The verdict in three sentences
In an 18-person architecture practice, margin is rarely lost across a whole project but on two or three specific work stages, most often Developed Design and construction. Time tracking by stage, logged weekly and compared with the fee allocated to each stage, shows an overrun at 80% of budget, while there is still time to act. Practice management software costs 25 to 50 GBP per user per month in the UK; a custom tool makes sense when your stages, joint appointments and fee variations do not fit standard templates.
Why stages overrun
Fees are usually split by stage using percentages agreed with the client, following the RIBA Plan of Work in the UK or equivalent frameworks elsewhere. The problem is that practices price by stage but track time by project, or not at all. The overrun shows up at completion, with no idea where it came from.
| Work stage (RIBA) | Typical share of fee | Common overrun observed | Main cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 Brief | 3 to 5% | 10 to 30% | Brief keeps changing |
| Stage 2 Concept | 10 to 15% | 10 to 30% | Options requested by the client |
| Stage 3 Spatial coordination | 15 to 20% | 20 to 40% | Cost reviews, planning application |
| Stage 4 Technical design | 20 to 25% | 10 to 25% | Consultant coordination |
| Tender | 3 to 5% | 5 to 15% | Re-tendering packages |
| Stage 5 Manufacturing and construction | 20 to 25% | 25 to 50% | Contractor delays, extra site meetings |
| Stage 6 Handover | 2 to 5% | 30 to 80% | Snagging that drags on |
These are 2026 orders of magnitude for private and public work and vary with building complexity. The point of the software is to replace these averages with your own numbers, project by project.
What the software must do
- Weekly entry in under 5 minutes: each person picks project, stage and hours from desktop or phone. Beyond 5 minutes, timesheets stop being filled in.
- Hour budget per stage: the stage fee divided by an average loaded hourly rate (often 60 to 90 GBP in UK regional practices) gives an hour budget.
- Alerts at 80% and 100%: the project director is notified as a stage nears its budget.
- Fee variations and additional services: a variation adds budget to a stage and must not be lost in the overall total.
- Monday dashboard: margin per project, stages over budget, unallocated hours.
2026 prices: off-the-shelf or custom
| Option | Cost for 18 users | Time to deploy | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared spreadsheet | Free, 2 to 4 h admin per week | Immediate | Fewer than 8 people |
| Practice management SaaS | 25 to 50 GBP per user per month, 5,400 to 10,800 GBP per year | 1 to 2 months | Standard processes, few joint ventures |
| Generic engineering ERP | 12,000 to 35,000 GBP + subscription | 4 to 8 months | Practices above 50 staff |
| Custom build, local agency | 18,000 to 45,000 GBP | 3 to 5 months | Specific stages and recharges |
| Custom build by Kolonell | Simple application 3,810 to 6,100 EUR, medium 6,100 to 10,670 EUR | 6 to 12 weeks | Focused need: time, stage budgets, alerts |
Custom makes sense when you work in joint appointments with engineers, bill extra services such as principal designer duties, or want tracking connected to existing invoicing. Otherwise a well-configured SaaS tool is often enough.
Mini case study
Emma, managing director of an 18-person practice in Bristol, bills 1.4 million GBP in fees a year with a net margin around 6%. A timesheet audit across 12 projects shows Stage 5 overruns by 35% on average and Stage 3 by 25%.
- Stage 3 and Stage 5 fees represent around 40% of turnover, or 560,000 GBP.
- An average 30% overrun on those stages is about 168,000 GBP of unbilled time.
- If alerts cut that overrun by a third (variations agreed in time, tighter site meetings), the gain is 56,000 GBP a year.
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With a medium-complexity custom tool and maintenance at 114 EUR per month, the investment pays back within months. Margin moves from 6% to nearly 10%.
FAQ
Will staff actually fill in their timesheets?
Yes, if entry takes under 5 minutes a week and an automatic reminder goes out on Friday. Practices that reach 95% completion mostly rely on a simple rule: no timesheet, no leave approval.
How do I set the hour budget for a stage?
Divide the stage fee by your average loaded hourly rate, often 60 to 90 GBP. A Stage 3 fee of 16,000 GBP at 70 GBP gives about 230 hours.
Should Part 1 students and apprentices be tracked?
Yes, at a different hourly cost. Otherwise a project looks profitable while consuming 300 unvalued junior hours.
Can the tool feed invoicing?
Yes, progress by stage can generate fee invoices. The connector to your accounting software is priced during scoping.
How long before the numbers are reliable?
Allow 8 to 12 weeks of timesheets for usable stage ratios, and a year to compare complete projects.
Let's scope your project. Send us your work stages, team size and current tools, and we will scope a working time tracking setup within a few weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.