Time Tracking for Architecture Firms
Architects track time across phases, not just days. Schematic design, design development, construction documents, site administration - each phase has a budget, and every hour counts toward it. Sandtime.io makes it easy to log time against each phase from any device, so your billing stays accurate and your project margins stay visible.
Architecture Firms: why they choose Sandtime.io
Track time by project phase
Organize every entry against the right phase - SD, DD, CDs, CA - with a project per phase, so reports show the hours each phase has used before an overrun reaches the client.
Capture every billable hour
Log time from the studio, site, or client meeting. No more reconstructing the week from memory before invoicing.
Hours and cost per phase
Reports show the hours and cost each phase has used so far. Compare them with the fee you allocated to the phase before the next milestone, from one export instead of rebuilding the numbers.
Manage your whole team
Track time across principals, associates, and interns from one account. See who worked on what and when, without chasing anyone for timesheets.
How an architecture studio tracks fees by project stage
An architecture studio sets up Sandtime.io with a project for each stage of a commission, such as schematic design, design development, construction documents and construction administration. Everyone logs hours against the stage they are working on, so principals can compare the hours and revenue of each stage with its share of the fee before invoicing it.
- Split each commission into stagesCreate one project per stage and prefix it with the job name, for example Riverside House - DD. Set a revenue rate per project and a cost rate per team member, so each stage shows what it earned and what it cost.
- Bring in the studioPrincipals become Administrators, and job architects can be Project Administrators for their commissions. Interns and outside consultants join as Users and see only the stages they are assigned to.
- Log drawing, site and meeting timeRun a timer in the desktop app while drawing, and add site visits and client meetings from a phone or afterwards with the start and end time. Keep competitions, marketing and continuing education on non-billable projects.
- Review each stage before it is invoicedGroup a report by project to see hours and revenue per stage, then by member to see who carried the work. Export it to Excel or CSV for the stage invoice, and lock the period once it is billed.
Step by step in the help center: invite the team with the right role, approve a week from the email, and turn on auto-locking.
Common use cases
- Track hours against project phases and fee allocations
- Log site visits, client meetings, and design time separately
- Turn accurate time logs into invoice-ready fee totals
- Check hours used per phase against the fee before the next milestone
- Track intern and associate time for accurate staffing costs
- Export time data into project management or accounting software
Key features
One-click timers
Start tracking the moment you open a drawing set or walk onto a site. One tap is all it takes.
Retroactive time entry
Add time for site visits, client calls, and travel after the fact, with full project and phase context.
Multiple projects at once
Run separate timers for different projects and phases simultaneously. Switch without losing a minute.
Export and report
Pull time reports by project, team member, or date range - ready for client billing and cost analysis.
Where Sandtime.io stops
Better to know before you invite the team. These are the gaps people in this line of work ask about most.
- No invoicingSandtime.io does not send invoices. The Invoices report template lists time, rate, net revenue, tax, and total per project, and you export it to Excel or CSV for your billing software.
- No project budgetsThere is no budget field or budget alert. A report grouped by project shows hours, cost, and revenue so far, and you compare them with the estimate yourself.
- Reminders are a weekly emailThe fill-timesheet reminder is one email, sent on Friday at 6 PM while auto-locking is on. It is off by default, so each member switches it on in their notification settings.
Keep exploring
Continue with the most relevant Sandtime.io pages for this topic.
Track breaks and other non-billable time
Sandtime.io has no dedicated break timer. Non-billable projects with the Billable switch off keep breaks in your timesheet and out of what you bill.
Open pageBillable Hours
Work hours that can be charged to a client or project. Essential for professional services firms to track revenue.
Open pageCost, revenue, and billable reporting
Use billable flags and rates to understand project profitability without losing the self-reported workflow.
Open pageCost
The expense associated with employee work hours. Calculated by multiplying time by cost rates for profitability analysis.
Open pageCreate a project for reported time
Create projects that people can report against, mark them billable or non-billable, and keep reporting tidy.
Open pageCustom Reports
User-defined reports with flexible groupings, metrics, and filters. Custom reports answer specific business questions.
Open pageTrack your first hour today
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