From fog to foresight: How CMap gives AEC firms the visibility they need

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Silos & blind spots

The reality of data inside today's AEC firm

Most AEC firms didn’t plan to operate with siloed systems. But as firms evolve, so do their tech stacks: a mix of legacy project tools, standalone accounting software, spreadsheets for resource planning and forecasting, and custom reports hand-built by someone who didn’t really have the time.

Each tool may solve a problem in isolation, but none deliver a complete, reliable view of your business - just key performance data left stranded across multiple systems, with no clear way to get the insights you need see the bigger picture.

Why Visibility Matters

• Drive strategic growth: Quickly identify which projects and sectors are most profitable to inform future business development efforts.

• Get a single source of truth: Ensure every team member is working with the same accurate, live data to eliminate discrepancies & confusion.

• Mitigate project risks: Proactively spot cost overruns and scheduling conflicts before they derail budgets and timelines.

• Optimize Resource Allocation: Ensure the right people are on the right projects at the right time to maximize utilization and revenue.

• Improve Cash Flow Forecasting: Predict financial health with greater accuracy by integrating project completion milestones and billing cycles.

• Ensure Consistency: Generate standardized reports instantly across the organization, ensuring your KPIs are tracked and easily understood.

‍Want to find out exactly what you should be tracking? Download our better business visibility guide for the metrics you really need to watch.

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Introducing CMap AEC Edition

Operations & intelligence platform built for the way AEC firms actually work

CMap AEC Edition is an easy-to-use operations and intelligence platform that gives you a single source of truth for your firm’s operations, from pipeline to project delivery to cash collection and much more. It brings together every piece of critical information you and your teams need to see: what’s being worked on, what’s earning profit, and what’s putting it at risk.

Unlike generic project management systems, CMap AEC Edition is built specifically for how architects, engineers, and construction professionals run projects. It understands your project stages, workflows, contracts, contacts and  margins, and gives you real-time insight into what’s really happening behind the scenes.

The result is visibility that drives smarter decisions: business leaders who can see the road ahead, project managers who can stay on top of scope and cost, and architects & engineers who can focus on delivering projects that delight your clients.

Next, we’ll show you how that visibility comes to life, through dashboards, reports, and analysis built to keep every project on track.

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Real-time dashboards

Your leadership command centre

CMap’s dashboards offer a live, interactive window into your entire business, bringing together the most important metrics and insights in one place. Rather than toggling between disconnected systems or waiting for manual reports, leadership can tailor dashboards to focus on the information that matters most to their roles, whether that’s project profitability, resourcing, pipeline, or risk.

See only what matters

Quickly access pre-built dashboards designed for what architecture and engineering leaders really need, or customize your own dashboards so you always see the insights most relevant to you and your business.

Single source of truth

Keep everyone aligned with a single, unified set of data. Dashboards ensure your entire team is working from the same up-to-date information, driving consistent decisions across the business.

Real-time updates

Metrics update instantly as work happens, no more waiting for reports or juggling spreadsheets, giving a clear, current view of your entire business at any moment.

Want to see CMap in action? Watch our real-time business insights demo to see how CMap turns complex data into powerful dashboards, reports and insights.

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Advanced reporting

The answers you need, without the waiting

CMap’s advanced reporting puts powerful, flexible analytics directly in you & your teams hands, with no technical expertise required. Quickly build, customize, and export reports on every facet of your business performance, from individual project details to a comprehensive view across your entire portfolio and departments, all without wrestling with spreadsheets.

Deeper insights

Surface the insights you need, from pipeline, forecasting, WIP, cashflow, resources, invoicing, and more. Drill down into the details and spot trends to make smarter, data-driven decisions for your business.

From boardroom to client

Build specific & relevant reports for any audience, whenever you need them, from in-depth board packs and investors to client updates and team meetings.

Ready-made & custom reports

Save time with ready-made reports purpose-built for the needs of architecture & engineering leaders, or build bespoke reports for unique business questions.

See how Make Architects gained greater visibility into their operations with CMap - read our case study.

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Insights & analysis

From data points to business decisions

Dashboards and reports become truly powerful when they drive action, not just awareness. CMap enhances this with analytics tools that reveal patterns, highlight outliers, and surface the critical signals often hidden in day-to-day data. You can move beyond rear-view analysis to anticipate what’s coming; with intuitive visualizations & predictive insights, CMap helps you understand not just what’s happened, but what’s likely to happen next, and crucially, why.

Exception alerts

Automatically receive alerts when key projects or performance metrics fall outside of your set targets, allowing you to catch overruns, low utilization, or margin drops and intervene before they affect your business.

Early risk detection

Clearly visualize risk indicators across your business - such as the essential Red, Amber, Green (RAG) status - so you & your team can intervene before issues affect delivery, efficiency or profitability.

Process and efficiency analysis

Reveal hidden bottlenecks and inefficiencies so you can streamline operations, improve operational efficiency and boost project outcomes.

Get expert insights on managing risk in our webinar in partnership with Architects' Journal - watch our webinar today.

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Customer stories

20+ years of helping firms just like yours

Knowledge is power. If you can't analyze the data, you don't know whether you are making money or losing money. Every firm should be using a system such as CMap.

Chris Parker. Resident Architects, Founding Director. | Read the full case study.

CMap stands out from the others on the market because of the fresh modern look of it. It's self-explanatory and it's an adaptable system. It has a very easy-to-use feel.

Tanya Quelch. Global Business Systems Manager, Grimshaw. | Read the full case study.‍

Without CMap, we would be keeping data in spreadsheets, and we wouldn’t have live, actionable information. Plus, we’d have to employ several people to manage processes that CMap handles so well.

Jenny Dunseath-Franklin. Director, Axis Mason. | Read the full case study.‍

The reports that CMap produces are extremely important to our operations, it’s the transparency of financial information that gives us up-to-the-minute details concerning the state of our business.

Aimee Rutherford. Partner, Michaelis Boyd. | Read the full case study.

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Beyond visibility

Your complete operations & intelligence platform

CMap doesn’t stop at dashboards, reports, and business intelligence, better business visibility is just the beginning. CMap’s easy-to-use operations & intelligence platform helps you act fast and decisively, with confidence in every decision and knowing that every part of your operations works together in one place.

Here’s what else CMap brings to the table:

• Resourcing: Easily allocate the right people to the right project, track utilization , and plan capacity vs demand.

• Project Management: Track, collaborate, and manage deliverables, milestones, and dependencies from one hub.

• Fee-Estimation: Create accurate, profitable proposals backed by real project data and powered by AI-driven insights.

• Billing & Invoicing: Streamline your invoicing process and eliminate errors with billing built directly from your project data.

• CRM: Manage relationships, track opportunities, nurture key clients, and see the full picture in one place.

• HR & People: Take control of essential HR functions, and keep your people data, certifications, and skills, and more within CMap.

• Timesheets & Expenses: Capture project expenses and timesheets effortlessly and eliminate the need for manual data re-entry.

• Project Information: Centralize your project documents, drawings, and transmittals, so everyone stays on the same page.

• Email Management: File, find and manage you project emails instantly, directly from New or Classic Microsoft Outlook.

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Ready to see how CMap can help your business? 

‍Book a demo with our team today, and we'll create a personalized demo to show you how CMap can help you see your business more clearly, streamline project delivery and strengthen your bottom line.