Last updated November 6, 2026
Rules and figures from other sources checked on November 6, 2026. They change, so confirm with the source before you rely on them.
General information, not tax or legal advice. The rules depend on your country and your situation, so check anything with a tax or legal consequence with your accountant.
RIBA stage fees are your fixed fee divided across the RIBA Plan of Work's eight stages, 0 to 7, with projects themselves spanning Stages 1 to 6. RIBA doesn't publish a split. Estimate the hours in each stage, share the fee in proportion, then write each stage's amount and payment trigger into the appointment.
What are the RIBA Plan of Work stages?
The RIBA Plan of Work 2020 has eight stages, numbered 0 to 7, from the overview RIBA publishes. The outcomes below are our short version of its wording. The last column is a common pattern and isn't part of the Plan.
| Stage | Name | Outcome at the end | Often in the fee? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Strategic Definition | Best way of meeting the client's requirements confirmed | Sometimes, as a small separate fee |
| 1 | Preparation and Briefing | Project Brief approved | Yes |
| 2 | Concept Design | Architectural Concept approved | Yes |
| 3 | Spatial Coordination | Architectural and engineering information coordinated | Yes |
| 4 | Technical Design | Design information for manufacture and construction complete | Yes, in a full service |
| 5 | Manufacturing and Construction | Building built and commissioned, ending at Practical Completion | Yes, in a full service |
| 6 | Handover | Building handed over, Aftercare started, Building Contract concluded | Yes, in a full service |
| 7 | Use | Building used, operated and maintained | Separate appointment, if any |
Three timing points affect the money. The Plan says projects span Stages 1 to 6, so Stages 0 and 7 sit outside most fee splits. Stages 4 and 5 will overlap for most projects, so you may be invoicing both at once. And Stage 6 runs to the end of the Defects Liability Period, usually about twelve months after Practical Completion, so its fee can arrive a long time after the work on site ends.
The names matter too. Stage 3 was "Developed Design" and Stage 5 was "Construction" in the 2013 edition. Proposals still go out with the old names, which looks careless to a client's adviser.
Does RIBA set a fee split between stages?
No, RIBA doesn't set a fee split between stages. RIBA explains that it once published fee scales and had to stop because of competition law, and the regulator's position is that a professional body setting a scale risks breaching it. The Plan of Work itself isn't intended to be a contractual document and doesn't divide a fee.
If you find a table of stage percentages online, treat it as someone else's habit. It can be a rough sense check, but it isn't RIBA guidance and it doesn't know your job. For Chartered Practices, RIBA offers a free Fee Calculator that generates resource-based calculations aligned to the stages, and it publishes a Good Practice Guide on fees.
How do you split a fixed fee across RIBA stages?
Split a fixed fee across RIBA stages in proportion to the hours you estimate for each one, using past jobs where you can. The guide to writing an architect's fee proposal from past hours shows how to get those hours.
Here's an invented example: a £36,000 fixed fee for Stages 1 to 6, with 432 estimated hours. The split belongs to this imaginary job and isn't a recommended pattern.
| Stage | Estimated hours | Share (rounded) | Stage fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Preparation and Briefing | 24 | 5.6% | £2,000 |
| 2 Concept Design | 72 | 16.7% | £6,000 |
| 3 Spatial Coordination | 96 | 22.2% | £8,000 |
| 4 Technical Design | 132 | 30.6% | £11,000 |
| 5 Manufacturing and Construction | 96 | 22.2% | £8,000 |
| 6 Handover | 12 | 2.8% | £1,000 |
| Total | 432 | £36,000 |
Each stage fee is its hours × £83.33, which is £36,000 ÷ 432.
How should risk and cash flow change the split?
Risk and cash flow can justify moving some fee earlier than the hours alone suggest, as long as the result is one you can explain to the client. In the example, Stages 1 to 3 hold 44% of the fee (£16,000). Moving £1,000 from Stage 5 to Stage 3 takes that to 47% (£17,000), which helps if the project stalls at planning.
Planning timing is the other thing to look at. The Plan of Work places the Planning Application at the end of Stage 3, once the client has signed off the stage report. Clients often want to apply earlier, and RIBA warns that this creates project risks and needs a mid-stage gateway. If you agree to it, say so in the proposal. The hours move forward, and later changes required by the consent may be additional work.
Long stages need their own pattern. On the invented job, Stage 5's £8,000 over an eight-month build is £1,000 a month, with the appointment stating what happens if the contract period overruns. The guide to managing architecture projects against stage fees covers how to check each stage's hours as it runs.
What should the appointment say about stage payments?
The appointment should state each stage's fee, what triggers each invoice and what happens if the project stops. Wording to adapt:
Our fee of £36,000 plus VAT is fixed for RIBA Stages 1 to 6: Stage 1 £2,000, Stage 2 £6,000, Stage 3 £8,000, Stage 4 £11,000, Stage 5 £8,000 and Stage 6 £1,000. Stages 1 to 4 are invoiced monthly in proportion to the work completed in the stage. Stage 5 is invoiced in eight equal monthly instalments from the start on site. Stage 6 is invoiced at Practical Completion. If the project stops during a stage, we'll invoice the proportion of that stage completed by the date we stop. If the contract period runs beyond eight months, further Stage 5 services are charged at £85 an hour.
Each invoice should name its stage. For example, Stage 3 billed across two months, with VAT at 20%:
| Invoice line | Net | VAT at 20% | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| RIBA Stage 3, Spatial Coordination: 40% of £8,000 | £3,200 | £640 | £3,840 |
| RIBA Stage 3, Spatial Coordination: balance, 60% of £8,000 | £4,800 | £960 | £5,760 |
| Stage 3 in total | £8,000 | £1,600 | £9,600 |
On UK jobs, HMRC's VAT Notice 708 says the supply of architectural services is always standard-rated, including on otherwise zero-rated new houses, so check this before assuming the building's rate carries over to your fee.
What goes wrong with RIBA stage fees?
RIBA stage fees usually go wrong through a split that wasn't worked out for the job in front of you.
- An even split. Stage 4 normally takes far more than Stage 1, so an even split runs out of fee where the work is heaviest.
- Calling a downloaded table "RIBA's". A client's adviser may ask for the source, and there isn't one.
- Billing only at stage end. Stage 4 can run for months, and you fund all of it.
- No wording for a stopped project. A client who doesn't proceed after planning will question an invoice for a half-finished stage.
- Stage 7 in the scope by habit. RIBA says tasks beyond Stage 6 need separate professional services contracts. If you do include it, describe the work and price it.
- Treating the stage name as the scope. A stage says what outcome is due, not what you'll draw. Extras need their own agreement.
Invoicing RIBA stage fees in ERPFlow
ERPFlow has no stage budgets or stage-fee line type. A fixed-fee stage invoice is an ordinary invoice with an edited line.
- The quote. Put one line per stage on a quote, with the tax rate on each line. You mark it accepted by hand, since there's no e-signature or online acceptance.
- The stage invoice. Choose Convert to invoice when a stage falls due. Each conversion makes a fresh draft invoice of the whole quote, so delete the other lines. The quote's Linked documents lists every invoice made from it.
- A part-stage instalment. Edit the line's description and price, for example "RIBA Stage 3: 40% of £8,000" at £3,200. Check the total against the appointment before you issue, because an issued invoice is final.
- Stage 5 instalments. A monthly recurring invoice with an end date can issue these for you, either emailed or left as drafts. It issues invoices and doesn't collect the money.
- The stages themselves. A board in Projects with a column per stage shows where the job stands. It holds no fee or budget figures, so any hours budget stays in a spreadsheet.