Posted by Chantal Verlinden on Tue, Aug 24, 2010 @ 09:52 AM
Below is another example of how an organisation uses a Professional Services Automation (PSA) software system.
Fullhouse Media is an interactive, project-based consulting agency specializing in B2B, consumer and event-driven sales and marketing communications. The firm began an aggressive growth track in the early 2000s, expanding into new industries and taking on several new projects while juggling an increasing workload.
Fullhouse Media used a combination of disparate systems. These systems included a homegrown custom intranet page that collected basic contact data and project opportunities, as well as several commercially available timekeeping and accounting solutions. Because these systems could not speak to each other, there was a complete lack of trust in their numbers at that time. The company had little visibility into their performance, which was hindering their ability to make decisions that would drive growth.
As a result, Fullhouse needed an enterprise solution to manage the growing firm’s projects, employees and accounting functions while improving efficiency and productivity.
One of the benefits of their chosen PSA system is that processes are now well-defined. For instance, Fullhouse has experienced tremendous strides in the change order area. For any billable project, as the scope of each project begins to expand, they can now consistently track and manage each change as part of the original project—something they were not able to accomplish using disparate systems before. Their PSA system has essentially created a best practice for the change order process.
Fullhouse now uses their PSA system to manage nearly 1,500 active projects via integrated project management, CRM, time and expense and accounting functionality dramatically improving data reliability and productivity.
Fullhouse Media
Interactive marketing agency improves data reliability and cash flow with PSA software system
Read the full case study on Fullhouse Media
- Overview
- The Challenge
- The Solution
- The Benefits
Or view the PSA system Fullhouse Media utilises.
Posted by Chantal Verlinden on Tue, Aug 10, 2010 @ 09:58 AM
This medical publication planning agency uses Professional Services Automation (PSA) software to increase their organisational visibility and efficiency. Complete Healthcare Communications (CHC) realised they wasted valuable time by managing multiple systems and duplicating data by importing project information into their accounting system, and vice versa. When the company opened a spin-off company - Complete Publication Solutions – they needed multi-company functionality to produce financials for both companies in a seamless manner.
CHC needed an integrated, advanced solution that not only increased reporting capability, transparency and data integrity within their organization, but also across their affiliated companies.
Benefits of the PSA system for CHC include integrated project budgeting, mobile time and expense access, and easy-to-use reporting capabilities. For example, the data and reports that their parent company MMUSA requires – that previously took weeks to develop – are now complete and accurate in under an hour, saving 40 man-hours a month.
Their PSA system helps CHC build precise estimates and budgets, and accurately project revenue and resource utilization. CHC’s project budgets are now entered into a single database that eliminates the need for accounting to import or re-enter data that used to occur within their old accounting environment.
In addition, because their resource planning has been improved, CHC can service clients more efficiently and maintain high productivity levels among their staff.
Case Study
Read the Complete Healthcare Communications case study:
- The Challenge
- The Solution
- The Benefit
Read Now
Posted by Chantal Verlinden on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 @ 09:21 AM
Cash flow is what keeps your company going. You may be profitable, but if cash runs out in the short term it may mean the end of your business. There are a number of ways you can improve your cash flow; some fairly simple, some complicated. Here are my 2 cents (or pennies actually..):
- Increase sales. In tough times this is easier said than done, but managing the pipeline efficiently, using a CRM system and automating processes such as proposal automation and service estimating can free up time to spend on attracting additional clients.
- Be careful about giving (longer) credit terms. Check client’s credit rating and history before giving credit.
- Bill as soon as the work has completed. Ensure that employees enter their time and expense reports within 1 or 2 weeks of completing the project/job. Pre-filling their timesheets means they will not book time to the wrong project and your invoices will be correct first time, leading to decreased Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) - (see this post about decreasing DSO)
- Have steps in place and be more pro-active in collecting payments that are overdue.
- On the other hand, you may consider discounts for clients that pay promptly.
- If appropriate, ask for a deposit when the client places the order/signs the contract.
- Only pay your suppliers promptly or before the end of the credit period if there is anything to gain – e.g. discount, you want to ensure a good relationship for preferential rates or service further along etc.
- Raise your prices if you feel you are in a position to do so. Get an idea of what your competition’s hourly/project rate is. If they are equal to yours consider what additional offerings/USPs you have that are worth the extra expenditure for the client.
- Reduce administrative overhead. Decrease the amount of time your chargeable staff spend on administrative tasks. Automating processes will free up a lot of their time which can then be spend on doing client work.
- Finally, regularly review your cash flow forecast. Ensure you have up-to-date information and make timely decisions based on your data.
There are many more short- and long-term ways of improving cash flow, but most importantly is to stay on top of everything. If you need to get a loan from your bank to get through a few tough weeks, it’s best that both you and the bank are aware this is coming up some time in advance.
Image: djcodrin
Posted by Chantal Verlinden on Tue, Jul 27, 2010 @ 10:01 AM
Reducing your Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) will significantly impact your cash flow.
In my opinion there are three ways to decrease your DSO:
1. Ensure that your invoices are correct the first time. Make sure that all your staff are filling in their timesheets and doing it at least every other week. If they leave it any longer there is a high probability some work may not get accounted for and you will not be able to bill for it. In addition you may want to consider using a Statement of Work (SOW) for smaller jobs that can come up that are not part of the main job/contract. Having this signed SOW means that you can supply it to the client should they wonder where these costs on the invoice have come from.
2. Send invoices out on time. Inform staff about the importance of filling in their timesheets and expense reports, and set reminder alerts for staff a couple of days before the invoice is due to go out. This will ensure that all hours and expenses are accounted for and the client is billed for all of the hours worked on the project.
3. Have a good relationship with you customers. Happy customers pay quicker.
Ensure that your invoices are correct the first time and that invoices are sent out in a timely manner. Finally, make sure you have a good relationship with you customers – happy customers will pay quicker.
Posted by Chantal Verlinden on Thu, Jul 08, 2010 @ 09:41 AM
Now we've been writing this blog for a number of months, I thought I would make a couple of quick reference lists of our articles.
Below are the five most popular articles on our blog.
Most popular:
- Characteristics of good project management
- Key performance indicators (kpis) for consulting firms
- 5 Long-Term Success Factors for Professional Services Firms (Part 2 of 2)
- Characteristics Of A Good CRM System
- What is the difference between ERP and PSA software?
The next 3 blog posts will have longer lists in them containing PSA Software articles, success factors articles, and CRM and Business Systems articles.
Image by MShades - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mshades/151878629/
Posted by Chantal Verlinden on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 @ 09:17 AM
You can read the first five tips on how to ensure that you have full access to and visibility of the projects staff are working on
here. These tips are aimed at avoiding project disruption when key staff such as project managers, executives and directors are on holiday.
Here are another five tips:
1. Do you have security settings on your system(s)? If you hire temporary staff in the summer - to do database work, telemarketing or on reception - ensure that you are able to set security settings so that they are not able to view certain areas of your system(s) and access your sensitive company data.
2. Have all staff been informed about correct email procedures? Most employees will not check their email whilst on holiday so ensuring that a correct out of office message is set up is important. Some people may just state that they're on holiday and will respond after a certain date, other people - in particular those who receive a lot of emails - may put something more drastic such as: "I'm out of the office until [date] with no access to email. On my return I will delete all emails so if your message is important please re-send after [date]". For some people this is the only way to manage large volumes of email. If your staff are in a client facing role it is important that they refer to a colleague for urgent questions, and you may want to consider forwarding emails if it is likely your employees will receive a lot of client emails during their absence.
3. Are all project documents saved in a shared drive or document management system? Having access to documents relating to projects ensures that you are up-to-date with all aspects of the project and you will be able to produce these documents if clients ask for them. A project is easily slowed down when important files are saved on an employees' laptop that is in their home.
4. Are your systems accessible when not in the office? Certain staff - in particular CEO and board level directors - may not be able to stay disconnected from work for a 2 or 3 week period. If they can access real-time project and financial data through their laptops they will still be aware of what's happening within key areas of the business.
5. Does your staff have protected files relating to their projects or use an intranet that needs a password? If their projects are project managed by someone else in their absence ensure that passwords are available to the new project manager to avoid projects being slowed down
Preparing for staff holidays does not have to be a time-consuming task. Ensuring that colleagues who take over are fully informed of all details regarding the project will ensure smooth project progression without risking the project's timeframe. Having access and knowledge of how to use and report within the project and accounting system will ensure senior staff are not disrupted by staff holidays either.
This blog post is based on the article "10 Tips to Avoid Project Delays during Staff Holidays" which you can read here.
"10 Tips to Avoid Project Delays during Staff Holidays"
Tips for when project managers, executives and directors are on annual leave
Read Here
Posted by Chantal Verlinden on Thu, Jul 01, 2010 @ 09:42 AM
When staff go away on holiday it's important that you have full access to and visibility of the projects they are working on. Below are five tips for you to keep in mind to avoid project disruption when project managers, executives and directors are on holiday.
1. Have staff filled in their timesheets before going away? If not, you won't be able to invoice their hours to the client until next month. Once you know their last working day set up an alert for them to ensure they remember to fill in their timesheet before leaving.
2. Do you know the progress of their current projects and can you access these details? Having access to their CRM activities will fill you in on all details regarding contacts with the client. If you need to take over from them you won't have to ask the clients questions regarding the project - you will know the details, stages they're at and any problems that have occurred (and how it got solved).
3. Have they accidently been scheduled on a project? Can you make changes to staff planning quickly? Being able to make changes to your staff planning in a timely manner will ensure that the project's schedule does not suffer. Being able to search your planning system for staff availability, experience and qualifications ensures you can quickly adjust your plans. Using a tool such as Microsoft Communicator® allows you to quickly contact employees to double check availability and plan them on the project.
4. Do you have access to companywide project and financial overviews and can you create your own reports? You still want to be able to get reports on the project and financial status of your organisation even when IT or finance staff are on holiday.
5. Can you create reports to review and evaluate projects? Down-time during the summer is the perfect time to review your projects of Q1 and 2. Which has been the most profitable project, generated the most revenue, who has not been entering their timesheets on time, which salesperson has brought in the most profitable projects etc? Make the most of down-time by evaluating projects, thinking about improvements and drawing conclusions to use for future projects.
This blog post is based on the article "10 Tips To Avoid Project Delays During Staff Holidays" which you can read here.
"10 Tips To Avoid Project Delays During Staff Holidays"
Tips for when project managers, executives and directors are on annual leave
Read Here