Specificities of an ERP systems for consulting firms

There are several online solutions that are successful because they offer a large number of features, covering almost any function you need. They are a good foundational platform, but consulting firms have specific issues that need to be addressed more precisely.

But, how is an ERP dedicated to consulting firms different?

Specific features

All functionalities are adapted to consulting firms, to varying degrees. For invoicing, for example, the invoice templates offered will be more typical, and may include tables summarizing the days spent last month on an assignment, for example.

The management of opportunities and proposals in CRM will also be adapted to the problems faced by consultants, to provide sales forecasts and manage the "pipe" to anticipate dips in activity.
But two areas in particular stand out, offering solutions that are very different from generic software:

Resource planning

This is a crucial issue for consulting firms; several aspects need to be taken into account:

• Consultant availability: you need to know which senior consultant is available immediately to submit a proposal, and which junior consultant will be available for 3 months for the new assignment you've just signed. Good software should present this information clearly, and allow you to modify it easily at the resource planning meetings on Monday mornings (or Wednesdays if you do this on Wednesdays).
• Skills: it is not always easy to remember everyone's skills, and it may not even be possible to meet everyone if the firm is large. A good ERP should, therefore, record everyone's skills and make it possible to search for employees based on said skills.
• Desires: in order to help your consultants grow through challenging, engaging projects and to encourage their retention by assigning projects based on interest, it is necessary to record these desires and have constant access to them when making decisions.

In short, specific ERPs make it easy for you to find an answer to this type of problem: "I'm looking for a senior consultant available for 2 months starting next week, I want him to be an Excel whiz because there'll be a lot of modeling to do, and if we can avoid Jean, it's because he wants to change client" => the software should present you with a few options.

Project management

The second important aspect of consulting firms is project profitability, which can take shape in two forms: 

• "Pay-as-you-go" mode: the client is billed for the number of days worked after a certain amount of time (e.g. the end of each month). It is, therefore, important that the software counts days (a pretty basic feature) and makes precise follow-ups on what has been invoiced and what remains to be invoiced (fees and expenses). Clear time summaries and billing alerts simplify managerial jobs. 
• "Fixed price" mode: when you sell on a fixed price basis, you sell a result, and it is up to the manager to manage the balance between customer satisfaction (more days spent) and profitability (fewer days spent). The software must support managers with transparency of the total number of planned project days and forecast project financials. 

A manageable amount of options

A second very important point is the right balance between a sufficient (and even large) number of functions, and simplicity of use, which necessarily comes from a reduced number of functions.

Consultants have enough work to do building the future of their customers, and administrative tasks are sometimes neglected, or at least concentrated on a very limited number of functions (expenses, confirmation of days, etc.). Even associates, who could have access to a large number of reports, consult only a very limited number of indicators.

A good ERP for consulting firms must therefore be able to manage all the functionalities deemed essential by the company (plus a few additional value-added functionalities), select the few key indicators for each subject, and remain simple, intuitive and quick to use.

Flexibility is important, so that larger cabinets have all the features they need, but smaller ones aren't cluttered with buttons they don't want.

All-in-one

The last important element is the completeness of the modules on offer. Consulting firms, unable to find a complete solution, are often obliged to deal with incompatible solutions, one for time confirmation, the other for CRM, exporting to payroll, etc.

Working in a single system ensures a coherent environment that saves everyone's time (and in particular that of the support functions who would otherwise have to do all the file transfers between systems). When all information is immediately available, discussions are easier and teams can focus directly on tasks with real added value.

To find out more, read our white paper on operations management :

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Stafiz is a modular or all-in-one ERP system that enables you to manage your portfolio of projects and customers even more efficiently and profitably. Stafiz is primarily dedicated to consulting firms and, more broadly, to professional services.

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