As a services delivery business, you face daunting challenges when managing your enterprise-wide processes. A mish-mash of ad-hoc systems covering everything from helpdesk services, project management, and time tracking all act independently. And behind it all, there’s finance struggling to manage, optimise, and report on project and business costs.
Despite these roadblocks, teams are still expected to generate successful outcomes in less time and probably face increasing pressure to illustrate the impact they are driving. Without the right tools and processes in place, hitting your project goals and demonstrating the results is difficult, time-consuming, and stressful.
Which is why so many service organisations, like yours, are turning to cloud-based professional services automation (PSA) software. PSA solutions are built to solve these all-too-common service delivery problems by bolstering organisation-wide visibility, improving resource utilisation, streamlining invoicing and billing, supporting on-time project delivery, and driving profitability.
In this article, we clarify what PSA is, and share exactly how a single, cloud-based PSA solution allows all your professional services functions to operate from the same reliable starting point.
A recap of professional services automation software
Professional services automation is a software solution used to increase operational visibility and improve process efficiency in project and services-driven organisations. The platform acts as the main hub for all your service business activities to deliver an overarching alternative to all of your disparate vendor solutions spread across your business. Ultimately, the right PSA solution supports a more productive and profitable business and improves levels of predictability and client satisfaction. PSA is one of several innovations transforming the services sector.
The difference between professional services automation and enterprise resource planning
First, let’s clear up the different – and sometimes overlapping – elements of PSA and its close cousin, enterprise resource planning (ERP). In short, PSA is made for the unique needs of businesses selling work, and ERP is more suited for those selling things. Typically, ERP is designed for managing tangible assets such as the procurement and sales of physical goods. Hence the range of modules related to this – manufacturing, warehouse management, inventory management, and so on. PSA solutions are designed to help service businesses manage workflows and include features to automate the process of accepting, tracking, billing, and documenting requests for professional services. Yes, most PSAs include the finance function capabilities, but it is not the primary focus. Likewise, ERPs offer some features to automate professional service management tasks, but that is not their main function. The different focus makes PSA an obvious choice for service-based businesses.
How a PSA can meet your challenges head on
To address the main culprits preventing optimal service efficiency – such as a lack of integration, visibility, and control – a PSA solution combines an organisation-wide project and resource database with integrated modules that support service-based teams in a multitude of everyday tasks.
Qualify opportunities to turn them into quotes or proposals
A PSA combined with a CRM provides better visibility and more granular information for the sales teams. They can get a better grip on project costs and match quotes to meet margin requirements and client needs. They can see opportunities coming through the pipeline and ensure the right resources are on tap. The high-level visibility also allows them to see the progress of projects they have a stake in, enabling them to track status, customer satisfaction levels, and ultimately paves the way for a long-term partnership with the customer.
In fact, a PSA will support the complete bid-to-bill solution from quoting, ordering, planning, delivering, and invoicing through to post-project analysis. Billing management features also allow you to automate billing, invoicing, and complex recurring, time, and project-based billing.
Staff projects with the right resources at the right time
Resource management involves the careful planning, scheduling, allocating, and utilisation of resources to maximise both the value and potential of your resources. A PSA allows project managers to optimise the overall resource management process by analysing resource capacity alongside demand and current and future availability to ensure the right skills are available at the right level and at the right time.
Capture time and expenses spent on projects and optimise resources
Simple timesheet and expense management – integrated with project management and billing – enables project managers and users to quickly capture detailed time and expense costs. This not only maximises accuracy and timeliness of expense reporting, but it also improves productivity and enables better tracking and compliance.
Proactively manage to maximise project profitability
PSAs provide a single source of the truth, with information constantly updated to provide an accurate view across functions and processes. This complete visibility enables teams to collaborate on projects and always work with current and accurate project information while managers have the tools to proactively identify and resolve potential issues with each engagement. The end result is a far-enhanced project completion record, more satisfied clients, and a reduction in costly non-billable work.
Manage project costing, budgeting, and profitability reporting
To ensure maximised profits and optimised operations, it’s critical for service-based businesses to move from spreadsheets towards more comprehensive views of team and project performance. PSAs offer on-demand, real-time data to provide a realistic view of your services organisation. Highly configurable or pre-configured dashboards and reporting features allow users to monitor, report, and analyse overall project performance such as resource utilisation, profit margins, project budgets, etc. – all in real-time. For the bigger picture, finance also gains an accurate picture of revenue and costs, helping them improve cash flow and plan forecasts.
If you are operating a service-based business and want to drive new efficiencies, a PSA will provide powerful tools to help standardise business processes and provide reports, insight, and control for all your resources and projects.
To learn more about the benefits of PSA for the professional services industry, speak to the Annexa team. We have experience and expertise in the services industry, a deep understanding of the challenges faced, and the best practices to transition your organisation to an optimal state of operations with NetSuite.
Annexa is a leading NetSuite partner with extensive experience designing and implementing comprehensive and customised business systems, including payroll solutions, financial management, warehouse management, and ecommerce solutions.