profit High Profit Average Profit Low Profit/Loss
……… ……… ……… ………
14% 18% 18% 13%
……… ……… ……… ………
34% 31% 24% 28%
……… ……… ……… ………
26% 26% 24% 28%
……… ……… ……… ………
3% 6% 6% 8%
……… ……… ……… ………
22% 19% 18% 24%
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Fee & Billing Report of AEC Firms
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Completion Fees FL vs NTL
39%
FL NTL
29%
29%
22%
20%
18%
16%
15%
5%
4%
3%
Schematic Design
Design Dev.
Construction Docs
Bidding and Neg.
Construction Admin.
Permitting
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Fee & Billing Report of AEC Firms, Zweig Group 2026 Florida Fee & Billing Survey
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Frequency of Fee Updating by Profitability
Annually 44%
Every six mos. 2%
Every two years 14%
No set cadence 16%
By project 25%
Very High Profit High Profit Average Profit Low Profit/Loss
……… ……… ……… ………
17% 64% 50% 40%
……… ……… ……… ………
0% 0% 4% 0%
……… ……… ……… ………
8% 27% 8% 20%
……… ……… ……… ………
33% 9% 12% 13%
……… ……… ……… ………
42% 0% 27% 27%
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Florida Fee & Billing Survey
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Firm Billing by Profitability
At project milestone/ deliverable 41%
At project completion 3%
Preset payment schedule 6%
Same time every month 50%
……… ……… ……… ………
0% 0% 0% 13%
……… ……… ……… ………
58% 45% 38% 27%
……… ……… ……… ………
0% 0% 8% 13%
……… ……… ……… ………
42% 55% 54% 47%
Very High Profit
High Profit
Average Profit
Low Profit/Loss
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Florida Fee & Billing Survey
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Firm Billing by Profitability
At project milestone/ deliverable 41%
At project completion 3%
Preset payment schedule 6%
Same time every month 50%
……… ……… ……… ………
0% 0% 0% 13%
……… ……… ……… ………
58% 45% 38% 27%
……… ……… ……… ………
0% 0% 8% 13%
……… ……… ……… ………
42% 55% 54% 47%
Very High Profit
High Profit
Average Profit
Low Profit/Loss
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Florida Fee & Billing Survey
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Observations in the Data
Observations in the data
% of firms that charge extra for “emergency or rushed” work
50%
43%
Firms have increased fees by roughly 5% each year for the last 3-yrs (~16% 3-yrs) Higher profit firms are engaging legal to review contracts more often than lower profit firms Smaller firms are using retainers more frequently than larger firms (risk v. new client v. client type)
40%
33%
30%
25%
21%
20%
10%
0%
Architecture & A/E firms
Other firm types
2025 2026
Typical premium = 15% to 20%
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Fee & Billing Report of AEC Firms
Average Collection Period
Average firm collection period (days)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
• Actual realized average collection period or DSO ~53 days
91
77
71
54
• Year end financial statements show ~71 days
Lower Quartile Median
Mean Upper Quartile
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Financial Performance Report of AEC Firms
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Do your firm’s billing rates or multipliers vary by market sector or project type?
Share of firms by profitability level
No, billing rates and multipliers stay constant Yes, billing rates and/or multipliers change
100%
78%
80%
69%
63%
56%
60%
44%
37%
40%
31%
22%
20%
0%
Very high profit
High profit
Average profit
Low profit/loss
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Fee and Billing Report of AEC Firms
Pricing and Executing the Work
Firm Financials to Project Financials
Gross Profit falls in the domain of the Principals and Project Managers who sell, price and execute the firm’s work. 50% - 60% of a firm’s costs are labor Key concepts to understand and execute: • Understanding fee structures, evaluating projects and pricing work / hourly rates. • “Value Pricing” • Setting project-based strategies • Monitoring performance
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Financial Performance Report
The Gross Revenue to Net Profit Waterfall
Reimbursable and direct expenses
Direct labor
Indirect labor and other expenses
Net service revenue
Gross revenue
Gross profit
Net Profit
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Billing Rates While there are (valid) arguments around the concepts of billable hours, billing rates, and “selling time” – the multiple of a person’s cost that a firm is able to record as revenue remains a fundamental concept to the design firm and its profit-producing machine. An individual’s billing rate is typically determined by applying a multiple to their hourly cost. That multiple comes from the expense profile of the firm and its profit ambitions, tempered by the fact that firms operate inside of a competitive ecosystem. Billing Rate = [ Direct labor cost + (direct labor cost x OH rate) ] / (1 – Profit %)
Hourly Rate or Billing Rate
Profit
Direct Labor
Overhead (Indirect Labor and Other Expenses)
2026 Convention & Trade Show
The Billing Rate does a lot of work
Hourly Rate or Billing Rate
Overhead (Indirect Labor and Other Expenses) (1.50)
Profit
Direct Labor (1.00)
Particular role in a firm has a salary of $104,000 per year Firm’s overhead rate is 150% ... The firm’s target profit is 17% which means that Billing Rate – Costs = Profit = 17% Labor cost per hour = $104,000 / 2080 hours per year = $50.00 per hour Overhead is $50.00 x 150% or $75.00 per hour $125 + Profit = Billing Rate $125 + 17% Billing Rate = Billing Rate $125 = 0.83 Billing Rate Billing rate = $125 / 0.83 = $150.00 (a 3.0 multiple on the person’s cost, not coincidentally)
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Years of experience billed out as “senior architect” and associated labor multiplier by firm profitability level Years of experience before getting billed out as a “senior architect” and associated labor multiplier
Labor multiplier
Years
12
3.12
3.10
10.4
9.3
10
8.8 3.06
3.08
8.2
8
3.04
6
3.00
3.00
3.00
4
2.96
2
0
2.92
Very high profit
High profit
Average profit
Low profit/loss
2026 Convention & Trade Show
Source: Zweig Group 2026 Fee & Billing Report of AEC firms
1 Broader economic trends are impacting development a demand for services
2 3 4 5
Set profitability targets and track time towards effort to quantify labor allocations and set appropriate fees Consolidation continues to accelerate with architecture getting more focus, with sustainable profit margins and specialty services driving focus Labor costs in FL architecture are outpacing national trends Fee pressure and scope modification should be a point of emphasis for principals who are setting and negotiating fees
Conclusion
Questions
Will Swearingen Principal | Senior Director, Transition Services Zweig Group wswearingen@zweiggroup.com
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