This playbook sets out what we find in most professional services businesses before they move to a single system, what we set up, and the reports owners use once it is running.
Where the money leaks
- Hours worked never reach an invoice
- Nobody knows which clients are profitable
- Proposals, projects and invoices live in separate tools
What we set up
- Pipeline
- Leads, proposals and follow-ups in one place.
- Projects
- Tasks, milestones and deliverables per engagement.
- Timesheets
- Time recorded against the client and the task.
- Billing
- Fixed fee, milestone and time-based invoicing.
- Retainers and subscriptions
- Recurring invoices raised on schedule.
- Utilisation
- Billable hours against capacity for each person.
How a normal day runs
- Proposal accepted
- Project planned and staffed
- Time and expenses recorded
- Client invoiced and profit reviewed
Reports owners use
- Utilisation per person
- Unbilled time
- Profit per client and project
- Pipeline value
Modules involved
Projects, CRM, Sales, Accounting, HR and Payroll. They share one database, so every entry updates the accounts and the reports together.
Where to start
Most professional services businesses start with projects, CRM, sales, then add the rest once the first phase is stable.
Questions we are often asked
- Can timesheets become invoices?
- Yes. Approved time and expenses are pulled into the invoice for that client.
- Does it support retainers?
- Yes. Recurring invoices are raised automatically on the agreed schedule.