Engineering& AEC

Margin erosion, realization slip, and cash flow risk compound when your project, HR, and finance data can't talk to each other.

We connect Deltek Vantagepoint, BST, BambooHR, and QuickBooks so every project manager and executive can see utilization, WIP age, and cash risk in real time, not at month-end.

23%
utilization improvement

Turn timesheets, ERP data, and project financials into live visibility on margin, utilization, and billing performance by client, project, and team.

The Challenge

The operational reality of engineering firms

01

Realization slip erodes margins silently

Project-based businesses lose margin to realization slip that nobody catches until the project is over. By then, the damage is done.

02

PM and finance systems are disconnected

Deltek tracks projects, BambooHR tracks people, QuickBooks tracks money. None of them talk. Leadership sees none of it in real time.

03

Capacity planning in stale spreadsheets

Every Monday someone updates the capacity spreadsheet. By Wednesday it is already wrong. Hiring and staffing decisions run on outdated information.

04

Billing lag drains cash flow quietly

WIP ages without anyone noticing until the AR report arrives. By then, 60-day invoices are already threatening cash flow.

Key Metrics

The KPIs we surface for engineering firms

Staff utilization
Realization rate
CPI (Cost Performance Index)
SPI (Schedule Performance Index)
WIP age
Billing lag
DSO (Days Sales Outstanding)
Backlog coverage
Project gross margin
Pipeline-to-capacity ratio
Capabilities

How we help engineering firms

01

Executive dashboards on margin and utilization

Real-time views of margin, utilization, capacity, and cash across every project and team. Connected to Deltek, BST, Ajera, or Unanet.

02

Capacity forecasting from pipeline

Forward staffing views built on signed contracts, weighted pipeline, and project schedules. Know staffing needs 60 to 90 days out.

03

Project margin alerts

Automated alerts when CPI or realization drops below threshold. Catch margin erosion weeks before it hits the P&L.

04

Billing acceleration through WIP aging

Automated WIP aging triggers that surface billable hours ready to invoice. Reduce billing lag and improve cash flow cycle.

05

AI assistant for project health

Ask which projects are over budget, which staff are under-utilized, or which clients are at risk. Get data-backed answers in seconds.

Integrations

Some of the systems we connect with

These are some of the platforms we connect. We integrate with almost any system. If you run it, we can likely work with it.

Deltek Vantagepoint
BST10
Ajera
Unanet
BambooHR
ADP
QuickBooks
NetSuite
HubSpot
Salesforce
Smartsheet
Monday.com
Procore
Deltek Vantagepoint
BST10
Ajera
Unanet
BambooHR
ADP
QuickBooks
NetSuite
HubSpot
Salesforce
Smartsheet
Monday.com
Procore
Use Cases

Where this applies

01

AEC firm: real-time utilization replaces weekly Excel

A 300-person civil engineering firm tracked utilization in a weekly Excel file updated by one operations manager. By the time leadership saw numbers, the week was already over.

Outcome

We connected Deltek Vantagepoint to Snowflake and built a Power BI dashboard. Project managers now see utilization daily and can reallocate before the week ends.

02

MEP firm: capacity forecasting 90 days out

A mechanical engineering firm struggled to plan hiring because pipeline data lived in Salesforce, staffing was in BambooHR, and projects were in Deltek. Nobody could see the full picture.

Outcome

We unified all three data sources and built a capacity model. The firm now knows staffing needs 90 days out and has reduced both over-staffing and emergency hiring.

03

Consulting firm: project margin alerts

A consulting firm noticed margin erosion only at month-end reporting. By then, projects were already over-cost with limited ability to course correct.

Outcome

We built automated margin alerts using CPI thresholds from Deltek. Project managers receive Slack alerts when projects cross warning thresholds, enabling in-flight corrections.

Results

Outcomes you can expect

23%
Utilization improvement in first 90 days
18%
Reduction in project overruns
30%
Faster billing cycle
Real-time
Visibility replacing monthly reports
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Get Started

See every project margin in real time.

Book a free call and we will show you exactly what engineering firm analytics can look like in 30 days.