If you work in professional services, you probably need Professional Services Automation (PSA) for your business, and the big question is, what is PSA software?
PSA software helps professional service professionals and organizations streamline their projects by handling time management, billing, contracts, and more in one central location. As the name implies, the software automates many processes to simplify project management for consultants.
While the terms are now often being used interchangeably, PSA is usually slightly different from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. ERP helps manage all aspects of a project whereas PSA software is reserved for front-of-house functions. That being said, modern PSA technology is continuously evolving and offers plenty of new functionality so the lines between PSA and ERP are becoming increasingly blurred.
This is your complete guide to professional services automation. We will discuss how PSA works, the types of businesses that can benefit from it, the various advantages and disadvantages, how you can increase your productivity and profitability with PSA, and more.
Types of Businesses that use Professional Services Automation software
First things first, what types of businesses can benefit from making use of PSA software? In short, any business that offers professional services i.e. knowledge, time, or labor as a service.
This includes but isn’t limited to industries such as:
- Creative and marketing agencies
- IT and software development providers
- Financial services companies
- Legal firms
- Accounting firms
- Architecture and engineering firms
- Construction companies
- Other business consulting services
Organizations that deliver billable work to their clients stand to benefit the most from their use of professional services automation. This one-stop solution can centralize the organization’s data, making it easier to keep up with all aspects of a project. From stakeholder management to delivery dates, cost estimates to revenue projections, billing and invoicing to resource management—PSA solutions simplify take care of it all.
What is PSA software? And how does it work?
What is PSA software? What does professional services automation do and how does it work?
PSA software like Mission Control is an intuitive, easy-to-use tool that helps to streamline project management. The PSA platform incorporates everything a project needs, automating many steps along the way — resulting in more effective project delivery across the board.
By providing a holistic overview of your organization and its projects in one unified location, PSA helps to bridge the gaps between various teams and stakeholders and provides more visibility into each project. Ultimately, professional services automation makes teams and businesses more efficient.
To put PSA to work for your organization, you would normally start with a free live demo with the Mission Control team. This will help you test drive the features of the PSA software and also see how the functionality applies to your particular business.
Once your team is ready to go ahead, our team will help you get set up and implement Mission Control professional services automation for your business. Your organization’s data is then migrated onto the platform and once done, the fun begins.
Mission Control’s Resource Assignment Wizard and Scheduler allow you to get it right from the start, by identifying capacity and then scheduling it smartly. Once a project is underway, the Resource Utilization report will provide valuable team resource management insights into who is working well (scheduled vs. completed hours) and who might need upskilling in certain areas. It also provides project financial management tracking with a breakdown of billable vs. non-billable hours for resource efficiencies.
PSA tools also simplify stakeholder management by providing a centralized dashboard of information. This can help to bring together internal and external stakeholders with proactive and effective communications with them as required.
Mission Control’s PSA dashboard also features a Revenue Recognition tool showing full P&L visibility for scheduled, actual, and forecast efforts.
Basic project management tools can only get you so far. When put to work effectively, PSA solutions can truly help you get more out of your projects and eliminate (or at least minimize) your team’s historical pain points, such as accurate forecasting, capacity planning, effective resource utilization, profitability tracking, and more. Hopefully that answers your question of What is PSA software? So next we can take a look at the key features of PSA Software.
7 Key Features of a Professional Services Automation Solution
Professional services firms looking to next-level their performance and outdo the competition need to take PSA software seriously. But with so many solutions out there, how do you decide which one is right for you?
To help you get started with the PSA “shopping” process, we’ve put together some of the key features to look out for in your software.
Project set up
Want to create new projects and frameworks with ease? Your PSA software should help you with that. It will help you set key milestones and deliverables easily and reduces repetitive work for you and the team.
Project planning
Plan your projects with ease with project planning tools within your tool. From Gantt charts to checklists, Kanban whiteboards to meeting managers, PSA platforms should help you simplify the planning process.
Status tracking
When you’re juggling multiple projects, your PSA software should help you keep track of progress with a centralized status tracking dashboard with automated alerts that keep you looped in at major milestones.
Resource management
Resourcing a professional services project effectively is critical to its success. Your PSA solution should help you simplify resource management. Ensure your tool helps you keep track of your resources as well as manage billing and cost rates.
Reporting tools
Reporting tools are key for learning from completed projects and applying the learnings to future projects. Your PSA tool should provide reporting options that make ongoing reporting simple.
Holistic overview
Your PSA should offer you a centralized dashboard that will help you gain high-level insight into how each of your projects is performing. This holistic overview will also help you make better business and resource management decisions in the long term.
Ongoing support
Ask your PSA provider what level of service or support you can expect from them after purchase. Good service is critical as it will be very helpful in implementing and maximizing the use of your software.
Mission Control offers all these key features and more, making it the perfect match for Salesforce-powered professional services businesses.
