20 Best Professional Services Automation Software
Here’s my list of the best professional services automation software:
The best professional services automation software helps you manage project delivery, track utilization and billable rates, and improve operations and business processes to deliver a better experience for clients. You can use it to maintain strong relationships with your clients, develop a good reputation, and scale your business to provide more services to more clients.
I've used my 15 years of experience in professional services and project management to evaluate 20+ professional services automation tools. Read my analysis of each tool, key features, and use cases below. I'll help you find the right tool to improve visibility, resource allocation, and billing, as well as get better insights into your finances, operations, and overall client satisfaction.
Professional Services Automation Software Solutions Comparison Chart
Compare pricing and specs for each tool on my list of the best professional services automation software tools below.
| Tool | Best For | Trial Info | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Best for linking resources and financial data | Free trial available | From $17.10/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 2 | Best for end-to-end PSA management | 14-day free trial | From $9/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 3 | Best for maximizing project profitability from quote-to-cash | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website | |
| 4 | Best for all-in-one work management automation | 14-day free trial available | From $19.9/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 5 | Best for service organizations with global resources and projects | Free plan available | $14/user/month | Website | |
| 6 | Best for automated project setup | 7-day free trial | Pricing upon request | Website | |
| 7 | Best for managing projects, clients, and finances | Free trial available | From $9/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 8 | Best for full lifecycle service delivery | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website | |
| 9 | Best for built-in client collaboration automations | Free plan available | From $10/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 10 | Best for MSP operational growth | Free trial available | From $79/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 11 | Best for AI-driven resource optimization | 14-day free trial | From $49/user/month | Website | |
| 12 | Best for tracking time and expenses together | 14-day free trial | From $20/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 13 | Best for no-code workflow automation | 30-day free trial | From $14/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 14 | Best for automating and optimizing service delivery cycle | Free demo available | From $9/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 15 | Best for fast-moving businesses | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website | |
| 16 | Best for automating recurring project work | 30-day free trial | From $25/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 17 | Best for intelligent automation for small businesses | Free trial available | From $24/user/month | Website | |
| 18 | Best for retainer contracts | 14-day free trial | From $29/user/month (billed annually, min 5 seats) | Website | |
| 19 | Best for connecting sales and project delivery | 30-day free trial | From $135/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 20 | Best for efficient resource management | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website |
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Accelo
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.4 -
monday.com
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.6 -
Smartsheet
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.4
Overviews of the Best Professional Services Automation Software Solutions
Here’s a brief description of each professional services automation solution on my list, its best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give you a snapshot of the user interface.
Projectworks is a professional services automation software that helps consulting and service-based businesses manage projects from start to finish. It combines tools for time tracking, invoicing, resourcing, and reporting into one platform. With everything in one place, you get clearer visibility into project performance and business outcomes.
Why I Picked Projectworks
This tool connects resourcing and financial data in real time. The resource planning system isn’t just about assigning people—it ties utilization and billable hours directly to project budgets and company forecasts. You'll know who’s available and the financial impact of their work as it happens. That connection between staffing decisions and business performance is a core part of PSA that Projectworks does especially well.
Projectworks also handles forecasting and reporting and can project what’s coming next across revenue, margins, and capacity. Your team can anticipate shifts in demand, see how hiring decisions affect utilization, and understand how current work maps to future business health.
Projectworks Key Features
Projectworks offers a suite of additional features that are tailored for professional services automation.
- Project Management Dashboard: This provides a centralized platform where you can oversee project timelines, tasks, and team assignments, so you can make sure all elements align with your strategic goals.
- Custom Fields: You can create unique fields for projects, people, and companies, which allows for tailored tracking and reporting that fits your specific business needs.
- Capacity Planning: This helps you forecast resource availability and project demands so you can make sure your team is neither overbooked nor underutilized.
- Client Portal: This includes a dedicated space for clients to view project progress and financials, which helps improve transparency and client satisfaction.
Projectworks Integrations
Integrations include Xero, QuickBooks, HubSpot, Salesforce, MYOB, Jira, and Azure DevOps.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Scenario forecasting built in
- Purchase order support for supplier costs
- Leave visibility integrated with capacity
Cons:
- Multiple user bands make scaling complex
- Requires lots of setup effort to match your firm's structure
New Product Updates from Projectworks
Integration and Budget Building Enhancements
Projectworks unveils new integration and budget features to streamline workflows and enhance user experience. For more information, visit Projectworks's official site.
Productive is a professional services automation software that's designed to help businesses streamline their operations. It's an end-to-end tool that covers everything from project management and time tracking to sales pipeline and profitability analysis.
I recently spoke with Miguel Angel Gongora Meza, the founder and director of Evolution Treks Peru, about his org's use of Productive. "I liked the fact that it presented the number of the hours worked as compared to the planned expenditures," he says. This saved them money as well. "In one of our projects we were able to save nearly 500 dollars as we were in a position to detect the inefficiencies early. It provided me with a clearer idea of how money and time were being spent and this is quite important when the resources are limited," he explains.
Why I Picked Productive
The project management feature is particularly impressive. It lets you plan projects, assign tasks, track progress, and forecast future work. The sales pipeline feature gives you a clear overview of your sales process, and the profitability analysis feature helps you understand your financial performance.
Productive's resource management and utilization insights provide a deep understanding of their team's workload and availability, which allows for better resource allocation and preventing burnout. The platform provides detailed reports and visualizations that display workloads, capacity, and efficiency levels so you can make informed decisions on task assignments and redistribute workloads as needed to optimize team performance and project efficiency.
Productive Key Features
Here are several other features offered by Productive that can help you with professional services automation.
- Time Tracking: This feature lets your team log hours with ease so you can get real-time insights into project timelines and resource allocation.
- Revenue Forecasting: You can predict future revenue streams based on current projects and resource availability, which helps with strategic planning.
- Profitability Analysis: This feature offers detailed reports on the profitability of projects and clients to help you make informed financial decisions.
- Integration with Accounting Tools: You can connect Productive to popular accounting software to facilitate efficient financial management and reporting.
Productive Integrations
Integrations include Quickbooks, Jira, Xero, Exact, Slack, Fortnox, and Personio.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Profitability insights available in real time
- Automations reduce repetitive task load
- End-to-end linking of projects to finances
Cons:
- You may need support to use advanced features effectively
- Customization limits in niche workflows
New Product Updates from Productive
Productive Launches Dashboards 2.0
Productive has rolled out Dashboards 2.0, introducing upgraded widgets and new formatting options to help teams build clearer and more customizable performance views. For more information, visit Productive's official site.
Accelo is a professional services automation platform that helps businesses manage their operations more effectively. It offers features that automate various aspects of client management, project management, resource management, and financial management.
I recently spoke with Mircea Dima, the founder, CEO, and CTO of AlgoCademy. He's used Accelo in the past, and he says that "it simplified the process of project management...it was easy to coordinate with other members of my team and keep everything under control." He found the automation feature particularly useful. "Workflow automation made sure that tasks were being done on schedule and everybody remained on the same eye level," he says.
Why I Picked Accelo
Accelo links your sales process right to project delivery and invoicing, so there’s less friction handing off work. It also offers quote templates that let easily you turn estimates into project plans with time budgets, smart resource allocation to keep utilization high, and real-time cost vs. time tracking so you can see when a job is unprofitable. Built-in dashboards let you monitor margins across all open projects so small losses don’t become big ones.
Accelo Key Features
In addition to helping you optimize profitability, Accelo offers more features that can improve your team's productivity and service delivery.
- Task Management Dashboard: This feature provides a centralized view of all tasks to help your team prioritize and manage workloads effectively.
- Client Portal: This lets clients access project updates and billing information in real-time to foster transparency and better client relationships.
- Custom Reporting: You can create detailed reports tailored to your business needs, get insights into project performance, and make data-driven decisions.
- Automated Time Tracking: This feature can automatically log time spent on various tasks to maintain accurate billing and resource allocation without manual entry.
Accelo Integrations
Integrations include Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Xero, QuickBooks Online, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Salesforce, Zapier, Stripe, PayPal, Jira, Continuum, Microsoft Power BI, Expensify, and Gusto.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Alerts help catch cost overruns early
- Adaptive schedules adjust with changes
- Better visibility into project profit margins
Cons:
- Mobile app more limited than web
- Some reports lack deep customization
Scoro is a professional services automation software that can help you manage your operations more effectively. It provides a suite of tools for various roles within an organization and addresses every aspect of service delivery from project planning and execution to customer relationship management and billing. This level of integration is essential for services firms that need to maintain alignment across various departments and projects.
Why I Picked Scoro
Scoro excels in automating the critical yet time-consuming aspects of professional services, such as time tracking, invoicing, and reporting. The automated billing features let you quickly create detailed invoices based on the tracked time and expenses, which reduces errors and saves valuable administrative time. The software's ability to generate in-depth, customizable reports also gives you and your stakeholders insights into business performance, client profitability, and operational efficiency.
Another key aspect that sets Scoro apart is its CRM functionality, which allows for a seamless flow of information from initial client contact to project delivery and follow-up. You can manage client interactions, store critical data, and track communication history. Furthermore, the ability to link CRM data with project management and billing processes helps you keep clients informed and contributes to better client satisfaction and retention.
Scoro Key Features
Scoro also offers a range of other features that are designed to help you improve your professional services operations.
- Task Management: This helps you simplify task assignment and tracking, so your team stays organized and on schedule.
- Time Tracking: Scoro provides multiple options for logging hours, including a built-in timer for real-time tracking.
- Collaboration Tools: This centralizes project-related communication to foster better collaboration and let team members comment and tag each other.
- Customizable Dashboards: You can tailor your workspace to your needs and get a personalized view of KPIs and project statuses.
Scoro Integrations
Integrations include Google Calendar, Microsoft Exchange, Xero, QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Expensify, Stripe, Jira, Slack, Asana, Dropbox, and PayPal.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- AI assistant surfaces actionable insights
- Interlinked internal and external cost tracking
- Quote estimation matrix with margin insight
Cons:
- Gaps in mobile functionality compared to desktop features
- Custom reporting may need technical setup
New Product Updates from Scoro
Scoro Version Update: Enhancements to Billing and Reporting
Scoro's latest update introduces advanced purchase order status automation, cost-tracking features, and better integration with BambooHR. For more information, visit Scoro's official site.
VOGSY
Best for service organizations with global resources and projects
VOGSY is a cloud solution that brings together project delivery, resource planning, and finance across multiple geographies. It’s for firms operating in several countries that need to manage international projects, staffing, and financials, and it supports opportunity management, allocation, time tracking, invoicing, and financial consolidation.
Why I Picked VOGSY
This tool lets you and your team run work across borders without losing track of local financial rules or currency conversions. VOGSY lets you set up multiple legal entities, local accounting tools, and tax regimes while maintaining a shared resource pool and unified dashboards. It provides intercompany invoicing and revenue distribution so internal costs are handled automatically. You also get opportunity pipelines that are linked to resource forecasts, project budgets tied into local and consolidated financials, and reports that roll up across all your entities. It's built to connect your global operations rather than forcing you to adopt a one-size-fits-all system.
VOGSY Key Features
In addition to global resource management capabilities, VOGSY offers several other features that improve your operational efficiency.
- Time and Expense Tracking: This feature lets you automate time tracking with auto-populated timesheets and simplifies expense management through easy receipt uploads.
- Task Management: This provides visual task tracking for team members across projects and improves collaboration and accountability.
- Billing and Invoicing: You can automate billing processes, as well as schedule invoices for various project types. This helps maintain accuracy and timeliness.
- Real-Time Reporting: You can create custom reports for stakeholders and your team, and use them for informed decision-making and strategic planning.
VOGSY Integrations
Integrations include Google Workspace, Jira, Microsoft 365, Xero, QuickBooks, Copper, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Intercompany revenue and cost automation
- Shared resource pool across entities
- Handles multi-country operations in one system
Cons:
- Requires careful configuration for tax regimes
- Setup complexity in multinational contexts
New Product Updates from VOGSY
VOGSY's Real-Time Leave Budgets Integration for BI Dashboards
VOGSY introduces a "Leave Budgets" dataset for BigQuery, enabling real-time integration with BI dashboards like Looker Studio, Power BI, or Tableau, ensuring up-to-date leave budget data. More details at VOGSY Release Notes.
Screendragon is a professional services automation software that helps teams manage projects, resources, time, and expenses in one platform. Primary users include marketing, agency, and creative operations teams that juggle many moving parts. The system handles project briefs, resource planning, budget tracking, and workflow routing.
I recently spoke with Odi Caspi, Founder of the agency Happy PPC, about his team's use of Screendragon. "One element I find useful is the integration with Slack—meaning we can get quick amendments and approvals due to notifications and ease of use," he says. According to him, this means "there is less danger of requests getting lost within unread emails, and they can also be accessed when on the go using mobile apps."
Why I Picked Screendragon
One standout feature of Screendragon is its resource management capabilities. The platform lets you match the right staff to the right projects, which boosts productivity. Visual dashboards help quickly and easily identify who is available, and you can drag and drop assignments to resources. You can also forecast future needs by overlaying pipeline resource needs with current commitments.
I also like Screendragon's automation engine, which can create a complete project environment ready for kick-off. This includes pre-populated timelines, budget plans, resourcing, and document structures. The platform supports all project types and methodologies, and you can leverage project templates to speed up project initiation.
Screendragon Key Features
Screendragon offers several other features that are tailored for professional services automation.
- Dynamic Forms: These let your team create and customize forms for various project needs, so data collection is tailored to specific workflows.
- AI Resource Forecasting: This feature provides predictive insights into resource allocation to help you optimize team deployment and manage capacity effectively.
- Customizable Dashboards: You can tailor dashboards to display relevant project metrics and KPIs and get a comprehensive view of project status at a glance.
- Custom Rate Card Matrices: This lets you manage billing by setting up custom rate cards for different clients or projects and maintain accurate financial tracking and invoicing.
Screendragon Integrations
Integrations include Microsoft Power BI, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, Google Drive, Trello, Microsoft 365, Box, Jira, Microsoft OneDrive, and PeopleSoft.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- AI agents assist forecasting
- Embedded audit and rule enforcement
- Auto-project generation from briefs
Cons:
- Many features hidden until configured
- Customization requires high setup effort
Bonsai Consulting Software is an all-in-one platform that helps professional service businesses manage projects, clients, teams, and finances in one integrated system. It offers tools for project planning, time tracking, resource allocation, and budget monitoring, and provides clear insights to support better decision-making and profitability.
Why I Picked Bonsai
One standout feature of Bonsai is its end-to-end project planning and tracking capabilities. You can visualize project timelines using Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and list views, which make it easy to monitor progress in real-time and keep your team on schedule. You can choose the view that best fits your workflow to improve efficiency and clarity. It also offers time-tracking and timesheet functionalities. Your team can log hours spent on tasks, which gives you a clear view of project statuses, team capacity, and budget utilization.
Bonsai also offers resource planning tools that let you allocate work and monitor workloads in real-time, as well as prevent staff shortages and overbooking. The platform even has budget tracking and forecasting, so you can keep an eye on project budgets and make informed decisions with up-to-date profitability reports.
Bonsai Key Features
Bonsai offers several additional features that you and your professional services team will find useful.
- Contract Templates: Bonsai provides customizable contract templates that let you create professional agreements quickly and easily and reduce the time spent on administrative tasks.
- Client Portal: This feature offers your clients a centralized platform to view project statuses and invoices, as well as communicate directly with you to maintain transparency and client satisfaction.
- Proposal Generator: You can craft detailed proposals that outline project scopes and pricing, which can help you demonstrate your value and win new business.
- Time Tracking: This feature lets your team log hours directly within the platform, which facilitates accurate billing and provides insights into how time is allocated across projects.
Bonsai Integrations
Integrations include QuickBooks Online, Zapier, Calendly, and Xero.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Profitability dashboards for oversight
- Proposal & contract automation built in
- Attach time and expenses to invoices
Cons:
- Tax module limited to specific regions
- Basic task management compared to PM tools
Kantata is a professional services automation (PSA) platform for firms that need to manage projects, resources, and financials in one place. Instead of juggling multiple systems, Kantata brings the entire service delivery lifecycle into a single cloud-based solution. This makes it easier to plan, staff, track, and report on client work with full visibility from start to finish.
Why I Picked Kantata
The software features powerful resource management and scheduling tools, project and portfolio management capabilities, and built-in financial oversight. Business intelligence dashboards and real-time analytics provide actionable insights, so leaders can make informed decisions on timelines, budgets, and client outcomes. The result is better visibility, stronger profitability, and smoother service delivery.
Kantata also supports ongoing collaboration and client engagement. Features like activity feeds, task boards, time tracking, and pulse surveys keep professional services teams aligned and give leaders feedback on both team morale and client sentiment throughout the project lifecycle. This people-first layer adds another dimension to traditional PSA software and makes delivery more predictable and client-focused.
Kantata Key Features
Kantata also offers several other features that make it useful as a professional services automation software.
- AI-Powered Tools: This feature uses artificial intelligence to help you optimize resource allocation and project delivery so you can make sure your team is always working at its best capacity.
- Collaboration Tools: You can facilitate seamless communication and collaboration among team members and clients to keep everyone aligned and informed.
- Advanced Business Intelligence: This provides real-time insights and analytics that empower your team with data-driven decision-making capabilities to improve project outcomes.
- Customizable Workflows: You can tailor processes to fit your specific operational needs to improve efficiency and make sure the software adapts to your business rather than the other way around.
Kantata Integrations
Integrations include Salesforce, SAP, Jira, Xero, BambooHR, Slack, Workday, QuickBooks, HubSpot, and NetSuite.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Built-in feedback mechanisms
- AI forecasting built in
- Multi-currency and multi-rate support
Cons:
- Configuration overhead for customization
- Implementation can be complex
Wrike is a comprehensive project management platform for agencies, marketing teams, and professional services providers. It provides a versatile professional services management and automation solution that can help you optimize your service delivery process.
I recently spoke with Danilo Coviello, the Founder of Espresso Translations, who mentioned that Wrike has helped improve their bottom line. "The tracking reports showed...that our Portuguese translations always came in 15-percentage points higher than the original time estimates," he says. "I immediately fixed our pricing model, and the outcome was a happier clientele and a better profit margin," he explains.
Why I Picked Wrike
Wrike provides you with a 360-degree view of all active projects, so you can effectively manage resources, keep track of billable hours, and make data-driven decisions with relative ease. It also helps you improve client collaboration by letting you invite clients into Wrike and make them a part of the work process. Clients can provide direct feedback and approvals on critical project decisions, and you can reduce the tedious back-and-forth process of getting requirements from clients or scope changes by using automations and customizable request forms. This lets you quickly collect all the necessary information from clients in one location and set up fully planned projects with predefined actions, task assignees, and timelines.
The automation engine can also help optimize team workload. It lets you offload otherwise repetitive tasks from the team's task list. Admins can also efficiently allocate client work to the most qualified team member based on their role and expertise. This lets you make sure team members are given the right amount of work and can avoid burnout.
Wrike Key Features
Wrike offers several other features that will help you and your team improve your project and service operations.
- Resource and Budget Management: This feature provides detailed tools for resource planning, budgeting, and time tracking to help your team maintain project profitability.
- Gantt Charts: The visual project timelines help you better plan and track project progress, which makes it easier for your team to stay on schedule.
- Customizable Dashboards: You can get real-time visibility into project progress and team performance with customizable dashboards and visualizations like Kanban boards.
- Client Communication: You can let clients actively participate in the project process, which helps foster trust and transparency.
Wrike Integrations
Integrations include Salesforce, Jira, Google Drive, Microsoft Office 365, Slack, Zoom, and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Blueprint templates reduce setup time
- Visual whiteboards facilitate group ideation
- External clients can use request forms directly
Cons:
- Client-facing features limited in lower plans
- External permissions require careful configuration
For IT teams and managed service providers that want to improve their operational efficiency, SuperOps provides an AI-driven professional services automation solution that offers essential functionalities like service desk management and contract oversight. It simplifies ticketing and resource tracking, can help you improve your workflows, and offers features like mobile device management and integrations with other remote monitoring tools.
Why I Picked SuperOps
I chose SuperOps because it's a unified PSA and remote monitoring and management platform that includes service desk management, contract management, and service automation, and it can drive MSP operational growth. The AI-driven profitability tools and advanced policy management for endpoint discovery are standout features that can help improve your efficiency and automate routine tasks.
The platform's ability to streamline processes and improve service delivery makes it an ideal choice for MSPs that want to grow their operations. These functionalities save time and increase profitability, which makes SuperOps a strategic asset for any MSP that wants to increase service quality and client satisfaction.
SuperOps Key Features
SuperOps offers a range of other features that professional services teams will find useful.
- Task and Reply Templates: These let your team save time and maintain consistency by using pre-defined templates for common tasks and responses.
- Kanban View: This provides a visual representation of your workflows to help you and your team track progress and manage tasks more effectively.
- Customer Satisfaction Surveys: You can gather valuable feedback from your clients with built-in surveys to continuously improve service quality and client satisfaction.
- Runbooks: You can automate routine tasks and streamline approvals using runbooks, which help maintain consistency and reduce manual errors in operations.
SuperOps Integrations
Integrations include ESET, Splashtop, Acronis, QuickBooks, Xero, Microsoft Azure, Stripe, and TeamViewer.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- AI-driven features for improved IT management
- Solid service desk and project management tools
- Strong automation capabilities improve operational efficiency
Cons:
- Relatively few integrations
- Limited customization options compared to competitors
Polaris PSA is a professional services automation software that offers service-based businesses advanced project management capabilities. The platform offers AI-driven resource allocation, real-time project monitoring, predictive analytics, and customizable reporting, so you can optimize resource utilization and make decisions proactively.
Why I Picked Polaris PSA
Polaris PSA takes a comprehensive and strategic approach to professional services automation. It offers a centralized dashboard that provides real-time insights into your organization's projects, resources, and financials. The platform's AI-driven resource allocation and scheduling capabilities help you optimize resource utilization across multiple projects, prevent overallocation, and maintain efficient workload distribution. The predictive analytics let you identify potential risks, forecast project outcomes, and propose mitigation strategies.
The customizable reporting and data visualization features provide deeper insights into your projects and resources. Beyond the standard reports, you can create tailored reports that align with your specific business needs and KPIs. Custom reports and visualizations can help you uncover valuable trends, identify areas for improvement, and make more informed decisions.
Polaris PSA Key Features
Polaris PSA offers a range of other features that cater to the needs of professional services automation.
- Project Time Tracking: Your team can log hours with precision and you'll get insights into project timelines and productivity.
- Expense Management: You can track and report on project-related expenses, which helps you maintain financial control.
- Compliance Tracking: This lets you make sure your projects adhere to industry standards and regulations and reduces the risk of non-compliance.
- Project Portfolio Management: This provides a comprehensive view of all ongoing projects to facilitate better decision-making and strategic planning.
Polaris PSA Integrations
Integrations include ADP, Salesforce, QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, ServiceNow, and Xero.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Bid modeling helps you forecast margins
- AI resource recommendations reduce guesswork
- Real-time data capture from multiple systems
Cons:
- May be overkill for small teams
- Setup and configuration can be complex
BigTime’s professional services automation software helps companies and their teams design and develop better processes for different projects at scale, from start to finish. This PSA software can scale with your organization's needs, from individual time tracking process to final invoicing on completed projects.
I recently spoke with Moti Gamburd, the CEO of CARE Homecare, about how his team uses BigTime to track time and invoice clients. "I leveraged time entries flowing into billable hours with little manual entry or adjustments," he says. This allowed the team to be more efficient. "The automated process not only reduced administrative errors, but it allowed me to understand profit margins on each project as the work unfolded," he explains, "We reduced invoicing errors by 25%."
Why I Picked BigTime
The PSA system lets you track time and expenses smarter. You and your team can efficiently log time and expenses with customized data entry options that apply to team or department timesheets. The billing and invoicing process is also fast and user-friendly. You can easily pull together detailed and professional-looking invoices that can be customized to meet the unique requirements of each project.
BigTime helps you facilitate the staff and resource allocation process and make sure you don't over- or under-schedule the available resources. It also provides comprehensive dashboards that deliver all the necessary information in one place, so you will always have an idea of resource status and availability.
BigTime Key Features
BigTime offers a suite of other features that can help improve the way you manage your professional services offerings.
- Project Portfolio Management: This provides centralized visibility into all projects and lets you monitor progress and performance with ease.
- Expense Tracking: This feature lets you record and monitor expenses for each project to maintain budgetary control.
- Invoicing and Payments: You can streamline your billing processes with simplified invoice generation and payment tracking.
- Reporting and Analytics: You can access comprehensive insights into project performance and financial health to make informed decisions.
BigTime Integrations
Integrations include QuickBooks, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Xero, and Sage.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Permission controls adapt to your roles
- Auto reminders help team compliance
- Predictive alerts warn of budget overrun
Cons:
- Setup of integrations can be complex
- Expense features in lower tiers are limited
ProjectManager is a versatile professional services automation and project management software that can help your organization be more productive and work more efficiently. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools for planning, tracking, and managing projects, so your professional services team can deliver projects on time and within budget.
Why I Picked ProjectManager
I selected ProjectManager for its robust no-code workflow automation capabilities, which let you automate repetitive tasks and processes without needing any coding knowledge. This reduces administrative burden, frees up time for more strategic activities, and makes sure tasks such as approvals, notifications, and updates are handled automatically to improve efficiency and reduce the risk of human error.
The software’s real-time dashboards provide immediate insights into project status, so you can monitor progress, budget, and resource allocation at a glance. Gantt charts and task lists facilitate detailed project planning and scheduling, so all project phases are well-organized and tracked. Additionally, the resource management tools help optimize the use of team members.
ProjectManager Key Features
ProjectManager also offers a variety of other features that can improve your project management and professional services capabilities.
- AI Project Insights: You get instant summaries and recommendations for your projects, so you can make informed decisions and stay on track.
- Version Control: This lets you keep track of changes and easily restore previous versions of your project plans to maintain accuracy and consistency.
- Critical Path Management: You can identify and monitor essential tasks to complete projects on time and meet deadlines.
- Work Breakdown Structure Planning: You can organize your tasks in a detailed hierarchical structure to improve task management and project clarity.
ProjectManager Integrations
Integrations include Slack, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office 365, Trello, Jira, Microsoft Power BI, and Acumatica.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Integrated timesheet and cost tracking
- Version history lets you revert changes
- Project templates retain business logic
Cons:
- Reporting beyond built-in reports may need workarounds
- Expense module less detailed than a dedicated tool
Birdview is a cloud platform that ties together projects, resources, and financials under a unified umbrella. It’s suited for firms that deliver services like engineering, consulting, and marketing, where execution and billing must stay aligned. The system handles planning, resource allocation, time & expense capture, billing, approvals, and analytics.
Why I Picked Birdview
Birdview lets you automate the steps that typically slow down delivery, like converting requests into project setups and setting resource assignments automatically. Birdview includes an AI assistant that predicts project completion, suggests resource matching, and helps you optimize capacity. You’ll see dashboards that track actuals vs plans, and get alerts when budgets drift. It also offers flexible billing tied to logged work and expenses so you don’t lose revenue along the way.
Birdview Key Features
Birdview also offers several other features that make it appealing for teams and projects that require professional services automation.
- Time Tracking: This provides flexible options for recording billable and non-billable hours, as well as detailed reporting that can support accurate project billing.
- Client Portal: Your clients can easily review, comment, or approve work. This improves transparency and collaboration throughout the project lifecycle.
- AI Assistant: The AI assistant offers intelligent forecasts and resource allocation recommendations to help your team make informed decisions about project planning and execution.
- Reporting: You get access to over 250 customizable reports and dashboards that let you monitor performance in real-time and adapt strategies as needed.
Birdview Integrations
Integrations include Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, OneDrive, Adobe, Jira, and QuickBooks.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Templates driven by predictive logic
- Client portal accelerates feedback loops
- AI helps assemble teams automatically
Cons:
- Customization adds configuration burden
- AI features may require tuning
Workday is a software tool that combines HR, finance, planning, and project operations into a unified system. It’s used by organizations that want to align their people, projects, and financials under one roof. Its modules handle resource management, billing, time and expense capture, project financials, and forecasting.
Why I Picked Workday
Workday lets you move fast because your data is already integrated—no waiting to sync work, HR, and accounting information. Workday’s talent intelligence helps you match skills to project needs and stay aligned with your financial goals. The automated billing, revenue recognition, and expense modules mean your back office can keep pace with delivery. It also offers what-if scenario planning so you can adjust fast when things shift.
Workday Key Features
Workday offers a variety of other features that are tailored to professional services automation.
- Project Lifecycle Management: This feature lets you oversee projects from inception to completion and make sure all phases are seamlessly connected and managed efficiently.
- Automated Billing: You can automate your billing processes to maintain timely invoicing and accurate financial tracking, reduce manual entry errors, and improve cash flow management.
- Real-Time Staffing Visibility: You get insights into workforce availability and resource allocation, which helps you optimize team performance and meet project demands promptly.
- Expense Management: You can manage corporate credit cards and separate personal charges with ease to get accurate and streamlined expense reporting for your team.
Workday Integrations
Integrations include Workday Financial Management, Workday Human Capital Management, and Workday Adaptive Planning.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- What-if modeling for scenario planning
- Talent intelligence built into planning
- Unified platform for HR, finance, and projects
Cons:
- Customization often requires specialist support
- Implementation is complex for mid-size firms
PSOhub is a project management platform that helps firms manage client projects, finances, and resources in one place. Its users include service teams that run repeatable work patterns and want to reduce manual setup. The platform supports project planning, automated invoicing, time and expense capture, resource scheduling, and reporting.
Why I Picked PSOhub
PSOhub lets you take recurring projects and turn them into templates that auto-recur so you don't need to rebuild from scratch each time. The tool supports automated invoicing per business unit, digital signing for proposals and scopes, and rules to approve or route work. It ties resource planning (i.e. capacity, availability) to your recurring schedules so overcommitment is less likely. And because time, expense, and billing are all unified, you get tighter alignment across your delivery cycle.
PSOhub Key Features
Here are some additional PSOhub features that you'll find useful for a PSA context.
- Task Board and Project Planning: You can use the Kanban or Gantt interface to plan tasks, assign dates, and track milestone progress across recurring projects.
- Resource and Capacity Overview: This lets you see each team member’s planned vs actual workload so you can spot bottlenecks or over-commitments before they derail the project.
- Time and Expense Tracking: You can capture billable hours and expenses accurately (including calendar and mobile inputs), which is vital for tracking and billing work consistently.
- Dashboards and Predictive Analytics: This includes multiple dashboards (financial, project, resource) and predictive tabs so you can monitor project performance and anticipate issues ahead of time.
PSOhub Integrations
Integrations include HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Workload balance across repeat projects
- Automated invoicing per business unit
- Recurring project templates save setup time
Cons:
- Reporting customizations sometimes limited
- Learning curve for configuring automations
ConnectWise is a PSA and IT management software that unifies service, sales, and operations into one system. It’s used by technology firms and managed service providers that need to tie together support, project work, and billing. The tool handles ticketing, project management, time & expense tracking, billing, contract management, and reporting.
Why I Picked ConnectWise
The tool's automation capabilities reduce routine work so you can stay focused on high-value tasks that grow your small business. ConnectWise includes workflow rules to route tickets, trigger status changes, and enforce SLAs without manual intervention. It ties time and expenses directly to contracts and billing so invoicing doesn’t lag. The sales opportunity module transitions smoothly into project work so you avoid data reentry. Everything is set up to support intelligent operations, especially for smaller organizations.
ConnectWise Key Features
Here are several other features that make ConnectWise a strong choice for professional services automation.
- Project Management and Service Delivery: This feature provides tools for efficient project management, including resource allocation, task scheduling, and service delivery optimization.
- Ticketing: This feature lets your team manage and track customer support tickets efficiently and helps them avoid overlooked or missed requests.
- Finance and Billing: The platform includes comprehensive finance management and billing capabilities and can integrate with your accounting software.
- Reporting and Analytics: You can generate standard and custom reports, get insights into your operations, and make data-driven decisions.
ConnectWise Integrations
Integrations include Avalara, CCleaner, Acronis, Infrascale, and StorageCraft.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Unified workspace for tickets and projects
- Contract templates speed up renewals
- Automated ticket routing lightens support load
Cons:
- Performance may slow with large data sets
- Configuration is complex for newcomers
Ravetree is a cloud-based PSA software that provides a centralized platform for managing projects, clients, teams, finances, and resources. It helps service-based businesses like marketing agencies and consultancies save time, increase profitability, and improve customer satisfaction.
Why I Picked Ravetree
I picked Ravetree because it offers features that directly support retainer-based work, which is often more complex to manage than one-off projects. The built-in retainer management tools let your team allocate hours and budgets to ongoing contracts without workarounds or external spreadsheets. I also like that you can automate recurring invoicing tied to retainers, helping ensure your billing cycles stay on track. Combined with customizable time tracking by project or client, Ravetree makes it easier to stay profitable while managing long-term client relationships.
Ravetree also lets you track project progress, identify potential risks, and estimate project completion times accurately. Its project management features let team members share files and communicate directly within the software. Resource management capabilities make sure resources are allocated appropriately based on project timelines and budgets.
Ravetree Key Features
Ravetree comes with other features that make it a strong professional services automation software for agencies and service teams.
- Project Portfolio Management: You can view and manage multiple projects in a single dashboard to track progress and allocate resources.
- Resource Planning: This includes drag-and-drop resource scheduling so you can forecast workload capacity and prevent burnout across your team.
- Client Portal: You can gives clients access to key information like timelines, budgets, and documents to reduce back-and-forth emails.
- Built-In CRM: This lets you manage leads, contacts, and opportunities within the same platform to support your full client lifecycle.
Ravetree Integrations
Integrations include QuickBooks, Xero, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, HubSpot, and Google Calendar.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Built-in CRM syncs client & project data
- Request forms link work to retainers
- Retainer dashboard shows remaining budget
Cons:
- Custom workflows require setup time
- Advanced reports limited in lower tiers
Dynamics 365 Project Operations is a cloud solution that merges sales, project execution, and financial oversight into one platform. Its users tend to be organizations that want quoting, resource planning, delivery, and billing to live together rather than in disconnected systems. The tool handles deal management, resource scheduling, time and expense capture, project accounting, and forecasting.
Why I Picked Dynamics 365 Project Operations
The tool lets you carry a sales opportunity through to execution without losing context or duplicating work. It offers deal templates, custom pricing and costing models, and built-in linkage to Dynamics 365 Sales so pipeline information flows directly. You’ll also find automated time and expense agents that draft entries and flag items for approval, which helps reduce manual data entry. Project actuals (labor, expenses) are tracked against estimates with budget-to-actual visibility. Everything stays connected so you can see how your sales decisions map to delivery performance.
Dynamics 365 Project Operations Key Features
There are several other Dynamics 365 Project Operations features worth highlighting for teams looking for professional services automation software.
- Project Task Management: This lets you break down deliverables into milestones and tasks with clear timelines and dependencies.
- Resource Forecasting: This helps you assess project demand and allocate staff based on availability, skills, and capacity.
- Expense and Time Entry: Team members can log billable hours and expenses against project tasks for accurate tracking.
- Built-In Financials Module: This supports budget management, cost tracking, and project invoicing within the same environment.
Dynamics 365 Project Operations Integrations
Integrations include Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Finance, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Teams, and other Microsoft 365 services.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Native Microsoft stack connectivity
- Deal templates carry pricing logic forward
- Time and expense agents reduce manual work
Cons:
- Implementation requires strong governance
- Requires familiarity with Microsoft ecosystem
Parallax is a capacity planning and resource management software tool that helps service organizations align work, people, and finances. Its users are agencies, consultancies, or digital services firms that need to manage capacity and margins alongside project delivery. The tool supports capacity planning, resource assignments, project financial forecasts, and operations intelligence.
Why I picked Parallax: The tool lets you plan your work around who’s available, not just what’s needed, and immediately see how that affects margins. Parallax connects to the systems you already use so data flows in rather than forcing you to reenter it. It sends alerts when projects begin deviating financially, so you can course correct early. You also get a command center view that helps diagnose utilization trends, margin leakage, and resource gaps across the business. This lets you balance your project pipeline with the actual capacity you have available.
Parallax Standout Features & Integrations
Features include capacity overlays that show current and upcoming availability across your team, and deal templates that can price projects based on expected margins. You also get operational dashboards that roll up by client, department, or project.
Integrations include Copper, Hubspot, Salesforce, Clockify, Harvest, Jira, Toggl, NetSuite, Teamwork.com, and Zoho.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Templates can price projects using margin calculations
- Capacity overlays let you visualize workload ahead
- Predictive alerts help you catch margins slipping
Cons:
- Smaller teams might find it too granular
- Setup for predictive alerts may require tuning
Other Professional Services Automation Software Options
Here are some tools that did not make my top list, but which are still worth your consideration if you didn’t find what you were looking for above.
- Forecast
For resource planning and margin optimization
- Celoxis
For managing your project portfolio, resources, and budgets
- Smartsheet
For customer onboarding and project visibility
- ClickTime
For mid-sized businesses with employees across projects
- Planview
For more predictable and profitable customer engagements
- Kimble
For eliminating bottlenecks and improving scalability
- Netsuite OpenAir
For visibility and control for project-based businesses
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How to Choose Professional Services Automation Software
It’s easy to get bogged down in long feature lists and complex pricing structures. To help you stay focused as you work through your unique software selection process, here’s a checklist of factors to keep in mind:
| Factor | What to Consider |
|---|---|
| Scalability | Make sure the software can grow with your business. Look for features like flexible user limits and the ability to handle increasing project complexity. |
| Integrations | Check that it connects with tools you already use, like CRM, accounting, or project management platforms. |
| Customizability | Check whether you can tailor dashboards, workflows, and reports to match your team’s specific needs and processes. |
| Ease of Use | Choose software that’s intuitive and easy for your team to use without extensive training. This helps speed up onboarding and improves productivity. |
| Budget | Assess upfront costs, subscription fees, and any hidden charges. Compare pricing models to make sure the solution fits your financial goals. |
| Security Safeguards | Make sure the software has robust data protection features like encryption, role-based access, and compliance with industry standards like GDPR. |
| Reporting | Look for advanced reporting tools to give your team actionable insights into performance, resource allocation, and profitability. |
| Support Options | Confirm that there’s reliable customer support, whether through live chat, email, or a dedicated account manager, to address issues quickly. |
Trends in Professional Services Automation Software
Here are some of the emerging trends I’m keeping an eye on:
- AI-driven insights: Vendors are adding AI features that can analyze project data and predict risks, delays, or resource bottlenecks, which gives teams a chance to course-correct before problems arise. For example, some tools now suggest resource reassignments based on historical performance.
- Dynamic pricing models: Some vendors are offering tools that you can use to calculate real-time pricing for services based on market trends, resource availability, and project scope. This means better flexibility for both clients and providers.
- Employee experience focus: Platforms are introducing features like skills tracking, career development dashboards, and team wellness insights to support employee growth and engagement.
- Decentralized project tracking: With hybrid work here to stay, tools are evolving to support decentralized teams with multi-time zone support, asynchronous communication options, and real-time global dashboards.
What Is Professional Services Automation Software?
Professional services automation software is a tool used by service-based organizations like consultancies, accounting firms, and legal firms to manage and automate operations like finances, resource management, time tracking, and billing.
It integrates project management, client relationship management, financial management, and time and expense tracking into one system to improve efficiency in managing projects and resources, increase billing accuracy, improve team collaboration, and reduce administrative overhead.
Features of Professional Services Automation Software
These are the core features I look for when I'm evaluating PSA tools:
- Project management tools: The tool should help you to plan, track, and manage projects with features like timelines, milestones, and task assignments.
- Time tracking: You should be able to accurately log billable and non-billable hours, and then use this information in client invoices.
- Resource allocation: The software should help optimize your team’s workload by assigning the right resources to the right tasks based on availability and skills.
- Billing and invoicing: The tool should allow you to automate the creation of accurate invoices based on time tracked, project progress, or fixed fees.
- Financial forecasting: You should be able to get insights into future revenue, expenses, and profitability to help with strategic planning.
- Collaboration tools: Features like shared workspaces, real-time updates, and communication tools foster teamwork and keep everyone aligned.
- Client portals: The tool should offer clients secure access to project updates, invoices, and key deliverables in one centralized location.
- Analytics and reporting: The software should deliver actionable insights with customizable reports on performance, financials, and resource usage.
- Workflow automation: The tool should help you improve repetitive processes like approvals, reminders, and task handoffs to save time and reduce errors.
- Mobile accessibility: The feature makes sure your team can access tools and information on the go via a mobile app or responsive web interface.
FAQs About Professional Services Automation Software
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about professional services automation software.
What integrations should I look for in PSA software?
Make sure the PSA software you’re considering can integrate with any project management platforms, CRM systems, accounting tools, and time tracking apps you’re already using. Integrations with tools like Salesforce, QuickBooks, Slack, and Microsoft Teams can help connect your team’s workflow, reduce manual data entry, and automate reporting. Think about which systems your team already uses daily and prioritize PSA solutions that sync with them.
How can I measure the ROI of PSA software?
To measure the ROI of PSA software, you can track the time it saves, improvements in billable resource utilization, reduced project overruns, and fewer errors in invoicing or finance. Compare project delivery times, profit margins, and client satisfaction before and after implementation. Most PSA platforms should offer dashboards that show utilization rates, project costs, and margins so you can quantify the value you’re getting out of the system.
What challenges might I face when implementing PSA software?
Common challenges include getting buy-in from your team, migrating existing data, and training users on new systems. Projects can stall if setting up integrations with your existing tools is complex or if the PSA platform isn’t customizable for your workflows. To ease the process, provide clear guides for your team, designate an internal champion, and prioritize platforms that offer strong onboarding support.
Does PSA software help with resource management and forecasting?
Yes, PSA software can help you manage resources and forecast workloads. It lets you see who’s assigned to what, identify bottlenecks, and analyze capacity for upcoming projects. Many tools include visual scheduling, demand forecasting, and availability tracking so you can optimize utilization and avoid under- or over-booking your team.

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