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Software

  • 1.  Software

    Posted 08-05-2020 10:47 AM

    With a small firm of 3 people, does anyone have GREAT software that schedules our time so we can "plug in" how much time our current projects will take and allows us to (as best possible) have a better idea of when we can realistically take on new clients? Something that is fluid and easily updated/managed as project scopes change... Thanks in advance.

     

    Kelli Wegscheid, AIA, Architect/Owner       

     (O) 218.346.0081     www.harmoniousArchitecture.com  

    107 W Main Street, Perham MN 56573

    Creating more than a lake home.. designed for making memories.

     



  • 2.  RE: Software

    Posted 08-06-2020 05:43 PM
    We use Harvest Forecast for what you are describing. We use it in conjunction with the Harvest timekeeping app, which I highly recommend. Both are very user friendly and intuitive. They are not designed specifically for architects, but they are flexible enough to work well.

    Projects and budgets are easy to set up in Harvest. Project milestones can be set out in a weekly format in Forecast. The Forecast format lists all of your active projects on the screen at one time, so you can get a feel for what is happening across the board for the next several weeks. 

    Forecast allows you to get as detailed as assigning project hours to individuals on specific days. I tried that, but it soon became cumbersome because the situation changed too frequently.

    Best regards,
    Dale Dibello


    R. Dale Dibello, AIA

    President & CEO

    388 Comal Avenue
    New Braunfels, Texas 78130
    830.643.1195
    dale@dibelloarchitects.com
    www.dibelloarchitects.com





  • 3.  RE: Software

    Posted 08-06-2020 05:48 PM
    I run a firm of 3 as well and have been using 'my corbu' app for several months now.  It is very very reasonably priced and allows to set up Proejct budgets by fee and/or pause as well as dollar value.

    I have the full admin access and my two employees use it to track time. 
    I have to admit that I'm not doing a great job using the logged information in order to become more efficient but I hope that will come with time.

    --
    Michal Behar Brison
    MBB Design Studio

    646-621-7477
    MBBdesignstudio.com





  • 4.  RE: Software

    Posted 08-06-2020 05:57 PM
    Some people have been trying out Monograph including maybe us.


    _______________________________

    Elmer Lin, NCARB, CSI

    Consortium  

    2120 18th Avenue  San Francisco, California  94116

    T:  415-566-7442  F:  415-566-1431 

    W:  www.consortium-sf.com

    E:   elmerl@consortium-sf.com







  • 5.  RE: Software

    Posted 08-06-2020 06:30 PM
    We have grown to a firm of 15 or 16, but started using an on-line time keeping app called BigTime several years ago that allows us to keep track of projects in multiple ways and integrates with our invoicing system. We're now exploring ways to track leads without the cumbersomeness of a huge CRM system.

    ------------------------------
    F. John Barbour FAIA
    Partner
    Shelter Architecture, LLC
    Minneapolis MN
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Software

    Posted 08-06-2020 06:42 PM





  • 7.  RE: Software

    Posted 08-06-2020 07:01 PM
    We use Harvest for tracking our time and invoicing clients, and it's pretty great.  You can set up projects with different line items for scope (however you want to break it down, whether by phases or specific types of tasks or whatever) and then as you log your hours each day you can simply select the project and the line item from pulldown menus, add your time, and add notes if you like.  You can run reports to see how much total time you have spent on the various tasks for the project, or per month or per year or other specified time frame.  You can assign different hourly rates to different staff in your office so you can track your staff cost vs. billable time on a project, and it can populate invoices using varied specified rates.  You can also add project expenses (engineering, plotting, etc.) that you want to bill to the clients - just assign them to the project (pulldown menu) and check the box when you create the invoice and they will magically appear there.  

    You can use Harvest on a web browser and/or a phone app.  You can also sync it with a google calendar, which I find to be handy, so that the items on your calendar are available for selection when you are clocking the time for the day.  

    It costs $15/person per month.  My only complaint about it is that once you've created an invoice, there's not a way to "refresh" the invoice to update it if you go back and add an expense or some extra time.  You end up either deleting and re-creating the invoice, or you just override the numbers in the invoice itself (but then it's not as clean/accurate for running reports).

    Hope that helps!
    Jenna

    Jenna L. Fribley, AIA, LEED AP
    Architect / Co-Founder
    Campfire Collaborative: Architecture & Design, PC
    jenna@campfirelab.com   541.914.0334
      - a.k.a. -
    Coordinator / Co-Founder, Springfield Design Resource Center
    Career Instructor, University of Oregon, School of Architecture & Environment
    Past President, American Institute of Architects Southwestern Oregon Chapter
    Coordinator / Co-Founder, Booth Kelly Makers District
    Licensed Broker, Oregon, Hearthstone Real Estate





  • 8.  RE: Software

    Posted 08-18-2020 08:21 AM
    We use toggl. Free for teams up to 5. It's just a simple time tracking app - runs through a website, or you can have a phone app. You can set up projects (20063 Joe Blow's House) as well as tags (Design Development or CD or ADD SERVICES or whatever you want). I can run reports (time data for payroll in PDF or excel format) and I can also run reports (how much time did we spend on a particular project, and break down by tag / phase. I like that it's simple and free.

    ------------------------------
    David Sisson AIA
    Architect
    David Sisson
    Providence RI
    ------------------------------