Why AJC Switched From Projectworks to Total Synergy

First formed in 1956, AJC is an award-winning architecture, urban design and interior design firm based in Sydney.

Today, AJC works across a variety of sectors, from education, community, sports and recreation projects to luxury and affordable residential developments.

The practice often manages multiple longstanding projects at once, and wanted a partner focused purely on A&E, with a project management system built around how architecture projects run.

For a few years, AJC used Projectworks to manage resourcing, projects and invoicing. As the business continued to grow, the practice wanted a system that matched the way it wanted to run.

“I wanted a system that could understand the architectural milestone-driven fees and the link between resourcing and risk adjusted revenue forecasting of project stages. Total Synergy was a lot closer to the way that we saw ourselves running our projects.” – Rodney Drayton, Chief Operating Officer, AJC

When a Working System Stops Fitting the Practice

Architecture practices regularly run projects that span three or four years, with multiple stages, variations and consultant models along the way. For AJC, Projectworks wasn’t hitting the mark for those projects.

Rodney explains that what mattered to AJC was a system whose interface and approach to managing ongoing projects reflected how the practice sees its own work.

Total Synergy is built only for architecture and engineering practices. It reflects how fees, stages and resourcing behave on A&E projects, including the way a job can change character overnight.

“Projectworks wasn’t as tailored to the industry as Total Synergy. Its interface and approach to project management, particularly for active projects, weren’t as closely aligned with the way architectural projects are run.” -Rodney Drayton

A Platform That Thinks in Milestones

Implementing a platform purpose-built for architects and engineers has changed the way AJC can manage projects.

In his experience using other systems, including Projectworks and Deltek Vantagepoint, Rodney found that, for AJC, conversations tended to centre on the current month. With Total Synergy, the conversation has shifted to be more forward focused through to the next key fee aligned milestone, which he believes is far more valuable.

Total Synergy has helped AJC:

• Improve forecast accuracy with reporting in one place
• Resource by project stage rather than project level
• Work across milestones, including risk adjusted phases
• Have a single source of truth for projects

Being able to adjust a project milestone date or probability and watch the resources and forecast move with it has reshaped how the team runs its meetings and conversations.

“The graphical interface updates dynamically, changing how we run meetings and discuss projects. If a project shifts by a month, we can update it in the system immediately.” – Rodney Drayton

Rodney sees the milestone-first approach as the natural one for architects, and Total Synergy is built around it. Drag a phase end date and your fee forecast moves with it. Change a project’s win probability and Total Synergy updates your forecast and resourcing in one step.

Reporting sits in the same place. Rodney had always run Power BI alongside the systems he implemented, but with Insights Pro built into Total Synergy he no longer has to build his own dashboards on the side, and forecast snapshots let him look back and test how well the practice predicted its own month.

“With Insights Pro and Power BI functions in Total Synergy, those forecast snapshots are there. I can look at my forecast accuracy as to whether I ended up invoicing what I thought I would at the beginning of the month. I didn’t have that ability in Projectworks.” – Rodney Drayton

More Data In, Better Decisions Out

When a system is quick to update, people put more into it. Rodney now adds early-stage opportunities he would once have left out, such as a project with only a slim chance of starting more than four months ahead, because he knows Total Synergy will bring it onto the right person’s dashboard as the start date gets closer.

Systems that are slow to update have the opposite effect: teams leave out the uncertain work because keeping it current isn’t worth the effort, and the forecast ends up missing the projects the practice most needs to plan for.

After switching systems, Rodney is now more confident in the long-term ROI AJC will get from Total Synergy, as data is easier to input, and easier to change.

“When you have an agile piece of software with an easy user interface, you tend to put more data in it because it’s easier to manage more data. Whereas if you have a system that is a bit harder to change things, you don’t put as much data into it.” – Rodney Drayton

Because resourcing and forecasting talk to each other, that extra data now feeds straight into AJC’s revenue forecast. The result is the most accurate forecast Rodney has ever had.

Teams trust the data in Total Synergy and are thinking past the current month, and Rodney has seen forecast variance drop significantly.

“In previous systems, I could have up to 20% variance between what I thought I was going to invoice and what I did invoice. Whereas I’m finding under 5%, even under 2% variance in Total Synergy at the moment.” – Rodney Drayton

Built for the Long Game

For AJC, choosing a new project management system is a decision measured in years, not months.

When switching systems, AJC wanted a partner focused purely on A&E for the long term, and Total Synergy is built only for A&E. Rodney looked at how well it fits both where the practice is now and where it plans to be in the next few years.

“I’ve used a number of pieces of software and for the size of firm we are right now, with the kind of projects and the markets we’re in, I’ve found Total Synergy to be the best fit. It scales really well to where we are today and where we see ourselves in the next few years.”- Rodney Drayton

In an industry where projects shift constantly, having a system that can keep pace can change everything. For Rodney, the value of Total Synergy is that keeping the project, forecast and resourcing current takes a quick change rather than an afternoon of admin, so AJC can always plan from an up-to-date picture.

“In this market, everything moves daily. You need something that doesn’t feel like you’re having to change a lot of fields, and Total Synergy is in a great spot, particularly for architecture professionals and long milestone projects.” – Rodney Drayton

Featured Project

The Southern Lookout

AJC recently designed the Southern Lookout, a 40‑metre viewing platform set within 60 hectares of spectacular bushland surrounding a former rock quarry in Hornsby. The site, which was closed to the public for over a century, is being transformed through a landscape‑led masterplan into a regional open space. The lookout is the first element open to the public, providing access to the site and its layered natural and industrial histories.

The platform is built from weathering steel, a tough material that suits its dramatic setting. Its form is simple and efficient, and the design is carefully balanced so the structure holds its ground without overwhelming the site. The result is expressive but restrained: an industrial structure that sits comfortably within the bushland.