Practice management for architects and engineers
Once a studio has staff, spreadsheets stop telling you which jobs make money. These six tools track time against fee stages, invoice from the project and plan who works on what. Most price on request, so we say which do and don't publish, and what each connects to.
Which one fits your business
An Australian practice of 10 to 100+ peopleSynergy
Built in Australia for architecture and engineering firms: time tracking, invoicing and resource allocation, with a two-way Xero add-on. Price on request after a demo. Note: Monograph announced in August 2026 that it is merging with Total Synergy.
No commission.
You want a published price and a trialProjectworks
Timesheets, resourcing, invoicing and forecasting from the Build plan, with Xero sync. $420* a user a year billed annually (minimum 10 users, GST not stated). 21-day trial, no card.
No commission.
A small studio that just needs time and invoicesHarvest
General time tracking and invoicing, not design-specific, but simple. Free for 1 seat and 2 projects; Teams is US$108 a seat a year in US dollars (about A$170 with GST). Copies invoices to Xero. 30-day trial.
No commission.
How we make money: on this page, we don't. None of these six vendors pays us, so every link is a plain link. Synergy and Projectworks run partner programs for accountants and integrators; we haven't joined either. Disclosure.
The six tools compared
Where a vendor doesn't publish a price, we say so rather than quote a figure from a review site. Every confirmed fact links to the vendor's own page.
| Checked 21 Oct 2026 | SyTotal SynergyTotal Synergy (merging with Monograph, announced Aug 2026) · A&E practice managementVisit site | MoMonographMonograph (merging with Total Synergy, announced Aug 2026) · A&E practice managementVisit site | PwProjectworksProjectworks · Professional services PSAVisit site | DvDeltek VantagepointDeltek · A&E ERPVisit site | BCBQE COREBQE Software · A&E practice managementVisit site | HvHarvestHarvest · Time trackingVisit site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per user | ||||||
| Per yearAUD inc GST unless marked | On requestPrice on request source | On requestPrice on request source | $420*/yrBuild, per user, billed annually (min 10 users) source | On requestPrice on request source | On requestPrice on request source | US$108/yr≈ A$170Teams, per seat, billed annually source |
| Billed monthly instead | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Prices include GST? | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | USD only, GST not stated |
| Other plans (per year) | – | – | Scale $504* Unleash $600* | – | – | Free (1 seat, 2 projects) Free Enterprise US$168 |
| Fit | ||||||
| Cloud or desktop | Cloud-based source | Web-based, no installation source | Not stated on pages checked source | Cloud; over 80% of customers use Deltek Cloud source | 100% cloud-hosted, runs in a browser source | Web, desktop (Mac, Windows) and mobile apps source |
| Timesheets against projects | Track Time module source | Time Tracking feature source | Timesheets included from Build plan source | Timesheet and expense entry source | Time and expense, pre-populated timesheets source | Weekly and daily timesheets source |
| Invoices from project fees | Process Invoices module source | Invoicing and project accounting source | Invoicing and forecasting from Build plan source | Billing and invoicing workflows source | Manual and batch invoicing source | Invoicing on all plans source |
| Connects to Xero | Xero add-on, two-way data exchange source | Only QuickBooks Online named; Xero not mentioned source | Invoices, expenses and payments sync with Xero source | Xero not listed among integrations source | Xero named on integrations page source | Copies Harvest invoices to Xero source |
| Resource and workload planning | Allocate Resources module source | Staffing, project and capacity planning source | Resourcing included from Build plan source | Resource views and staffing forecasts source | Resource Planning feature source | Harvest Forecast, separate product source |
| Free trial | Demo and tour only; no trial stated source | Live demos for select firms; no trial stated source | 21 days, no card source | Personalised demo only; no trial stated source | FAQ mentions a trial; terms not stated source | 30 days on paid plans; Free plan too source |
| Honesty | ||||||
| Do we earn from this link? | No. Plain link, no commission | No. Plain link, no commission | No. Plain link, no commission | No. Plain link, no commission | No. Plain link, no commission | No. Plain link, no commission |
| Visit Total Synergy (merging with Monograph, announced Aug 2026) | Visit Monograph (merging with Total Synergy, announced Aug 2026) | Visit Projectworks | Visit Deltek | Visit BQE Software | Visit Harvest | |
What to ask in every demo
- Fee stages, not just hours: can it track a fixed fee by stage (concept, DA, CD) and show percentage complete against hours spent?
- Your accounting system: confirm a two-way Xero or MYOB sync on your plan, and what syncs: invoices only, or payments and contacts too.
- Australian GST and BAS: invoices must show GST correctly. Ask to see an Australian tax invoice.
- Getting your data out: ask how you export timesheets, invoices and project history if you leave.
- The contract: minimum users, minimum term, and onboarding fees. Projectworks, for example, lists a 10-user minimum and onboarding from $1,000.
Practices ask
Are Synergy and Monograph merging?
Monograph's own blog announced in August 2026 that it is merging with Total Synergy, the Australian practice management company. Both products are still sold. Ask either vendor what the merger means for your plan before you sign a long contract.
Which practice management tools connect to Xero?
Synergy (a Xero add-on with two-way data exchange), Projectworks, BQE CORE and Harvest all state Xero integrations on their own pages. We couldn't confirm Xero for Monograph or Deltek Vantagepoint.
Which practice management tools publish their prices?
Of the six, only Projectworks and Harvest publish per-user prices. Synergy, Monograph, Deltek and BQE CORE price on request after a demo.