Free AIA Design Phases Project Template
The AIA phases already come with a fee split most owners recognise: 15 percent schematic design, 20 design development, 40 construction documents, 5 bidding, 20 construction administration. What practices lose is the link between that split and the hours, when a design-development change is drawn into the construction documents without an additional-services request. This template lays the five phases out with an owner approval at the end of each, so the approval, the fee share and the hours are one record.
No credit card. Opens as a real project on the Free plan.
What’s inside
All 17 tasks are below, across the five phases. The owner approvals are short tasks by design; the work is in the documents they approve, and the approval is the moment the phase's fee share is earned.
17
Scheduled tasks
5
Phases
6
Milestones
~57
Weeks end to end
Where the fee split meets the timesheet
The B101 fee split is a promise about proportion, not about hours. A 40 percent construction documents phase is a statement that the drawings are the bulk of the work; it says nothing about how many hours the practice will actually spend if the owner changes the finishes after design development is approved. The gap between the two is where an architecture practice's margin goes, and it is invisible in a timesheet tool that does not know which phase an hour belongs to.
In this template each phase is an epic and each hour lands on a task inside one, so the phase's progress is the share of its estimate that has been approved, and the phase's cost is the hours priced at each person's cost rate. Set beside the phase's fee share, that is the estimate-versus-actual by phase that the incumbents are unloved for hiding behind an accounting screen.
The owner approvals are milestones because they are the moments the fee share becomes invoiceable and the scope stops moving for free. Quote the phases as milestone lines on the deal and each share is recognised as its approval completes. The invoice itself, and the ledger posting, still happen in your accounting system; this template does not pretend otherwise.
The plan, phase by phase
Schematic Design4 tasks
Confirm the program, budget and site constraints
The owner's program, budget and schedule confirmed; zoning, code and site conditions reviewed before anything is drawn.
Prepare the schematic design alternatives
Site plan, floor plans, massing and building sections for two or three alternatives, with a recommended scheme.
Prepare the preliminary cost estimate
The estimate against the budget, and the schedule re-baselined on the scheme.
Owner approval of schematic design
The SD set approved in writing. The SD fee, customarily 15%, is invoiced at approval.
Design Development4 tasks
Develop the design and coordinate the engineering
Refined plans, sections and elevations; structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems selected and coordinated.
Select materials, finishes and major equipment
Outline specifications, finish schedules, and the equipment that drives the MEP design.
Update the cost estimate and reconcile it to the budget
The DD estimate reconciled, with value-engineering decisions recorded before construction documents begin.
Owner approval of design development
The DD set approved; customarily 20% of the fee.
Construction Documents3 tasks
Produce the construction documents
Drawings and specifications in the detail a contractor needs to price and build, coordinated across every discipline.
Complete the code review and permit submission
The building department submission, reviewer comments answered, the permit obtained.
Owner approval of construction documents
The CD set approved; customarily 40% of the fee.
Bidding and Negotiation2 tasks
Issue the bid documents and run the bid period
The bid set issued, the pre-bid meeting held, questions answered by addendum.
Evaluate the bids and recommend the award
Bid tabulation, qualifications reviewed, the owner-contractor agreement prepared. Customarily 5% of the fee.
Construction Administration4 tasks
Administer the construction contract
Site visits, pay application review and certification, change orders, RFIs and submittals. Customarily 20% of the fee.
Review submittals and respond to RFIs
Turnaround tracked; a response that changes scope is routed as a change order, never absorbed.
Conduct the substantial completion inspection and punch list
The inspection, the punch list issued and closed, the certificate of substantial completion.
Close out the project and reconcile the fee
Final completion, record documents, the final pay application, and the fee reconciled against the phase schedule.
Milestones
Six milestones: three owner approvals, the contract award, substantial completion and final completion. On the Gantt chart the distance from contract award to substantial completion is the 20 percent construction administration share, and it is the phase whose hours the practice controls least.
Schematic design approved
Day 45 of the plan
Design development approved
Day 115 of the plan
Construction documents approved
Day 235 of the plan
Contract awarded
Day 270 of the plan
Substantial completion
Day 393 of the plan
Final completion
Day 400 of the plan
Frequently asked
Is the 15/20/40/5/20 split a rule?
No. It is the split most owners and practices recognise from the AIA B101 tradition, and it is a starting point. Change the shares to match your agreement; the template names the phases and the approvals, and the fee lines on the deal carry whatever split you agree.
How do I bill a phase?
Quote the phases as milestone lines on the deal, one per phase with its share of the fee, and send the quote for the owner to accept. Each share is recognised in Onplana when its approval milestone completes, so the margin report shows the phase's revenue beside the hours that earned it. The invoice itself is raised in your accounting system.
Where do pre-design and additional services go?
Pre-design is not one of the five basic-services phases, so add it as a sixth epic if the engagement includes it. Additional services are the point of the template's change tasks: an owner change after an approval is priced as a new line rather than drawn into the next phase for free.
How is progress on a phase measured?
By hours. A phase's progress is the share of its estimate that has been approved on timesheets, and a project manager can override it with a percentage when the hours and the documents disagree. Every task carries an estimate for that reason.
We use the RIBA stages. Is there a version for that?
Yes, the RIBA Plan of Work template lays out Stages 0 to 7 the same way, with a client sign-off per stage.
Start with the plan already built
Open the AIA Design Phases (Architecture, US) template free and your phases, tasks, and milestones are scheduled before the kickoff meeting. No credit card, no time limit.