Custom Workflow Automation for Architecture and Engineering Firms
When RFP responses, SOW management, deliverable reviews, and project invoicing stop scaling on Deltek, BQE Core, and manual tracking.
Architecture and engineering firms run long, document-heavy project lifecycles. From RFP response to SOW execution to milestone deliverables to final invoice, every phase generates a chain of documents, reviews, approvals, and status updates that span project management software, document tools, billing systems, and client comms. Most firms manage this in Deltek or BQE Core for project accounting, a project management tool for task tracking, email for document review, and DocuSign for approvals. The coordination between these systems is largely manual, meaning project managers spend significant time on status updates and document routing instead of managing projects. We build the integration layer that automates the coordination so project managers can focus on the work.
Pressure-test your bottleneck›What Architecture and Engineering Firms typically run
- Deltek Vantagepoint or Ajera for project accounting
- BQE Core for time and billing
- Procore or Autodesk Construction Cloud for project management
- DocuSign or Adobe Sign for contracts and approvals
- Bluebeam or Adobe Acrobat for document review
- Outlook or Google Workspace for comms
- Zapier for ad-hoc integrations
Workflows we automate
- RFP response workflow
- Tracking open RFPs, assembling response teams, managing document production timelines, and submitting by deadline. Currently a project manager with a spreadsheet and a shared Drive folder.
- SOW and contract management
- Draft to principal review to client negotiation to DocuSign to fully executed. Status tracked manually. Project not created in Deltek until the contract is signed, which delays billing setup.
- Project milestone and deliverable tracking
- Tracking which deliverable phase each project is in, what's due when, what's been submitted, and what's pending client review. Currently in Deltek or a project management tool with inconsistent update discipline.
- Deliverable review routing
- Routing drawing packages, reports, and specifications to internal QA, then to client, then incorporating comments. Each routing step is currently a manual email with attachments.
- Time entry and project billing
- Collecting time entries from all project staff, mapping to budget phases, generating draft invoices for principal review, and releasing to clients. The principal review step is often the bottleneck.
- Subconsultant coordination
- Tracking subconsultant deliverable schedules, collecting invoices, reconciling against the prime contract, and processing payment. Managed with email and a spreadsheet in most firms.
Why no-code platforms top out for architecture and engineering firms
Deltek and BQE Core are purpose-built for A/E project accounting. They track budgets, phases, and billing with precision. What they don't do is orchestrate the cross-system workflows around the project: document routing in Bluebeam, contract management in DocuSign, client comms in Outlook, subconsultant tracking in spreadsheets. Each of those is a separate tool with its own data model. Zapier can link some of them, but not with the conditional logic that project workflows require.
The deliverable review cycle is the highest-friction point. A drawing set goes through internal QA (multiple reviewers, comment aggregation), then to the client (single or multiple contacts, variable response time), then back for comment incorporation, then back to the client for confirmation. Each step in that cycle is currently an email thread. The project manager has to track where the deliverable is, who has it, what comments came back, and when it was returned. That's a workflow management problem, not an email problem.
Project billing timing is another chronic pain. In most A/E firms, the principal who reviews draft invoices has a full project load. Draft invoices sit in a queue. Late invoices delay cash flow. A system that generates draft invoices automatically when milestones are hit, assigns them to the principal review queue with a deadline, and escalates when the review hasn't happened in a defined window turns a manual, deadline-driven scramble into a managed process.
What we build
We build the integration layer between Deltek or BQE Core, the project management tool, DocuSign, document review tools, and client comms. Python or JavaScript on PostgreSQL, deployed to the firm's cloud account. The integration layer owns workflow state across all systems and drives actions from project events.
Specifically: a contract management pipeline that tracks SOWs from draft to fully executed and creates the Deltek project on signature; a deliverable routing system that manages the review cycle from internal QA through client review and comment incorporation; a milestone billing trigger that generates draft invoices when project phases close and routes them for principal review; and a subconsultant tracker that records delivery schedules and invoice submissions against the prime contract.
RFP response workflow is often the first build for firms that compete heavily on public sector work, because proposal deadlines are non-negotiable and missed submissions are unrecoverable. We build a structured RFP tracker that manages the response team, document production timeline, and submission checklist.
Frequently asked
Do you work with firms that use Deltek specifically?
Yes. Deltek Vantagepoint and Ajera are the most common project accounting systems in A/E firms of 20-200 people, and we know their APIs and data models well. Deltek's API coverage is broad for project, phase, and billing data; narrower for some operational modules. We document the integration boundaries before scoping so you know exactly what connects and what stays manual. BQE Core and Axium are also platforms we work with regularly. DocuSign is the most common contract routing layer in front of Deltek project setup, and that integration is well-covered.
How does the deliverable routing system work with Bluebeam specifically?
Bluebeam Studio has an API for session management that we can use to automate review session creation, participant assignment, and status tracking. When a deliverable is ready for review, the integration creates the Studio session, invites the right reviewers, sets the deadline, and monitors for completion. When the session closes, comment data is captured and the project status is updated. For firms that use PDF email review rather than Bluebeam Studio, we build a structured email routing system that achieves the same tracking.
Can you help with the billing process specifically? That's where we lose the most time.
Yes, and it's one of the highest-value builds for A/E firms. The typical issue: draft invoices wait in a principal's email for 10-15 days before review, delaying client billing by weeks. The integration we build generates the draft invoice automatically when a milestone closes, drops it into a structured review queue with a deadline, and sends a reminder if the deadline passes without action. Principal review time drops from days to hours because the queue is organized and the deadlines are visible.
What about firms with multiple office locations?
Multi-office firms are a common configuration. The integration layer handles project data from all offices in a single system, with role-based access so each office sees its own projects and principals, while firm leadership has cross-office visibility. If the firm uses different Deltek Vantagepoint instances per office (which happens in acquisitive firms), we can consolidate data into a reporting layer without merging the source systems. AutoCAD and BIM file versioning can be tracked in the same integration layer if document audit trails are a concern.
What size firm makes sense for this engagement?
Generally firms with 15 or more staff managing 20 or more active projects simultaneously. Below that size, a project manager with Deltek and a disciplined email process handles the complexity. The inflection point is when project managers are consistently spending more than a quarter of their time on coordination and status tracking rather than on project work, or when billing delays are a recurring issue for principals. BQE Core shops at that size often have the billing bottleneck as the clearest entry point. We identify that threshold on the diagnostic call.
Written and built by Charles Borden, founder of AutomationsHQ. Ten years of production systems engineering before this: ship control at Electric Boat, radar positioning at Raytheon. AutomationsHQ writes custom workflow automation for service operations whose stacks have outgrown Airtable, Zapier, and Make. Real production systems, not no-code patches. Mid Bay News reclaimed 100+ hours per week of manual work after we rebuilt their content aggregation pipeline.
Workflows we automate for this industry
Custom Quote-to-Cash Automation
When the path from quote to contract to invoice to payment is held together by spreadsheets, forwarded emails, and a Zapier graveyard.
Custom Project Status Reporting Automation
When weekly status reports require an hour of manual data assembly per client, per week, and the data sources never quite agree.
Custom Document Processing Automation
When contracts, invoices, SOWs, and compliance docs arrive in PDF and someone re-keys the contents into your systems before anything else can happen.
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