The verdict in three sentences
For a structural engineering firm with 10 to 40 engineers, custom project and hours tracking software costs between 30,000 and 50,000 GBP in Bristol in 2026 (25,000 to 45,000 EUR with a French or West African delivery team) and pays back in under a year. The gain comes from real-time visibility: an alert at 80% of the hours budget per stage lets you negotiate a variation before the project goes into the red. Practices that run projects this way gain on average 4 margin points, often more than a fee increase would deliver.
What the tool must track, stage by stage
A structural project splits into RIBA Plan of Work stages (2 Concept, 3 Spatial Coordination, 4 Technical Design, 5 Manufacturing and Construction) or into private commissions. Each stage has a fee budget and therefore an hours budget. The tool reconciles time logged, actual progress and what has been invoiced.
| Module | Function | Share of budget (2026 estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Projects and stages | RIBA stages or commissions, fees per stage | 15% |
| Timesheets | Weekly sheet by project and stage, mobile | 20% |
| Hours budget and alerts | Loaded hourly rate, alerts at 80% and 100% | 15% |
| Progress and invoicing | Fee applications, invoices, credit notes | 20% |
| Variations and extra work | Requests, approval, margin impact | 10% |
| Dashboards | Margin per project, client, engineer, 3-month workload | 20% |
Timesheet entry must take under 5 minutes per engineer per week, otherwise the data will be wrong. The tool therefore suggests last week's projects and pre-fills from the calendar.
Budget, timeline and alternatives
| Scenario | Scope | Budget (Bristol agency) | Timeline | Annual run cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timesheet MVP | Projects, stages, timesheets, alerts | 30,000 GBP | 3 months | 2,500 GBP |
| Standard | MVP + progress, invoicing, variations | 40,000 GBP | 3.5 months | 3,200 GBP |
| Full | Standard + resource planning, accounting export, DMS API | 50,000 GBP | 4 months | 4,000 GBP |
| Practice management package | Standard modules, architect-oriented logic | 2,500 GBP setup | 1 month | 45 to 80 GBP per user per month |
| Excel tracker | Hours declared at month end | 0 GBP | Immediate | Margin known at year end |
For 22 users, a package at 60 GBP a month costs 15,840 GBP a year, close to 80,000 GBP over 5 years. It remains a sensible choice for a practice that accepts the vendor's processes. Custom software wins when the firm mixes staged commissions, private work and expert witness assignments, each with different billing rules.
Where the 4 margin points come from
| Indicator | Before tool | After tool |
|---|---|---|
| Annual revenue | 2,300,000 GBP | 2,300,000 GBP |
| Net margin | 8% | 12% |
| Projects over hours budget | 35% | 15% |
| Variations invoiced per year | 6 | 18 |
| Delay between end of stage and invoice | 25 days | 5 days |
| Director's monthly reporting time | 2 days | 2 hours |
The 4 points come mainly from variations: extra work requested mid-project, previously absorbed, is now detected and invoiced. These are 2026 orders of magnitude observed in engineering practices of 15 to 30 people.
Mini case study
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
James, managing partner of a structural engineering practice in Bristol, leads 22 engineers and turns over 2,300,000 GBP. Moving from 8% to 12% margin is worth 92,000 GBP a year. With a cautious assumption of 2 points in year one, the gain is 46,000 GBP. He picks the Standard scenario at 40,000 GBP with 3,200 GBP of annual running cost: the tool pays back in about 11 months. Faster invoicing, from 25 to 5 days, also frees up around 125,000 GBP of cash tied up in receivables.
FAQ
Will engineers actually log their time?
Yes, if it takes under 5 minutes a week and is pre-filled. Practices that require it every Friday reach over 95% completion from the second month.
Can it handle RIBA stages and private commissions?
Yes, each project picks its breakdown model, with editable fee percentages per stage. Expert witness work can be tracked on a time-spent basis.
Does it integrate with our accounting system?
Yes, exporting invoices to Xero, Sage or QuickBooks is included in the Full scenario at 50,000 GBP. It removes double entry for 40 to 60 invoices a month.
How does the overrun alert work?
As soon as a stage consumes 80% of its hours budget, the project lead and the director receive an alert with a forecast at completion. At 100%, a variation request can be generated in 2 clicks.
How long until we are operational?
Allow 3.5 months for the Standard scenario. Importing live projects, often 60 to 120, takes one to two weeks.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your headcount, number of live projects and current tools: we will cost a tool between 30,000 and 50,000 GBP with go-live in 3 to 4 months. 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.
