Key takeaways
- Ajera is Deltek's project management and project accounting system for small architecture and engineering firms.
- Ajera expense reports carry project, phase and expense item, with a credit card column for firm cards.
- Card transactions come in by CSV import from the bank and are then pulled onto expense reports.
- Vergo proposes project, phase and expense item, texts for receipts and posts expense reports through Ajera's API once IT enables access.
Where should you go next?
- Vergo's Deltek Ajera integration
- What expense management tools integrate with Deltek Ajera for architecture firms?
- Get started with Vergo
How do you automate expense management in Deltek Ajera, step by step?
- Enable API access. Credentials come from inside Ajera; your IT enables them once.
- Keep the firm's cards. Connecting your existing cards involves no card applications, no re-issuing and no banking change.
- Collect receipts by text. Employees handle everything by text message — no app to download, no portal login — and Vergo chases missing receipts itself instead of waiting for a report.
- Code to project and phase. Vergo proposes the project, phase and expense item for each line from how similar spend was charged, with the reason.
- Produce the expense report. Once your IT enables API access from inside Ajera, Vergo posts expense reports with the credit card payment method and receipts attached, through Ajera's Expense Reports API.
What does Ajera need on each card charge?
- Project and phase: so reimbursable costs reach the client invoice.
- Expense item: which drives the GL account.
- Credit card: the firm card it was paid with, so Ajera creates a bank entry, not a reimbursement.
- Receipt: attached for client billing backup.
Where does Ajera stop and automation start?
Ajera has a sound card process: import the bank's CSV, let employees pull charges onto expense reports, and route through supervisor and accounting approval. The weak point is timing and coding. Employees tag charges to projects when they get round to the report, and a charge for plotter paper can land on whichever project was open. Vergo reads the receipt itself, line by line, and predicts the coding from what was actually bought, not just the vendor name on the header.
A practical example
A 25-person architecture firm on Ajera gives cards to its project architects. One pays for a rental car for a site visit and printing for a client presentation. Vergo texts for both receipts, proposes the client project with the construction administration phase for the car and the design development phase for the printing, both marked to the firm card. The principal approves, and the expense report is posted to Ajera with receipts attached.
How Vergo handles this
Vergo proposes the coding by inference from your own accounting structure and history — no rule library to build, no keyword lists to maintain, and new vendors are coded on first sight. For an Ajera firm that means project and phase, which is what reimbursable billing depends on. Approval workflows are optional and fit how you already control spend: route by GL account or by amount — or skip approval flows entirely and let policy flags catch only what breaks a rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Vergo replace Ajera's credit card import?
It can. Vergo starts from the card transaction and posts the expense report to Ajera, so the monthly CSV step becomes optional.
Does Ajera's approval still apply?
Yes. Vergo posts expense reports to Ajera, so supervisor and accounting approval in Ajera still run.
How does spend reach Ajera?
As expense reports with the credit card payment method and receipts, posted through Ajera's Expense Reports API.
Who enables the connection?
Your IT enables API access from inside Ajera once.
Do we need new cards?
No. Connecting your existing cards involves no card applications, no re-issuing and no banking change.
