Harvest works for AEC firms in theory but misses the structural primitives — no phase concept, no change orders as first-class, no per-discipline utilization splits. Tempough has all three.
Architecture, engineering, and construction firms have project structures shaped by AIA standard contract phases (schematic design → design development → construction documents → bidding → construction administration) where each phase is its own fixed-fee chunk that bills on completion percentage rather than rolling hours. The standard practice is to allocate the full project fee proportionally across phases (rough AIA defaults: 15% SD, 20% DD, 40% CD, 5% bidding, 20% CA) and then track actuals against each. Harvest has no concept of phases, so AEC firms running it have to run "phase-as-project" with all the reporting clutter that creates. Tempough's phases are first-class containers with their own budget, billing model, and milestone triggers — and change orders adjust phase budgets without losing the baseline, which is exactly the structure AEC owner-architect agreements assume. Combined with cost rates per discipline (principal vs licensed architect vs intern), the resulting margin reports give firms the per-phase, per-discipline profitability view that drives both individual-project decisions and longer-term fee-setting.
Not a generic critique — the specific places architecture, engineering & construction firms typically run into the wall.
AEC projects are phase-gated (SD, DD, CD, CA). Harvest projects are flat. You can simulate phases as tasks, but task hours don't roll up like phase hours do — you lose phase-level burn tracking and phase-based billing triggers.
AEC change orders are the most-litigated artifact in the industry. Harvest has no first-class concept; you log them as project notes and lose the budget/scope/audit trail. Tempough's change orders are objects with their own history and reporting.
A firm with architects, interior designers, and structural engineers needs to see utilization per discipline (those are different fee-earner pools with different target ratios). Harvest can't group reports this way. Tempough's Teams (Team Pro) does.
Tracking subconsultant costs for client pass-through is standard AEC. Harvest expenses work but the pass-through markup + invoice integration is manual. Tempough handles this in the expense → invoice flow without rekeying.
The same surface, audience-tailored to what architecture, engineering & construction firms actually need.
AIA-style phases (SD, DD, CD, CA) with their own dates, hours budgets, and status. Phase-based billing triggers — auto-draft an invoice when SD completes.
Logged on the project with scope/hours/budget delta. Margin reports include them. Audit log records approval. The artifact your contract administrator actually needs.
Teams + Team Leads scope reports per discipline. Architecture utilization separate from structural separate from interiors. The data your partner meeting actually runs on.
Expense entries flag for client rebill, appear on the next invoice with markup. Standard AEC workflow handled inside the same tool — no manual Excel reconciliation.
Team covers cost rates, margin reports, approvals, phases, and change orders. Team Pro adds team groupings for discipline splits (architecture vs. structural vs. interiors) + branded invoices + document distribution (handbooks, policies, MSA acknowledgment). AEC firms over 8 staff typically land on Team Pro.
Why teams leave Harvest, audience-agnostic.
Audience-specific tour of the feature surface.
Step-by-step walkthrough — most teams finish in under an hour.
Two-week trial. No credit card. Full feature set.