Discover how architecture and engineering (A&E) firms profit from linking their business development, resource management, and project data with their financial information
For any project-based company, the ability to successfully plan, track, and execute projects is the difference between success and failure. But, like all things worth doing, this can be easier said than done.
A lack of visibility into operations, poor communication between departments, and siloed processes and systems can all lead to mistakes, delays, and unnecessary costs.
Connecting your client, project and financial information, through an end-to-end ERP solution or by integrating CRM and project management solutions with your existing accounting system, provides a comprehensive and accurate view of all your vital project and company information. This enables you to improve resource utilisation, streamline invoicing and billing, enhance on-time project delivery and drive profitability. And it can do all of this in a cost-effective and less resource-intensive way.
With this increased visibility professional services firms can quickly identify opportunities to win, serve and retain clients. They can also establish consistent business rules and seamlessly flow accurate and timely information between different areas of the business.
The result – more successful projects, greater profitability, better client relationships and much greater control over the business.
What integrating your client, project and financial data means for your business
The key to successful project management is seeing the big picture. Project-based organisations need an accurate view across the business with a focus on three areas: project profitability, resource utilisation and effective billing.
However, it’s not uncommon for organisations to use multiple tools and spreadsheets to track performance and various stages of the project lifecycle, resulting in duplicated work and disjointed information that is difficult to connect. For instance, in the average professional services firm, future pipeline may be tracked in one tool, people assigned to various projects may be tracked by different spreadsheets, and ongoing work is probably managed elsewhere.
The result is an inaccurate and incomplete view of project health that prevents leaders from gaining a 360-degree view of the business, which in turn impacts decision-making.
So, whether you decide to integrate CRM and project management solutions to your existing accounting sytem, or implement a full end-to-end enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, what benefits does linking your client, project and financial information offer your business:
» Opportunity Management: The ability to accurately keep track of your project pipeline and nurture client relationships when it matters most to better position the company to win
» Project Management: Proactively manage projects including project plan, schedule and budget through project performance and financials.
» Resource Management: Easy scheduling and management of resources at the project and company level » Time & Expense Management Accurately capture, track and allocate time and expense to your projects
» Project Invoicing and Billing: Create accurate invoices, based on hours worked to ensure your teams are getting paid for the work delivered in a faster, more accurate manner
» Business Intelligence and Reporting: Gain insight at the company and project level, spot trends, make better decisions and strategically direct the business.
Five areas of your business that will benefit from a 360-degree view of project and financial data
Connecting your key project and financial data will help to improve efficiency and accuracy across many areas of your business, including finance and project accounting, client relationship management, and project and resource management. By streamlining processes and automating tasks, and connecting critical business data you can save time and reduce errors, gain insight across your business and projects and make better-informed business decisions, ultimately helping to improve your bottom line.
Read the full ebook ‘5 areas of your business that will benefit from connecting project and financial information’ here.
Ready to experience these benefits for yourself?
At Deltek, our mission is to deliver solutions that help you to connect and automate the project lifecycle that fuels your business. Our industry-focused expertise makes us perfectly positioned to help you increase performance and maximise productivity and revenue.
Learn more about how Deltek’s solutions can help achieve a 360-degree view across your business and projects.
