Start with the needs of your business
The needs are different for each industry. While a manufacturing firm would focus more on the cost of manufacturing a product, a Professional Services firm would be looking at tracking billable hours and revenue per consultant. Even within the Professional Services industry, the specific needs of a law firm would be very different from what an Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) firm would need.
The first step in choosing a solution for your business would be to identify the different aspects of the projects you would want to track.
One of the aspects you need to consider before choosing to implement a time and expense tracking application is at what stage you would need such a solution. For Professional Services firms, even a small firm of just over ten employees may begin to find that Excel sheets and weekly calls to determine the number of billable hours, etc. no longer meet your expectations.
Once you have a sufficient number of employees, depending on the nature of your business, and the level of complexity of your projects, you should start piloting the use of time and expense applications.
Most applications on the market get the job done, but are they easy to use?
Consultants don’t have the time today to sit down and clock in the numbers for the billable hours they have spent on different projects. They would much rather use that time to get some more work done for the client or take a breather. By giving them an application that is difficult to navigate and input all the details into will feel like an unwelcome chore that will add to their stress.
Consider choosing an application that is seamlessly integrated in the workflow of your consultants. Bonus points if the solution has automation elements that makes life a little easier.
If you choose a solution from Microsoft for instance, the consultants will be able to key in all their numbers without needing to move away from the collaboration tool Microsoft Teams.
Integrations and customizations should be on top of your list
There are many standalone time and expense tracking applications available to choose from, but these will not support your growing business needs in the long run. What you should consider is a solution that is integrated with Finance, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Human Resources (HR) solutions.
Integrating the time and expense application with your existing solutions, or the solutions you will implement in the future, will help you automate processes and give you better visibility about costs, project profitability, and more. For instance, by connecting the application to the Finance solution or the Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) solution you will be able to automate the invoice generation process and keep the client informed about the billing, which should reduce the possibility of invoice rejections.
Microsoft has emerged as one of the top technology solutions providers in the world not only because it offers cutting-edge software but also because it offers seamless integration with applications you are familiar with and already use. These include Outlook, Office 365, and many others.
Talk to the experts who cater to your industry
sa.global has been helping businesses like yours navigate the changing landscape of software needs for over three decades. We are focussed on helping Professional Services firms create the best systems to optimize their processes to reduce costs and improve margins while delivering the best possible client experience.
If you are looking for a time and expense tracking applications for your Professional Services business, the empower time app by sa.global can help you meet your goals. The cloud-based solution is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Power BI, Microsoft Teams, and Office 365. Since it is purpose-built for project-based businesses, the application can integrate your data, business logic, and processes.
With the empower time app, you can:
- Capture time spent on billable and non-billable activities accurately
- Reduce revenue leakage and improve cashflow
- Boost productivity of your team by tracking their time spent on different activities
- Improve workflows and build process efficiencies
An important feature of the application is the intuitive design that requires zero training. Your employees can start benefitting from the application from day one. The more important benefit is the trust you gain from your clients by accurately capturing all the time and expense information and showing that information in a transparent manner.
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