Architects and others in the architectural/engineering (A/E) industry are constantly juggling a variety of project tasks, ranging from tracking time and billable hours for individuals and projects to managing client billing and approval workflows. They also ensure architectural designs are sound and safe. Especially for firms managing multiple projects and overlapping tasks at once, it’s too easy to miss deadlines, go over budget, or have different users working on competing versions of the same project tasks.
In this guide, learn about the best project management software for architects and how each of these tools compares in key features, pros, cons, and pricing plans.
| Our Picks | Best For | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
 Try Deltek Ajera | ERP-Based Project Management | Free Demo • Contact Vendor for Pricing Read more |
 Try Monograph | Time Tracking | Free Demo • Contact Vendor for Pricing Read more |
 Try BQE Core | Finance and Accounting Features | Free Demo • Contact Vendor for Pricing Read more |
 Try monday | Workflow Automation | Free trial • Pro plan starts at $16/seat/month Read more |
 Try TeamGantt | Project Schedule Management | Free trial limited to 1 project • Lite plan starts at $19/manager/month Read more |
 Try ClickUp | Free Plan Option | Free Forever plan available • Full-featured Unlimited plan starts at $7/user/month Read more |
 Try Teamwork | Client Visibility | Free plan for up to 5 users • Fukk-featured plans start at $5.99/user/month Read more |
 Try Notion | Design Management | Free plan for up to 10 guests • Paid plans start at $8/user/month Read more |
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Our Picks: The 8 Best Project Management Tools for Architects
Best for ERP-Based Project Management
Deltek Ajera is actually an enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform for architects to handle not only project management but also project accounting and business intelligence tasks. Through its ERP approach, Ajera provides users with comprehensive accounting and advanced analytics features that seamlessly integrate with the project management feature stack.
In addition, users can manage staff workloads and utilization with forecasting tools and create custom, user-specific dashboards. They can more easily comply with compliance regulations like Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
Key Features
- Project Command Center interface for more unified reporting
- Financial statement and client invoice designer tools
- User-aware dashboards and user-level security permissions
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Project and resource management, business intelligence, and advanced finance and accounting features are all natively offered on this platform | Holistic ERP software may be overkill for smaller firms |
| Extensive reporting and dashboarding capabilities | ERP software typically has a bigger learning curve than traditional project management software |
| Deltek consultants and project managers are available to assist with software implementation | Limited transparency in the pricing model |
Why We Chose Deltek
We chose Deltek because it offers a comprehensive approach to not only project management but also multiple other areas of business operations for architects. Its strong ERP-driven approach, combined with advanced compliance and security features, makes it a standout option for larger companies and those that are subject to more regulations.
Interested in ERP solutions? Read our Top ERP Solutions Buyers’ Guide
Best for Time Tracking: Monograph
Monograph is a project management tool for architects and engineers designed with a simple and highly visual interface. The tool can be used to manage projects and project dashboards, resources, timesheets, invoices, reports, and teams. Where Monograph really shines is in its user-friendly time tracking features.
With the tool, time tracking can be designated to project phases. The Timer tool offers one-click tracking of both billable and non-billable hours and timesheets are already connected to Invoice Builder, making it easier for firms to produce more accurate invoices, regardless of project complexity.
Key Features
- The MoneyGantt project visual enables users to track time and money spent on projects
- Resource view makes it easier to look at individual and project team time commitments
- Automatic workflow between Timesheets and Invoice Builder
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Online invoicing, project time logs, and time tracking make individual time management simpler | The limited feature set might not offer enough functionality for larger teams and firms |
| Intuitive, designer-friendly visualizations are built-in throughout the software | Most features are limited to U.S.-based companies and customers |
| Generally considered an easy-to-use tool | Limited transparency in the pricing model |
Why We Chose Monograph
Monograph has some of the strongest visualization options in architect-specific project management software. Although its feature set may be limited compared to some other competitors, it’s an ideal option for teams that require simple-to-use solutions that still have strong time tracking and people management features.
Best for Finance and Accounting Features
BQE Core is a comprehensive tool for architects, engineers, and consulting firms that need specialized project management, finance management, customer relationship management (CRM), and reporting and analytics capabilities.
Its core project management features include dashboards, built-in digital reports, time and task management, resource management, and progress and budget tracking. But BQE Core takes it a step further when it comes to integrated project accounting and finance tools. Finance management features offered by BQE Core include the following:
- Phased billing and fee schedules
- Automated cost calculations
- Integration of business accounting with project accounting
- Full general ledger
- Automated client invoices and ePayments
- Advanced, customizable invoices
- Payment processing
Key Features
- Project List view illustrates project KPIs based on the filters users select, by client, date, employee, project, etc.
- Ring charts visually illustrate billing, profitability, usability, and earned value metrics
- Integrated accounting tools and phased billing process
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Dashboards are highly customizable for project, team, and financial data | Integrations are limited and difficult to implement |
| Offers some of the most comprehensive and advanced accounting and billing tools for project management | Some user reviews have called BQE Core a relatively expensive project management (PM) solution |
| Provides strong record-keeping for past projects and client history | Limited transparency in the pricing model |
Why We Chose BQE Core
BQE Core has a variety of accounting, billing, and other finance features that make it easier for architects to manage project and finance specs in one place. Although the modular approach to subscriptions could be a little more straightforward, it’s also an advantage in that users have the option to sign up for any combination of marketing, HR, accounting, and basic project management features that work for their business.
Read our complete BQE CORE review
Best for Workflow Automation
monday is one of the most popular and widely-used project management tools today, implemented across industries and project use cases. Its architecture-specific features are limited out of the box, but motivated users can easily customize project templates, fields, and reporting widgets to meet their architecture project management needs.
monday earned its spot on this list for its automations that balance ease of use and comprehensive performance. With up to 250 automation actions available starting on the Standard plan, users can set up automations to simplify the more repetitive and tedious project tasks to free up time for busy architects and engineers.
Key Features
- Extensive third-party integrations with tools like Slack, Google Calendar, and DocuSign
- Various pre-built project templates, including templates for resource management and designing weekly tasks
- Image and file-sharing capabilities
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| monday offers extensive and easy-to-use automation options to users | Many features are limited or unavailable in the free plan |
| Users can easily customize fields and labels on their boards | Limited document and design management features |
| monday.com is generally considered a straightforward project management platform | The software is not designed for architects and has only a few templates that work for this industry; extensive customization may be required |
Why We Chose monday.com
monday.com is an all-around leader in project management solutions. Although it’s a bit more generalized than some of the other solutions on this list, this is actually an advantage for teams that want advanced features. It provides users with the ability to customize a PM platform to have the specific fields, automations, and dashboards that best fit their business.
Read our complete monday review.
Best for Project Schedule Management
TeamGantt is primarily a visual Gantt chart tool for project management, but don’t let the name fool you; the software offers users many other project view options, including portfolio view, calendar view, and list view. With its simple project visualization and drag-and-drop functionality, users have praised TeamGantt for its simple approach to project scheduling.
Read our complete TeamGantt review.
Project managers can drag and drop start and end dates, adjust timelines, and change the order of tasks without leaving the Gantt chart view. They also have the option to embed timelines on their website, print timeline PDFs, and view proposed vs. actual timelines with baseline reporting.
Key Features
- Users can select Gantt, calendar, list, and/or portfolio views
- Timeline features include drag-and-drop adjustments, planned vs. actual timeline baseline reports, printable timeline PDFs, and embedded timeline functionality
- Workload and team availability tab
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Highly visual platform | Limited autonomy for non-manager users |
| Intuitive platform with drag-and-drop functionality | Most time and schedule management features are only available in the Pro and Enterprise plans |
| Planned vs. actual timelines make it easier to track project progress | Limited analytics capabilities |
Why We Chose TeamGantt
TeamGantt is an intuitive Gantt chart platform that makes it easy for teams to visually manage project and individual teammate schedules. This is a particularly helpful solution for small to medium-sized teams that want a simple tool to manage project schedules that frequently change or shift over time.
Read our picks for Top Gantt Chart Software
Best Free Plan Option
ClickUp is a top project management tool for businesses of all backgrounds; it not only offers a comprehensive project management feature set but also offers these tools at hard-to-beat prices. In ClickUp’s Free Forever plan, an unlimited number of free plan members can access unlimited tasks, 100 MB of project storage, various project views, up to 100 custom fields and automations per month, and as many pre-built templates as they need. For A/E users specifically, ClickUp’s Architectural Design template is a great way to get started with the tool.
A screenshot of ClickUp’s dashboard. Accessed 8/5/23
Key Features
- Integrations are available for tools like Calendly, Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.
- Whiteboards and real-time chat are available for team collaboration.
- Native time tracking is available in all plans.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Workload and time tracking features are available in all plans, including the Free Forever plan. | The software can be buggy with autosave; occasionally logs users out involuntarily. |
| Unlimited users and tasks are available in ClickUp’s Free Forever plan. | ClickUp is not specifically designed for architects and may require extensive customization for your organization’s needs. |
| ClickUp offers a prebuilt Architectural Design template. | Limited reporting and analytics features. |
Why We Chose ClickUp
ClickUp is often ranked among the best free project management software solutions, as it offers many advanced project management features to users at all pricing tiers—including the free plan. Although it is not specifically designed for architectural or construction firms, the tool offers many easy-to-use templates that are specifically designed with these industries in mind.
Read our complete review of ClickUp
Best for Client Visibility
Teamwork is a project management tool that equally emphasizes employee and client experience. For employee experience and management, Teamwork boasts some of the most intuitive workload, time tracking, and accountability management tools among its competitors.
As for the client experience, Teamwork takes a unique approach, allowing users to add as many client guest users as they want with customizable permissions and content visibility. Using client access capabilities in Teamwork makes it easier for A/E firms to streamline communication with clients and keep everyone on the same page with project goals and deliverables.
Screenshot of Teamwork’s Planning dashboard. Accessed 8/5/23.
Key Features
- Time tracking and time budgeting features are available at the user and project levels.
- Project templates and task lists can be saved for future use.
- Budget tracking for revenue per project stage and estimated time vs. actual time spent on different project tasks.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Clients can be granted controlled access to your project workspace. | The tool is fairly expensive once you move beyond the free plan option. |
| Advanced time tracking and workload management capabilities are built into Teamwork. | Limited data visualization elements. |
| Intuitive user interface. | Limited document, PDF, and image markup capabilities. |
Why We Chose Teamwork
Teamwork has some of the strongest workload and performance management features in the entire project management tool market. Additionally, it is one of the best options for users that want to offer more client visibility, which might be a good fit for architects who work on more complex client projects.
Best for Design Management
Notion is a highly customizable project management solution ideal for the creatives in your firm. Users have the ability to create Design Wikis, storing all design work and markups in a visual hierarchy that users can access and edit in a collaborative fashion. Notion also offers users visual editing capabilities, intelligent task lists, customizable workflows, multiple project views, and highly customizable project files in Docs. Two of the best templates Notion provides for A/E users are the Architecture Decision Record Template and Engineering Docs.
Key Features
- Custom and template Wikis for knowledge and design management.
- Relevant integrations with tools like Slack and Figma.
- 24/7 customer support, on-demand videos, and tutorials.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| All paid plan users receive access to priority support. | A simple project management tool with limited advanced features. |
| Design Wikis make it easy to manage and share architectural designs with other users. | Will require customization and strategy to prepare the tool for architectural projects. |
| Notion AI can be added to any paid plan for brainstorming and writing purposes. | Notion does not offer any time tracking or task management features to users. |
Why We Chose Notion
Notion is an intuitive tool with a number of customer support and self-service features built into the platform. It also offers some of the most advanced AI assistive tools, making it easier for teams to manage mundane, routine tasks in an automated fashion. Additionally, design wikis and other visual collaboration features make it easy for architects to collaborate with other architects and project teammates.
Read our complete review of Notion.
FAQ
Methodology
The top project management software solutions for architects were evaluated based on user reviews and case studies, reception on aggregated review sites, the breadth and depth of architecture-specific features, the breadth and depth of advanced project management features, relevant integrations, cost, and customer support availability. Over 30 architecture project management solutions were reviewed in the process of creating this top products guide.
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