Software / dev agency software, built around E&O, CPA and projects + billable-hours / T&M engine

Arkathos gives a software a workspace tailored to how the work actually runs — This workspace is built around project delivery on a SOW — billable hours, time-and-materials, and milestone billing. Arkathos tailors a software workspace around 5 agents: Treasury, Sentinel, Scribe, Quartermaster, Herald.

Compliance a software can't afford to miss

Watchtower tracks every license, bond, insurance policy, and continuing-education requirement for a software, with renewal cadences and staged reminders so nothing lapses.

• A software must maintain a Business entity registration (LLC / corporation) + annual/biennial report, through the State Secretary of State (Division of Corporations), which renews every year.
• A software must maintain a Professional Liability / Technology Errors & Omissions (Tech E&O) insurance, through the Private insurer (admitted/surplus carrier, regulated by state Dept. of Insurance), which renews every year.
• A software must maintain a General Liability insurance, through the Private insurer (regulated by state Dept. of Insurance), which renews every year.
• A software must maintain a Cyber Liability insurance, through the Private insurer (regulated by state Dept. of Insurance), which renews every year.
• A software must maintain a Workers' Compensation insurance, through the State-regulated; private carrier or state fund (mandated by state workers' comp law when employing staff), which renews every year.
• A software must maintain a SOC 2 Type II report (independent service-auditor examination), through the Independent CPA firm under AICPA SSAE No. 18 / Trust Services Criteria, which renews every year.
• A software must maintain a PCI DSS compliance (Attestation of Compliance / SAQ), through the PCI Security Standards Council (validated via QSA or self-assessment), which renews every year.
• A software must maintain a PMP (Project Management Professional), through the Project Management Institute (PMI), which renews every 3 years.
• The PMP (Project Management Professional) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (35h Education (minimum 35 of the 60 PDUs), 8h Education - Ways of Working (min 8, counts within Education), 8h Education - Power Skills (min 8, counts within Education), 8h Education - Business Acumen (min 8, counts within Education), 25h Giving Back to the Profession (maximum 25)).
• A software must maintain a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), through the ISC2, which renews every 3 years.
• The CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) carries a continuing-education requirement of 120 hours every 36 months (90h Group A (domain-related CPEs, minimum 90), 30h Group B (professional development, maximum 30)).
• A software must maintain a AWS Certification (e.g., Solutions Architect / Developer Associate), through the Amazon Web Services (AWS), which renews every 3 years.
• A software must maintain a Microsoft Azure role-based certification (Associate/Expert), through the Microsoft, which renews every year.
• A software must maintain a Google Cloud Professional certification, through the Google Cloud, which renews every two years.

Everything Arkathos runs for a software

These are the agents set up first for a software — and because it's one platform, every plan includes all 16 Arkathos agents. Also included whenever you need them: Guardhouse, Courier, War Room, Armory, Marshall, Mint Warden, Vault Keeper, Watchtower, Bulletin Board, Client Portal.

• Treasury — Invoicing & payment collection, Expense tracking, Accounting & bookkeeping, Business tax prep & filing, Recurring billing & subscriptions, Financial dashboards & reports.
• Sentinel — Contact & lead management, Deal / estimate pipeline, Task & follow-up tracking, SMS & email outreach, Pipeline reporting.
• Scribe — Document & contract templates, E-signature, Proposal & form builder, PDF / Word export.
• Quartermaster — Online booking & appointments, Calendar & availability, Events & waitlists, Automated reminders, Job dispatch & scheduling.
• Herald — SEO & get-found content, Social media scheduling, Email & newsletter campaigns, Brand voice & content studio, Review & reputation growth, AI-overview & directory visibility.

Your tailored software workspace

These are net-new, software-specific capabilities — not a generic CRM bolted onto your industry.

• Projects + billable-hours / T&M engine (Treasury): Project objects with per-member time entries (billable vs non-billable), rate cards, and one-click time-to-milestone/T&M invoice generation. Billable-hour capture is the agency's core revenue mechanic and Treasury has no project or time layer today.
• SOW & change-order generator (Scribe): Structured Statement-of-Work builder — deliverables, milestones, acceptance criteria, payment schedule — plus change orders, e-signed and wired so accepting a milestone releases the matching invoice in Treasury.
• Project / sprint delivery board (Sentinel): Per-client project board grouping deliverables into milestone gates, with delivery status tied to invoice release so engineering progress and billing stay in lockstep instead of living in a separate PM tool.
• Retainer & hour-bank billing (Treasury): Recurring monthly retainer invoices with prepaid hour banks, live burn-down against the bank, and rollover/overage rules — the common agency engagement model that flat invoices can't represent.
• Multi-client / multi-brand Herald (Herald): Per-client brand voice, connected social accounts, isolated approval queues and per-client reporting so the agency can run its clients' marketing from one Herald — the agency/dev multi-tenant model change called out in the verticals doc.

The agents and tabs you get

Treasury for a software surfaces Financial sheet, Invoices, Draft estimate, Pipeline, Transactions, Chat. Sentinel for a software surfaces Overview, Contacts, Tasks, Chat. Scribe for a software surfaces Documents, Templates, Tasks, Chat. Quartermaster for a software surfaces Calendar, Bookings, Availability, Chat. Herald for a software surfaces Brand voice, Compose, Schedule, Get found, Analytics, ✦Studio, Chat.

Frequently asked questions

best software for a software development agency

Agencies stack a code/PM tool (Jira, GitHub, ClickUp) with separate CRM, time-tracking, invoicing and payroll apps. Arkathos consolidates the business side (CRM, scheduling, invoicing, payroll, compliance) into one flat-priced platform.

best project management tool for dev agency

Jira suits Scrum-heavy engineering teams, ClickUp for all-in-one flexibility, Teamwork for client-facing work (unlimited client users). Pick one with built-in time tracking, since that drives agency billing accuracy and margins.

how to price software development projects fixed vs hourly

Fixed-price fits well-scoped, familiar projects and gives clients budget certainty; hourly suits evolving scope. Many use a hybrid: fixed-price discovery phase, then hourly build. Sharp scoping protects fixed-price margins.

how much do software development agencies charge per hour

On Clutch, most listed software firms charge roughly $24-$49/hour, though senior US agencies bill far higher. Rate depends on niche, seniority and location. Value-based project pricing often beats hourly for margins.

best crm for software agency to manage leads and clients

HubSpot (free tier, strong automation), Close (outbound sales), and Breakcold (per-client workspaces) are common picks. Arkathos includes a built-in CRM with lead capture and follow-ups, avoiding per-seat CRM fees.

best time tracking and invoicing software for agency clients

Harvest and Toggl Track lead for track-to-invoice workflows and profitability reporting; Plutio ties hours to retainers. Time tracking is core to agency billing accuracy. Arkathos also handles invoicing and client billing.

do software developers charge sales tax on services

Most states treat custom software/dev as a nontaxable professional service, but exceptions exist: Washington (Oct 2025), Texas data-processing services, DC, New Mexico, Tennessee. Verify your state. Arkathos tracks multi-state sales-tax obligations automatically.

how to write a software development contract with statement of work

An SOW defines scope, deliverables, timeline, payment terms, IP ownership, confidentiality and acceptance criteria. Pair a Master Services Agreement with per-project SOWs so you don't renegotiate the full contract each time.

how to manage client retainers and recurring revenue for a dev agency

Set clear scope, response-time and capacity limits (reserve ~20% buffer), target 40%+ gross margin, and bill on outcomes not hours. Automate recurring invoices and overage charges to keep revenue predictable.

What licenses and insurance does a software need?

Arkathos tracks 12 items for a software, including Business entity registration (LLC / corporation) + annual/biennial report, SOC 2 Type II report (independent service-auditor examination), PCI DSS compliance (Attestation of Compliance / SAQ), PMP (Project Management Professional). Each renewal and expiration is monitored in Watchtower with staged reminders.

What continuing education is required for a software?

The PMP (Project Management Professional) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (35h Education (minimum 35 of the 60 PDUs), 8h Education - Ways of Working (min 8, counts within Education), 8h Education - Power Skills (min 8, counts within Education), 8h Education - Business Acumen (min 8, counts within Education), 25h Giving Back to the Profession (maximum 25)). The CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) carries a continuing-education requirement of 120 hours every 36 months (90h Group A (domain-related CPEs, minimum 90), 30h Group B (professional development, maximum 30)). Watchtower logs hours by category and flags shortfalls before the deadline.

Which Arkathos agents does a software get?

Arkathos tailors a software workspace around 5 agents: Treasury, Sentinel, Scribe, Quartermaster, Herald.

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