What Is Power BI and How Does It Deliver Value for AEC Firms?

When your projects span multiple teams, schedules shift daily, and margins are tight, getting a clear picture of performance isn’t easy. That’s where Power BI comes in.

Power BI is Microsoft’s powerful business intelligence tool that helps you turn complex data into interactive dashboards, reports, and insights. But it’s more than a reporting tool—it’s a way to get your arms around the operational chaos that often comes with your line of business.  

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What Is Power BI?

At its core, Power BI connects to your business systems (ERP, project management, accounting, CRM, and more) and translates raw data into visual reports you can act on. It’s built to help users spot patterns, track KPIs, and monitor performance in near real-time without relying on manual spreadsheets or custom-coded dashboards that maybe only one person in your company knows.  

In short: it gives you the visibility you need to manage smarter, not harder which saves time and money in the end.  

Why Power BI Makes Sense for AEC Firms

AEC firms manage a high volume of data—project timelines, labor costs, change orders, budgets, RFIs, and more. But without the right tools, that data often stays siloed or underused.

A major challenge in the AEC industry is extracting meaningful KPIs from standard ERP systems, which often force firms into rigid metrics and reporting structures that don’t align with industry standards like net labor multiplier, utilization, or net revenue per employee. Every firm is a bit different, too—many want to calculate, present, or visualize their data in specific ways. That’s where Power BI shines.

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Here’s how Power BI helps AEC firms unlock value. ‍

1. Track Projects and Profitability in Real Time

Power BI lets you create dashboards that show actual vs. estimated cost, project burn rate, earned value, and billing milestones—all in one place. That visibility helps you:

- Identify issues before they snowball
- Course-correct faster
- Ensure projects stay on budget and on-time

2. Connect Disparate Systems

Most AEC firms rely on multiple systems—Deltek, Viewpoint, Sage, Procore, Excel, etc. Power BI can pull data from all of them, unifying your view across:

- Financials
- Project schedules
- Field reports
- Labor utilization

3. Optimize Resource Allocation

With Power BI, you can visualize which teams are overburdened, underutilized, or at risk of burnout. You can also forecast upcoming resource needs across projects—critical for firms juggling multiple deadlines and limited staff.

4. Reduce Reporting Time

How many hours does your team spend every week pulling reports from multiple systems? Power BI automates this. Once your dashboards are set up, reports can be scheduled, emailed, or refreshed automatically. That means you have less time wrangling spreadsheets and more time acting on insights.

5. Support Strategic Decisions

Power BI gives leadership teams the data they need to make confident decisions—like which clients are most profitable, which markets are growing, or which types of work have the best ROI. It shifts your firm from reactive to proactive.

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What About the Cost?

When evaluating Power BI, it’s easy to focus on the licensing or setup cost, but the real story is in the return. For AEC firms juggling dozens of projects and stakeholders, Power BI doesn’t just save time—it protects profits.

Let’s say your project managers spend 8–10 hours a month manually pulling reports, reconciling budgets, and updating spreadsheets. Multiply that by 5 or 6 project leads, and you’re looking at 400–600 hours a year in non-billable time. With Power BI, those hours can be cut dramatically and those reports that once took half a day can be generated in seconds and updated in real time.  

That translates to:

- Faster decisions on change orders and scope creep

- Quicker visibility into project overruns or low utilization

- Less rework and duplication of effort across departments

One civil engineering firm we worked with was projected to save over 200 hours per year just on weekly project reporting. More importantly, they were able to spot billing delays and cost overruns earlier leading to a projected tens of thousands in recovered revenue and avoided penalties.

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Should You Build In-House or Use a Partner?

If you have internal analysts familiar with SQL, Excel Power Pivot, or Microsoft tools, you may be able to build dashboards in-house. However, many AEC firms partner with Power BI consultants, like 5 Factor or myself, who understand industry KPIs and can accelerate the process.

The right partner will also ensure your data is clean, integrated, and structured to deliver meaningful insights, not just pretty charts. They can help AEC firms get up and running with Power BI, from integrating your project management and financial tools to building dashboards tailored to your KPIs. Whether you’re looking for a full deployment or just want help visualizing your data, they have the technical skills and industry know-how to make it happen.

About the Author

Rick Carle, P.E., ENV SP ‍

Rick Carle is the Director of Transportation Services at Aguirre & Fields, where he leads operations, drives design innovation, and builds high-performing teams. With deep expertise in transportation and a problem-solving mindset, he fosters a culture of growth and collaboration. Rick also serves as the firm’s Power BI expert, using data to track performance, uncover insights, and guide strategic decisions.