Overview
Archtonics is a UK based architecture practice delivering projects across residential and commercial developments. Like most architectural studios, the business sits at an awkward intersection between professional services and construction delivery. Fees are staged, consultants are numerous, projects run long, and cash flow timing rarely lines up neatly.
Archtonics adopted Accounting Links to bring structure and control to Accounts Payable without adding administrative overhead to a team whose attention is better spent on design and delivery.
The challenge
Archtonics faced a familiar but underestimated set of AP problems.
Invoices arrived from a wide range of consultants, engineers, planners, and specialist advisors.
Costs needed to be tracked per project, not per supplier.
Approvals depended on project architects who were frequently unavailable or on site.
Payment timing was sensitive, but visibility was poor.
Traditional AP tools treat invoices as isolated transactions. In architectural practice, invoices are contextual. An invoice only makes sense when viewed against a specific project stage, fee structure, and delivery timeline.
As a result, finance teams spent disproportionate time chasing approvals, clarifying context, and resolving disputes that stemmed from missing information rather than genuine disagreement.
Typical architectural payment risk
Architecture practices carry structural payment risk that often goes unaddressed.
Invoices approved without full project context.
Consultants paid late due to approval bottlenecks rather than cash constraints.
Bank detail changes handled informally via email.
These are not edge cases. They are systemic weaknesses caused by process fragmentation and reliance on tacit knowledge. Over time, they erode supplier relationships and expose the practice to avoidable financial and reputational risk.
Why Accounting Links
Archtonics selected Accounting Links because it addressed these issues upstream rather than treating them as exceptions.
Invoices are tied directly to projects at intake.
Approval workflows reflect real project responsibility, not generic hierarchies.
Payment status is visible to both finance and delivery teams.
Crucially, the system reduced the need for finance to act as an intermediary between consultants and architects. Context travelled with the invoice instead of living in inboxes.
The solution
Accounting Links was configured around how Archtonics actually operates.
Each invoice is associated with a specific project and stage.
Approvals are routed to the architect accountable for that work.
Supporting documentation is captured at the point of submission.
This ensured that when an invoice reached payment, it was already understood, validated, and attributed correctly. Finance could focus on control and accuracy rather than reconstruction.
Supplier bank details and payment instructions were standardised and verified within the system, reducing reliance on ad hoc email confirmation.
Outcomes
The impact was primarily qualitative but material.
Approval turnaround times improved as context was no longer missing.
Fewer invoice queries bounced between finance and project teams.
Consultant relationships benefited from more predictable payment behaviour.
Operational risk around payments was reduced.
Importantly, the system did not require architects to become finance administrators. Interaction was lightweight, contextual, and aligned with how they already think about projects.
Strategic insight
Architecture practices are not failing at AP because they are disorganised. They fail because generic systems ignore how architectural work is structured.
Projects, not suppliers, are the atomic unit.
Context matters more than categorisation.
Controls must exist without slowing delivery.
Accounting Links worked for Archtonics because it treated AP as part of project delivery infrastructure, not a back office afterthought.
Conclusion
For Archtonics, Accounting Links provided clarity, control, and predictability without adding friction to creative work.
Invoices moved faster because they made sense.
Payments were safer because controls were explicit.
Finance regained time by no longer acting as a human router of information.
If helpful, I can also produce a version tailored for architecture sector marketing, a shorter homepage case study, or a risk focused variant highlighting common consultant payment failure modes.