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As an architect, it is important to have effective project based time tracking tools and processes in place to stay organized, meet deadlines, and track progress.
There are many time tracking software options available, including those specifically designed for architects and those suitable for use in any industry.
In this article, we have compiled a list of 10 time tracking software options that may be particularly useful for architects & engineers, like you, in managing their projects and achieving better results.
It is important to consider the specific needs and goals of your firm when selecting the best software option for your needs.
WHAT IS TIME EXPENSE TRACKING SOFTWARE FOR ARCHITECTS?
Time expense tracking software is software that helps you track your time and expenses. Ideally, this software also allows you to manage your projects including budgeting, scheduling, planning, staffing, invoicing, and more.
When looking for architecture time tracking software, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.
First, the software should have time tracking as integral in how it manages projects, resources staff, and does billing. In architecture, time is money and there’s no way to measure performance and profitability without using time as the key metric.
Second, they need to be easy to administrate and use because architecture firms don’t often have an in-house IT expert.
Third, because architecture is unique in many respects, it’s helpful to use software that is verticalized, meaning that it is built for you and your team. Using software that is built for lawyers, consultants, and other professional services will not meet the unique workflow challenges you and your firm face every day.
With that in mind, here are the top 10 time tracking software systems for architects like you.
1 - MONOGRAPH
Every part of Monograph was designed by design professionals and with architects in mind.
Monograph understands that your team are experts at designing buildings—not IT—and so the software is easy to implement and use. Monograph has built (and continues to build) all of the features that architects need, while eliminating the complexity that has become characteristic of software in this space.
Monograph was also designed around the concept of time as the key unit of measurement. When your employees track time with Monograph, that time is automatically turned into insights in other parts of the platform: profitability, project progress, billing, and more.
"I have downloaded every major software and tried at least 30-40 different platforms. None of them compare to the ease of use, simplicity, graphic style, and overall effectiveness of Monograph."
—Swatchroom | WASHINGTON D.C.
Features
- Track time online easily and efficiently
- Get a bird’s-eye view of your projects, budgets, and tasks
- Share project timelines with your clients with a single click
- Keep track and Invoice Consultant Fees by Phase
- Track Employee Compensation
- Set up and manage phases and milestones
- Build a budget and schedule
- Resource your team based on project plans
- Forecast project needs for hiring & staffing
- Review individual workloads and work distribution
- Log expenses and overhead to inform financial reporting
- Turn timesheets into invoices
- Get insight into the financial status of all your projects
- See real-time reporting on profitability, projects, and billable hours
Pricing
Monograph offers two pricing plans. Track and Grow are designed to provide firm leaders with options that help them meet their goals.
Reviews: 4.5 ⭐ (224 Reviews on Capterra)
Checkout how Monograph customers build, manage, and grow high-performing A/E firms.
- How AMBL Studios Manage Budget and Time with Monograph
- How Woodhull streamlines collaboration after switching from BQE Core to Monograph
2 - Deltek Ajera
This combination of project management and accounting software was developed in 2004 specifically for architecture and engineering firms.
Deltek Ajera was developed back in 2004 so some tools can be clunky and outdated. Check out Monograph vs Deltek Ajera
Features
- Real-time dashboards
- Accounting tools
- Billing tools
- Payroll services
- Mobile app
- Tracking project time and expenses
- Viewing staff data like utilization and forecast workloads
Pricing
Deltek Ajera doesn’t publicly share its pricing. You will need to reach out to the company directly for an exact cost.
Related Read: Deltek Ajera Alternatives for Architecture Firms
3 - BQE Core
BQE Core, was made with a goal of helping you save time and focus on your architectural duties. It is feature-rich and has several features ported over from ArchiOffice. However, a quick scan of product reviews shows that it can be challenging to implement and manage, especially with the occasional performance issues. Checkout Monograph vs BQE Core
Features
- Easy to use performance metric dashboards
- Time tracking
- Invoicing
- Project management
- Document management
- Billing
- Financial transactions and accounting are merged into one place
- Comprehensive and automated reporting
- HR software
- Mobile app for iOS and Android
- Built-in RFI and ASI integration
Pricing
You'll need to reach out to their sales rep to get a quote. However, on Capterra, BQE starts at $29/user/month, with add-on costs for different features, usage levels, and product training. Learn more on BQE Core Alternatives For A&E Firms
4 - Harvest
Harvest is a time tracking software for small businesses. It offers a range of features to help teams track time, manage projects, and invoicing.
Because it wasn’t designed specifically for architects, it can’t track time according to phases and contracts.
Features
- Easy-to-use time tracking tools
- Project management capabilities
- Invoicing and billing
- Comprehensive reporting
- Mobile app for iOS and Android
- Integration with popular project management tools such as Asana and Trello
Pricing
Harvest’s price varies depending on the number of users and features. According to Capterra, pricing starts at $12/user/month. You can request a quote from their sales team to get a customized pricing plan for your business.
5 - Toggl
Toggl Track helps you track time, manage projects, and invoicing. While it is a very feature rich tool, it does not handle workflows for architecture contracts.
Phases are a critical part of how architects invoice and a strong time tracking system should be structured with that in mind.
Features
- Easy-to-use time tracking tools
- Visual reports
- Team overview
- Insights
- Toggl Master Program which allows users to hire a certified Toggl consultant for help with implementing and using the tool
- Mobile app for iOS and Android
- Integration with popular project management tools such as Asana and Trello
Pricing
OutPricing plans for Toggl Track:
- Basic (free for up to 5 users)
- Starter ($10/user/month)
- Premium ($20/user/month)
- Enterprise (customized based on business needs)
6 - TimeCamp
TimeCamp is a web-based time tracking software designed to help freelancers, small, medium, and large teams keep their productivity in check.
Features
- Income calculation
- Reports
- Invoicing module
- Productivity verification
- Attendance and time off tracking
- Integrations with popular tools such as Buffer, Dropbox, OneDrive, GitHub, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Survey Monkey, Reddit, Slack, HipChat, Evernote, Salesforce, Toggl, Harvest, Clio, Formitize, and Zapier
Pricing
TimeCamp has four pricing plans: Solo, Basic, Pro, and Enterprise
- Solo plan is free and allows for one user to use the time tracking feature
- Basic plan is $7/month or $5.25/month if billed annually
- Pro plan is $10/month or $7.50/month if billed annually
- Enterprise plan is customized based on the needs of the business
7 - RescueTime
RescueTime is a web-based time management tool that aims to provide a different approach to employee time tracking.
It promotes trust and encourages the use of creative solutions to solve work-related problems, rather than traditional employee monitoring methods.
RescueTime is best suited for small teams and individuals who want to see where their time at work goes.
Features
- Block distracting websites
- Set goals
- Detailed reports
- Productivity score
- Daily highlights
Pricing
RescueTime offers three pricing plans: Lite, Premium, and for Orgs.
- The Lite plan is free
- The Premium plan starts at $6/month
- The Orgs plan starts at $6/month per team member
8 - Timely
Timely is a time management software that automates timesheets.
It helps users find time sinks, balance workloads, and get a detailed record of work done across their organization without the hassle of manual timesheet creation.
Features
- Automatic timesheets using AI-powered Memory Tracker
- Ability to copy and paste time entries for multiple days
- Scheduler feature to view what tasks have been worked on versus what was planned
- Team Dashboard to monitor who has tracked time and who hasn't
- Automatic reminders to add time entries
Pricing
Timely offers 5 different pricing plans to choose from, each tailored to different types of businesses and individuals:
- Moonlight: $7/month ($6/month if paid annually) for one user with access to 5 active projects
- Freelancer: $14/month ($13/month if paid annually) for one user with access to 25 active projects
- Professional: $23/month ($20/month if paid annually) for one user with access to unlimited active projects
- Growth: $99/month ($89/month if paid annually) for up to 50 active projects and five seats
- Business: $299/month ($269/month if paid annually) for unlimited active projects and 15 seats with custom packages available for over 25 people
9 - TrackingTime
TrackingTime is a collaborative and cloud-based time management software that helps companies of all sizes track their progress and measure team productivity.
It is best suited for freelancers, small, medium, and large teams who want to track their time.
Features
- Schedule Repeating Events
- Sync due dates with calendar
- Import Time Entries
- Working On! feature
- Weekly overview of team's activity
Pricing
TrackingTime offers three pricing plans based on the size of the team:
- Free plan for teams of up to 3 users
- Pro plan for $4.99/user/month
- Business plan for $9.99/user/month
10 - Everhour
Everhour is a time tracking solution that allows you to track time within various task management products.
They offer a robust solution for most types of companies. It is best suited for freelancers, small, medium, and large teams who want to track their time.
Features
- Time Tracking
- Billing and Budgeting
- Task Management
- Visual Planning
- Expenses
- Invoicing
Pricing
- Free: $0 per month up to 5 users
- Lite: $5 / user / month, starting at 2 users per month
- Team: $8.50 / user / month, starting at 5 users per month
4 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD USE TIME TRACKING SOFTWARE
There are a lot of benefits for architects to start adopting time tracking software. Read more on Guide to Time Tracking for Architects
1 - SAVE TIME
It sounds funny, but saving time is a critical outcome to actually tracking time.
Besides all of the actual process improvements that can come from knowing what you’ve worked on and how long it takes to complete, a great time tracking software solution should save you time in the way it's designed.
Instead of clicking through emails and spreadsheets to track timesheets, you just click a few buttons and get a nicely detailed report.
Instead of asking everyone what they’re working on, you can see exactly how much time each employee is spending on every project.
In fact, Monograph customers like Verdant Studio reported an 80% reduction in staffing time by using RESOURCE.
“Previously, I would sift through emails and use project staffing sheets to plan out the week for teams––that would take me nearly 4-5 hours to complete, but now it only takes me an hour, if that.”
—Jessica Hester, CEO, Principal Architect at Verdant Studio
2 - KEEP TRACK OF PROJECTS TO STAY ON TIME AND ON BUDGET
Architects should use time tracking software for the same reason we use other apps – to stay organized in our complicated world.
Perhaps the most obvious reason is that it can help you stay on budget and avoid scope creep.
If you bill by the hour, time tracking can help you become more efficient and productive, which can lead to higher profits.
Even If you’re working on a fixed-fee basis, accurate time tracking is essential to ensuring that you don’t end up working for free.
In order to stay on time and on budget, you need a way to see where your budget is in comparison with your timeline.
That’s why Monograph created the MoneyGantt. The simple dollar sign indicator on our Gantt chart helps you visualize if you’re staying on budget so you can course-correct before you run out of fee.
“Every week, the team also uses the MoneyGantt to look at how much is owed to them, and how much time they have billed per project per phase to make sure they’re not going over budget.”
—Brad Mallette, Founder at AMBL Studios
3 - USE REPORTS TO GET REAL-TIME VISIBILITY INTO COSTS
In AIA’s 2021 Tech Culture Report, architects (similar to engineers) were asked how they would grade their firm's ability for real-time visibility into costs, budgets, and profitability of projects.
Of the firms that use project management software, 68% reported that their firm is very/extremely capable with strong solutions in place.
For the firms who don’t use project management software, this number of very/extremely capable firms dropped to 41%.
Related Read: Best Project Management software for Architects
In addition to financial benefits, time tracking can also help you improve your workflow and project management skills.
By understanding, with reports, how much time you spend on different tasks, and where the bottlenecks are, you can make changes to improve project flow and efficiency.
For example, if you realize that you’re spending too much time on revisions, you might decide to set stricter limits on revisions in the future.
Or if you notice that certain types or sizes of projects always seem to take longer than expected, you can adjust your estimates accordingly.
This information can be used to price future projects more accurately, which can lead to increased profits.
As part of an integrated solution you can have a single source of truth for how budgets and schedules will forecast into the future.
The Monograph Projects Report pulls insights from your project budgets and hour allocations to give you a forecast of your revenue in addition to the time that's already been logged.
For each project, you can keep track of its status (proposed, active, paused, canceled, completed), and compare the planned fee vs the consumed fee, and the planned hours vs consumed hours.
4 - FORECAST PIPELINE TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS
According to PMI’s Pulse of the Profession report , 54% of project management software users reported they were very/extremely capable of understanding their holistic pipeline of potential projects.
However, only 35% of the firms that don’t use project management software were able to say the same (Tech Culture Report.)
Why should you care about being able to understand your project pipeline? It helps you make better decisions on hiring and project pursuits.
If you use Monograph as your firm performance management software, you can keep track of your project pipelines inside our Planned Profit Report.
You can see how much profits you’re making down the line and get insights into your profitability based on all of your projects across your firm in a month-by-month view.
“Planned Profit Report is so useful for us in our monthly meeting to look forward for the next 3 months. Being able to look at what’s coming down the pipeline and to see what we think we’re going to be making is extremely helpful."
—Dawn Zuber, FAIA, Principal at Studio Z Architecture
WHAT TIME TRACKING SOFTWARE IS BEST FOR YOUR FIRM?
Setting yourself up with the best time tracking software will help:
- Stay on track and on budget
- Make the people working for you happier
- Save you time and energy for the tasks you enjoy
- Gain repeat clients
Have you tried any of the software we listed?
Do you have a favorite? How have they helped you in managing projects?
Let us know.
