Typically focused on long-term, complex projects, service-oriented businesses must not only handle the unique requirements of clients and projects, they must also manage more typical business activities such as finances and human resources. On top of this, the professional services industry has been facing a unique set of challenges - growing competition, changing client requirements and, more recently, the wholesale move towards hybrid working environments.
In this business climate, manual processes can no longer cut it. Siloed systems only serve to stymie growth. This is where the benefits of ERP for the professional services industry really come into play. An integrated ERP solution that can unite fragmented data, replace manual processes with automation and provide the insight needed to control costs and streamline workflows will make it easier to manage projects, delight clients and streamline your business operations.
In this article, we detail why having high-level visibility and an optimised work lifecycle courtesy of an ERP such as NetSuite equips service companies with the tools to manage all facets of their business while future-proofing against business model evolution and other changes. Here are the top four benefits of an ERP for the professional services industry.
From system fragmentation to cohesion
Almost every business relies on technology to manage operations. Whether you need a place to securely store your customer data, track how much you’re spending on each project or manage your supplier and vendor invoices and payments. There are many technological solutions available to fill these needs, however, they create one major problem. If you invest in software to fill a particular need, each platform will be standalone, which means your systems can’t talk to each other. Even if you try to integrate them, the processes are never as smooth or complete as you would like.
This is a common problem for professional services organisations. Many will have a number of systems that once worked perfectly, but no longer meet all the needs of their business. In fact, they create additional problems because data sources must be manually connected.
An ERP tailored to professional services, such as NetSuite, avoids this problem by integrating sales, customers, finance and project management, allowing business leaders to see exactly where every dollar in the company is in near real-time, without needing to run multiple reports through multiple systems.
Taking project financials from fair to fantastic
Accurate quoting is critical for the ongoing success of professional services firms. But with so many moving parts, project quoting is complex. An ERP for the professional services industry will give project teams access to detailed information around resource allocation, project budgets and delivery dates, avoiding costly overruns by tracking project actuals. A good system will also offer insights and past project details to support the development of more accurate quotes moving forward.
From no sight to true insight
As the saying goes, you can’t measure what you can’t see. In order to run a successful services business, data must be easily accessible and accurate so business leaders can confidently dictate when to forge forward and when to pull back. An ERP solution like NetSuite provides a comprehensive, real-time picture that supports timely, data-driven decisions across the organisation.
Then there’s forecasting, which is just as critical to services organisations as actual results and often harder to measure. NetSuite’s advanced reporting capabilities gives leaders faith in the direction they are travelling with accurate performance prediction, optimal resource forecasts, revenue and billing schedules.
From poor to enhanced resource and capacity planning
Professional services organisations require tools to support project planning, management, and performance measurement capabilities throughout the service delivery lifecycle. Integrated ERP solutions include professional services automation (PSA) solutions to help manage a business end-to-end through the bid-to-bill lifecycle. This includes everything from resource management and project management to time and expense tracking, project accounting, and advanced billing and invoicing.
The high-level benefits are two-fold. Internally, management gains improved visibility of resource availability so they can more accurately allocate resources, determine hiring gaps for upcoming projects, and ensure the most qualified resources are assigned to the right projects, avoiding any gaps in resource planning. On the flip side, the client gains the most compatible resources for their project and a superior project management team with relevant skill sets.
NetSuite’s PSA also supports the profitability of project financials by automating revenue calculations and allocations, recognising revenue separate from project billing and ensuring financial compliance.
With an integrated ERP/PSA such as NetSuite, professional services will have the tools needed to develop and deliver high-quality services to attract new and repeat businesses at lower operating margins. And in today’s competitive services landscape, this could well mean the difference between sustainable success and eventual irrelevancy.
To learn more about the benefits of ERP for the professional services industry, speak to the Annexa team. We have experience and expertise in the services industry, a deep understanding of the challenges faced and the best practices to transition your organisation to an optimal state of operations with NetSuite.
Annexa is a leading NetSuite partner with extensive experience designing and implementing comprehensive and customised business systems, including payroll solutions, financial management, warehouse management and ecommerce solutions.