Agency Resource Management Essentials: Reporting and Forecasting

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Deltek WorkBook

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August 23, 2023

Deltek Vantagepoint’s contract management tools help architecture and engineering firms centralize contract documents, automate key workflows, and maintain compliance, all within a single ERP platform. The result: fewer administrative bottlenecks, stronger financial oversight, and more time focused on billable work.

Managing contracts is one of the most detail-intensive responsibilities in any architecture or engineering firm. Missed terms, misplaced documents, and manual tracking create costly delays and in project-driven environments, those delays compound fast. Deltek Vantagepoint addresses this head-on with a dedicated contract management framework built specifically for A&E firms.

What Is Contract Management in Deltek Vantagepoint?

Deltek Vantagepoint’s contract management module centralizes all contract-related activity within the same platform your team already uses for project management, accounting, and resource planning. Rather than toggling between spreadsheets, shared drives, and email chains, your team accesses every contract document, amendment, and approval in one place.

Key capabilities include:

Contract document storage: Attach and organize executed contracts, amendments, and supporting documentation directly to project records
Contract type configuration: Define contract structures, lump sum, cost-plus, time and materials—and align billing rules accordingly
Amendment tracking: Log and manage contract modifications with a clear audit trail
Compliance visibility: Monitor contract terms against actuals to flag potential overruns or scope discrepancies early

How Contract Documents Work Inside Deltek Vantagepoint

Contract documents in Deltek Vantagepoint are linked directly to project records, which means the information lives where the work happens. When a project manager needs to verify a billing cap, check a deliverable deadline, or confirm a client requirement, that information is accessible without hunting through external systems.

This tight integration between contract documents and project financials creates a direct line between what was agreed upon and what is being executed. Project managers and accounting teams work from the same source of truth, eliminating version confusion and reducing the risk of billing errors tied to outdated contract terms.

Why This Matters for Architecture and Engineering Firms

A&E firms operate across multiple contracts simultaneously, often with layered sub-consultant agreements and phased deliverables. Without a structured system, tracking contract status across a portfolio of projects becomes unmanageable.

Deltek Vantagepoint brings order to that complexity. Contract terms inform billing workflows, approval thresholds, and revenue recognition, automatically. This means your team spends less time reconciling data and more time delivering on project commitments.

The Business Value of Streamlined Contract Management

The operational benefits of Deltek Vantagepoint’s contract management tools extend well beyond document storage. Firms that structure their contracts within Vantagepoint gain:

Faster invoice cycles: Billing rules tied to contract terms reduce the back-and-forth between project managers and accounting
Stronger financial visibility: Real-time data on contract value, billed amounts, and remaining budget supports proactive decision-making
Audit readiness: A centralized document repository with version history makes internal reviews and external audits significantly more straightforward
Reduced compliance risk: Automated alerts and structured contract records help firms stay aligned with client requirements and regulatory obligations

For C-level executives and project leaders, these capabilities translate directly to improved cash flow, fewer write-offs, and greater confidence in financial reporting.

Getting the Most Out of Vantagepoint Contract Tools

Deltek Vantagepoint’s contract management features deliver the most value when they are configured to match your firm’s specific contract types, billing structures, and approval workflows. Out-of-the-box functionality provides a strong foundation, but firms that invest in proper setup, and ongoing optimization, see the clearest gains in efficiency and financial performance.

This is where working with an experienced Deltek partner makes a measurable difference. Proper configuration ensures your contract data flows accurately through project financials, reducing the manual corrections that drain time and introduce risk.

Make Contract Management Work for Your Firm

Deltek Vantagepoint gives architecture and engineering firms the tools to manage contracts with precision, transparency, and confidence. When your contract documents are integrated with your project and financial data, your entire team operates from a stronger, more reliable position.

At PCI, we help firms configure and optimize Deltek Vantagepoint to match how they actually work, so the platform supports your operations rather than complicates them. We make your operations comfortable.

Ready to see what streamlined contract management looks like for your firm? Contact PCI today to connect with a Deltek specialist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of contracts does Deltek Vantagepoint support?
Deltek Vantagepoint supports multiple contract types, including lump sum, time and materials, and cost-plus structures. Each type can be configured with corresponding billing rules and financial controls.

Can contract documents be attached directly to projects in Deltek Vantagepoint?
Yes. Deltek Vantagepoint allows users to attach executed contracts, amendments, and supporting documents directly to project records, keeping all relevant information in a single, accessible location.

How does Deltek Vantagepoint help with contract compliance?
Deltek Vantagepoint tracks contract terms against project actuals in real time, enabling firms to identify potential overruns or scope discrepancies before they become financial or legal issues.

Do I need a Deltek partner to set up contract management in Vantagepoint?
While basic features are accessible out of the box, working with a certified Deltek partner like PCI ensures your contract management setup is properly configured for your firm’s specific workflows, contract types, and billing structures.

In Part 1 of our Agency Resource Management Essentials series, we covered the importance of resourcing your current projects. Once you’ve got the resources for all current work pinned down, it’s time to start looking at the data to check on overall productivity while forecasting to plan ahead for upcoming work. In Part 2 of our series, we will dig deeper into how to use reports and forecasts to bring further efficiency and profitability to your agency.

How to Track and Improve Resource Utilization

The key KPIs you’ll want to start with when reviewing your resources both center on utilization. Start with your actual utilization by calculating the number of hours on billable projects as a percentage of available hours per person. Then you’ll want to crunch the numbers on your planned utilization – a weekly view of your future workload. This number can be either total hours booked or upcoming estimated utilization. Beyond providing you with useful productivity metrics, having a strong grasp of your agency’s utilization will also help you to balance workloads, reducing burnout, as well as avoiding over-servicing your clients.

Potential problem #1: what if you can’t get accurate utilization numbers because your team drags their feet filling out timesheets? Timesheets must become a daily task. Before you drown under a rising tide of groans, keep in mind that daily timesheets are likely to be far more accurate than weekly ones. And if your team resists a daily mandate, it might be time to invest in software to make timesheet compliance easy and convenient – a tool that can even integrate directly with task management, calendars, and email.

Potential problem #2: what should you do if your agency’s utilization numbers are not where you’d like them to be? Don’t panic! Start with a resource overview: what is everyone working on, are their most valuable skills being leveraged, shuffle resources to different projects if that makes more sense. Next is to take a look at who is currently underutilized – what projects could use more support, or what skills do they have that line up well with current or future work. And last, check in with your project managers weekly to make sure that employees with available hours have billable work lined up.

Forecasting Future Capacity with Monthly Reports

Once you’re confident in your utilization, you’re on the right track to maximizing your agency’s profitability. But another key component to improving efficiency is resource planning, or forecasting your future capacity. This is most useful as a monthly process, checking in on the pipeline to plan for upcoming work. Don’t forget to loop in your Project Managers as well, to help you review workloads and planned utilization.

Automate Reporting and Increase Visibility with Agency Management Software

The most effective way to improve efficiency and increase visibility is to super-charge your reporting with a streamlined tool. The right agency management software can help you automate reporting and make it easier to understand productivity and utilization. Deltek WorkBook is a total agency management system that will give you end-to-end visibility into your business, and help you to better manage your projects, people, and finances. For smaller boutique agencies, check out our special MAC Attack quick-start package geared to help your small business with a customized implementation guided by our agency industry experts. Sign up for a demo of Deltek WorkBook today, and stay tuned for the next blog in our Resource Management Essentials Series: Rightsizing and Hiring.