Discover What You Can Accomplish With PSA Software
Sustainable productivity is key for a successful business in this day and age. Not only do we need to reliably provide a quality product or service, we need to ensure that all of the internal systems we rely on are supporting this productivity. After all, products and services may be the bread and butter of a business, but they become impossible to sustain when payroll, time tracking, and inventory aren’t providing a strong base of operations.
Implementing professional services automation software into your business can allow these support systems to efficiently function and provide the help you need in delivering your products and services.
Knowing the benefits, and limitations, of PSA software will help you move forward as a business.
What is PSA (Professional Services Automation) Software?
PSA (or professional services automation) software allows business owners to automate and optimize operational processes and day-to-day tasks that contribute to the work services organizations do for their clients. For example, imagine a marketing agency that helps businesses grow their social media presence. From a client’s perspective, the business simply has to provide a consistent amount of social media posts and growth that are profitable for them. What the client can’t see is all the work going on behind the scenes that needs to occur for the business to have the coordination, resources, strategy, and insights needed to provide an effective social media presence in the first place. The term “professional services” applies not just to services provided to a client, but also encompasses all of these operational and administrative tasks that are invisible to the consumer.
Benefits of Professional Services Automation Software
The overall purpose of PSA software is to streamline and simplify the professional services processes that make your business successful. Essentially, you’re offloading what can be handled by the software, freeing up time and resources that can now be directed to different endeavors. PSA software allows you to:
Analyze Data Quickly and Accurately
PSA software can be integrated throughout your business to record and analyze data. For example, project managers and resource managers can use PSA software to easily determine the amount of time estimated for a typical project and compare it to the actual time being entered by employees – information they can use to help them detect important trends and make key decisions that will lead to better project estimates and billing processes in the future. It’s fully possible to have an employee perform this task manually, but PSA software can process data at a faster rate with higher accuracy while also finding patterns and insights that may not otherwise be noticeable.
Automate Repeating Tasks for Peace of Mind
While it may seem obvious, a big draw for PSA software is the automation aspect. Aside from recording and processing data, PSA software can be set to work on an automated schedule to perform certain tasks. If you want time tracking data sent to your accountant on a bi-weekly basis, you can schedule that task to repeat every two weeks. PSA software gives you assurance that the task will be completed on schedule without needing to constantly babysit the program.
Manage Resources With Up to Date Data
Because PSA software can be integrated with other key solutions in a business’s tech stack, like CRM and HCM, it acts as an excellent platform for resource management. PSA software provides real-time visibility into resources allocated to every project across your entire project portfolio. This allows you to make informed decisions about resource management that are applicable to your business in the moment, not last week.
Track Hours and Progress in Real Time
PSA software can provide business insight through real-time tracking and monitoring. This can be applied to tasks like time tracking to see how long an employee spends at work or on a certain assignment, or to watch a project’s overall progress. Professional services automation software lets you visualize this progress so you can react quickly and make changes to the project plan as necessary.
What Are The Limitations Of PSA Software?
When it comes to PSA software, every business has different needs. And as the world of professional services has evolved, the everyday needs of businesses have begun to surpass what can be supported by traditional PSA software solutions. This has led to the emergence of the Professional Services Cloud – purpose-built, vertical software solutions that bring the industry cloud concept to the professional services industry, serving the complete needs of PS businesses that go far beyond the simple automation of tasks and tracking of financial metrics.
Many PSA software solutions are designed with a “one-size-fits-all” mentality, which in reality means that a company will need to customize the software and possibly use it in ways it wasn’t meant to be used in order to support their needs. In addition, limited integration capabilities mean that while PSA software can automate some processes, it won’t have true granular control over and insight from the rest of a company’s software stack. In the event that a business builds their own homegrown solution, the amount of work required to build and maintain it can take up more time than what would be spent on the tasks the solution is automating.
While PSA software has played a major role in professional services businesses growing and sharpening their skills over the years, the current state of the industry demands more than simple task automation. In order to operate at the level needed for ongoing success, PS businesses need the deep, contextual insights and continuous refinements that are made possible by the Professional Services Cloud.With the Professional Services Cloud, a business is able to connect automation, data insights, and detailed control to all dimensions of the professional services value chain. This provides your business with complete orchestration of resources, time entry, services delivery, accounting, and more for success with both team members and clients.
Find Out What’s Possible with the Kantata Professional Services Cloud
Want to see what purpose-built professional services software can do for your business? The Kantata Professional Services Cloud is designed to go beyond what traditional PSA solutions can do for a business, with resource management, project management, business intelligence, and more crucial tools working together to provide the insights and support you need to succeed today.