For specialty consulting firms

Practice management software for AEC specialty consultants

One platform for MEP engineers, energy modelers, LEED APs, code consultants, and commissioning agents. Every project, every discipline, every deliverable.

PROPOSAL MEP Engineering Services
N
northshore
Prepared by
Northshore Engineering
Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing
Presented to
Hadley Architects
Westfield Office Bldg
Contract date
May 20, 2026
Valid through
Jun 20, 2026
Scope
MEP design and coordination for 18,000 sq ft commercial office: HVAC load calculations, electrical schematics, plumbing rough-in, and construction-phase support.
PhaseHrsRateAmount
Schematic design32$165$5,280
Construction documents14$165$2,310
Project total USD $7,590
Sarah Hadley · Principal, Hadley Architects
Accepted
May 22, 2026
Active Project In progress
MEP Design for Westfield Office
Phase Schematic design
Logged 32 of 48 hrs
Invoice #042 Sent
Hadley Architects
HVAC load calc $1,950
Electrical schematic $1,400
Due in 14 days $4,250
Retainer Active
Smith & Co: Annual Recompliance
Balance $2,400 of $5,000
Next invoice Renews in 21 days
Time · This week Live
18.5 hrs logged
Unbilled $2,775 · 3 projects
Top project Westfield MEP

The 5-tool stack is killing your margin.

QuickBooks for invoicing. Excel for timesheets. DocuSign for proposals. Dropbox for report deliverables. A separate scheduler for retainers. Every project lives across all of them, and nothing talks to anything else.

Clientary replaces the entire stack: proposals, contracts, time tracking, project budgets, retainer billing, client portal, and online payments in one platform. Your billable hours stay billable.

Built for the disciplines you actually practice

Whether you're a one-person shop running energy compliance reports or a 15-person MEP firm coordinating across dozens of active projects, the workflow fits.

MEP Engineering

Mechanical, electrical, plumbing. Bill by discipline, by phase, or by deliverable.

Energy & Code Compliance

Energy codes, ASHRAE, IECC. Recurring retainers for annual recompliance built in.

Sustainability & LEED

LEED APs, WELL consultants, Living Building advisors. Track multi-phase certifications cleanly.

Building Code Consulting

Code review, life-safety, accessibility (ADA). Manage report deliverables and revisions.

Commissioning Agents

Pre-construction through warranty-period CxA. Multi-stakeholder coordination by default.

Specialty Design

Acoustical, lighting, AV/IT, building enclosure. One portal for owner, architect, and GC.

The workflow you've been hacking together, finally in one tool

Quote, then engage, without leaving the tool

Send a professional proposal with line items by discipline. Client signs the contract online. Approved scope converts to a project in one click. No more emailing PDFs back and forth.

Track time by discipline & phase

One-click timers that log against the project, the discipline (M, E, or P), and the phase (SD, DD, CD, CA). Tracked hours roll up to invoices instantly. No double entry.

Retainers for ongoing recompliance

Annual energy code updates, ASHRAE compliance audits, recurring LEED documentation. Set up a monthly retainer, automatically invoice each cycle, track balances, and carry over unused credit.

Multi-stakeholder client portal

Building owners, architects, and GCs all need access to your reports. Give them a branded portal where they view invoices, approve scope changes, and download deliverables under your firm's identity.

Project budgets that actually warn you

Set a budget by hours or dollars per project. Watch in real time as billable hours accrue against scope. Catch a runaway energy modeling task before it eats your fee.

Get paid online, without chasing GCs

Send invoices that accept credit card, ACH, or bank transfer. Automated reminders, late-fee policies, and online payment links mean fewer phone calls about an overdue 30-day net.

10,000+
Service businesses run on Clientary
$500M+
Invoiced through the platform
4.8/5
Average rating across review sites

“Clientary is used on a daily basis to track all time spent on client projects. Retainers received from clients at the start of a project are logged, and each month invoices are prepared with appropriate taxes calculated and emailed to clients.”

JKA Design Services · an architecture & design firm · Read the full story →

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from MEP firms, energy consultants, code reviewers, and commissioning agents evaluating Clientary.

What software do MEP engineering firms use for project management and billing?

Most small-to-mid MEP firms run a patchwork of QuickBooks for invoicing, Excel for timesheets, DocuSign for proposals, and Dropbox for deliverables. Clientary replaces that whole stack with a single platform: proposals, contracts, time tracking by discipline and phase, project budgets, retainer billing, branded client portals, and online payments. You bill the architect, the GC, or the owner directly, without bouncing between five tools.

How does Clientary handle time tracking across multiple disciplines (M, E, P)?

You can log time against a project, then tag it by discipline (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) and phase (SD, DD, CD, CA). Hours roll up to invoices automatically, so a multi-discipline project produces a clean invoice broken out by discipline without double entry. Project budgets warn you when a runaway energy modeling task is about to eat your fee.

Can I bill recurring retainers for ongoing recompliance (energy codes, ASHRAE, LEED)?

Yes. Set up a monthly or annual retainer with automatic invoicing. Clientary tracks the retainer balance per client, carries over unused credit, and sends the next invoice automatically. Useful for annual energy code updates, ASHRAE compliance audits, recurring LEED documentation, code review on long-term campus master plans, and any other engagement that renews on a schedule.

Can building owners, architects, and GCs all access my reports through a portal?

Yes. Every client gets a branded portal under your firm's identity where they can view invoices, approve scope changes, sign contracts, and download deliverables. Multi-stakeholder by default, which is how AEC engagements usually work: the building owner pays, the architect coordinates, the GC needs the submittal package.

Does Clientary integrate with QuickBooks?

Yes. Invoices, payments, and clients export to QuickBooks Online so your bookkeeper or accountant still has the financial source of truth they need. Most specialty consulting firms use Clientary as the operations layer (proposals, projects, time tracking, retainers, client portal) and let QuickBooks remain the books.

Is there a free trial for engineering and specialty consulting firms?

Yes. 14 days, no credit card required. You can import existing clients, create a few sample projects, and try the full workflow (proposal → project → time entry → invoice → payment). Most MEP and specialty consultants finish evaluating within a week.

Stop billing in five tools. Start running your practice in one.

Free 14-day trial. No credit card required. Cancel any time.

Start your free trial