Ochre

Bookkeeping for Architects

Ochre is an architectural bookkeeping system that helps you manage your business for profitability.
Ochre is for small-firm architects (1-16 people) and replaces your accounting system.
The cost is $39/month and there are no limits on users or projects.
Features and Benefits link.

Explore this embedded copy of Ochre below to see if it works for you.

Log in with this email address: Corbu@testdrive.com
The password is: Ochre-Guest

COSTS AND HOW TO GET OCHRE

These are the costs you can expect:

Ochre is an app developed using the Knack software. You must have a Knack account to run your copy of Ochre. Ochre works with the Knack Starter Plan, which costs $39/month after a free, 14 day trial period.
If you wish to customize the app, there are several ways to proceed. See the Help And Support tab below.

Here are the steps to get Ochre:

Contact Rick Wolnitzek by email to start a conversation and get information on my Knack referral link.
Obtain your Knack account using my referral link. My affiliate commission is the only income that I receive for having developed Ochre. You MUST create your account using this link found in the Next Steps PDF I will send you.
Once you have signed up for a Knack account, I will contact you by email to establish when the copying can be done. This process requires agreement among you, me and Knack. Usually a time can be set up within a few days.

video PREVIEWS

A selection of videos to experience Ochre.

Overview

Making A Time Entry

Logging Mileage

help and support

General

Each page of the Ochre app has instructions at the bottom of the page where they are quite visible as you start up but slowly sink below the page view as your data accumulates.

The Admin page of the app has a 'Help & Support' button that contains more sources of help for users of Ochre.

Other sources of help can be found at these links:
Ochre FAQs - frequently asked questions
Ochre KB - a Knowledge Base of articles

Onboarding

When starting out with Ochre, be sure to consult the written onboarding guide found here.

Support

Ochre Paid Support and Customization - questions answered by text or email; changes to the app to suit your needs.
Contact Rick by email with your questions and requests.

The cost is $85 / hour

Knack has a network of web developers that can customize your copy of Ochre with custom code for special requirements. Here is a link to explore this further.

TRANSPARENCY STATEMENT

Ochre is a bookkeeping system developed by Rick Wolnitzek, who was principal of Wolnitzek Architects, PSC for 32 years. Ochre contains all the key financial management tools that small-firm architects need to easily manage their firms for profitability.

Ochre is a Knack template app that you may customize in any way you choose. Ochre is provided without cost except for a modest implementation charge for the copying process. You need a Knack account for which there is a monthly subscription fee payable to Knack. Ochre is provided as-is. Ochre does not have a warranty or guarantee.

FAQs

Features and Benefits: See this link.
Cancelling your account: Simply go to your Knack Builder page, click on Account, edit the Cancel Account option.
Who is Ochre for? Firms from 1 to 16(+/-) people, who want a better financial management tool without having to devote lots of time to learning and maintaining software.
What Knack plan do I need? Ochre works with the Knack Starter Plan, which costs $39/month after a free, 14 day trial period.
Will I ever need to upgrade my Knack account? You might. The Starter Plan limit is 20,000 records. From experience records are created at the rate of about 100 per person per month. See Knack Pricing for more details.
How much time per month does Ochre require? Besides time entries by each individual staff member, you will only need one to two hours per week.
Does Ochre prepare invoices? You can find all the information needed for invoicing in Ochre, but the complications of preparing architect’s invoices is beyond a simple bookkeeping system.
Does Ochre prepare payroll? Ochre provides a report to use for payroll preparation. Consider a payroll service like Gusto, ADP, or Paychex. Doing your own payroll is a serious distraction, and it costs more than a service.
Will Ochre be updated? Ochre has all the fundamentals covered, however, you can request additional features. See Help And Support tab.
Why doesn’t my record display? Generally this is an internet-connection-latency problem. The solution is to refresh your browser by clicking the “circular arrow” found in the menu bar of the browser.
Can I import my data? Yes and No. Data can only be imported into the Knack app builder, which you have access to through your Knack account. It is easy to do, however preparing your data is usually time-consuming. See the COSTS AND HOW TO GET OCHRE tab to see my rates for doing it for you. First read about Historical Data here.
Can I export my data? Yes. Every table of data is exportable as a CSV, TXT, or JSON file.
Are projects and users limited? No. The only limits are the 20,000 records and 2 GB of file storage in the Knack Starter Plan. These can be increased for an additional cost if needed.
What are the hidden costs? None, all costs are spelled out in the COSTS AND HOW TO GET OCHRE tab above.
What guarantee do I have that it will work for me? None. See the TRANSPARENCY STATEMENT tab above. Simply cancel your Knack account.

Alternate DEMO

An alternative way to demo the app is to follow these instructions.

Go to https://architekwiki.knack.com/ochre-test#my-records/
Log in with this email address: Corbu@testdrive.com
The password is: Ochre-Guest