How Chakara Design Strengthened Accountability and Simplified Project Operations with ProjectBase

About Chakara Design

Company: Chakara Design
Industry: Fire Protection & MEP
Employees: 75+
Revenue Range: ~40 Cr

Chakara Design is a leading company in the Fire Protection and MEP industry. With more than 75 employees and an annual turnover exceeding ₹42 crore, the firm has earned a reputation for delivering technically complex projects with precision. Prior to 2025, Chakara Design relied on Excel spreadsheets and Zoho Books for accounts. However, the limitations of managing multiple projects through scattered files and manual coordination became a growing bottleneck. On 1st January 2025, the company transitioned to ProjectBase, aiming for greater accountability, centralized operations, and simplified project management.

Key Challenges with Excel & Zoho Books

Before ProjectBase, Chakara Design faced multiple operational hurdles that slowed productivity and strained team collaboration:

• Decentralized information: Each project had multiple Excel sheets maintained separately, creating confusion and version mismatches.
  
• Purchase inefficiencies: For every purchase order, rate comparisons and approvals required separate Excel sheets, leading to delays and errors.
  
• Accounts complexity: The accounts team managed up to 10 spreadsheets per bill to reconcile delivery challans and unbilled values. Shared files often failed to sync across systems, resulting in discrepancies and wasted time.
  
• Limited visibility: Management and downstream teams lacked a centralized view of project progress and financial health, often depending on site teams for updates.
  
• Scalability issues: As project volumes increased, handling peak workloads with manual tools became unsustainable.
  

Solutions Implemented with ProjectBase

ProjectBase was introduced across Chakara Design’s purchase, accounts, and engineering teams, addressing these issues through automation and integration. Key solutions included:

• Centralized platform: ProjectBase provided a single source of truth for material requests, ordering, receiving, and billing, eliminating dependence on scattered files.
  
• Purchase order automation: Features like Compare Rates and Comparison with Estimation Quantities allowed the purchase team to generate accurate POs without creating manual Excel sheets.
  
• Accounts efficiency: With the Billing Reconciliation Report and Financials – Ongoing Projects Report, the accounts team gained immediate visibility into unbilled values and pending bills. This eliminated reliance on multiple spreadsheets and prevented synchronization errors. Mr. Umpathy, Director, described this feature as a true “Varaprasadham” for the accounts team.
  
• Price history tracking: ProjectBase simplified purchase price history analysis, allowing teams to make informed decisions quickly.
  
• User-friendly adoption: While there was an initial learning curve, within 1–2 months the entire team adapted smoothly, finding the system intuitive and reliable.
  

Results & Outcomes

The implementation of ProjectBase delivered measurable and qualitative improvements across Chakara Design’s operations:

• Enhanced accountability: The management team can now rely on downstream staff with confidence, as all processes are transparent and tracked within the system.
  
• Streamlined purchase and accounts: The purchase team gained speed and accuracy in preparing POs, while the accounts team reduced reliance on 10 spreadsheets per bill to a single automated process.
  
• Improved collaboration: Engineers and site teams receive consistent support from office teams through centralized data, reducing dependence on fragmented site updates.
  
• Operational scalability: Even during peak project inflows, the team managed workloads smoothly, something that would have been impossible with Excel-based systems.
  
• Relaxed manpower utilization: Employees now handle the same volume of work with less stress, thanks to automated workflows and reduced manual effort.
  
• Error reduction: By centralizing procurement, billing, and financial reporting, the risk of mismatches, missing data, or outdated information has been virtually eliminated.
  

Most importantly, the adoption of ProjectBase did not create any new difficulties. The system proved user-friendly, with employees quickly gaining proficiency and appreciating its structured approach.

Conclusion & Future Outlook

For Chakara Design, ProjectBase has become more than just a tool. It has become the backbone of their operations. By centralizing processes, simplifying financial tracking, and providing reliable visibility, it has empowered both teams and leadership to manage growth confidently.

Mr. Umapathy, Director of Chakara Design, shared:

“Accountability is perfect. Tracking is the best after implementing ProjectBase. It has simplified processes to a large extent and management can now rely on the downstream team with confidence.”

“The Billing Reconciliation Report is a true blessing for our accounts team. Earlier, they needed 10 Excel files to generate one bill. Now, everything is simplified in ProjectBase.”

With such endorsements, Chakara Design has already begun referring ProjectBase to other contractors, a testament to the platform’s ability to deliver practical value and scale with business growth.