Industry · Architecture, engineering and construction
Bill work sooner and see project margin while it can still change
An architecture or engineering design firm sells its people’s time phase by phase, and a specialty contractor builds the job and services it after handover. Both are Service Operations that lose margin between the signed contract and the paid invoice. Ludia Consulting is a Microsoft solutions integrator focused on Service Operations, and our senior consultants connect projects, people, and billing on Microsoft Dynamics 365. Your project managers see fee burn or cost-to-complete every week, and your people run it without us.
Sources: Associated Builders and Contractors, Construction Backlog Indicator, Sept 2026; Associated General Contractors of America, 2026 workforce survey, Sept 2026; AGC analysis of BLS producer prices, Sept 2026; AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index, July 2026. Ludia’s own numbers: a Dynamics 365 Sales estate of several hundred users under fixed-fee managed support at one electrical contractor and engineering firm, with a four-hour response on priority-one issues.
AEC firms lose margin between the signed contract and the paid invoice
Contractors rarely lack work, and design firms are working through a long slowdown. What costs both the year is margin that slips after signing: fade on a job, a phase that burns its fee early, hours nobody billed.
ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator stood at 8.5 months in August 2026. The crews are harder to find. In AGC’s 2026 survey, 88% of contractors with craft openings said those roles were as hard or harder to fill than a year ago.
Materials moved too. Input prices for nonresidential construction rose 8.9% in the year to August 2026. Fixed-price jobs bid last year absorb that difference, unless cost-to-complete shows it before the next pay app.
Design firms feel the slowdown first. The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index was 46.6 in July 2026, below 50 for nearly three and a half years. With billings soft, every phase that runs over its fee comes straight out of margin.
And the project and the invoice often run apart. The controller rebuilds the WIP from exports, and a design firm’s project manager learns the fee is spent when the monthly report arrives.
Design firms and contractors make money differently and lose it in the same places
A design firm’s margin rides on its people’s hours; a contractor’s rides on the job and the service work after it. Both leak at the handoffs.
Architecture and engineering design firms
Sell hours by phase and bill by fee type
Pursuits, fees by phase, staffing, time, consultants, and construction administration on site. The CFO watches utilization, unbilled work, and the net multiplier.
Specialty and MEP contractors
Build the job, then service what they built
Bids, crews, change orders, pay apps, and retainage, then service agreements after handover. The CFO watches fade and the WIP the surety reads.
What both need
One set of numbers from the contract to the paid invoice
The project manager’s forecast and the controller’s books agree. A firm that designs and builds runs both on one platform.
A contractor earns its margin between the bid and the paid invoice
Estimating, the field, service, and accounting can each hit their numbers while the job fades. We connect the six links, so the job, the crew, and the invoice agree.
- 1 · Bid and project setup
Project Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
Finance (opens Microsoft’s site)The estimate becomes the budget, cost codes intact
Your estimators keep their trade estimating tool. The result lands in the project budget and schedule of values, so productivity is measured from day one.
Agents at work: estimators ask knowledge agents built in
Copilot Studio for past job costs on similar work, and still set the price. - 2 · Project delivery and installationProject Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
Field Service (opens Microsoft’s site)Cost-to-complete current every week
Field progress and pending change orders reach the forecast as they happen, so the project manager sees fade while it can still be recovered.
Agents at work: project managers approve time and expenses with the
Project Operations Approvals Agent (preview), and own the forecast. - 3 · Service and maintenance after handoverField Service (opens Microsoft’s site)
Customer Service (opens Microsoft’s site)The job you installed becomes a service agreement
At handover, the installed equipment and its warranty move to service. Agreements create planned-maintenance work orders on schedule.
Agents at work: dispatchers review schedules drafted by the Scheduling Operations Agent (preview, not for production use yet) and keep the final call.
- 4 · MobilityField Service (opens Microsoft’s site)
Power Apps (opens Microsoft’s site)Time, photos, and parts captured on site, even offline
Foremen and technicians record hours by cost code, readings, and photos on a phone, before they leave the job.
Agents at work: crews draft time entries with the Project Operations Time Entry Agent (preview), and confirm each one before it’s submitted.
- 5 · Materials and equipment
Supply Chain Management (opens Microsoft’s site)Material on the job before the crew needs it
Purchase orders are committed against the job, and truck stock is tracked like a warehouse, so every part used is a part billed.
Agents at work: buyers let the Procurement Agent (preview) chase late supplier orders, then decide what to expedite.
- 6 · Job cost and billingFinance (opens Microsoft’s site)Project Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
A WIP your surety trusts, and service billed the same day
Labor, material, and subcontract costs post to the job as they’re incurred, so the WIP comes straight from the books.
Agents at work: controllers use the Finance Agent for reconciliation and collections follow-up, and still sign off on the WIP.
Across every link
Agents take the entries and follow-ups between the job site, the service truck, and the office; your people make the calls. See the connected Service Operation →
Underneath it all
Azure (opens Microsoft’s site)
Microsoft Foundry (opens Microsoft’s site)
Dataverse (opens Microsoft’s site)
Microsoft Azure is the secure cloud every link runs on: identity, integration with the systems you keep, and the data that ties them together. In Microsoft Foundry we build, test, and govern the custom AI agents and models your operation needs beyond the ones inside Dynamics 365. They work from your own data and are evaluated before they touch the work. How we build AI →
A design firm earns its fee between the go/no-go and the paid invoice
Principals, studios, and accounting can each do their part while a phase burns its fee. We connect the six links, so the fee, the hours, and the invoice agree.
- 1 · Pursuit and proposal
Sales (opens Microsoft’s site)Project Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)The fee you propose becomes the budget by phase
The fee is built by phase and role, whether fixed, hourly, or a percentage of construction cost, and carries into the project budget when you win.
Agents at work: principals ask knowledge agents built in Copilot Studio for hours and fees on similar past projects, and make the go/no-go call themselves.
- 2 · Project setup and staffingProject Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
Every phase staffed before its deadline
Projects are set up by phase: schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding, and construction administration. Resource managers book people by skill, license, and availability.
Agents at work: studio leads ask a Copilot Studio agent who is free next week with the right license, and still decide who works on what.
- 3 · Time and expensesProject Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
Fee burn current every Monday
Architects and engineers enter time by phase from a phone or Teams, so project managers see a phase running hot before it runs over.
Agents at work: staff draft time and expense entries with the Project Operations Time Entry and Expense agents (preview), and confirm each one before it’s submitted.
- 4 · Construction administrationPower Apps (opens Microsoft’s site)Project Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
Site visit reports out the same day, with photos
Construction administrators record observations, photos, and punch-list items on a tablet during the walk. The visit’s hours land on the phase.
Agents at work: on site, they ask a knowledge agent built in Copilot Studio for the spec section or submittal history, and sign the field report themselves.
- 5 · Consultants and reimbursablesProject Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)Finance (opens Microsoft’s site)
Consultant costs and reimbursables reach the client invoice
Consultant invoices match to their subcontracts on the project, and reimbursables are marked billable when entered, so pass-through costs go out on the next invoice.
Agents at work: project managers approve expenses with the Project Operations Approvals Agent (preview), and decide what gets billed.
- 6 · Billing, receivables, and forecastFinance (opens Microsoft’s site)Project Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
Power BI (opens Microsoft’s site)Invoices by phase on the billing date, and a forecast from the books
Fixed-fee phases bill by milestone and hourly work from approved time. Unbilled work and receivables are aged by client, and backlog and revenue forecasts come from the same projects.
Agents at work: controllers use the Finance Agent for reconciliation and collections follow-up, and still sign off on the close.
Across every link
Agents take the entries and follow-ups between the studio, the site, and the office; your people make the calls. How project-based firms run on it →
Underneath it all
Azure (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Foundry (opens Microsoft’s site)Dataverse (opens Microsoft’s site)
The same Azure, Foundry, and Dataverse foundation runs under both chains, so a firm that designs and builds keeps one platform, one identity, and one set of governed agents. How we build AI →
Design firms on Deltek Vision
The move off Deltek Vision is the time to decide how your firm runs.
Deltek Vision moved to sustaining support in January 2026, and Deltek Cloud access to Vision winds down in the first quarter of 2027. For many design firms, Vantagepoint is the right next step, and we’ll say so.
Dynamics 365 makes sense when the firm is large, runs several legal entities, is buying other firms, or runs field or operations work alongside design. Then projects, staffing, and finance share one set of numbers.
Source: Deltek, Upgrade FAQ for Vantagepoint, Jan 2026.
Leaving Deltek Vision →
The work, as your crews, studios, and project teams do it
Eight jobs your people do every day, and what changes when the record goes with them.
Foreman
Crew time by cost code, today
Crew hours go in on a phone by cost code before the crew leaves the site, so job cost is current the next morning.
Their call: who worked what.
Superintendent
Field-directed work priced the same day
A T&M tag with photos goes into the change-order log the day the work is directed, so pending changes show in cost-to-complete while the job is still running.
Their call: what’s a change and what’s in scope.
Service technician
A failing chiller becomes a project
The technician flags the failing unit on the work order. It becomes a lead, a quote, and a project in the same platform, where the sales team sees it.
Their call: what to recommend to the customer.
Project accountant
Pay apps from the schedule of values
Progress billing comes from the contract’s schedule of values, with retainage tracked by job, so nobody rebuilds the pay app in a spreadsheet each month.
Their call: what gets billed.
Principal
Go or no-go with the past numbers in hand
Before the firm commits a proposal team, the principal sees the hours and margin on similar past projects in one place.
Their call: whether to pursue, and at what fee.
Project architect or project manager
Fee burn by phase, every week
Hours post to the phase the day they’re entered, so the project manager sees design development using up its fee while there’s still time to act.
Their call: when to ask the client for additional services.
Construction administrator
The site visit report out the same day
Observations, photos, and punch-list items go in on a tablet during the walk, so the field report reaches the contractor and owner that afternoon.
Their call: whether the work meets the design.
Resource manager or studio lead
Next week’s staffing on one screen
Bookings by person, skill, and license show who is free next week, so a deadline gets the right people before it needs weekend overtime.
Their call: who works on which project.
What changes for your CEO, CFO, and COO
For the CEO, owner, or managing principal
Grow by office, division, or acquisition on one set of numbers
Service agreements are a contractor’s steadiest revenue; run them alongside the jobs. A design firm grows by adding an office, a studio, or an acquired firm. Add either on the same roles and rates without starting over.
For the CFO
Fade and fee overruns seen the week they start
Pending change orders sit in cost-to-complete, and the WIP ties to the books. On design work, unbilled hours, fee burn by phase, and the net multiplier come from the same ledger. And you know what the work costs and returns before you sign.
For the COO or VP of operations
More billable hours from the people you already have
With craft labor this scarce, one more billable call per technician each week matters. In the studio, you see who is free next week by skill and license, and fill the gap before the deadline.
Ludia’s senior team knows AEC firms from first meeting to results
Design firms and contractors get results when four things are done right. Each one means something specific for a firm that designs, builds, or services.
The right people
Consultants who know the studio, the field, and the back office
Senior, US-based consultants who work with principals, project managers, service managers, and controllers. The person who plans your work stays to deliver it.
The right knowledge
They speak WIP, fee burn, and service agreements
Over and under billings, change orders, and schedules of values; fees by phase, utilization, and unbilled work; preventive maintenance. Plus deep Dynamics 365 know-how and a standing feedback loop with its product teams since 2018.
The right tools
Proven methods, one division or office at a time
Microsoft’s 
Success by Design practices and a pilot with one division, branch, or office, so it proves itself before the rest follow. When a contractor add-on or Vantagepoint is the better answer, we say so.
The right outcome
A team that runs it themselves
We measure success by your satisfaction and by how well your team runs things after we step back.
Where design firms and contractors see results first
A forecast the project manager owns
Project managers update cost-to-complete on a job, or the estimate at completion on a fee, where the costs land. The monthly review checks numbers instead of rebuilding them.
Changes and added services priced before they fade
Log field-directed work or an owner’s added scope the day it’s approved, so pending changes show up in the forecast and on the next invoice.
A handover that starts the service agreement
Equipment you installed moves to service with its warranty and history, so the first maintenance visit is already on the schedule.
Field Service →Dispatch that stretches scarce technicians
Route calls and maintenance by skill, territory, and priority, so the right technician rolls once. Your dispatcher stays in charge of the board.
Field Service →Unbilled hours invoiced on the billing date
Hours post to the phase they were worked, and invoice proposals go out on schedule, so work in progress doesn’t age into write-downs.
Time that reaches the job or the phase the same day
Hours captured by cost code or by phase flow to project cost and billing the day they’re worked, with payroll kept where it runs today.
Agility and enablement
Your people add the next division or office without calling us.
Contractors grow by adding a branch, a trade, a service division, or an acquired shop. Design firms add an office, a studio, or a new fee type. Your people should be able to set those up themselves.
So your admins train alongside our consultants from the first sprint. Every design decision is written down with the reason behind it. Controllers and operations leads get a runbook for adding a division, a cost-code structure, a fee type, or a service agreement type.
How we work →
Stabilize, then grow · The right tools
Fix the system you run today before you roll it out further.
Some contractors and engineering firms already run Dynamics 365 in one division. Nobody wrote down how it was built, updates are risky, and the next division waits.
We start with what’s live. We find the root cause of what breaks and document the design. Then we set a routine for Microsoft’s updates and plan the next rollout in waves, with Microsoft FastTrack involved where the project qualifies.
Where we’ve done this work
Specialty contractors, engineering and testing firms, and infrastructure-services providers run on work Ludia has delivered, with client names kept confidential. For architecture and engineering design firms, our work builds on Ludia’s Project Operations delivery for project-based firms, including an engineering, testing, and inspection firm.
Engineering and construction · Managed services
Four-hour response on priority-one issues
An employee-owned electrical contractor keeps its systems running at a fixed fee
Several hundred of the firm’s people work in Dynamics 365 Sales. Its leaders chose fixed-fee managed support with a four-hour response on priority-one issues, so the cost of keeping it running is known in advance. Ludia’s part: the senior support team, aligned with Microsoft FastTrack.
Engineering and construction · Service
Field Service tuned, with senior support behind it
A Pacific Northwest mechanical contractor tunes scheduling to how its dispatchers work
The contractor’s service division already ran on Field Service. Its leaders chose to tune it and keep senior support behind their dispatchers and technicians. Ludia’s part: the optimization work and ongoing managed support.
Engineering, testing, and inspection · Service + Finance
One connected record across finance, field service, and projects
An employee-owned engineering, testing, and inspection firm connects field work to payroll and the invoice
The firm started by mapping how its operations ran end to end, from the site to the invoice. Its people now work across Finance, Field Service, and Project Operations, with payroll and time connected. Ludia’s part: the operations map and ongoing support.
Infrastructure services · Service
Stabilize first, then expand by business unit
A specialty infrastructure-services provider steadies its field system before the next rollout
The provider’s live Field Service deployment was holding back expansion to more business units. Its leaders chose to fix what breaks and document the design first, then roll out in waves. Ludia’s part: the stabilization plan and the rollout design.
Counts from Ludia’s client records, Sept 2026: four construction and engineering clients, plus specialty contractors with service divisions shown under professional services and facilities management.
Built on Microsoft Dynamics 365
The Microsoft products behind each part of your Service Operation. Each one links to Microsoft’s own page.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project OperationsInstallations and projects: quoting, staffing, time, cost, and project billing.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field ServiceWork orders, scheduling, and the technician’s mobile app, from dispatch to completion.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 FinanceBilling, job cost, and the close, on the same numbers the field uses.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain ManagementParts, inventory, and procurement, planned from the service schedule.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer ServiceCases, knowledge, and service agreements, so every request reaches the right person.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 SalesPipeline, quotes, and service agreements sold with the install and service behind them.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Power AppsFocused mobile and desktop apps for the jobs the standard apps don’t cover.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Power BIReports and dashboards on service, parts, and finance.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Copilot StudioCustom agents built on your manuals, jobs, and processes.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Delivered the way Microsoft recommends, with FastTrack (opens Microsoft’s site) and Success by Design (opens Microsoft’s site).
For your IT team: what Microsoft has ready for contractors and design firms, and what isn’t ready yet
Some of what Microsoft ships for project and service work is ready for production, some is in preview, and some needs an add-on or configuration. Our architects tell you which is which before you plan around it.
Project work and field work now meet
Generally available, July 31, 2026. Project Operations creates work orders from project tasks and tracks project progress from field execution.
Service connects to the invoice, and subcontractor bills match actuals
Generally available, Sept 2026. Connected workflows run from work order to invoice across Field Service, Project Operations, and Finance. Subcontractor invoices match to actuals on project subcontracts.
Change orders are in preview; don’t plan around them yet
Preview, Sept 2026. Change Order Management in Project Operations is new. Until it’s generally available, we log pending changes against cost codes in the way your team works today.
Pay apps, retainage, and union payroll need an add-on
Out of the box, Dynamics 365 isn’t a construction accounting system. AIA-style pay apps, retainage by line, and certified payroll need a contractor add-on or a build. Union payroll often stays with your current provider, and we connect labor cost to the job.
Your project-management tool stays; decide which system owns each record
Dynamics 365 sits alongside the tool your project teams use for RFIs and submittals. The hard part is deciding who owns commitments, change orders, and cost codes, and we settle that first.
Phase fees bill as standard; percent-of-construction fees need setup work
Fixed-fee phases bill by milestone, and hourly work bills from approved time. Percent-of-construction fees, percent-complete billing, and multiplier reports need configuration or a report we build. Revenue recognition on the cost estimate is generally available, Sept 2026.
Core or integrated with Finance: decide before you build
Project Operations runs on Dataverse alone (Core) or integrated with Dynamics 365 Finance. A firm that needs full project accounting, intercompany, and revenue recognition needs the integrated option, and changing later is a major project.
Leaving Deltek: plan what moves and what stays reachable
Open projects, unbilled work, receivables, and history each need a decision: what moves, what closes out in Vision, and how past project data stays reachable for the next proposal. Deltek Cloud access to Vision winds down in Q1 2027.
Agents: some ready, some in preview
Finance reconciliation in 
Microsoft 365 Copilot is generally available. The Time Entry, Expense, and Approvals agents and the Procurement Agent are in preview. The Scheduling Operations Agent proposes schedules for up to 30 resources per plan and isn’t for production use yet.
Status as of Sept 28, 2026, from Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 announcements (Sept 23, 2026), the Project Operations and Field Service 2026 release wave 1 plans, Microsoft’s Project Operations deployment guidance, Deltek’s Vantagepoint upgrade FAQ (Jan 2026), and the AI at Work roadmap. Microsoft now ships changes continuously, so we re-check status before every plan.
Questions AEC leaders ask us
Can we run construction jobs and service calls in one system without forcing one model on the other?
Yes: Dynamics 365 Project Operations runs the job, and Field Service runs calls and agreements. Both post to the same Finance books, so the WIP and the service margin come from one set of numbers.
We run Deltek Vision. When does Dynamics 365 make sense for a design firm?
When the firm is large, runs several legal entities, is acquiring other firms, or has a field or operations arm alongside design. For a smaller firm that only designs, Vantagepoint or Ajera is usually the simpler and cheaper answer, and we’ll tell you so. Read our view on leaving Deltek Vision.
Can Dynamics 365 bill by phase and pass consultant costs through?
Yes, for the common cases: fixed-fee phases bill by milestone, hourly work bills from approved time, and reimbursables and consultant invoices reach the client invoice. Percent-of-construction fees, percent-complete billing, and a client’s own invoice format need configuration, and we design them with your billing team before anything is built.
How do we see utilization and next month’s staffing?
From the bookings your resource managers already make. Project Operations holds tentative and confirmed bookings by person, skill, and project, so utilization by studio or office and next month’s open demand come from one place. Microsoft is rolling out new staffing views from October 2026, and we’ll show you which are ready for your firm.
Can Dynamics 365 handle AIA progress billing and retainage?
Not on its own: pay apps, retainage by schedule-of-values line, and lien waivers need a contractor add-on or a build. We’ll tell you which fits your firm, and when your current construction accounting system is the better answer.
How do we handle union and prevailing-wage payroll?
Most firms keep payroll where it runs today, or with a payroll specialist, and connect labor cost to the job by cost code. We set up the systems; we don’t provide payroll or compliance services.
We already run a construction accounting system, so when does Dynamics 365 make sense?
When service, inventory, fabrication, or several legal entities carry real weight in your business, and today they sit apart from the jobs. For a general contractor with little service work, a construction-specific system is often the better fit, and we’ll say so.
How does Ludia deliver without disrupting the projects in progress?
In phases, led by a senior solution architect who scopes the work with your project, service, and accounting leads and stays through go-live. We follow Microsoft’s FastTrack and Success by Design methods and prove the design in one division or office first. Then we roll out in waves you can fund one phase at a time.
Will our own people be able to run it after go-live?
That’s the goal of every engagement, so your admins build alongside our consultants and each design decision is documented with its reason. By go-live, your team can add a division, a cost-code structure, a fee type, or an agreement type without us, and managed support is there if you want it.