Risa Tips & Tricks: How to Use Our Structural Analysis Software

July 22, 2026

Did You Know? 5 RISA Account Benefits You Might Be Missing

If you use RISA regularly, you probably already know how powerful the software is for structural analysis and design. But in conversations with thousands of engineers over the years, we’ve found that some of RISA’s most valuable benefits still fly under the radar. Here are five things you might not know about your RISA experience: 1. Licenses Are More Flexible Than You Think RISA subscription licenses are not locked to a specific user or machine. Instead, they’re shared across your team through the RISA Customer Portal. This makes it easy to collaborate, scale usage, and ensure your team always has access when they need it. 2. Adding Licenses Gets More Affordable As your team grows, so does your efficiency—and your savings. RISA uses a tiered pricing structure, meaning additional licenses are automatically discounted. In some cases, you can receive up to 50% off additional seats, making it easier to expand without stretching your budget. 3. Direct Access to Support Engineers When questions come up, you’re not talking to a generic support line. RISA’s technical support team is made up of structural engineers based in the U.S., available Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 5 PM PT. Whether it’s modeling…

Read More

October 28, 2015

Tolerance Between SP Joists vs. Normal Joists

Have you been in RISAFloor performing a steel product design and noticed...

Read More
September 22, 2015

Why Did the Wood Design Values Drop?

You may notice discrepancies in the wood design values when comparing RISA...

Read More
September 16, 2015

How RISA-3D Calculates Member Deflection Ratios

After solving a model, you will see in the Member Deflections spreadsheet...

Read More
September 09, 2015

Why don’t the Beams in my Frame have axial force?

The beams in a lateral force resisting system, such as a braced frame or...

Read More
September 02, 2015

How should I model beams in Revit to make them import into RISAFloor…

Revit offers two options for setting the elevation of beams. The way these...

Read More
August 25, 2015

What does the Include Structure Weight Checkbox Do for Seismic Loads?

In the Seismic Loads dialog there is a checkbox for “Include structure...

Read More
August 20, 2015

Residual Rigid Response (Dynamics)

When running a Response Spectrum analysis for seismic design, the response...

Read More
August 11, 2015

What Loads Transfer from RISAFloor to RISA-3D?

RIAFloor designs the gravity system and then integrates with RISA-3D to...

Read More
August 08, 2015

How do you add Shear Caps to columns?

Per the ACI, you can add a Shear Cap to your column to increase the shear...

Read More

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Our monthly "Structural Moment" newsletter is the best way to keep up with RISA’s product updates, new releases, new features, training events, webinars and more...