# How Garrison Architects cut costs 50% after switching from ArchiOffice to Monograph

Learn how Garrison Architects saved time and money by switching to an easy-to-use project management software designed exclusively for A&E firms.

## **Challenges with archaic systems**

Garrison Architects added debt to cover the business when a major source of projects dried up due to recent public policy changes. As the principal, Jim Garrison, developed business in new markets, he relied on the shared leadership of the senior associate, Sal Tranchina, and office manager, Bibi Leslie, to help steer internal operations and finances.

But one day when the office admin was out on medical leave, a project issue exposed the need to create a better system with more redundancy. It became a top priority to find an easier way to enable the team to take more responsibility. They needed to reduce the bottleneck burden of the office manager, establish more accountability for individual team members, and help the firm accelerate the path to financial freedom from debt.

As a numbers person with expertise in emergency management and response, the office manager ran a calculation. She gathered the cost of their existing software, plus the cost of her time managing them, plus the bookkeeper cost, plus the CPA cost, to get the full picture of how much time and money the firm was spending today to keep their current systems running.

That's when she realized that Monograph would cut costs in half.

> “After 7 years, there was a terrible stigma with ArchiOffice in our firm. Some team members refused to use it outright, even to track time. We knew it was archaic. Sal and I were the only two folks who really knew how to use it somewhat effectively. And we only knew our own domains. If one of us wasn't available, there was no back-up.  
Something had to change.”  
> — Bibi Leslie, Office Manager at Garrison Architects

## **The firm decides on Monograph**

After she identified the potential cost savings, Bibi the office manager showed Monograph to the firm.

First, she showed Monograph to the senior associate, Sal, who manages the projects and staffing in the office. Sal was the biggest supporter for a new system that was user-friendly on all levels. His goal was complete transparency. Compared to ArchiOffice, Sal instantly saw how Monograph gave project managers easy visuals about where projects stood across time and budget.

Then, Bibi and Sal showed Monograph to the principal, Jim. Change can be difficult for principals like Jim. The A/E business can be such a rollercoaster that some firm owners take comfort in old school practices.

> “Days before we decided to switch to Monograph, I experienced 'death by spreadsheets'. It hit a point where 40% of my day was spent playing with spreadsheets to fill the many gaps between ArchiOffice and Smartsheets.”  
> — Bibi Leslie, Office Manager at Garrison Architects

## **Project data at your fingertips**

With Monograph, Garrison Architects increased efficiency and transparency. Each employee better understands where to spend time because they can visualize the big picture and see their contributions to project health.

The principal architect, Jim, can delegate firm operations and finance to firm leaders with more confidence because Monograph creates easier tracking, on-demand reporting, and more comprehensive billing than ArchiOffice.

The senior associate, Sal, can make better management decisions now because data is at his fingertips.

> “Architects are visual people. Monograph puts project data at our fingertips in a beautiful way. Everything is clean and intuitive.”  
> — Sal Tranchina, Senior Associate at Garrison Architects

## **Responsive, candid, and dedicated service**

Garrison Architects discovered a surprising benefit of Monograph: quality of service.

Starting with a friendly, responsive, and candid sales process, and followed by dedicated onboarding and on-demand customer service,

> “Continuity is a big thing for me. After almost a year since we’ve partnered with Monograph, we communicate with the same folks on a routine basis.”  
> — Bibi Leslie, Office Manager at Garrison Architects

If you would like to try an easier software built exclusively for A/E firms to save time on monthly billing and increase weekly staff utilization, [get started with Monograph today](https://monograph.com/book-a-demo).