Architecture firms get useful time data when each entry is tied to the right project and phase, marked billable or non-billable, and reviewed against the project fee and budget. Start by agreeing on what staff record and how managers use it; then choose software that fits the firm’s project and accounting workflows.
What architecture time tracking should capture
A useful time entry is more than a number of hours. It should identify the work well enough for the firm to understand where effort went and whether it was included in the client fee.
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- Project: the job the work supports.
- Phase or activity: the part of the project or type of work, using categories that align with the firm’s scope, budgets, and reports.
- Billable status: whether the time is chargeable to the client under the project agreement.
Deltek’s architecture guidance identifies administration, professional development, and proposals as examples of non-billable work. Recording these alongside client work helps make overhead and practice-development effort visible rather than leaving it outside the picture. Deltek’s architecture time-tracking guidance
Time recording is not universal, even among established practices: RIBA’s 2025 Future Business of Architecture report says 63% of RIBA Chartered Practices record time spent on billable client work, while 37% do not. This figure describes RIBA Chartered Practices, not all architecture firms. RIBA, Future Business of Architecture (2025)
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How to put a useful time-tracking workflow in place
- Set up projects and phases first. Use a hierarchy that reflects how the firm scopes, budgets, and reports work. Avoid categories that are too broad to help managers make decisions or so numerous that staff struggle to choose one.
- Define billable and non-billable categories. Make billable status explicit, and include only non-billable categories that help the firm understand its overhead and business-development effort.
- Agree on entry expectations. Tell staff when to enter time, what detail project managers need, and how corrections and approvals work. The right cadence depends on the firm’s process; no single interval is established as universal.
- Review fixed-fee work while it is underway. Compare logged hours and labor cost with the agreed fee or budget, alongside project progress. If spending and progress diverge, investigate scope, assumptions, staffing, or delivery while there is still time to respond.
- Use reports to inform decisions. Depending on the project and system, combine time with expenses and consultant costs to see more of the project’s financial position—not just staff hours.
How to choose time-tracking software for an architecture firm
Choose around the workflow the firm needs to support, rather than assuming every practice needs a full project-accounting suite. A simpler tracker may be enough when accounting and project management are already handled elsewhere. For a more integrated workflow, architecture-oriented project accounting may connect time, phases, budgets, costs, invoicing, and profitability. The examples below describe vendor-published capabilities, not independently tested product results; confirm current features and integrations with each provider.
| Option | What the vendor describes | Could fit when |
|---|---|---|
| Monograph | Monograph describes project accounting for architecture and engineering, including budgets, billable hours, invoicing, expenses, labor and consultant costs, profitability, and phase-level reporting. Its project-execution page describes manual time entries and AI-suggested entries tagged by phase, activity, and billable status. Monograph project accounting and project execution | The firm wants project phases, time, budgets, costs, and reporting connected in an architecture-oriented system. |
| Harvest | Harvest describes tracking billable time against fixed-fee projects and turning tracked hours into invoices. Harvest for architecture | The firm wants time tracking and invoicing, without necessarily moving to a dedicated A&E project-accounting suite. |
| Deltek | Deltek’s architecture guidance discusses billable and non-billable time and project-accounting uses. Its product family includes services for project time and billing; the specific fit depends on the firm’s requirements. Deltek’s architecture time-tracking guidance | The firm is evaluating project accounting and time-and-billing options as part of a broader business system decision. |
Before choosing, compare the capabilities that matter to the firm:
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- Project and phase hierarchy, including whether it matches the firm’s fee and reporting structure.
- Support for fixed-fee, hourly, or mixed billing workflows.
- Billable and overhead categories, plus any approval or correction process.
- Budget-versus-actual reporting, labor and expense costing, and consultant-cost visibility.
- Connections to invoicing and accounting systems; verify the specific integration and current availability.
- How staff enter time on desktop or mobile, and how managers get the reports they need.
- Implementation effort and fit for the firm’s size and existing processes.
Making time data useful rather than burdensome
Tracking is valuable only if entries are consistent enough to support a decision. Keep the project structure understandable, explain what each category means, and review whether staff can select the right project and activity without guesswork. Managers should use the resulting reports to spot budget or staffing issues and ask what is driving them, not treat logged hours as a substitute for understanding project scope and progress.
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Quick Recap
Best Value
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