Many landscape architectural firms reported quarterly dips in billable hours and inquiries for new work in last year’s fourth quarter, according to the American Society of Landscape Architect’s (ASLA) latest Business Quarterly survey.
The survey found about 75 percent reported stable to significantly higher billable hours—a notable decrease from approximately 84 percent the previous quarter. Some 77 percent said inquiries for new work were stable to significantly higher, which is another decline from 84 percent in the third quarter.
Year to year, more than 80 percent of firms indicated stable to significantly higher fourth-quarter billable hours—a slight dip from the fourth quarter of 2013 (81.5 percent). Additionally, approximately 85 percent said inquiries for new work were stable to significantly higher, which is a jump from the fourth quarter of 2013 (81.5 percent).
Across the board, most firms (87.5 percent) described business conditions for 2014 as stable to significantly better than the previous year. Of all firms with two or more employees, a little over half said they planned to hire in the first quarter of 2015, a slight rise from the third quarter.
The trends for this year forecast stronger competition among landscaping companies. The best performing ones are increasingly turning to mobility software solutions to handle their business – increase productivity, reduce costs, automate workforce management. Check out FieldSkill, a business management software for landscaping industry: .