Software for architects: one ERP + CRM for a turnkey architecture and interior design firm
How Yukti AI built custom architecture firm management software for an architecture and interior design firm that runs turnkey design-and-build projects in India. Enquiries, BOQ quotations, drawing approvals with a recorded sign-off, a phase-wise Gantt, site visits, site progress, trade vendors, purchase orders and milestone billing now run in one system. It is live, in use, and was built in about 7 days.
The client is an architecture and interior design practice that takes projects turnkey: it designs the space, then delivers it on site through electrical, plumbing, civil, HVAC, carpentry, tiling and glazing vendors. Yukti AI built it a 16-module ERP and CRM on React and a 26-table PostgreSQL database: a lead pipeline, client records with family details, BOQ quotations with a GST PDF, drawing approvals with Approve, Reject and Request Revision, a Design-to-Handover Gantt, site progress and issue logs, vendors by trade with purchase orders and a material log, milestone payments with a profitability chart, client-visible documents, a calendar, team utilisation and a communication inbox.
Quick facts
| Client | An architecture and interior design firm that runs turnkey design-and-build projects (anonymised) |
|---|---|
| Location | India |
| Industry | Architecture & interior design — turnkey, multi-trade project delivery |
| Trades per project | Architecture, Interior Design, Electrical, Plumbing, Civil, HVAC, Structural, Carpentry |
| Core challenge | Enquiries, drawings, quotations, site work, trade vendors, milestone payments and client updates all have to be tracked per project, across many trades at once |
| Solution | Custom architecture firm ERP + CRM — one system for the whole turnkey practice |
| Modules (16) | Owner Dashboard, Leads & Enquiries, Clients, Quotation & BOQ, Project Timeline, Tasks & Site Visits, Site Progress, Client Approvals, Vendors & Materials, Payments, Documents, Calendar, Team, Communication Center, Client Portal, Vendor Portal |
| Project phases | Design → Client Approval → Execution → Finishing → Handover |
| Status | Live and in use. Client and vendor portal views are part of the system and being rolled out. |
| Build time | About 7 days |
| Stack | React 19, Vite, Tailwind CSS 4, Recharts, Supabase (PostgreSQL, 26 tables), hosted on Vercel |
| Built by | Yukti AI, Surat, Gujarat |
What is software for architects? A system that runs the business side of an architecture practice — enquiries, clients, projects, drawings and approvals, quotations, site work, vendors and payments — in one place. For a turnkey firm it must also cover multi-trade site execution, which is what separates an architecture firm ERP from a simple project tracker.
Is it live? Yes. It is live and in use, and was built in about 7 days. Client and vendor portal views are being rolled out, and an AI layer and automatic WhatsApp messaging can be added on the same data.
Why is a turnkey practice hard to run on generic software?
A turnkey architecture and interior design firm is a design studio, a multi-trade site contractor and a collections desk at once. A generic CRM sees only the sales pipeline, a task app sees only tasks, and accounting software sees only invoices. None of them links a drawing sign-off to a site, a purchase order and a milestone payment, which is exactly what a turnkey project needs.
- Many trades, one site. Electrical, plumbing, civil, HVAC, structural and carpentry work runs alongside tiling and glazing, each with its own vendor, orders and deliveries.
- Drawings need a recorded decision. A layout is not final until the client approves it, and an approval given on a phone call cannot be shown to anyone later.
- Households decide. On residential work a spouse, son or parent often has a say alongside the person paying.
- Money moves by milestone. Booking advance, design approval, execution and handover payments each need tracking, and the overdue ones need chasing.
For turnkey work, the lead, the BOQ quotation, the drawing approvals, the trade POs, the site log and the milestone payments should be one linked project record, not six files and three chat groups that have to agree.
What problems was this software for architects built to solve?
It was built to move six jobs a turnkey practice usually handles by hand into one system: capturing enquiries from four channels, getting drawings signed off, keeping quotation versions straight, coordinating trade vendors and material per site, collecting milestone payments and keeping clients informed. The left column describes that manual work in general terms, not in the client's own words; the right column is what the system does now.
Without one system
- Enquiries from four channels with no shared pipeline, owner or follow-up date
- Drawing approvals agreed in chat or on a call, with no recorded sign-off
- Quotation revisions saved as separate files, with no shared version or status
- Vendors, POs and material movement tracked separately for each site
- Milestone dues followed up from memory; profit per project unclear
- Clients calling the office for progress and payment updates
With the system
- Every enquiry on a five-stage Kanban with source, assignee, budget range and last follow-up
- Each drawing Approved, Rejected or Revision Requested, with the sign-off name and time on record
- BOQ quotations with versions, a status and a print-ready GST PDF
- Vendors by trade, POs with a status, and a material in/out log per project
- Milestones marked Pending, Paid or Overdue, and budget vs actual vs revenue per project
- Progress, site photos, milestones and client-visible documents ready for the client view
Why a custom build instead of off-the-shelf architecture practice management software?
Many packaged architecture practice management tools are built around the design office: time, fees and documents. A turnkey firm also runs sites, trade vendors, purchase orders and material. General task tools such as ClickUp, Notion or Asana are built for task lists; a BOQ line with a unit and a rate, a drawing with a recorded sign-off and a milestone that turns Overdue would all have to be set up by hand on top of them and kept linked to the same project. A custom build let the data model match how the firm actually delivers work, which is the principle behind every AI-powered business management system Yukti AI builds: software shaped around the client's real workflow.
How is the architecture firm ERP put together?
Every module reads and writes one PostgreSQL database through a shared data layer. The project record sits in the middle: sales work leads into it, and drawings, site work, vendors and payments hang off it, so a figure entered in one screen is the figure every other screen shows.
CRM for architecture firms: leads, clients and BOQ quotations
The sales side is a custom CRM shaped around how architecture and interior design clients buy: an enquiry from a known source, a site visit, a quotation that goes through versions, and a decision that is often made by a family rather than one person. Three modules cover it.
Leads & Enquiries
The Add Lead form captures name, phone, source (Website, WhatsApp, Instagram or Referral), status, assignee, budget range and requirement. Leads show as a table with the last follow-up and a click-to-call number, or as a five-column Kanban: New, Contacted, Site Visit Scheduled, Converted and Lost. Filters by source and status show, for example, how many Instagram or referral enquiries have reached the site-visit stage.
Clients and the client record
Client cards show Individual or Business, city, tags such as Villa, Premium, Corporate or Repeat Client, a satisfaction rating, lifetime value and outstanding (pending plus overdue milestones). The client page adds one-tap call, WhatsApp and email, a Family Details card listing each household member's relation, and tabs for Projects, Payment History and Client Visible documents. Why it matters: on a residential job, the household members who have a say in the design are on record with their relation to the client.
Quotation & BOQ
A register lists every quotation with its project, client, amount, version (v1, v2 …), status (Draft, Sent, Approved or Revised) and date. The builder loads BOQ lines — material or item, unit in Nos, Sqft, Kg or Rmt, quantity and rate — with inline editing, a live subtotal, an optional 18% GST checkbox and a grand total. Generate PDF opens a print-ready quotation that the team saves as a PDF. Why it matters: as BOQ quotation software, it shows every quotation with its version number and status, so the team can tell which version was Sent, which was Revised and which the client Approved.
How does the drawing approval workflow work?
Every drawing sent to a client sits in one approvals list with a thumbnail and a status: Pending, Approved, Rejected or Revision Requested. Client and designer comments stay on the drawing itself. When a drawing is approved, the system records the name of the person who signed off and the exact time, and shows that sign-off on the drawing.
The drawing view has three actions: Approve, Reject and Request Revision. Approving stores the sign-off name and a timestamp and shows a “signed off by … on …” badge, so when a question comes up on site months later, the answer is on the drawing rather than in someone's phone. Every comment is stored with its author and time, which turns a scattered revision conversation into one history per drawing.
The sign-off is an approval record inside the firm's own system: who approved which drawing, and when. It is not a legal e-signature. A signature pad and version uploads per revision were explored in the scoping prototype; Aadhaar eSign and a numbered drawing register with GFC (good for construction) status can also be added.
Architect project management: phases, tasks and site visits
Every project runs through five phases — Design, Client Approval, Execution, Finishing and Handover — on its own Gantt chart. Tasks sit under each project with an assignee, due date and status, and site visits are scheduled as calendar events, so the whole studio works from the same plan.
Project Timeline (phase Gantt)
Each phase stores a start offset and a duration in days, a done, active or upcoming status, and its own colour. The project header shows the client, start and end dates, a status badge and an overall progress bar, and a task list shows each task's assignee, due date and status. Because all five phases sit on one timeline, the studio and the site team can see which phase each project is in and what comes next.
Tasks & site visit planning
An All Tasks table lists task, project, assignee, due date and status (Pending, In Progress or Completed), with totals for pending, completed and scheduled site visits. Schedule Visit takes a title, project, date, time and duration and saves it as a site-visit event, so the same visit appears on the calendar without being entered twice.
Calendar
A month grid colour-codes five event types — meetings, site visits, deadlines, tasks and calls. Clicking a day shows its schedule, an upcoming list sits alongside, and a New Event form adds an event, optionally tied to a project. A client meeting, a site visit and a drawing deadline for the same project sit on one calendar.
How does site progress tracking work on a turnkey project?
Each project gets an overall progress percentage, a site photo gallery in which every photo carries a location label and a date, and an issue log. When something goes wrong on site, it is reported against the project along with who reported it, and the issue moves from Open to In Review to Resolved.
Choosing a project shows its progress slider (0–100%) and its gallery, labelled by location such as a ground-floor living room, which matters on an interior project where several rooms move at different speeds. The Issue Log lists issue, project, reporter, date and status across all projects. Daily site logs with weather, geotagged entries and a before-and-after view were part of the scoping prototype and can be added.
Turnkey project management: trade vendors, POs and material
A turnkey firm is only as reliable as its vendors. The Vendors & Materials module keeps a directory of vendors by trade, purchase orders with their status, and a material in/out log per project in one place, so the office knows what was ordered for each site, from whom, and what actually arrived or left.
- Vendor directory. Each vendor carries a trade chip — Electrical, Plumbing, Civil, Carpentry, Tiles, Structural, HVAC or Glazing — and a click-to-call contact.
- Purchase orders. PO number, vendor, items, project, amount, date and status, moving from Pending Approval to Approved, In Transit and Delivered.
- Material in/out log. Date, Inward or Outward, material, quantity with its unit (square feet, rolls, bags, running feet, tons or panels), project and vendor.
A vendor quote comparison on price and lead time, stock with reorder levels and a site-expense ledger with petty cash were part of the scoping prototype and can be added.
How are milestone payments and project profitability tracked?
Clients are billed by milestone. Each project has a payment schedule — for example a booking advance, design approval, execution phases and handover — with every milestone marked Pending, Paid or Overdue. Reminders are logged, outstanding amounts roll up to each client, and a profitability chart compares budget, actual spend and revenue for every project.
Payment tracking
The Milestone Payment Schedule lists project, milestone, due date, amount and status. The Payment Reminder Log records each reminder's client, milestone, amount, channel (Email, WhatsApp or both) and date. The Project Profitability bar chart sets budget, actual spend and revenue side by side for each project.
Owner Dashboard
Four KPI cards — Total Active Projects, Total Revenue, Pending Payments and Delayed Projects — sit above a monthly revenue-versus-expenses chart and a project status donut (On Track, Delayed, Completed). An Active Projects Snapshot shows a progress bar per project, and a Recent Activity feed covers photos, approvals, payments, leads, drawings, POs, issues and tasks. Rupee amounts are shown in lakh and crore with Indian number grouping.
Interior designer software for documents, conversations and the team
Three supporting modules keep the practice's paperwork, conversations and people in the same system as its projects. These are the parts of interior designer software that usually live outside the project tool, in shared drives, phones and staff spreadsheets.
Document & drawing management
Files sit in folders — Drawings, Contracts, Approvals and Vendor Docs — each with a file count. Every file shows its access level (Client Visible with an eye icon, Internal Only with a lock icon), size and last-updated date, and that one flag decides what reaches the client's record and the client view.
Communication Center
One inbox with filters for WhatsApp, Email, Calls and Internal, and totals for conversations, unread, open and resolved. Each conversation is tied to a context such as a project or a purchase-order delivery, shows an unread badge until opened, and keeps a thread with a reply box; threads are marked Open or Resolved. Today the inbox is the firm's record of these conversations; two-way sync with the WhatsApp Business API and email can be added.
Team
Team cards show each person's role, department, Active or On Leave status, a utilisation bar and active project count, filtered by Design, Site, Accounts, Sales and Admin, with totals for headcount, average utilisation and people on leave. Staff are linked to the projects they work on.
What each person works in, including clients and vendors
Inside the firm, the modules map to its five departments. Client and vendor portal views are part of the system and being rolled out; they read the same data as the office screens, so nothing is re-entered for them.
Principal & accounts
The Owner Dashboard, project profitability, the milestone schedule, the reminder log and outstanding amounts by client.
Sales
Leads on the Kanban, follow-ups, site-visit scheduling, and building and revising BOQ quotations.
Design team
Drawings for approval and their comment threads, document folders, and the Design and Client Approval phases on each Gantt.
Site team
Tasks and site visits, site progress and photos by location, the issue log, POs and the material in/out log.
Client view
Progress percentage and current stage, milestones by phase (Completed, In Progress, Upcoming), payment history, Client Visible documents and a Message Team action.
Vendor view
Their own purchase orders, active orders, orders needing a response, total business and rating, with Submit Delivery and Submit Invoice actions.
How does one turnkey project flow through the system?
From the first enquiry to handover, each step below is recorded in the same system. The quotation, drawings, POs, site log and milestones all sit against the same project and client, so nobody has to piece the story together from separate files.
Every status the system tracks
Statuses are what turn a list into a to-do. These are the status sets built into this architecture firm ERP; the core ones for leads, quotations, drawings, purchase orders, payments and site issues are enforced as database constraints, so every screen uses the same values. Badges use one colour code everywhere: green for on track, approved and paid; amber for pending, in review and revision requested; red for delayed, overdue, rejected and lost.
| Record | Module | Statuses |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | Leads & Enquiries | New, Contacted, Site Visit Scheduled, Converted, Lost |
| Quotation | Quotation & BOQ | Draft, Sent, Approved, Revised |
| Drawing | Client Approvals | Pending, Approved, Rejected, Revision Requested |
| Project phase (Design, Client Approval, Execution, Finishing, Handover) | Project Timeline | Done, Active, Upcoming |
| Task | Tasks & Site Visits | Pending, In Progress, Completed |
| Purchase order | Vendors & Materials | Pending Approval, Approved, In Transit, Delivered |
| Site issue | Site Progress | Open, In Review, Resolved |
| Payment milestone | Payments | Pending, Paid, Overdue |
| Project | Owner Dashboard | On Track, Delayed, Completed |
| Document | Documents | Client Visible, Internal Only |
| Conversation | Communication Center | Open, Resolved |
| Team member | Team | Active, On Leave |
How was it built in about 7 days?
Speed came from building the interface first and the database second. The firm could review every screen with example content before a single table existed, and the database was then designed to match the screens the firm had already reviewed.
Scope the whole practice
A wider 25-module scoping prototype mapped what a turnkey practice could run in software, from cost estimation with an architect's markup to attendance and payroll.
Focus on 16 modules
The production build was narrowed to a focused set of 16 modules, laid out as a clickable interface for review.
Design the database
A 26-table PostgreSQL schema with 19 indexes, mirroring the interface's data, with the main status sets enforced as database constraints.
Wire every screen to live data
Each screen was switched to live queries through one shared data layer, so every module reads and writes the same records.
Indian formats & mobile layout
Amounts in lakh and crore, Indian dates, and a layout that collapses to a slide-in menu and single-column cards on a phone.
Go live, then roll out portals
Deployed as a web app and refined after go-live, with the client and vendor portal views being rolled out next.
Technology and integrations
The system is a React single-page web app on a managed PostgreSQL database. It runs in any modern browser on a computer or phone, with nothing to install, and every action — adding a lead, reporting a site issue, approving or commenting on a drawing, replying in the inbox, scheduling a site visit — reads and writes live data.
Integrations: the first version keeps external integrations light. Quotation PDFs use the browser's print-to-PDF, with no PDF library to maintain, and tel: and mailto: links give click-to-call and email from lead, client and vendor records. WhatsApp and email appear as channels in the inbox and reminder log, where conversations and reminders are recorded. The WhatsApp Business API, an email service, a payment gateway and Tally can be connected when needed, and an AI layer of the kind described on AI ERP can be added on the same data.
Full technical stack
- React 19 with Vite — a fast single-page web app.
- Tailwind CSS 4 — responsive layout; the sidebar becomes a slide-in drawer on phones and KPI grids collapse from four columns to one.
- React Router 7 — 18 routes, including a detail page per client.
- Recharts 3 — revenue-versus-expenses, project status and profitability charts.
- Supabase (PostgreSQL) — 26 tables and 19 indexes, with status values enforced by constraints.
- Vercel — hosting for the web app.
Terms used in this case study
- Turnkey (design-and-build)
- The firm handles both design and site execution across trades for one client, and hands over a finished space.
- BOQ (bill of quantities)
- A line-by-line list of materials and items, each with a unit, quantity and rate, from which a quotation is built.
- Rmt, Sqft, Nos
- Running metre, square feet and numbers — common BOQ units in Indian interior and civil work.
- Drawing sign-off
- The recorded approval of a drawing: who approved it and when.
- Milestone billing
- Billing the client in stages tied to progress, such as a booking advance, design approval, execution phases and handover.
- Material inward / outward
- Movements of material into and out of a site, logged with quantity and unit against the project and vendor.
What can be added on the same data
None of the items below are part of the current build. They are natural next phases for a turnkey practice, and most would build on records the system already holds: projects, phases, drawings, vendors and milestones.
AI layer
Progress updates drafted for each client from the phase plan and site updates, flags for drawings waiting too long and milestones turning overdue, and meeting summaries with action items.
WhatsApp messaging
Automatic milestone reminders, site-visit confirmations and progress updates over the WhatsApp Business API, with replies landing in the inbox.
Invoices & accounts
GST invoices generated from milestones, a site-expense ledger with petty cash, and invoice data pushed to Tally.
Drawing control
A numbered drawing register with revisions and GFC status, drawing types, RFIs, transmittals and consultant coordination.
Cost estimation
Material cost plus contractor labour, an architect's markup and GST, worked out to a target client price before the BOQ quotation goes out.
People & site admin
Attendance, payroll and daily site logs, explored in the scoping prototype and ready to be scoped as a later phase.
Is this architecture firm management software right for your practice?
It fits any architecture or interior design practice where one project involves design, client decisions, site work and staged payments, and it fits turnkey design-and-build firms best, because it was built for one. A five-person studio can start with leads, quotations, drawings and payments and add the site and vendor modules later; a larger firm can take the full set from day one.
- Architecture firms that also execute interiors and fit-outs on site
- Interior design studios coordinating electrical, plumbing, carpentry, tiling and glazing vendors
- Design-and-build firms that bill by milestone and need to see overdue payments at a glance
- Contractors and developers that deliver projects in phases — see AI automation for construction firms and AI automation for real estate developers
Built in Surat, for firms across India
Yukti AI is a software company based at 220, Leonard Square, Yogichowk, Varachha, Surat, Gujarat, building custom business management systems for firms across Surat and India. Its other project-based builds include a business management system for Maven Lift, a Surat elevator maker, covering site survey to quotation, project tracking and milestone payments, and a fabrication ERP for ZUNOWA, an aluminium and glass fabricator, with project stage tracking and karigar management.
How much does software for an architecture firm cost, and how long does it take?
This system was built in about 7 days. Yukti AI does not sell it as a subscription package: each firm gets a fixed quote for a one-time custom ERP build after a free workflow audit. The audit maps how enquiries, drawings, quotations, sites, vendors and payments work in your practice today, and the quote covers only the modules you need.
| What moves the quote | Why |
|---|---|
| Number of modules | A CRM-plus-quotations start is smaller than the full 16-module practice system |
| Client and vendor portals | Outside users need their own views of progress, payments and POs |
| Integrations | The WhatsApp Business API, email, a payment gateway or Tally each add work |
| Data migration | How many existing clients, projects and vendors have to be moved in from Excel or other tools |
For what drives the price of custom software in India, read Custom ERP software cost in India. If your practice runs on spreadsheets today, replacing Excel and Tally with one system explains how the move is made.
Questions architects and interior designers ask
Explore more
Custom ERP Software
An ERP built around your own workflow, statuses and documents — not a generic template.
Custom CRM Software
A CRM shaped around your enquiry sources, pipeline stages and follow-ups.
AI Business Management System
CRM, ERP, billing and WhatsApp in one platform, with an AI layer that reads your data.
AI ERP
How an AI layer analyses business data and tells the owner what needs attention.
Construction firms
AI automation for construction firms in India: site updates into reports, labour tracking and vendor bill checks.
Real estate
WhatsApp lead qualification, site-visit scheduling and automated follow-up for brokers and developers.
App & Web App Development
Custom web apps and software built by Yukti AI in Surat for businesses across India.
Replace Excel & Tally
Move a business off scattered spreadsheets and onto one system, without losing its history.
Case study: Maven Lift
A project-based business management system for a Surat elevator maker, from site survey to AMC.
Summary
- Yukti AI, a software company in Surat, Gujarat, built a custom ERP and CRM for an architecture and interior design firm in India that runs turnkey design-and-build projects.
- The architecture firm management software Yukti AI built has 16 modules on a 26-table PostgreSQL database, covering leads, clients, BOQ quotations, drawing approvals, a phase Gantt, site visits, site progress, vendors, purchase orders, material, milestone payments, documents, a calendar, the team and a communication inbox.
- The drawing approval workflow Yukti AI built for the firm lets each drawing be Approved, Rejected or marked Revision Requested, keeps a client-designer comment thread, and records the sign-off name and timestamp.
- The BOQ quotation builder in Yukti AI's system works in Nos, Sqft, Kg and Rmt, keeps quotation versions and statuses, applies optional 18% GST and produces a print-ready PDF.
- For turnkey site execution, the system Yukti AI built organises vendors by trade, tracks purchase orders from Pending Approval to Delivered, and logs material inward and outward per project.
- Yukti AI's architecture firm ERP tracks milestone payments as Pending, Paid or Overdue and charts budget, actual spend and revenue for every project on the owner's dashboard.
- The system is live and in use, was built by Yukti AI in about 7 days, and its client and vendor portal views are being rolled out.