Design reports and option studies, the choice signed
Options side by side with renders, plans and a comparison table, a fee or cost for each, and the client's chosen option recorded with a signature.
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In QuoteCloud a design report or option study is a document with galleries of renders and plans, comparison tables and text for each option. The options can be a single-choice group in a price table, so the client picks one, sees its fee or budget and signs to confirm the direction.
A sample option study for a fictional practice, Fenwick Arden: St Aldric's College library and learning hub, report FA-O-0388. Three option cards side by side, each with an image: Option A, refurbish the existing library ($4.2m, 14 months); Option B, extend east with a new wing ($6.8m, 20 months, marked as the practice's recommendation); Option C, a new building beside the oval ($9.4m, 26 months). Each option is weighed in turn, Option B is chosen, and the decision bar shows Option B chosen, signed by Grace Ndlovu, business manager.
Each option, given its own page
The board reads every option the same way: an image, the key figures, what it does well and what it costs the college. The recommendation is yours; the choice is theirs.
- Floor area
- 1,150 m²
- Cost estimate
- $4.2m
- Programme
- 14 months
- Teaching disruption
- Two terms
Strengths
- Lowest cost
- Shortest programme
Trade-offs
- Library closed for two terms
- Short of the area in the brief
Refurbish the 1960s library
The lowest cost and the shortest programme, but the library closes for two terms and the floor area falls short of the brief. The page says so plainly, so the board can weigh it fairly.
- Image and gallery blocks for plans and photos
- Figures from the same comparison table
- Strengths and trade-offs in your words
- Floor area
- 1,620 m²
- Cost estimate
- $6.8m
- Programme
- 20 months
- Teaching disruption
- One term
Strengths
- Meets the brief
- Half the library stays open
- Heritage entry kept
Trade-offs
- Works next to classrooms
Extend east: our recommendation
The area in the brief for $2.6 million less than a new building, with half the library open during the works and the heritage entry kept. Your recommendation is marked, not pre-selected for the client.
- Recommendation marked on every option page
- Massing model photos and plans as images
- The board's questions answered in comments
- Floor area
- 1,700 m²
- Cost estimate
- $9.4m
- Programme
- 26 months
- Teaching disruption
- None
Strengths
- No disruption to teaching
- Most flexible floor plate
Trade-offs
- Highest cost
- Loses part of the oval
A new building beside the oval
No disruption to teaching and the most flexible floor plate, at the highest cost and with part of the oval lost. Hide your internal working on the cost plan from the client's copy and the PDF.
- Hide content from the recipient and from the PDF
- Export the whole report as a PDF for the board pack (Starter and up)
- See when each board member opened it
The comparison, on one page
Area, cost, programme, disruption and the brief, option by option: a table block, written once in the report and read in a minute.
Options compared
| Criterion | Option A: RefurbishThe existing library | Option B: Extend eastRecommended | Option C: New buildingBeside the oval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor area | 1,150 m² | 1,620 m² | 1,700 m² |
| Cost estimate | $4.2m | $6.8m | $9.4m |
| Programme | 14 months | 20 months | 26 months |
| Teaching disruption | Two terms | One term | None |
| Meets the brief | No | Yes | Yes |
| Heritage entry kept | Yes | Yes | No |
Cost estimates are opinions of probable cost, ex tax, for comparing the options. The recommendation is ours; the choice is the college's.
The client picks one, and signs
End the report with the options as a single-choice group: the college picks one, the stage 2 fee for that option fills the price table, and any additional services they tick are added.
Grace signs to confirm the direction. The decision and the next stage's fee are in one signed document, so nobody has to ask which option was agreed.
- Single-choice option groups and optional rows (price tables, Essentials and up)
- Legally binding eSignature with certificate and audit trail
- An optional retainer on signing via Stripe or PayPal (Essentials and up)
Price tables: Essentials and up
Staged fee proposalsChoose the option to develop
Stage 2 · schematic design
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schematic design, chosen option | |||
Option B · Extend eastArchitecture and building services
|
1 stage | $212,000 | $212,000.00 |
| Additional services Tick to add | |||
| 1 survey | $9,500 | $9,500.00 | |
| 3 render | $2,400 | $7,200.00 | |
- Subtotal
- $221,500.00
- Tax (10%)
- $22,150.00
- Total
- $243,650.00
- Plus, monthly
- $0.00/mo
Confirm the option and approve stage 2
Grace Ndlovu · Business manager
Signed online · 2 Sep, 4:40 pm
What you're confirming
- Decision
- The option chosen above
- Next stage
- Schematic design
- Report
- FA-O-0388 Rev A
Certificate of authenticity and audit trail attached
Design reports practices send from QuoteCloud
The same blocks, arranged for the decision in front of the client.
Feasibility study
Site, planning and budget options for a client deciding whether to proceed, each with a cost and a programme.
Concept design report
The design intent with images, plans and the brief, signed off before developed design starts.
Options appraisal
Refurbish, extend or rebuild compared criterion by criterion, with your recommendation marked.
Services options report
Mechanical or electrical system options with running costs and the client's chosen system signed.
Plant & asset inspectionsDesign statement
A design statement for a planning application, exported as a PDF in your house style.
Executive summary drafts
AI Co-Worker (Business) can draft a summary from your notes; a person accepts, edits or rejects it.
Send your next option study from QuoteCloud
Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Send us a past design report and we'll convert it into a template during the trial.
Sample report · FA-O-0388
Which option did we agree? It's signed.
The board's decision sits in the report it was made from, with the date, the signer and the fee for the next stage.
From options to an agreed direction
How a practice runs an option study in QuoteCloud.
Start from your report
Open your design report template with the cover, the brief and your comparison table.
Add each option
Plans, renders and photos as image and gallery blocks, with the key figures and the trade-offs.
Compare and recommend
Fill in the comparison table and mark the option you recommend.
Price the next stage
Add each option's next-stage fee to a single-choice group in a price table.
The client chooses and signs
The client picks an option, asks questions in comments and signs to confirm the direction.
Design reports and option studies: questions answered
Can we write design reports and option studies in QuoteCloud?
Yes. A design report is a QuoteCloud document built from content blocks: image and gallery blocks for plans, renders and photos, tables for comparing options, text for the brief and your recommendation, and a price table for the next stage. Save the structure as a template for the next study.
Can the client choose one option inside the report?
Yes. Put the options in a single-choice group in a price table, each with its fee or budget. The client picks one, the total updates, and they sign to confirm. Price tables, including single- and multiple-choice groups and optional rows, are on the Essentials plan and up.
Can QuoteCloud show 3D models or import from CAD or BIM?
No. QuoteCloud doesn't import CAD or BIM files, show 3D models or generate renders. Export images, plans or PDF pages from your design software and add them to the report as image, gallery or PDF blocks.
Does QuoteCloud estimate construction costs?
No. Cost estimates in an option study are your practice's or your cost planner's, written into the report as text or a table. QuoteCloud calculates the price table you build, such as each option's next-stage fee.
Can AI help write the design report?
On the Business plan, AI Co-Worker can help draft and refine content in the editor, such as an executive summary from your notes. Suggestions stay marked until a person accepts, edits or rejects them; it does not generate images or design options.
Can we send the board a PDF of the option study?
Yes. Export the report as a PDF on the Starter plan and up for a board pack. Content hidden from the recipient, such as internal working, is also left out of the PDF, and the online report shows when it was opened.
More documents a practice delivers
Fee proposals, specifications and the sign-off that follows a design decision.
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Staged fee proposalsFees by work stage, as a percentage of construction cost, fixed or hourly, with additional services the client ticks.Explore
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Specifications & product schedulesFinishes and product schedules with codes, images and locations, and sample approvals the client signs.Explore
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Approvals, review & client sign-offFee proposals approved by a director before they're sent, and reports the client accepts with a legally binding signature.Explore
- Tender responses & capability statementsMethodology, team, insurances and a fee schedule from your library, approved before it goes out, exported as a PDF.
- Engagement letters & fee variationsClient agreements with locked terms, and additional-services letters signed before the extra work starts.
- Building condition & compliance audit reportsRatings, marked-up photos, findings and priced recommended works in one report the client accepts and signs.
- Equipment, plant & asset inspection reportsMechanical, fire and electrical asset lists with condition scores, remaining life and a maintenance schedule.
- Site inspection, defect & status reportsSite visit and defect reports with marked-up photos, and project status reports with the programme and next steps.
- From recommended works to signed worksTurn an audit's recommendations into priced options the client ticks and signs inside the report.
- Practice templates, clauses & specification libraryBranded templates for every office, standard clauses and specifications in a locked library, and roles.
- CRM, accounting & project tool integrationsOpportunities from your CRM, fees to Xero or QuickBooks, and appointed projects to your project tools.
- Architecture & engineering templatesReal QuoteCloud templates for architecture, interior design, engineering and building services work.
- QuoteCloud implementation for practicesTemplates converted, fee scales and clauses loaded, roles, approvals and training for every studio.
- FAQAnswers to the questions architects, engineers and specifiers ask most.
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