Fresh Projects is a UK-based software platform designed for architects, engineers, and other built-environment professionals to manage financial aspects of their projects. It helps teams track fees, timesheets, expenses, billing, and overall profitability to keep projects on budget and profitable. The platform also centralises project data, streamlines administrative tasks, and offers mobile app support for easy access and updates.
1a Colinette Road
London
SW15 6QG
© 2026 Fresh Projects
Product
Fresh Projects is a UK-based software platform designed for architects, engineers, and other built-environment professionals to manage financial aspects of their projects. It helps teams track fees, timesheets, expenses, billing, and overall profitability to keep projects on budget and profitable. The platform also centralises project data, streamlines administrative tasks, and offers mobile app support for easy access and updates.
1a Colinette Road
London
SW15 6QG
© 2026 Fresh Projects
Product
I Love Excel. I Hate Excel.
I Love Excel. I Hate Excel.
I Love Excel. I Hate Excel.
Reading Time:
Reading Time:
4
4
minute(s)
minute(s)
I have a complicated relationship with Excel.
I love it because it is one of the most powerful and flexible tools ever created.
I hate it because I understand its limitations all too well.
That understanding, learned the hard way, is what ultimately led me to build project financial management software specifically for architects and engineers. Not to replace good thinking, but to remove unnecessary complexity from day-to-day work.
Why Excel feels indispensable to architects and engineers
Excel can do almost anything.
As a teenager, I built an Excel workbook used to capture the quantity, species and location of wild animals spotted from helicopters. That data was aggregated and extrapolated to support wildlife population management.
In my twenties, I developed an Excel system with thousands of lines of VBA code to configure over 100,000 networked DALI light fittings at Heathrow Terminal 5. That spreadsheet replaced what would otherwise have required a team of twenty people. We even won an international DALI award for it.
In my thirties, I built another Excel system to track and compile thousands of documents required for Green Star building certification. The spreadsheet automatically collated, stamped and bookmarked PDFs into a single submission file. A team of three consultants could do the work of thirty.
So yes, I know Excel.
Why Excel starts to fail as practices grow
And it is precisely because I know Excel so well that I understand where it breaks down.
Excel’s greatest strength is flexibility.
Excel’s greatest weakness is also flexibility.
I have seen carefully engineered spreadsheets fall apart because:
A column was deleted
A row was added in the wrong place
A file was duplicated on a server
Different versions were emailed around
A formula referenced the wrong range
Broken links. Conflicting data. Confusion.
This is manageable in small teams. It becomes risky in 50–100 person architecture and engineering practices, where multiple offices, disciplines and senior stakeholders rely on the same information.
Excel Hell in architecture and engineering firms
Many mid-sized A&E firms still rely on spreadsheets to manage:
Timesheets
Expenses
Leave balances
Project fee calculations
Leads and opportunities
Invoices
Outstanding debt
Individually, each spreadsheet may be logical. Collectively, they create friction.
Data is duplicated. Information is re-entered. Errors creep in. Senior staff spend time reconciling numbers instead of making decisions.
And mistakes cost money.
One widely cited study found that 88 percent of spreadsheets contain errors. In a well-known Harvard economics study, the average spreadsheet formula referenced the wrong data range.
In a practice where profitability margins are already tight, that risk compounds quickly.
The real problem is not Excel. It is visibility.
Spreadsheets are not inherently bad. The problem is relying on them as the backbone of operational and financial management in complex organisations.
As firms grow, what they need is:
Consistency
Shared definitions
Controlled data structures
One version of the truth
This is where spreadsheets struggle.
Why a single source of truth works better
In my own work, I eventually rewrote those complex spreadsheets as purpose-built software. The flexibility was reduced, but the reliability increased dramatically.
Boundaries can be helpful.
Constraints create consistency.
Platforms designed for a specific purpose, built on a single database, eliminate many of the issues that spreadsheets introduce. They reduce duplication, remove ambiguity and make reporting trustworthy.
This principle is especially important for architecture practice management software, where project, time, cost and financial data must align.
How Fresh Projects replaces spreadsheet chaos
Fresh Projects was built specifically for architecture and engineering practices.
It replaces disconnected spreadsheets with:
Integrated project financial management
Clear visibility across teams and offices
Consistent, reliable data for decision-making
The result is fewer errors, less admin and better insight into project profitability, forecasting and performance.
You still get flexibility where it matters, without the fragility that comes with spreadsheet-led systems.
And that is something I genuinely love.
How to see it in practice
If your firm is still relying on spreadsheets to manage projects, fees and forecasting, it may be time to reassess.
Fresh Projects is designed to fit the way architects and engineers actually work, without forcing teams into complex ERP systems.
See how it works in practice with a free demo.
I have a complicated relationship with Excel.
I love it because it is one of the most powerful and flexible tools ever created.
I hate it because I understand its limitations all too well.
That understanding, learned the hard way, is what ultimately led me to build project financial management software specifically for architects and engineers. Not to replace good thinking, but to remove unnecessary complexity from day-to-day work.
Why Excel feels indispensable to architects and engineers
Excel can do almost anything.
As a teenager, I built an Excel workbook used to capture the quantity, species and location of wild animals spotted from helicopters. That data was aggregated and extrapolated to support wildlife population management.
In my twenties, I developed an Excel system with thousands of lines of VBA code to configure over 100,000 networked DALI light fittings at Heathrow Terminal 5. That spreadsheet replaced what would otherwise have required a team of twenty people. We even won an international DALI award for it.
In my thirties, I built another Excel system to track and compile thousands of documents required for Green Star building certification. The spreadsheet automatically collated, stamped and bookmarked PDFs into a single submission file. A team of three consultants could do the work of thirty.
So yes, I know Excel.
Why Excel starts to fail as practices grow
And it is precisely because I know Excel so well that I understand where it breaks down.
Excel’s greatest strength is flexibility.
Excel’s greatest weakness is also flexibility.
I have seen carefully engineered spreadsheets fall apart because:
A column was deleted
A row was added in the wrong place
A file was duplicated on a server
Different versions were emailed around
A formula referenced the wrong range
Broken links. Conflicting data. Confusion.
This is manageable in small teams. It becomes risky in 50–100 person architecture and engineering practices, where multiple offices, disciplines and senior stakeholders rely on the same information.
Excel Hell in architecture and engineering firms
Many mid-sized A&E firms still rely on spreadsheets to manage:
Timesheets
Expenses
Leave balances
Project fee calculations
Leads and opportunities
Invoices
Outstanding debt
Individually, each spreadsheet may be logical. Collectively, they create friction.
Data is duplicated. Information is re-entered. Errors creep in. Senior staff spend time reconciling numbers instead of making decisions.
And mistakes cost money.
One widely cited study found that 88 percent of spreadsheets contain errors. In a well-known Harvard economics study, the average spreadsheet formula referenced the wrong data range.
In a practice where profitability margins are already tight, that risk compounds quickly.
The real problem is not Excel. It is visibility.
Spreadsheets are not inherently bad. The problem is relying on them as the backbone of operational and financial management in complex organisations.
As firms grow, what they need is:
Consistency
Shared definitions
Controlled data structures
One version of the truth
This is where spreadsheets struggle.
Why a single source of truth works better
In my own work, I eventually rewrote those complex spreadsheets as purpose-built software. The flexibility was reduced, but the reliability increased dramatically.
Boundaries can be helpful.
Constraints create consistency.
Platforms designed for a specific purpose, built on a single database, eliminate many of the issues that spreadsheets introduce. They reduce duplication, remove ambiguity and make reporting trustworthy.
This principle is especially important for architecture practice management software, where project, time, cost and financial data must align.
How Fresh Projects replaces spreadsheet chaos
Fresh Projects was built specifically for architecture and engineering practices.
It replaces disconnected spreadsheets with:
Integrated project financial management
Clear visibility across teams and offices
Consistent, reliable data for decision-making
The result is fewer errors, less admin and better insight into project profitability, forecasting and performance.
You still get flexibility where it matters, without the fragility that comes with spreadsheet-led systems.
And that is something I genuinely love.
How to see it in practice
If your firm is still relying on spreadsheets to manage projects, fees and forecasting, it may be time to reassess.
Fresh Projects is designed to fit the way architects and engineers actually work, without forcing teams into complex ERP systems.
See how it works in practice with a free demo.
Published:
Published:
Why Reporting Still Leaves Architecture and Engineering Firms Guessing
Why Reporting Still Leaves Architecture and Engineering Firms Guessing
Why Reporting Still Leaves Architecture and Engineering Firms Guessing
Inside many built environment firms, meetings meant for decisions quietly turn into debates about the numbers on the page.
Inside many built environment firms, meetings meant for decisions quietly turn into debates about the numbers on the page.
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If One Office Says “That’s Not How We Do It”, Leadership is Flying Blind
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In many built environment consultancies, reporting technically works. The challenge is that clarity often arrives after the moment when it would have influenced action.
In many built environment consultancies, reporting technically works. The challenge is that clarity often arrives after the moment when it would have influenced action.
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Why Reporting Still Slows Down Established Firms Delivering Services in the Built Environment
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Even with reporting systems in place, many architecture, engineering and quantity surveying firms find that insight arrives too late to influence decisions during delivery.
Even with reporting systems in place, many architecture, engineering and quantity surveying firms find that insight arrives too late to influence decisions during delivery.
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How to Compare Practice Management Tools for Architect and Engineering Firms in 2026
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Choosing a practice management system is no longer about feature lists. This guide explains how architecture and engineering firms should compare tools in 2026, focusing on adoption, usability and decision-making rather than complexity.
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Autumn Budget 2025: What It Means for Architecture and Engineering Firms
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Implications for resourcing, margins and medium-term planning
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How Larger Architecture and Engineering Firms Stay Profitable in a Slower Construction Market
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What 50–100 person practices are tightening up when pipelines soften
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Why Traditional Reporting is Holding A&E Firms Back
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Spreadsheets in A&E Firms: Usage, Key Features, and Underappreciated Gems
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A practical guide to using Excel and Sheets well, and knowing when to graduate to purpose-built systems without losing the flexibility you love.
A practical guide to using Excel and Sheets well, and knowing when to graduate to purpose-built systems without losing the flexibility you love.
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Breaking Barriers in AEC: Meet the Women Driving Fresh Projects
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Why representation, visibility and better systems matter for the future of architecture and engineering
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Legacy Firms, Future Focus: Why Architecture’s Crossroads Is a Leadership Moment
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How firm leaders can protect margin, prepare successors and modernise delivery without losing what made them successful
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Outgrowing Spreadsheets: 5 Ways to Maintain Profitability as Your Firm Grows
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How architecture and engineering practices protect margin as teams and project complexity increase
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The Profitability Pyramid: Where UK Architecture Firms Make and Lose Money
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Understanding the real drivers of financial performance for medium and large practices over the past year
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3 Lessons to Help You Run a More Profitable Practice
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Practical insights from A&E leaders on spotting profit risks early, communicating value, and protecting margins
Practical insights from A&E leaders on spotting profit risks early, communicating value, and protecting margins
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Embracing Neurodiversity in Architecture
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How inclusive practice design can unlock creativity, innovation and operational clarity
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Profitable Projects: Winning the Right Projects in AEC
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How to qualify leads, focus your pipeline and forecast success more confidently
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Profitable Projects: The Art of Cashflow Alchemy in AEC
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How architecture and engineering firms can turn unpredictable cash flow into a strategic advantage
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Profitable Projects: A Three-Part Series on AEC Profitability - Setting the Right Fee for Success
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Why bottom-up fee setting, clear scope and real-time cost visibility underpin profitable projects
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How Firm Management Tools for Architects and Engineers Drastically Increase Profits
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Why better visibility across projects, people and finances is now essential for sustainable practice performance
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How to Manage Inflation on Architecture Projects
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Practical ways to protect fees and margins when costs change mid-project
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An Architect’s Guide to Project Budgeting
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How to build realistic, profitable project budgets that support better pricing and delivery
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An Architect’s Guide to Managing Scope Creep
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How to protect fees, margins and client relationships when projects change
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Improve Project Profitability: An Architect’s Guide
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Practical ways architecture practices can protect margins and make better commercial decisions
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Pricing Methods for Architects: How to Price Architecture Services
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When to use hourly rates, fixed fees or percentage pricing, and how to choose with confidence
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Calculate Your Cost Rate in 3 Simple Steps
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Why understanding your true cost rate is the foundation of profitable fees, resourcing and decision-making
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I Love Excel. I Hate Excel.
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Why spreadsheets break down in 50–100 person architecture and engineering practices, and what works better
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Fresh Projects is a UK-based software platform designed for architects, engineers, and other built-environment professionals to manage financial aspects of their projects. It helps teams track fees, timesheets, expenses, billing, and overall profitability to keep projects on budget and profitable. The platform also centralises project data, streamlines administrative tasks, and offers mobile app support for easy access and updates.
1a Colinette Road
London
SW15 6QG
© 2026 Fresh Projects
Product
