Custom assignment administration software for consultancies
Appfront builds software that helps consultancies track their assignments from quote to invoice in one place: the assignment confirmation, the hours of everyone working on it, work in progress and invoicing. So you know which assignment is earning money while it is still running.
What is assignment administration software?
Assignment administration means keeping track of everything tied to a single assignment: the assignment confirmation with the agreed scope and pricing structure, the hours of the people working on it, the costs you recharge, the additional work agreed along the way, and the invoices that result from it.
At many firms this is scattered: the quote in a word processor, the hours in a separate package, work in progress in the controller's spreadsheet and invoicing in the accounts. As a result, the project manager only learns after month-end close that their assignment is performing worse than expected.
We build custom software because billing models differ from one firm to the next, and so does the arithmetic behind them. Do you work on a time-and-materials basis with rates per role, on a fixed price per phase, or on a combination where part of the work is capped? The question of when you recognise work in progress, and how you handle non-billable hours, is also a decision for your firm to make.
Assignment file
The order confirmation, the agreed scope, the pricing structure and the contact persons in one place, with all related correspondence linked to it.
Hours per role and rate
Hours are recorded against the engagement at the rate linked to the role, so revenue updates automatically without a separate calculation.
Work in progress and invoicing
What has been worked, what has been invoiced and what is still outstanding. Invoices are generated from the engagement file rather than from a separate list.
How we build your engagement administration software
We start with your pricing models and with how you currently get from the work to an invoice. That shapes the design more than the wish list does.
Do you work on time-and-materials, a fixed price per phase, or with a cap? Which rates apply to which role, and what indexation agreements do you make? This forms the basis for all later calculations.
From quote to engagement, with the confirmed scope. We arrange how additional work is recorded and approved, because that is where the gap between what you deliver and what you invoice tends to appear.
Hours are recorded against the engagement and the phase, including the hours you do not recharge. Recharged costs and subcontracted work are handled in the same way.
Based on the file, you put together invoices, and anything not yet invoiced stays visible as work in progress. We then connect to your accounting software and take over management.
What engagement administration software does in practice
The components you need depend on your size and on how closely you want to monitor each engagement.
From quote to engagement
An accepted quote becomes an engagement with the same scope and pricing agreement, without retyping.
Time recording against the engagement
Staff log their time against the engagement and phase, distinguishing between billable and non-billable hours.
Rates by role
The rate follows the employee's role and the agreement with the client, including any engagement-specific rates.
Additional work
Work outside the agreed scope is recorded separately and only included in invoicing once the client has approved it.
Work in progress
What has been worked but not yet invoiced, per engagement and across the firm, so the controller no longer has to gather it manually.
Invoicing
Invoices are compiled from the engagement file, with a breakdown your client can review.
Who we build engagement administration software for
This software is intended for firms where the engagement is the unit of work and where hours make up most of the costs.
Consultancies
You sell knowledge and time. The margin on each engagement depends on whether the hours stay within the agreement, and you want to see that as it happens.
Engineering and design firms
Your engagements run in phases with their own budgets. Invoicing often follows the phase rather than the month.
Firms that use subcontractors
You outsource parts of the work to specialists. Those costs belong in the same file as your own hours, otherwise the margin will not add up.
Growing firms
What began as a spreadsheet stops working once there are more project leads than there is oversight. That is usually when people get in touch with us.
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 integrate with your accounting software so that invoices and costs are not recorded twice. If you are only looking for a time-tracking solution, see our page on time registration software. If your main need is staff receipts and expense claims, the expense claim app is a better fit, and the knowledge base explains roughly what that involves under expense claim app costs.
For the consultant on the move, with hours, additional work and budgets on the phone, there is our engagement administration app.
Why Appfront for engagement management software?
Most firms don't lack figures, they lack figures on time. That is what we build our software around.
Visibility during the engagement
The project lead sees the status of their own engagement, not only after the controller's month-end close.
Your pricing model, built in
Fixed fee, time-and-materials, or a cap per phase. We build what you agree with your clients, rather than forcing your agreements into an off-the-shelf package.
One file, no loose lists
Quotes, hours, additional work and invoices belong together. That saves the monthly hunt for data and makes any discussion with a client easy to trace.
Security and privacy in engagement management software
Hours data says something about individual employees and therefore falls under the GDPR. We arrange access by role: an employee sees their own hours, a project lead sees those of their engagement, and management sees the whole. We agree with you what happens to the data and how long it is kept.
Assignment details and rates are confidential, especially if you work for competing parties. Access can be set up per assignment, so sensitive files stay shielded. All access and changes are logged, and the integration with your accounting runs over a secure connection with managed keys.
Frequently asked questions about engagement management software
What consultancies ask us before they start.
The engagement confirmation with the agreed scope and pricing model, the hours of everyone working on it, the costs you recharge, the outsourced work, the additional work and the invoices that follow from it. Because all of this sits together, you can see how the engagement is progressing during the work rather than afterwards.
Yes, and most firms use both. For time-and-materials, the software calculates using rates per role; for a fixed fee, it monitors the hours spent against the agreed amount. Combinations also occur, for example time-and-materials with a cap per phase. We record this per engagement.
Work in progress is what you have performed but not yet invoiced. The software calculates this from the hours recorded and costs recharged, minus what has already been invoiced. How you value it, at cost or at selling rate, is a choice for your accountant, and we configure that.
Yes. Hours entered from memory at the end of the week are less reliable than hours recorded the same day. That is why we keep entry as light as possible and usable on a phone, with the engagements someone has recently worked on within easy reach.
Yes. Invoices you prepare in the engagement file go to your accounting software without anyone re-keying them, and costs that come in there can be linked back to the engagement. We connect to the package you use and to whatever integration options that package offers.
We build the administration so that you can work with the terms you use, including the DNR 2011 that is common in the advisory and design sector. This mainly means that scope, additional work and liability arrangements are fixed per engagement. The legal choice of a set of terms remains yours.
Yes, and that is a good starting point, because your actual working method is reflected in those spreadsheets. We'll go through them, identify which calculations you genuinely use and which have simply been left in place over time, and build only the first. Existing engagements can be imported, so you won't have to start with an empty administration.
Your engagements from quote to invoice, all in one place?
Tell us how you currently keep track of quotes, hours and invoicing, and where you notice an engagement going wrong too late. We'll take a look with you and show you what is possible.