For architects tired of bending generic tools into shape

AIA phases, SD through CA

Projects in Arcarrow are structured the way you already work — schematic design through construction administration — with time, budgets, and invoices organized around the phases, not bolted onto them.

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SD through CA, built in.

The problem

Your project is not a kanban board

Generic project tools make you fake your profession's structure. Design Development becomes a label. Construction Documents becomes a column. You spend setup time teaching the tool what a phase is — and maintenance time keeping the metaphor from falling apart.

And because the phases are just decoration, nothing downstream understands them. Hours don't roll up by phase. The invoice can't say what the client expects it to say. Every report needs hand-assembly.

Arcarrow starts from the phase structure architects actually use, and hangs the rest of the project on it.

How it works

Phases first. Everything follows.

01

Start on the AIA sequence

Every new project starts on your firm's phase sequence — Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents, Construction Administration — with no setup. Your firm can rename, reorder, or extend the list to match how you actually run jobs.

  • SD, DD, CD, CA — there from day one
  • The project timeline tracks the current phase
  • Phases are firm-configurable, not hardcoded
02

Work gets logged by phase

Hours land on the phase they belong to, and the budget rollup breaks actuals down phase by phase — so you can see DD running hot before it becomes CD's problem.

  • Time entries carry their phase
  • Budget vs. actuals broken down by phase
  • The AI assistant knows your phases too
03

Billing speaks the same language

Invoices group labor by phase, so your client reads the same SD-through-CA structure your contract is written in — not a flat list of hours.

  • Invoice lines grouped by phase
  • Phase names your client already understands
  • One structure from kickoff to closeout

The project, phase by phase

Maple Street Residence

Construction Documents
Phase timeline
Schematic Design
Design Development
Construction DocumentsCurrent phase
Construction Administration
Hours by phase
Schematic Design42.5 h
Design Development61.0 h
Construction Documents38.5 h · in progress

The timeline, the hours, and the budget all read in the same phases.

You work in phases. Your tools should too.

Skip the setup ritual — start every project on the structure your profession already agreed on.

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Glossary

The AIA phases, in plain terms

The standard design-phase sequence used across US architectural practice — and the default structure of every Arcarrow project.

SDSchematic Design
The first design phase: establishing the project's basic shape — site plan, floor plans, massing, and a first read on scope and budget. SD ends with a design the client can say yes to.
DDDesign Development
The approved schematic gets developed into a coordinated design: materials, systems, structure, and dimensions firm up, and the major decisions get locked before documentation begins.
CDConstruction Documents
The drawings and specifications a contractor prices and builds from — the most documentation-heavy phase, and usually the largest share of the fee.
CAConstruction Administration
The architect's role during construction: site visits, answering field questions, reviewing submittals, and confirming the built work matches the documents.

Keep exploring

More ways architects use Arcarrow

Time & billing

Hours to invoice

Log time against phases and turn it into a professional invoice, backed by a project record that supports every line on it.

Read more