What is PSA (Professional Services Automation) Software?
Professional services automation (PSA) is a type of business management software that is specifically designed for professional services to help organizations manage and automate key business processes, including project management, resource planning, time and expense tracking, and financial management. PSA software is often used to manage the entire lifecycle of a project, from initial planning and proposal development to project execution and billing. It can help organizations to streamline their operations, reduce administrative overhead, and improve the accuracy and transparency of their financial reporting.
Some of the key features of PSA software include:
Project scoping and pricing: tools for developing and preparing contract values
Project management: tools for planning, scheduling, and tracking projects, including project schedules, budgets, and resource allocation
Resource planning: tools for managing and scheduling the availability and allocation of staff, contractors, and other resources
Time and expense tracking: tools for capturing and tracking the time and expenses of staff and contractors, including timesheets and expense reports
Financial management: tools for invoicing, billing, and financial reporting, including integrations with accounting software and support for multiple billing rates and currencies
PSA software is typically used by professional services organizations to improve the effectiveness of their operations, as well as to provide better visibility and control over their financial performance. PSA software is comparable to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, they both are used to integrate and streamline business processes across different departments, however they were intended to manage different operations and PSA systems were designed specifically for professional services firms.
Who can benefit from PSA software?
PSA software is a valuable tool for anyone in the professional services industry, experts who sell their time as a product. These companies typically have complex project management requirements, including resource planning, budget management, and time tracking. As the central component to an organization’s systems architecture, PSA is the workflow engine that leads the business processes. It can improve efficiency across the company, however in the following sections we will go into more detail for the specific benefits to the sales, delivery and finance teams.
One Integrated Solution
Sales:
The sales team can benefit from PSA software in several ways. It can streamline sales processes, improve collaboration between sales teams and other departments, enhance customer service, and provide better reporting and analytics capabilities. By automating repetitive tasks, supplying a centralized platform for managing customer information and project details, and tracking key performance metrics, PSA software can help sales teams to work more efficiently, achieve better results, and ultimately drive business growth.
Delivery:
PSA software can help the delivery team to plan and manage projects more effectively by providing a cohesive platform for tracking project timelines, resources, and deliverables. It can also help to optimize resource utilization by providing real-time visibility into availability and workload, enabling the team to make more informed decisions about resource allocation. Additionally, PSA software can facilitate collaboration between the delivery team and other departments, such as sales and finance, by providing a shared platform for communication and information sharing.
Finance:
PSA software can aid in enhancing financial management procedures, increasing transparency, and attaining superior business results by offering an comprehensive system to monitor project particulars and accurately assign expenses. PSA software can provide real-time visibility into project costs, revenue, and profitability, enabling the finance team to better manage budgets and forecast future financial performance.
Across the organizational structure, C-level executives can receive better, more accurate reporting, which will keep their finger on the pulse of the business. The operational pieces ensure that everything is completed as expected, forecasted and actualized. While, the people who complete the work have clearer, more accessible tools to work with, which streamlines the entire end to end process and improves efficiency.
Why should I choose Rodina Consultants to handle my PSA implementation?
As systems integrators, our role is to challenge traditional approaches and provide industry-standard solutions that align with executive visions for organizational excellence.
To achieve optimal business processing and improve operations, we take the time to understand the unique needs of each business, drawing on our knowledge and experience within the industry. We hold executive stakeholder meetings, project team meetings, and workshop sessions to ensure we get input from all different teams and understand their processes and solutions.
We understand that each department has their own unique language and we act as a translator to ensure the project is fully understood from all perspectives. For example, sales teams use the term “SKU” or “Product”, while the delivery team refers to the same thing as a “Task” and the finance team calls this an “Item”, we bridge all the terms and make sure there is cohesion between the classifications.
Through our tailored integration strategy, we strive to fulfill the visions of executives by mapping solutions to their overarching view. We are not simply here to automate processes but rather to find the best practice that fits your business needs. We understand that change is not easy, but we are here to facilitate it. When Rodina decides to turn on certain areas of a PSA, it is based on your business needs, ensuring a customized approach that delivers the desired business outcome.
Why does Rodina choose to use Kantata PSA (previously Kimble Mavenlink)?
We use Kantata internally, it has helped our organization scale and develop and we can see the tremendous value it brings to an organization as they grow. We love working with ambitious organizations, especially those looking to transition to the next level when their current tools are no longer functioning appropriately. For companies facing this challenge, Kantata has proved to be an invaluable tool for growth and development.
As a product built by PSA consultants who saw a gap in the professional services industry, Kantata has accumulated best practices and learnings from businesses that have contributed to its own development. Moreover, the team behind Kantata listens closely to their customers and is always looking to improve and evolve.
As an industry frontrunner, Kantata is often compared to FinancialForce. Both effective solutions, FinancialForce is based on an ERP and is central to the finance department, while Kantata sits comfortably in the middle, understanding the project and delivery teams just as well as finance. FinancialForce does provide the ability for additional customization, although we have found that oftentimes there is no need to build additional functionality, as Kantata is already a best practice. What sets Rodina apart from other consulting companies is that our consultants have worked with both FinancialForce and Kantata and are fluent in both, which allows us to provide the best solutions to meet our clients' needs.
