How an Architecture Firm Can Choose the Right Dashboard System

1. Clarify Your Dashboard Goals

Before evaluating vendors or technologies, define what you want your dashboards to achieve. For architecture firms, common goals include:

• Tracking project budgets vs. actual costs in real time
• Monitoring billable vs. non-billable hours across projects
• Visualizing project timelines, deadlines, and resource allocation
• Measuring profitability by project and client
• Providing principals and PMs with executive views for decision-making

Make a list of the top 5 metrics you want to see daily, weekly, and monthly. This helps ensure your dashboard system focuses on actionable data, not just pretty charts.

2. Assess Your Data Sources

Your dashboards are only as good as the data feeding them. Map out where your key data lives:

• Time tracking systems (Harvest, Deltek Ajera, or internal tools)
• Accounting software (QuickBooks, Deltek, or Xero)
• Project management tools (Asana, Smartsheet, Monday.com)
• Spreadsheets for forecasting and tracking design changes

Verify if your current systems have APIs or export options to connect to a dashboard tool. Your IT team should ensure your chosen system can connect to these data sources with minimal manual effort.

3. Choose Between Embedded vs. Standalone Dashboards

Standalone dashboard platforms like Power BI, StyleBI, or Tableau provide centralized dashboards accessible via web browsers, while embedded dashboards can live inside your project management portal or internal intranet. Consider:

• Embedded dashboards are ideal if you want dashboards within your workflow tools.
• Standalone dashboards are easier to implement quickly and manage separately from existing systems.

For small IT teams, using a cloud-based standalone dashboard solution often reduces maintenance overhead and accelerates deployment.

4. Prioritize Ease of Use for Non-Technical Staff

Architects, designers, and principals are often visual thinkers but may not be tech-savvy. A good dashboard system should allow them to:

• Filter data by project, client, and date ranges easily
• Drill down into charts for detailed views without learning SQL
• Download reports or visuals for client meetings

Request demos or trials where your end-users can test the interface. Avoid systems requiring constant IT support for simple modifications, as your IT team will likely not have the bandwidth.

5. Evaluate Cloud vs. On-Premises Deployment

With a small IT team, cloud-based dashboard solutions offer significant advantages:

• No server maintenance or patch management
• Scalable as your firm grows
• Automatic security updates
• Remote access for distributed project teams

Unless your firm has strict on-premises policies, cloud-based dashboards are typically the best fit for architecture firms looking to minimize operational overhead.

6. Consider Security and Permissions

Project data often contains sensitive financial and client information. Ensure your dashboard system supports:

• Role-based access control (principals vs. project managers vs. staff)
• Data-level security if certain project details should be hidden
• Audit logs to track who accesses or modifies reports

Check if your chosen system complies with your firm’s security policies and encryption standards.

7. Plan for Data Refresh Frequency

Determine how often your dashboards need to update. For architecture firms, daily refreshes are typically sufficient for tracking budgets, hours, and project statuses. However, some KPIs like resource utilization may benefit from near real-time updates if your systems support it.

Choose a dashboard tool that allows you to schedule data refreshes automatically without requiring manual intervention from your IT team.

8. Evaluate Visualization Capabilities

Architecture firms benefit from dashboards that combine clean visuals with actionable insights. Look for:

• Gantt charts for timeline tracking
• Stacked bar and line charts for budget vs. actual trends
• Heatmaps for resource utilization across teams and projects
• Simple KPI cards for high-level financial metrics

Request sample dashboards from vendors to see if their visualizations match your reporting needs and aesthetic standards.

9. Assess Vendor Support and Community

As a small IT team, vendor support quality matters. Check:

• Is onboarding assistance provided?
• Do they offer live chat or phone support?
• Is there a knowledge base and active user community?

A vendor with responsive support and clear documentation will help your IT team deploy dashboards faster and troubleshoot issues efficiently.

10. Review Costs and Licensing Flexibility

Dashboard pricing models vary, including per-user, per-designer, and flat-rate tiers. Clarify:

• How many users need view-only vs. editing access?
• Are there hidden fees for data refreshes or API access?
• Does the system scale affordably as your firm grows?

Request a clear pricing proposal and consider starting with a small pilot to validate the system before a full rollout.

11. Test Integration and Pilot with a Project

Before committing fully, connect your most critical data source (e.g., time tracking or project budget data) to the dashboard system and build a pilot dashboard. This allows your team to:

• Validate data accuracy
• Test user experience with real project data
• Identify any gaps in functionality or reporting

Gather feedback from principals and project managers to refine the dashboards before expanding usage across the firm.

12. Build a Governance Plan

Define clear ownership for your dashboards:

• Who manages data source connections?
• Who designs and updates dashboards?
• Who maintains user permissions and training?

With a team of five IT staff, assign a point person for the dashboard system while empowering business users to create or modify dashboards within guidelines, ensuring your dashboards remain accurate and relevant over time without overwhelming IT resources.

Why StyleBI Is a Good Dashboard Option for Architecture Firms

Architecture firms need clear visibility into project budgets, timelines, resource utilization, and profitability to deliver successful projects on time and within budget. For a firm with an IT staff of five, choosing a dashboard system that is easy to deploy, maintain, and adapt to your workflows is critical. Here is why StyleBI is a strong option for architecture firms looking to implement dashboards without overwhelming their IT resources.

1. Easy Data Connectivity with Your Existing Tools

StyleBI can connect to a wide range of data sources, including:

• Time tracking systems like Harvest and Deltek
• Accounting software such as QuickBooks and Xero
• Project management tools like Smartsheet and Monday.com
• Spreadsheets and cloud file systems

This flexibility means your small IT team does not need to build complex ETL pipelines or custom integrations to get your data into the dashboards.

2. Cloud-Based Deployment Minimizes IT Overhead

StyleBI can be deployed in the cloud, eliminating the need for your IT team to maintain servers or handle patching and upgrades. This is ideal for architecture firms that want to:

• Enable remote and in-office teams to access dashboards easily
• Scale usage without infrastructure headaches
• Receive regular updates and enhancements automatically

3. Intuitive Dashboard Designer for Non-Technical Staff

With StyleBI, your project managers and principals can create and customize dashboards using a visual, drag-and-drop interface without relying on your IT team for every change. This empowers your business users to:

• Build project budget vs. actual dashboards
• Monitor utilization rates across teams
• Track project timelines using Gantt-style visuals
• Filter dashboards by client, project, and date ranges

Reducing dependency on IT for dashboard updates ensures your data remains relevant and actionable as project conditions change.

4. Project-Centric Dashboards for Architecture Needs

StyleBI’s dashboard flexibility allows you to design project-centric dashboards that align with the way architecture firms operate. Examples include:

• Tracking hours and budget burn-down charts for active projects
• Visualizing project pipeline and upcoming deadlines
• Comparing profitability across projects and clients
• Monitoring staff allocation and capacity planning

This helps principals and project managers quickly identify which projects need attention and which are on track, supporting better decision-making without sifting through spreadsheets.

5. Role-Based Security for Sensitive Project Data

StyleBI enables role-based access control, allowing your firm to restrict access to sensitive financial or HR-related dashboards while providing visibility where needed. Your IT team can:

• Grant principals full visibility into all dashboards
• Limit project managers to the projects they oversee
• Control who can edit dashboards versus view-only access

This ensures your data remains secure while providing the transparency necessary for effective operations.

6. Fast Performance on Large Project Datasets

Architecture firms often work with project data that can grow quickly over time. StyleBI’s in-memory analytics engine allows for fast dashboard responsiveness even on large datasets, enabling:

• Instant filtering and drill-down without delays
• Real-time or scheduled data refreshes
• Smooth user experiences during client or internal review meetings

7. Easy Embedding into Your Existing Portal

If your firm uses an intranet or client portal, StyleBI dashboards can be embedded directly into your existing environment, ensuring your dashboards are accessible within your workflows without requiring users to switch tools.

8. Affordable and Scalable Licensing

StyleBI offers flexible licensing models that allow your architecture firm to start with a small deployment for your principals and project managers, then scale to more users and projects as your needs grow. This reduces upfront risk while ensuring you can expand your use of dashboards across the firm over time.

9. Excellent Vendor Support for Small IT Teams

StyleBI provides onboarding assistance, documentation, and responsive support, which is valuable for a small IT team that needs to implement dashboards quickly without extensive internal troubleshooting.