The verdict in three sentences
An architecture practice principal loses money on unlogged time, forgotten variations and poorly tracked subcontractors. Practice management software centralizes projects, fees, time tracking and documents — USD 35 to 90 per user per month on the market, or USD 50 000 to 125 000 for a custom build, delivered in 3 to 6 months. The concrete gain: recovering 5 to 8% of fees that evaporated for lack of tracking.
Modules and their order of magnitude
An architecture practice has specific needs: work stages, percentage-based fees, hours tracked per project and heavy document management. Here is the expected coverage and its 2026 order of magnitude.
| Module | Key function | Market price (USD/user/mo) | Custom build (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project management | Stages, milestones, progress | 11-28 | 13 000-31 000 |
| Fees & variations | Contract tracking, stage billing | 9-22 | 13 000-33 000 |
| Time tracking | Hours per project and per staff | 7-20 | 9 000-22 000 |
| Document management | Drawings, versions, client sharing | 7-17 | 11 000-28 000 |
| Subcontractors & margin | Engineers, tracking, margin per job | included | 9 000-20 000 |
The custom total fits the USD 50 000-125 000 range depending on user count and accounting integrations.
Market vs custom: which for a practice?
A 12-person practice at USD 60/user/mo pays USD 8 640/year, i.e. USD 25 920 over 3 years. Custom is justified when your stages, fee scales and margin tracking leave the standards of generalist tools.
| Criterion | Market solution | Custom Kolonell build |
|---|---|---|
| 3-year cost (12 users) | ~USD 25 920-38 000 | USD 50 000-125 000 once |
| Time to deploy | 2-6 weeks | 3-6 months |
| Bespoke work stages | rarely | yes |
| Accounting integration | limited connectors | full |
| Margin tracking per job | basic | detailed, real time |
Mini case study
Take Julien, principal of an 11-person architecture practice in Strasbourg. Before the project, hours were noted in notebooks and 6% of variation fees were never billed. Kolonell delivered a custom tool at USD 92 000 in 5 months, with per-project time tracking and variation alerts. Result over 12 months: on fee revenue of EUR 1.8M, the recovered 6% represents EUR 108 000 of billing regained, plus per-job margin visibility that eliminated two loss-making projects. The custom build pays back in under 9 months.
FAQ
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How much does management software cost for an architecture practice?
With a market solution, USD 35 to 90 per user per month; for 12 people that is USD 5 040 to 12 960/year. Custom, USD 50 000 to 125 000 once.
Does it handle work stages and percentage-based fees?
With custom, yes: stages, fee scales and variations are modeled to your practice, which generalist tools handle poorly.
Can we track margin per job?
Yes: by cross-referencing logged hours, fees and subcontractor costs, the tool computes real margin per project in real time, avoiding the discovery of a loss at closeout.
What is the implementation timeline?
Budget 3 to 6 months for a full custom build, starting with a few pilot jobs before a practice-wide rollout.
Does it integrate with our accounting?
A custom project connects to your accounting software to transfer invoices and avoid double entry, making fee tracking reliable.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your headcount, your needs (stages, fees, margin per job) and your target budget (USD 50 000-125 000), and we'll frame a pilot. 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.
