Automation of Professional Services through ERP
When it comes to choosing software applications for the business, professional service organisations are a bit different from other organisations. Professional Services Automation(PSA) are made exclusively for companies that are service based and which sell people’s time such as construction firms, architecture and engineering firms, IT Consulting firms, lawyers, advertising and media firms etc. The software can also be beneficial for large organisations that have departments running their own individual projects internally.
Professional Services automation has evolved exponentially over the years. What started as simple task management with a tool like Microsoft Project is now moving to cloud-based applications. PSA portal is especially beneficial for companies that offer a specific service to their clients. These companies generally use a project management tool and they often need tools to help track expenses, time, profitability and more- which is why they are in need of specific software tools.
Basic Aspects of PSA
If your organisation is looking into the automation of professional services, there are few basic tools that every PSA software must include:
Time and expenses. This is one of the most crucial elements of professional services automation. It’s critical to keep track of time and expenses of a project, what teams are doing, what are the incurred expenses and any other additional aspects which they are adding on as a part of the project.
Specific tasks. PSA software tracks the “WHAT” of the project. This includes tracking specific tasks, project plan, work breakdown structure, work activity and anything and everything related to the project.
People. It not only tracks the “WHAT”, but also keeps track of the “WHO”. That is to say, the software helps in tracking actual people working on specific projects. This will provide the organisation visibility into who is working on specific projects, when they will be available and what are their skills set, thus allowing control over their valuable resources.
Revenue. One of the biggest gains of using Professional Services Automation software is their ability to track revenue and costs that are to come up with the profitability of the project. Still, its real advantage lies in its capability in tracking what a project costs to deliver by task, by person, by milestone and if it will be profitable ultimately.
Collaboration. This is a requirement that every PSA software should meet. They should be able to bring each and every aspect that you are in need of into one application. This includes how your team shares or exchanges information, texts, data about what’s happening, important documents, email data and anything related to the project. Bringing it all together will facilitate easy tracking of these aspects.
Now you know the basic requirements you should look for in PSA software. When choosing your professional services automation tools you should further look into the organisation’s requirements in various areas including project management, finance management, resource management and collaboration. Selecting PSA software that meets your needs can still be an overwhelming task. So if you need help with this task, avail the services provided by Ramco systems.