Good projects, slow money
Fernwood designs public courtyards, school grounds and private gardens. A typical project runs nine months and is billed in four stages, with most of the fee due after design development. Public clients often pay 45 to 60 days after an invoice is approved.
Payroll, on the other hand, runs every two weeks. In 2022 Amara delayed her own salary five times so the team could be paid on time, and she was signing projects without knowing which of them would leave a hole in the spring.
Every stage, and what happens if it slips
Each project’s fee schedule lives in Invoicely, and Tarn reads every stage as an expected payment. Before signing a new project, Amara opens a scenario with the proposed schedule and switches on a 45-day delay for the client.
If a slip would take payroll under the floor, she asks for a larger deposit or splits the biggest stage in two. Clients have accepted every revised schedule so far, because the reason is concrete.
- Deposit at signing20% · $37,200Paid Jun 2Paid
- Schematic design20% · $37,200Paid Sep 29Paid
- Design development35% · $65,100Expected Nov 14Expected Dec 29Invoiced
- Construction documents25% · $46,500Expected Feb 6Upcoming
Covered Payroll on Dec 19 stays above the $90k floor.Short Payroll on Dec 19 falls $11,300 under the floor.
“I stopped guessing which project would hurt. I can show a client the exact week their delay would land on our payroll, and they get it.”
Amara OseiFounder, Fernwood Landscape StudioSchedules that fit the studio
Fernwood renegotiated three payment schedules in its first year, moved its standard deposit from 10% to 20%, and cut the average wait for a stage payment from 58 days to 37.
The studio has not missed or delayed a payroll run since joining, and Amara has been paid on time every month.
