How does the platform connect sales with project management?

Once a proposal is approved and the contract is finalized, the platform can automatically create a new project and transfer relevant information such as client details, project information, scope, approved proposals, contract details, initial discussions, and site information into the project workflow.

How are design approvals managed?

Each predefined design stage includes a mandatory Design Gate Approval. The workflow is designed to prevent the project from moving to the next design stage until the required approvals for the current stage have been completed.

Can site visits be managed through the platform?

Yes. The platform requirements include site visit scheduling, team member assignment, mobile capture of site information, photograph uploads, written notes, voice notes, and linking collected information directly to the relevant client or project.

How is AI used in the site visit management workflow?

AI-assisted functionality is planned to convert information collected during site visits into structured Site Visit Reports containing site observations, photographs, notes, recommendations, and action points.

Can freelancers access the project management platform?

Yes. The system is designed to provide freelancers with restricted access so they can view and work only on the projects or tasks assigned to them.

Does the platform support resource capacity planning?

Yes. The platform is intended to help management review current team workload, available resources, assigned projects, future capacity, resource distribution, and project scheduling before accepting or planning new projects.

Custom Project Management & Digital Operations Platform for Architecture & Interior Design Firms

We designed a centralized project management and digital operations platform for architecture and interior design businesses to streamline sales, client management, site visits, design workflows, project execution, approvals, resources, documents, and reporting. This custom business management platform enables management and project teams to manage enquiries, proposals, contracts, design stages, tasks, resources, and project activities within one structured system. Built around connected workflows and role-based operations, the platform improves collaboration, reduces dependency on manual tracking, and provides better visibility across the complete client-to-project lifecycle.

6 Months

UAE

Custom Project Management & Digital Operations Platform for Architecture & Interior Design Firms

What Is a Project Management & Digital Operations Platform?

A project management and digital operations platform is a centralized system that helps architecture and interior design businesses manage client enquiries, site visits, proposals, contracts, design stages, approvals, projects, tasks, documents, resources, communication, and reporting within one connected workflow.

Project Brief

The Project Management & Digital Operations Platform is a centralized, web-based solution designed to streamline sales, design workflows, project execution, resource management, and operational reporting for architecture and interior design businesses. The system connects CRM, site visits, proposals, contracts, design stages, projects, documents, approvals, and team activities within one structured environment.

The objective was to create a unified digital operating platform that allows management, designers, project teams, finance, and external resources to collaborate efficiently while maintaining clear roles and permissions. The platform ensures continuity from client enquiry through project delivery, reduces duplicate data entry, improves cross-department visibility, and supports more structured business operations.

Technologies

React JS
Next JS
Node JS
AI/ML
TypeScript
PostgreSQL
Auth.js
AWS

Client's Need

The client needed a centralized digital platform that could connect sales, design, project execution, site activities, approvals, documents, and resource planning in one structured workflow. The system had to manage client enquiries, CRM records, communication history, follow-ups, proposals, quotations, contracts, and automatic project creation after approval.

For site visits, teams needed mobile access to capture photos, written notes, and voice notes, with AI-assisted generation of structured site visit reports containing observations, recommendations, and action points.

The design workflow required dedicated stages for client briefs, layout planning, concept design, design development, final drawings, and project close-out, supported by mandatory Design Gate approvals.

The platform also needed project planning, milestones, tasks, deadlines, progress tracking, centralized document management, and notifications. In addition, management required visibility into team workloads, resource availability, freelancer assignments, future capacity, and project scheduling to support better operational and resource-planning decisions.

Build a Digital Operating System Around Your Actual Business Workflow

Architecture and interior design businesses rarely struggle because they lack another standalone task management tool. The larger challenge is connecting client enquiries, site visits, proposals, contracts, design approvals, drawings, tasks, resources, deadlines, communication, and management reporting into one structured workflow.

A custom digital operations platform can bring those activities together while preserving the processes that are specific to the organization.

Kanhasoft can help with workflow discovery, business analysis, UI/UX planning, architecture design, custom project management software development, integrations, testing, deployment, and ongoing enhancement.

Discuss your project management and digital operations requirements with Kanhasoft.

Challenges

Disconnected Business Workflows: Sales, design, project execution, operations, and finance relied on separate processes, creating repeated data transfers and limited cross-department visibility.

Manual Tracking Dependency: Projects, tasks, approvals, and resource assignments were difficult to monitor consistently without structured workflows and centralized dashboards.

Design Approval Control: Lack of mandatory approval gates could allow design stages to progress before required internal or client approvals were completed.

Limited Resource Visibility: Designers, project managers, technical staff, and freelancers worked across multiple projects, making workload balancing and capacity planning difficult.

Scattered Project Documentation: Drawings, approvals, reports, comments, and project records stored across different locations reduced accessibility and project visibility.

Freelancer Access Management: External resources required controlled access to assigned projects and tasks without exposing unrelated business information.

Unstructured Site Visit Information: Photos, notes, voice recordings, observations, and action points collected during site visits needed to be converted into structured, project-linked reports.

A centralized project management and digital operations platform helps architecture and interior design businesses standardize workflows, control approvals, manage resources, centralize project information, and improve visibility across the complete client-to-project lifecycle.

Solutions

Unified CRM-to-Project Workflow: Connect client enquiries, CRM follow-ups, site visits, proposals, approvals, contracts, automatic project creation, design management, project execution, and project close-out within one continuous workflow.

Automatic Project Creation: Once a contract is finalized, the system creates the project and carries relevant client, scope, proposal, contract, discussion, and site information into the project workspace.

Stage-Based Design Management: Manage each design stage through dedicated workspaces containing tasks, documents, comments, communication, progress updates, and approval status.

Mandatory Design Gate Approvals: Prevent projects from progressing to the next design stage until required approvals have been completed.

Centralized Project Management: Manage project timelines, milestones, responsibilities, tasks, deadlines, communication, documents, and progress from one platform.

Automated Notifications & Reminders: Generate alerts for pending approvals, upcoming deadlines, assigned tasks, and delayed activities.

Resource & Capacity Management: Monitor team workloads, project assignments, resource availability, and future capacity to support better allocation decisions.

Role-Based Access Control: Provide controlled permissions for Managing Directors, Design Directors, Project Managers, Interior Designers, CAD Technicians, Finance Teams, Administrators, and Freelancers.

Centralized Document & Activity Management: Keep drawings, approvals, reports, comments, project records, and related activities connected with the appropriate project.

This solution demonstrates how custom CRM development and custom ERP development can be combined to create a structured digital operations platform for architecture and interior design businesses.

Key Features

Client enquiry management

Centralized CRM and client profiles

Client communication history

Follow-up tracking

Site visit scheduling

Team member assignment

Mobile site information capture

Site photographs

Written and voice notes

AI-assisted Site Visit Reports

Proposal and quotation management

Quotation revision history

Internal proposal approval workflows

Contract management

Signed document storage

Automatic project creation

Sales-to-project data transfer

Design stage management

Mandatory Design Gate approvals

Project planning

Project timelines

Milestone management

Task assignment

Task deadlines

Progress monitoring

Delay identification

Centralized drawing and document management

Project comments and discussions

Activity tracking

Automated notifications

Deadline reminders

Team workload management

Resource allocation

Freelancer management

Restricted freelancer permissions

Resource capacity planning

KPI monitoring

Management dashboards

Role-based access control

Search and filtering

Audit history

Mobile-responsive interface

Integration capabilities

Architecture & Scalability

The platform is designed as a centralized digital operating system connecting sales, design, projects, operations, resources, and management reporting.

Role-based permissions create controlled experiences for different departments and external users.

Workflow automation and Design Gate approvals provide process governance, while centralized project and document management creates a consistent information structure.

The platform also requires search, filtering, audit history, mobile-responsive access, notifications, and integration capabilities.

The final software architecture and technology stack will be determined during the system design phase based on confirmed requirements and future scalability considerations.

The documented development approach includes business analysis, system design, software development, testing, user acceptance testing, deployment, training, technical documentation, and go-live support.

Results & Business Impact

The completed project management and digital operations platform is expected to deliver several key business improvements:

Standardized workflows across sales, design, project execution, operations, finance, and external resources
Better visibility into project timelines, milestones, tasks, approvals, and overall progress
Improved resource planning through workload, availability, and capacity visibility
Reduced dependency on spreadsheets, manual tracking, and individual follow-ups
Better collaboration between management, designers, project managers, finance teams, technical staff, and freelancers
Real-time dashboards and KPI monitoring for more informed operational and financial decisions
Centralized project data, documents, activities, and communication
A scalable digital operating model designed to support future business growth with more structured and consistent processes

Use Cases

A platform with this structure can be suitable for:

Architecture firms
Interior design studios
Design and build companies
Engineering consultancies
Construction design teams
Project-based professional service businesses
Companies managing internal and freelance resources
Businesses requiring stage-based approvals
Organizations replacing spreadsheets and disconnected project tools
Companies needing integrated CRM and project management

Frequently Asked Questions

The platform can centralize client enquiries, CRM activities, site visits, proposals, contracts, design workflows, project timelines, milestones, tasks, drawings, approvals, documents, resources, communication, notifications, and management reporting within one structured system.

Once a proposal has been approved and the contract is finalized, the platform can automatically create a project. Relevant information including client details, project scope, approved proposals, contracts, initial discussions, and site information can move from the sales stage into the project workflow.

The proposed design workflow uses mandatory Design Gate Approvals. Each design stage must receive the required approval before users can progress to the next stage. This provides greater control over the design lifecycle and helps maintain a structured approval process.

Yes. Users can schedule site visits, assign responsible team members, capture information using mobile devices, upload photographs, add written notes or voice notes, and associate the information with the appropriate client or project.

AI-assisted functionality is proposed for site visit reporting. The system can use collected photographs, observations, notes, recommendations, and action points to help generate a structured Site Visit Report linked with the respective client or project.

Yes. Freelancers can receive restricted access based on their assigned projects or tasks. This allows external resources to participate in project workflows without receiving unnecessary access to other projects or internal company information.

Yes. Management should be able to review current workload, resource availability, assigned projects, future capacity, and resource distribution. This provides useful information before accepting new projects or assigning additional work.

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