Choosing the right software for your consultancy

Selecting the ideal Professional Service Automation (PSA) software vendor is crucial for professional services firms aiming to enhance their operational efficiency and drive business growth.

To ensure a smooth and effective assessment and selection process, it is essential to develop a comprehensive requirements plan tailored specifically to the needs of your professional services organization.

This article provides valuable insights and practical guidance on creating a robust requirements plan to help your business evaluate and choose the right PSA software product.

1. Engage your team

Facilitate internal conversations with your team members to gain valuable insights into their perspectives on current processes and potential areas for improvement.

Their input will help you identify the essential features and capabilities you require in a PSA solution. Additionally, involving your team early on will facilitate their buy-in and adoption of the selected PSA product.

2. Define your key functions

Find inspiration from our article: 10 Functions Every PSA Tool Should Have.

The first step in crafting a requirements plan is to clearly define your objectives for implementing Professional Service Automation (PSA) software. Identify the specific goals you want to achieve through automation, for example:

Improving resource allocation
Gaining visibility into staff utilization
Streamlining time tracking
Increasing billing accuracy
Improving project profitability
Enhancing client communication and collaboration
Simplifying reporting and analysis
Enhancing overall operational efficiency
Forecasting revenue and margin

Having a clear understanding of your objectives will allow you to align your evaluation criteria and prioritize the features and functionalities that will best support your business goals.

This ensures that the selected PSA software aligns with your organization's strategic vision and delivers tangible benefits to your professional services firm.

3. Considering scalability for your consultancy software

Scalability should be a significant factor in identifying your software needs. You’ll need to assess whether the PSA platform can support your business growth and accommodate increasing demands as your consultancy expands. This may include evaluating the system's capacity to handle a growing client base, increasing project volumes, and managing a larger workforce.

As your consultancy grows, you’ll want to consider features such as flexible resource management, robust reporting and analytics, and the ability to handle complex project workflows.

Additionally, ensure that the PSA platform offers integration capabilities to seamlessly connect with other systems or tools that may be required as your consultancy grows.

Then once you are engaging with PSA providers, clearly communicate your requirements and ask direct questions. Be specific about the functionalities you need and inquire how the provider can meet those needs.

This clarity and directness will help you assess whether the solution aligns with your objectives and can effectively address your firm's requirements.

4. Define key integrations with PSA vendors

When defining your software requirements specifications, it is crucial to consider if the product integrates with other systems that are essential to your business processes. Whether you rely on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, accounting systems, project management tools, or task management platforms, seamless integration with the PSA platform is vital.

Effective integration enables the smooth flow of data across different systems, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the risk of errors. It allows information to be shared seamlessly between platforms, improving collaboration and enhancing overall productivity.

You may also want to look for a PSA platform that offers robust API capabilities, as this enables smooth and efficient communication between systems, allowing for real-time data synchronization and streamlined workflows.

The ability to directly access and manipulate data through an API provides flexibility and empowers you to create custom integrations tailored to your specific needs.

5. Prioritize your requirements

When creating a software requirement plan, it is essential to prioritize the identified requirements based on their importance and impact on your business processes. By doing so, you can ensure that the most critical and impactful functionalities are addressed first, allowing for efficient implementation and maximum benefit to your organization.

Here are some things to consider when you are prioritising PSA features you’ll need in your new tool:

Business impact: Assess the potential impact of each function on your business goals and objectives. Prioritize functions that directly contribute to revenue generation, cost reduction, or process improvement.
User needs: Consider the needs and preferences of your end users, such as employees, clients, or stakeholders. Functions that address critical user requirements should be given higher priority.
Strategic alignment: Evaluate how well each function aligns with your long-term business strategy and objectives. Functions that align closely with your strategic priorities should be prioritized.
Return on investment (ROI): Analyze the potential return on investment for each function. Prioritize functions that offer a higher ROI or have a significant impact on profitability.
Time sensitivity: Consider functions that are time-sensitive or have immediate business needs. Functions that address urgent issues or have near-term deadlines should be prioritized accordingly.
Resource availability: Evaluate the availability of resources, such as budget, personnel, or technology, needed to implement and support each function. Prioritize functions that can be feasibly implemented with the available resources.
Dependencies: Assess the dependencies between functions. Functions that are prerequisites or have dependencies on other critical functions should be prioritized to ensure smooth implementation and integration.

6. Writing a software requirements document

Documenting your software requirements clearly and concisely is essential for effectively communicating your expectations to software vendors.

Start by creating a structured document that captures all the functions you’ve found might be useful for your business based on the last 5 steps.

Next, clearly define each requirement using concise and specific language, specifying the desired features, functionalities, and performance expectations.

Finally, review and validate the documented requirements with stakeholders to ensure accuracy and alignment with their expectations.

Documenting your organisation’s requirements in a clear and concise manner will set a solid foundation for selecting the right professional service automation software for your consultancy.

Summary

Developing a well-structured requirements plan is crucial when assessing and selecting Professional Service Automation (PSA) software for your consultancy. Defining clear objectives, conducting a thorough needs analysis, involving stakeholders, considering scalability and integration capabilities, and prioritizing requirements ensure that the chosen PSA software aligns with your business goals and drives efficiency.

If you would like to see the top 10 features most professional service firms want, please check out our other article: 10 Functions Every PSA Tool Should Have.

Looking for a PSA Tool?

Projectworks is an industry-leading PSA that can track time through the data from timesheeting, developed by professional services veterans with a first-hand understanding of sector needs.

The Projectworks software functions to help professional service firms plan, track, and grow with accuracy and efficiency by increasing visibility and enabling good, timely decision-making.

Features include:

Flexible timecode setup
Time entries in day or week increments
Time linked to invoices for simplicity and efficiency
In-depth expense tracking and ability to invoice clients accurately.
Intelligent resource and utilisation reports
Revenue forecasting and billing schedules
T&M, fixed price or manual billing
Leave management
In-depth, real-time project reports and metrics
A wide range of integrations, including Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB, HubSpot and more.