Will our project managers actually use it?

The project page is built for the PM. Fee used against the schedule, phases, hours, and the multiplier sit in one row they can read in a few seconds, and the timesheet is in the same place.

Can a PM see the phase multiplier without waiting on a report?

Yes. Each phase shows its fee, hours, invoices, and multiplier on the project page. The principal sees the same number at the same time.

What happens to time we will not collect?

Hours stay in the month they were worked, and revenue in the month it was billed. Written-off time stays visible as a loss, so a bad month never looks fine until closeout.

Compare

excede: A modern Deltek Ajera alternative, built exclusively for AEC firms

excede is a Deltek Ajera alternative for architecture and engineering firms whose project managers have stopped opening the accounting system. Each phase shows its fee, hours, invoices, and multiplier in one place, and a dedicated team sets it up with you.

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Project

Harbor Street Mixed-Use

Multiplier

Schematic design
3.4x
100% fee used
Design development
2.9x
82% fee used
Construction documentsWatch
2.1x
64% fee used

Sample project. Illustrative numbers.

Who built it

Built inside a working engineering firm

excede started inside Jonathan Sharp and Rafael Figueroa's MEP firm, where they chased the unbilled WIP themselves. The firm still runs on it. Our engineers deploy with your team, build each workflow before go-live, and stay after launch.

A screen your project managers will open

Each PM sees their projects, fee used against the schedule, and the multiplier on every phase. No report to build, no export to wait for.

The numbers your accountant trusts, read where they live

excede reads QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books and your timesheets. Before go-live, we check the platform against the books. When the numbers don't match, we find out why first.

Write-offs that stay in the numbers

Hours stay in the month they were worked, and revenue in the month it was billed. Time you won't collect stays visible as a loss, so a bad month never looks fine until closeout.

Comparison

excede vs. Deltek Ajera

Ajera is built to close the books. excede is built to show each project, while the work is happening, to the people running it. excede is not a general ledger. It sits on top of QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books and turns their numbers into phase numbers your PMs and principals can act on.

What we know about Deltek Ajera

Deltek Ajera is an established accounting system for small and midsize architecture and engineering firms that can be used to manage the general ledger, payroll, billing, and project costs. It is built for the finance team, and its dashboards and reports reward the people who take the time to learn how to configure them.

Consequently, A&E firms that use Ajera mention that its interface is dated and hard to navigate for anyone outside accounting, and that reports often take training or outside help to build. As a result, project managers may stop opening it, and phase numbers can fall weeks behind the work.

Why should your project managers wait on accounting?

When the system is built for the finance team, the PM learns a phase went over budget after the month closes. In excede, the PM sees fee used against the schedule on the project page, and the principal sees the same number at the same time.

With excede, your firm can:

See each phase's multiplier without building a report
Catch a phase that's ahead of its fee while it's still open
Bring proposals, projects, and invoices into one place
Work with a dedicated team that sets it up and stays after launch

Questions

Frequently asked questions

See your firm's phases on one screen

We scope your firm on a discovery call, then our engineers build the platform around how you work.

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