Built for firms that sell their time.
Different firms feel the same pain in different places. Here is how each kind of firm uses Cadence, and what a week looks like once it does.
Design, architecture and engineering firms
Practices running long, multi-phase commissions with many contributors and client sign-offs at each stage.
Phases drift into each other before the handover is done, fee burn is only noticed at month end, and every variation is argued about after the fact.
How Cadence handles it
- Your own stage template (Brief, Concept, Design, Delivery, Close) applied to every project
- A gate on each phase: checklist, sign-offs and documents before the next stage starts
- Clients sign off phases and approve variations in the client portal
- Fee burn per phase against progress, with alerts at 75, 90 and 100 percent
- Variations costed and approved before the work, then billed
A week in Cadence
- MondayThe lead sees Concept at 82% of its fee and 70% complete, and moves a designer across.
- WednesdayThe client approves a variation for an extra floor plate in the portal; the budget updates.
- FridayThe Concept handover note drafts itself from the checklist; the client signs it off and Design opens.
Agencies and creative studios
Teams juggling retainers, sprints and one-off campaigns for many clients at once.
Retainers quietly overrun, people are double-booked across clients, and nobody can say which accounts actually make money.
How Cadence handles it
- Retainers, sprints and fixed-fee jobs side by side, each with its own budget
- A planner that shows who is free and warns before anyone is over capacity
- Retainer invoices drafted on the day, every month
- Margin by client, project and service from the same time entries
- A daily check-in digest instead of a status meeting
A week in Cadence
- MondayThe AI summary of last week's check-ins shows two blockers on one account; the lead clears them by ten.
- TuesdayA new pitch is pencilled in on the planner; nobody's confirmed work is disturbed.
- 1st of the monthRetainer drafts are waiting for Finance; the margin report goes to the partners.
Consultancies and professional services
Advisory, IT and engineering consultancies billing time and materials against rate cards.
Utilisation, timesheets and invoices disagree, unbilled hours are found months late, and staffing depends on whoever shouts loudest.
How Cadence handles it
- Timesheets with approvals, locked once approved
- Rate cards by role, client and project; the most specific wins
- Unbilled work in one list, oldest first, invoiced in a click
- Staffing suggestions ranked by skills, availability and client experience
- Utilisation against each role's target, by person and team
A week in Cadence
- MondayLast week's timesheets are approved from one queue.
- WednesdayA new engagement needs two data analysts; Suggest people ranks who fits and who's free.
- FridayFinance drafts invoices from approved time, rewords the lines for the client, and syncs them to Xero.
Freelancers and independent consultants
One person doing the work, chasing the money and running the business.
Hours live in one app, budgets in a spreadsheet and invoices in another tool, and it all has to be reconciled by hand.
How Cadence handles it
- A timer and weekly timesheet in a few taps
- Budgets per project with alerts before you overrun
- Invoices straight from your logged time and milestones
- A short pipeline of opportunities and proposals
- Everything in one place, exportable at any time
A week in Cadence
- DailyStart the timer, log the work, see how much of the budget is left.
- ThursdayA proposal drafted with AI from last month's estimate is signed from its link; the project is created from it.
- Month endOne click turns the month's approved time into an invoice.
Founders, partners and finance
The people who need to know where the business is heading, not just where it's been.
Numbers arrive late, from three sources, and don't agree; nobody trusts the forecast.
How Cadence handles it
- A partner dashboard: weighted pipeline, next three months, cash to invoice, margin
- A revenue forecast from booked work and the weighted pipeline
- This quarter against your usual, with anything worse flagged
- Reports emailed weekly or monthly, or shared by a read-only link
- Ask the Business Analyst about your own figures in plain language
A week in Cadence
- Monday 07:00The analyst's weekly briefing and last week's report are in the inbox.
- TuesdayBenchmarks flag projects over budget above usual; the partners review estimating.
- Quarter endThe forecast, margin and cash position are ready without a reconciliation.
Groups and multi-entity firms
Organisations with several business units, many teams and a security review to pass.
Each unit runs its own tools, access is managed by hand, and group-wide reporting is a quarterly project.
How Cadence handles it
- Business units and teams, with every report filterable by either
- Single sign-on, required two-step sign-in and an audit log
- Roles you can reshape, with rates and margins hidden from those who shouldn't see them
- Group-wide utilisation and profitability from the same data
- Owner-controlled data export at any time
A week in Cadence
- OnboardingSingle sign-on is connected; new joiners sign in with their work account.
- MonthlyEach unit's margin is reviewed side by side.
- AuditSign-ins, approvals and overrides are on record for the retention period.
See it with your own projects.
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