How Hixson Reduced Billing Time by 80% and Built an AI-Ready Operation with Unanet AE ERP

Maintaining Quality and Visibility in an Increasingly Uncertain Market

Like many architecture and engineering firms, Hixson operates in an environment where project performance, financial accuracy, and operational efficiency directly impact business success. Market uncertainty and client spending pressures make it increasingly important to understand project performance in real time and make informed decisions about staffing, project selection, and resource allocation.

For Hixson, maintaining quality extends beyond design work. Leadership recognized that high-quality business decisions depend on high-quality operational data. Without accurate, trusted information, organizations struggle to evaluate performance, manage cash flow, and respond effectively to changing market conditions.

The challenge was not simply collecting data. It was ensuring that information remained accurate, accessible, and actionable across the organization.

Creating a Single Source of Truth for Project Performance and Financial Operations

Hixson selected Unanet AE ERP because it provided the flexibility, functionality, and long-term scalability needed to support a growing AEC business.

The platform became a central source of truth for project and financial information, helping teams maintain consistency while giving leadership access to customized dashboards focused on utilization, projections, and key performance indicators.

Beyond core ERP capabilities, Hixson adopted AR Automation and AP Automation to streamline financial processes and improve operational efficiency. The company also became an early adopter of Champ Agents, powered by Wyatt, recognizing the opportunity to transform how employees access and analyze business information.

Together, these capabilities allow Hixson to spend less time managing data and more time using it to drive better business outcomes.

Combining Automation, Training, and Accountability

Technology alone was not enough to drive results. Hixson invested heavily in user training, dashboard development, and organizational accountability to ensure employees could effectively use the system.

As both Controller and System Administrator, Christian Fasso helped establish standards around data quality and reporting. Leadership reinforced the importance of accurate information by validating data externally and ensuring employees understood how their activities contributed to business performance.

Customized dashboards gave stakeholders access to the information most relevant to their roles, while automation reduced manual administrative effort across financial processes. This combination of governance, user enablement, and operational discipline helped create confidence in both the system and the data it contained.

Extending Trusted ERP Data Through AI-Powered Analysis

Hixson views artificial intelligence as a practical extension of the operational foundation it has already established with Unanet AE ERP.

As an early beta participant for Champ Agents, powered by Wyatt, the firm is exploring new ways to simplify reporting, accelerate analysis, and make information more accessible to project managers and business leaders. Rather than relying on static reports or manually built dashboards, users can ask conversational questions and receive immediate answers, visualizations, and insights based on live ERP data.

The impact is already measurable. Tasks that previously required approximately an hour of manual reconciliation can now be completed in under two minutes. Project managers are using the technology to identify trends and analyze project performance, while leadership sees opportunities to automate additional workflows over time.

By combining trusted operational data with AI-driven analysis, Hixson is creating a scalable framework for future growth and continuous improvement.