Why Your SMB Needs a PSA Solution
A PSA or professional services automation is a platform used to manage daily business operations. Whether it’s people, inventory or any other resource, PSAs work to automate manual and time-consuming processes. They are frequently used by companies in the technology services industry like IT professionals, security systems installers, and audio/video installers.
Functions of a PSA include project management, time recording and reporting, billing, proposal generation, and documentation, but in their most robust forms they can include customer relationship management features like email tracking
Why PSA Matters
When used properly, a PSA can save your organization a lot of money by improving communication, keeping track of important data, managing inventory, and shortening your billing cycle.
Improved Communication
Sometimes companies and teams within organizations use multiple software platforms that store their own data and information. To access important data you may have to jump between different platforms or email a coworker to provide the needed data. PSA tools can allow you to integrate third-party applications to keep data in one, easy-to-use location.
Having different software for different teams creates unnecessary silos within your organization and limits communication. By bringing groups together with a single PSA, you can avoid duplication of efforts and work together instead of independently. By empowering employees with the tools they need, they’ll be able to make decisions and take action on their own and allow managers to refine and execute their business strategies.
Automation software can also bring more accountability to your organization. Tasks can be assigned out and reassigned to different team members as needed. This forces individuals to take ownership of the task and it allows managers to quickly and easily view the progress of a task. Instead of making the rounds to different stakeholders, managers can simply look at the task and deliverables to gauge the status of any project.
Keep Track of Important Data
Have you ever completed a project only to realize you forgot to log your hours? Then you have to back an give your best estimate of the time you spent. If you don’t log all of your hours on a project you could be leaving money on the table. You can also see what types of projects are taking too long and where you need to improve. As needed you can also refer to documents like orders and contracts to retrieve important information as needed. Use a contract management software to keep track of all your contracts and manage them effectively.
Manage Inventory
Loss of time is not the only expense that your business may face. Lost or stolen goods can also have a huge impact on your bottom line. A PSA tool can help you track where your inventory is, and who is responsible for it. When you fail to track your use of inventory on a project, your customers are getting free product. PSA tools allow you to take note of what has been used on each project. You’ll also be able to view real-time pricing guides to know how much you should be charging your customers and determine when you should buy more inventory.
Shortened Billing Cycle
When you think of billing clients, you might think of waiting on them for payment. But it’s possible that there are bottlenecks on your end. If you are manually creating invoices, then you are taking longer than necessary. By automating your invoicing process, you can reduce the number of steps taken and shorten the overall billing time.
Should I Use a PSA Software?
According to Tigerpaw your business should probably use PSA software if your organization struggles with internal communication, if important information isn’t readily available to everyone, and if you are losing track of tasks. If this describes your team or organization it might be time to consider using a PSA software service to improve communication and visibility. If your company has serious problems with any of these issues then a PSA system could be extremely effective.
