Custom architecture firm software development
Appfront builds custom business software for architecture and design firms: project administration per design phase (preliminary design, design development, technical design and construction) through to hours and project costing, fees, team planning and capacity, drawing and document management with version control, invoicing per phase or milestone, and collaboration with clients and consultants. With integrations into your CAD and BIM environment, such as Revit or Archicad, and into your accounting, so budgeted and actual hours per phase remain visible side by side. This is about your firm's project software, not AI design tools.
What is architecture firm software?
Architectural practice software is the business software with which an architecture or design firm manages its projects, hours, fees, scheduling and documents. In one system you bring together project administration by design phase, time and project costing, team capacity planning, drawing and document management with version control, invoicing per phase or milestone, and collaboration with clients and consultants. The goal is always the same: keep visibility per project and per phase of what has been budgeted, how many hours are actually being spent, and whether the fee still matches the work.
Many firms work with a loose timesheet in Excel, a separate planning board, drawings stored in folders on a network drive, and an accounting package that sits apart from all of it. As a result, every invoicing run becomes a puzzle over which hours belong to which phase and whether the fee is correct. Custom software brings these streams together and matches your own phasing and fee methodology, rather than forcing your way of working into a off-the-shelf package. That prevents shadow administration and keeps the project file complete and traceable.
Because no two firms work the same way, we build custom software that grows with your organisation. This page deliberately focuses on the firm's business and project software, not on AI applications for the design itself. Read more about our broader approach to custom software and specifically custom planning and scheduling software for firms that want to plan their capacity tightly.
One file per project
Phasing, hours, fees, drawings, correspondence and invoicing in one coherent project file. Designers and project leaders work in the same place and keep an overview, without retyping data from separate lists and folders.
Fees at a glance
Budgeted and spent hours sit per phase alongside the fee. You can see where a phase is running over and adjust during the project, rather than discovering it only at the final settlement.
Drawings with version control
Drawings and documents are organised by project, with version control so it is always clear which revision is current. Files shared with consultants and clients remain traceable instead of drifting around in email.
How we build your architectural practice software
We work step by step and involve your project leaders, designers and financial administration early in the process. From a thorough exploration of your phasing, fee methodology and collaboration with consultants through to go-live and ongoing maintenance, every step aims at software your team actually uses day to day.
We map out your process: phasing from preliminary design through to construction, hours and fees, capacity planning, drawing and document management, invoicing and collaboration with clients and consultants. Together we determine which areas carry the most weight and which integrations, such as CAD/BIM and accounting, are needed.
We design the data model around project, phase, hours and fees, along with the screens for project management, time recording and document management. Authorisation, version control and the connection to your accounts and drawing environment are included in this.
We build in short iterations with automated testing and monitoring. You see working versions along the way and let project leaders and designers take a look, so that time registration, planning and invoicing align with the firm's everyday practice.
Controlled go-live with data migration and a safety net, followed by ongoing management, monitoring and further development as your projects, integrations or ways of working change.
What architectural practice software does in practice
We tailor every application specifically to your phasing, fee methodology and collaboration with consultants. Below are the features we most often deliver for architecture, interior design and engineering firms.
Project administration by phase
Set up projects around your phasing, from preliminary design (VO) through detailed design (DO) and technical design (TO) to construction supervision. For each phase you track budgeted hours, fee, progress and approval milestones, so the phase remains the common thread through the project.
Time and project costing
Staff log hours against each project and phase, whether in the office or on the move. Build a costing and fee budget from your standard rates, and keep budgeted and actual hours side by side so you can see at a glance when a project starts to drift.
Planning and capacity
Schedule staff across your live projects and phases on a visual planning board. See at a glance who is working on what, where capacity is stretched and which projects need people, so you can align resourcing with deadlines more effectively.
Drawing and document management
Drawings, models, reports and correspondence are kept in order within each project, with version control and revision history. It is always clear which drawing is current, and shared information stays traceable with consultants and clients rather than scattered across inboxes.
Invoicing by phase or milestone
Invoice by phase, by milestone or based on hours spent, in line with the terms of your appointment. Milestones, additional work and adjustments run alongside the project and time records, and export via UBL to your accounting system so your books stay accurate.
Collaboration and consultants
Share documents, tasks and decision points with clients, structural engineers, services consultants and other parties, with the right access for each role. Correspondence and agreements stay linked to the project, so decisions are traceable and nothing gets lost in individual inboxes.
Who we build architecture practice software for
Every type of design practice works a little differently, with its own phasing and its own way of setting fees. For each of them we build software that fits their work, their projects and their collaboration with clients and consultants.
Architecture firms
Practices designing residential, commercial or renovation projects that need tight project administration by phase, time recording and visibility over fees. The software keeps budgeted and actual hours side by side and makes phase-based invoicing traceable.
Urban designers
Urban design and area development practices working on long-running projects, many stakeholders and shifting phases. For them, clear phasing, document management and an overview of hours and capacity across several projects matter most.
Interior architects
Practices designing interior and fit-out projects, often with many smaller commissions, material choices and suppliers. Quick time recording, document management and invoicing per project make the difference in day-to-day operations.
Engineering and design firms
Structural engineers, services consultants and multidisciplinary design firms working alongside architects and clients. They need project administration, hours accountability by discipline and a custom CRM to manage relationships and commissions.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
We build with a modern, maintainable web stack and integrate with the systems you already use where needed. For firms, the most relevant are integrations with your accounting or ERP package such as Exact, Twinfield or AFAS, collaboration with your CAD and BIM environment such as Revit, Archicad or AutoCAD and open exchange via IFC, and a link to your planning and scheduling software for team capacity. We set up every integration around your chart of accounts, cost centres and way of working, so the figures per project and per phase stay accurate.
If you want to use data from your Archicad model in other systems, there is our Archicad integration.
For parties who want to read IFC models from architects in their own software, there is our page on an IFC integration.
If you need contractors and subcontractors to work from the correct revision, take a look at our app for drawing revisions on site.
For preparing and tracking permit applications, with a checklist of attachments per activity, see our app for the application file of an environmental permit.
Why choose Appfront for your architecture firm software?
Appfront builds custom software and always starts with a thorough analysis of your phasing, fee model and collaboration with consultants. Practice software needs to be technically sound, but it also needs to fit the way designers and project leads work, with as little administrative burden as possible on top of the design work.
We write clear documentation and transparent code, so your own team or a future supplier can understand and manage the software. No black box and no vendor lock-in, but clear agreements on integrations, authorisation, logging and management, with ownership of code and data remaining with you.
You work with a dedicated point of contact who understands both the technology and the practice of a design project. This keeps lines of communication short, prevents misunderstandings and speeds up decisions when choices need to be made during the build.
Also take a look at our broader services: custom software, custom planning and scheduling software and custom CRM software. Have any questions? Get in touch.
- Custom software that matches your phasing and fee model
- Hours and fees by phase at a glance
- Budgeted and actual hours per project side by side
- Drawing and document management with version control
- Integration with CAD/BIM such as Revit and Archicad
- Integration with your accounts, without double entry
- Team planning and capacity in one place
- No vendor lock-in, with code and data remaining yours
- A fixed point of contact, no account managers passed around
- Ongoing maintenance and development as your practice evolves
Security and privacy for architecture firm software
Practice software handles business-sensitive data such as fees, contracts and cost calculations, along with personal data of staff in time registration and of clients and consultants. That is why we set up authorisation based on role and need: a project team member sees their projects and hours, while fee, margin and management information remains protected. Every change is logged, so it is traceable who modified what.
We build in line with the GDPR and OWASP security standards, with encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access and retention periods that match what your practice needs. For shared drawings and documents, we pay particular attention to secure storage, version control and clear access per party, so confidential files only reach the right people.
Read more about our security approach: information security policy and vulnerability disclosure policy. Discuss your situation without obligation via our contact form.
- GDPR-compliant processing of personal and time data
- Role-based access and least-privilege principles
- Fees and margins protected from project team members
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest
- Secure storage and version control for drawings and documents
- Complete logging of changes
- Built to the OWASP security standards
- Retention periods aligned with your practice
Frequently asked questions about architecture firm software
Answers to the questions we are asked most often about custom business software for architecture and design firms.
Architecture firm software is the business software with which an architecture or design firm manages its projects, hours, fees, planning and documents. One system brings together project administration per design phase, time and project costing, team capacity planning, drawing and document management with versions, invoicing per phase or milestone, and collaboration with clients and consultants. Custom software lets you set this up around your own phasing and fee model, rather than forcing your way of working into a standard package. This software is about the business operations of the practice, not about AI design applications.
We build custom software. Firms differ greatly in phasing, in how fees are determined, whether as a percentage of the construction cost, a fixed amount per phase or time-based billing, and in how collaboration with consultants works. Custom software fits your actual process and can grow along when your firm or way of working changes. After an intake conversation, we decide together which functionality matters most, for example hours and fees per phase or drawing management, and in what order we develop it, without promising a fixed lead time or price that we can't yet substantiate.
Yes. We set up project administration around your phasing, from preliminary design (VO) through detailed design (DO) and technical design (TO) to construction supervision, or around the phase structure you follow under the DNR or your own model. For each phase you can see budgeted and actual hours, fees and progress side by side, with an approval step before a phase starts. This way you can see per project and per phase whether the fee is still in proportion to the hours spent, and adjust in good time.
Yes, where it makes sense. We don't build CAD or BIM software, but we let your business software work alongside the design environment your practice already uses, such as Revit, Archicad or AutoCAD, and with open exchange formats such as IFC. Think of linking drawings and models to the project file, version control around shared files and carrying over metadata. The design software remains leading for the design, while the business software handles the project, hours, fees and document structure around it.
Yes. We connect your practice software to your accounting or ERP package, such as Exact, Twinfield or AFAS, so sales invoices and project costs don't need to be entered twice. Invoicing per phase, per instalment or based on hours spent we align with your administration, including e-invoicing via UBL. We set up every integration around your chart of accounts and cost centres, so the results per project and per phase are correct and your accounting remains the source of truth.
No. This page is about the firm's business and project software: project administration, hours, fees, planning, documents and invoicing. AI applications for the design itself, such as generative design or image generation, are deliberately out of scope and are covered on a separate page. This keeps this page focused on the operations of architecture and design firms and prevents two different topics from getting mixed up.
Yes. We regularly take over existing applications, even when they were built by another party. We review the architecture, integrations, data model and security, document the current setup and propose improvements. From there, we can handle changes, integrations and monitoring, attach a separate hours module to your project administration, or modernise the software step by step into a maintainable situation.
Firm software handles confidential business data such as fees, contracts and cost calculations, plus personal data of employees in time registration and of clients and consultants. We build in line with the GDPR, with role-based access so that a project team member sees different data than the management or the finance department, encryption in transit and at rest, and logging of changes. We work in line with OWASP security standards and set up authorisation and retention periods around what your firm needs.
Ready to build your architecture practice software?
Tell us how your practice works and where you run into problems, from phasing and time registration to fees, planning, drawing management and invoicing. We are happy to think along about process, integrations with CAD/BIM and accounting and collaboration with consultants. In a no-obligation first conversation, you will get a clear picture of the possibilities for custom software that suits your projects and your fees.