Key Results
30% Productivity Increase
Productivity is up nearly 30% over the firm's best year ever with Factor running for less than a full year.
Custom Module Delivered in 4 Months.
The Factor team built a complete revenue forecasting module tailored to Starr Design's workflow within 4 months.
5 References Called Before Signing
Before committing, Steve personally called every reference Factor provided. Every single one recommended Factor.
95% Fixed-Fee Work, Fully Supported
Factor accommodated Starr Design's milestone-based billing methodology without asking them to change a thing.
Overview
Starr Design is a restaurant design and consulting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Steve Starr, a licensed architect with 36 years of industry experience, founded the firm 18 years ago and built it around a client-first project management philosophy that most software simply was not built to support.
With a 10-person team running a portfolio where 95% of work is fixed-fee and billed by phase milestones, Starr Design needed more than a generic project management tool. They needed a platform flexible enough to work the way they work.
Challenges
A Long History of Software That Didn't Fit
Starr Design's software journey started with QuickBooks Desktop, which they quickly outgrew. In 2016, they moved to Deltek Ajera, a more robust project accounting platform, but it introduced its own set of problems.
"The user interface is very, very complicated. Only our CFO knew how to use it. I don't even think I really understood how to use it." —Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
Steve and his project managers had to go back to the CFO any time they needed financial or project performance analysis, creating a bottleneck that slowed down decision-making across the firm.
Strong on Accounting, Weak for Project Management
While Deltek Ajera handled project accounting reasonably well, Starr Design never used it for project management at all. Instead, they cycled through a long list of standalone tools including ArchiOffice, Teamwork, ClickUp, and SharePoint. None of them aligned with how the firm actually operated.
When the time came to find a true all-in-one solution, Starr Design evaluated every integrated option they could find, including Monograph.
While Monograph is an elegantly designed product, it could not accommodate Starr Design's project management methodology. The firm needed something that would work around how they operate, not the other way around.
A Philosophy That Software Kept Fighting
At the heart of Starr Design's challenges was a fundamental mismatch between how they manage projects and how most software is designed. Rather than tracking hours against a project budget, Steve built the firm around a revenue-first model: determine what revenue the firm needs to earn each month, break it down by project and phase, and align deadlines to client milestones rather than internal hour targets.
"My philosophy is that it's much better to look at client performance and put the client's and project's needs equal to or above our firm's needs."—Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
Some software companies told them to change that approach. Factor didn't.
Solution
A Platform Built Around How They Actually Work
After doing extensive research, including personally calling every reference Factor provided, Steve chose Factor because the team understood architecture project management deeply enough to know that firms don't all work the same way, and were willing to make the software work for Starr Design rather than the other way around.
Revenue Forecasting Built for Their Methodology
At the center of Starr Design's workflow is a revenue forecasting model that most software simply could not support. Their operations leadership team maps out how much revenue each project phase needs to generate each month, sets milestones tied to client deadlines, and lets the design staff focus on one thing: hit the deadline and do great work.
When Factor could not yet fully support this workflow out of the box, the team did not tell Starr Design to change their process. They provided immediate workarounds, and then within 4 months built a dedicated forecasting module tailored specifically to how Starr Design operates.
"Within 4 months, they developed a whole forecasting module that worked the way we work. And it's been unbelievable."—Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
That visibility also transformed how the team responds when projects shift. If a client puts a project on hold mid-month, the team can immediately redirect focus to keep monthly revenue on track.
A Team That Listens and Follows Through
For Steve, the defining difference with Factor was not just the software. It was the people behind it. Across 36 years in the industry and more software tools than he can count, he had never worked with a team that listened the way Factor's team does and then actually acted on what they heard.
"Everyone's been willing to jump on a call with us and work through our specific things that we wanted a certain way and they make it that certain way."—Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
That collaboration extended to the toughest parts of the implementation. When glitches came up, the Factor team tracked them down and saw them through to a fix. Steve described it as a genuinely two-way relationship built on trust.
"It's been a really amazing collaboration. And I can't say enough about how much they listen and follow through on what they hear."—Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
Steve put it plainly when asked what sets Factor apart from every other tool he has tried.
"Factor is the only one where they actively listen and then follow through with making the software actually a usable tool to improve our process rather than saying this is the tool and you have to adjust your processes to work with it. That's an enormous difference in mindset."—Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
Implementation
Starr Design began their transition in July 2025 and went fully live on September 1st, a 2-month ramp that Steve estimates could have been even faster if not for the simultaneous setup of QuickBooks Online.
- Transition began July 2025; fully live by September 1st
- Prior historical data and billing records migrated successfully
- The Factor team identified and resolved data transition glitches, including issues that originated on the QuickBooks side
- 8 months in, Factor is used for everything across the firm
- The team is actively looking forward to onboarding new staff with Factor's phase and task templates already in place
While the team had some initial apprehensions about returning to a QuickBooks-based integration after years of struggles, found that Factor effectively shields the team from QuickBooks' complexity.
"We almost never have to interact with QuickBooks. Whenever there's a question or a problem, we go to Factor, and there's almost always an answer there."—Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
Working Smarter, Not Harder
The impact became clear quickly. After running Factor for the final 6 months of 2025 and into early 2026, Starr Design's productivity is up 30% over their best year ever, which was 2018.
"We're producing almost 30% more work than we were in our best year ever. And I can't wait to see what our first full year looks like." —Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
Steve attributes the gains not to working harder, but to working smarter. Factor gives the team instant visibility that lets them pivot from a stalled project to an active one without missing a beat.
"It's not that anyone's working that much harder. It's that we're just working so much smarter."—Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
For Steve, the decision to choose Factor came down to something he had not encountered with any other software company: a genuine willingness to listen, adapt, and build. After 36 years in the industry, he knows what works. And what has worked, in a big way, is a software partner willing to meet his firm exactly where they are.
"From my experience, the Factor team is willing and able to be flexible and adjust the software so that it works really well with how the firm leadership wants to run the firm. That's your secret sauce."—Steve Starr, Chief/President, Starr Design
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