Professional Services ERP: Solutions for Professional Service Companies

Why Professional Services Companies Run Better with Navigator ERP Solutions

As a Professional Services organization, it's crucial to have an intelligent ERP system in place to manage the unique needs of your business, Management Consulting, Tax, Accounting/Audit, Engineering, Facility Management, or Field Service. Whether it's managing timesheets, advanced expense management, or consolidating multiple entities, the right Cloud ERP can provide total visibility into all your business data, giving you access to project accounting and advanced revenue recognition. This can ultimately help your business excel and provide the highest level of customer service.

Solving common pain points

The right ERP system can also solve common pain points faced by Professional Services companies. For example, managing multiple entities can become complex as a company expands, but an ERP can automate multi-entity consolidations and save valuable time for employees.

Project accounting can also be challenging for service companies, but an ERP can automate this process, making project management easier. Additionally, the right ERP can have advanced project billing features that can automate the billing process, generating accurate project invoices for each customer along with real-time visibility reporting to make accounting easier for everyone.

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Make informed decisions & drive success

In addition to solving pain points, an ERP can also provide numerous benefits for Professional Services organizations. Improved financial reporting, visual dashboards, and flexible reporting can help you make informed decisions and drive success. Automation with software can also reduce user error and the amount of time spent on manual tasks. Furthermore, an ERP can provide data security, allowing you to keep your company and client files safe while facilitating relationships with partners and clients.

ERP helps Professional Service Firms make informed decisions and drive success.

Achieve business objectives

The right cloud-based ERP system can play a vital role in the success of a Professional Services organization by addressing unique needs, solving common pain points, and providing a range of benefits that can help achieve business objectives. Navigator Business Solutions is an SAP ERP Partner with industry and solution expertise to assist you in evaluating the right ERP system that will meet the specific needs of your professional services organization.

Learn more about SAP S/4 HANA Cloud, Public Edition for Professional Services

Achieve business objectives with Cloud ERP

Project Accounting & Project Management
Managing Multiple Service Entities With a Professional Services ERP
Accessing Information while Away From the Office
Flexible Project Billing & Revenue Recognition
Professional Services ERP for Data Security

Project Accounting & Project Management

ERP systems effectively address the pain point of project accounting for professional services companies. Handling multiple projects can require a significant amount of manual work to manage project accounting. In order to make informed management decisions, accurate and organized information is crucial, but manual project accounting can make this difficult.

An ERP system can automate the process of project accounting, allowing data to flow smoothly throughout the business. This enables easier management of projects and profitability while providing more accurate and reliable data to support financial decision-making. By integrating project accounting with other business functions, an ERP system can streamline the process and save a lot of time for the accounting team, giving them more time to focus on other important tasks.

Managing Multiple Service Entities With a Professional Services ERP

A cloud-based ERP system like SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition provides a solution for managing multiple entities. As a company grows and expands into a larger client base, new services, and areas, the process of managing multiple entities and consolidating financials can become increasingly complex. Traditional methods such as using multiple spreadsheets and systems can be time-consuming and inefficient.

With a well-configured ERP system in place, service companies can automate the process of multi-entity consolidation, freeing up employee time for other important tasks that support business growth. With ERP professional services, the company can gain better insights and data visibility to make more informed decisions. As a system like SAP S/4HANA Cloud, the public edition is designed to scale with Professional Services organizations improving the overall efficiency, accuracy, and compliance of business operations.

Accessing Information while Away From the Office

Robust and configurable ERP systems can effectively address the pain point of limited information access when employees are away from the office. During peak seasons, employees may be away from their office for extended periods of time, consulting clients and overseeing major projects. In these situations, it's vital that employees have instant access to important information, but many software systems just do not support remote access smoothly or securely with all devices.

A modern cloud-based, ERP solution provides a solution by allowing employees to access information from any location with an internet connection. This enhances collaboration and communication, resulting in increased productivity and efficiency, even when employees are away from the office. Additionally, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition ERP offers purpose-built mobile access to key functionalities, such as time tracking and expense management, allowing employees to manage their work on the go.

Flexible Project Billing & Revenue Recognition

Effectively tackling the pain point of flexible project billing and revenue recognition is one of the major hurdles faced by Professional Services companies with varied billing terms present in almost every project and contract. Contracts may include different billing rates for time and materials, fixed or flexible fees, and specific billing preferences for clients.

SAP ERP systems implemented and supported by Navigator Business Solutions, offer advanced project billing features that automate the billing process, creating accurate project invoices that adhere to the correct format, terms and amounts for each client. This can help professional services companies ensure accurate billing and improve cash flow, while also reducing the time and resources required for manual billing processes. The ERP software also enables the integration of revenue recognition based on the project status, milestones, and other factors, ensuring compliance with revenue recognition accounting standards and improving the forecasting of future revenues. ERP for professional services makes financial management simple and easy for your company.

Professional Services ERP for Data Security

n today's digital landscape, it is essential for professional services companies to ensure that their own and their client's data is stored securely. With the growing threat of cyber-attacks and data breaches, professional services businesses need to take proactive measures to protect their personal and partner information.

The right ERP solution can provide robust data security features, such as encryption, intrusion detection, and firewalls, to safeguard company and client files from unauthorized access. Additionally, SAP ERP systems are hosted on SAP cloud servers, which provide added security measures, such as regular backups and updates, to ensure that data is always secure and up-to-date. This can give professional services companies peace of mind, knowing that their data is protected and they can continue to operate even in case of any unforeseen event.

How can I identify revenue leakage?

How can I allocate project resources more efficiently and maximize talent utilization?

How can I more easily report on Regulatory compliance?

Is there a better way to manage change orders?

Am I tracking project costs vs. revenues in the best way?

Is there a real-time way to see the status of all my projects?

Integrating all my projects with our accounting system would save us countless hours.

Is there a better way to measure performance, cost, and timelines across all projects in real-time?

SAP and NAVIGATOR have the answers

Together we bring industry knowledge and world-class ERP solutions to our Professional Services customers, helping them:

Achieve transparency across all projects
Mobile Apps for Approvals, Project Tracking, Time-and Expense Recording, and Analytics
Improve billable utilization
Increase client satisfaction
Improve cash flow management
Enhance Project Management, Field Service, Dis-assembly (for repair)
Improve reporting with Navigator’s eSuite Reporting
Implement Seamless Integration with a single global platform for growth including; UBIX Advanced Analytics, Field Service Management, JustPlanIt Scheduling

By offering an end-to-end project-to-cash scenario in one software that merges operational and financial data through preconfigured processes built on best practices developed over 40 years to plan projects consistently and efficiently, SAP software provides you with the functionality you need out of the box.

Visualize where your risks, profits, costs, and margins are. Contact Navigator today and discover how having the right software makes the everyday complex simple.

Resources

The Intelligent Enterprise for the Professional Services Industry

Facing disruptions and introducing innovations to provide a positive customer experience.

Download the PDF

The Transformation Mindset: Expanding Priorities for Finance Leaders of Growing Companies

Finance departments in midsize companies are constantly sizing up existing and potential risks in their business investments and decisions
during the hours in between.

Download the PDF

A Guide to Growth

A global analysis of the defining characteristics of leading midsize companies.

Get the Guide

Visual Dashboards and Flexible Reporting

ERP software can provide significant benefits by offering visual dashboards and flexible reporting. Identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) is important, but it alone is not enough to drive success for clients and the business.

An ERP system can provide visual dashboards and built-in reporting tools that enable companies to drill down into their data quickly allowing for more informed decision-making. This can provide a comprehensive, real-time overview of the business and enables greater financial and operational control. With this level of visibility, professional services companies can improve efficiency, optimize performance and make data-driven decisions to drive success. Cloud-based ERP systems are a valuable tool for professional services companies that need to improve their reporting capabilities and gain a better understanding of their business in order to stay competitive while supporting the needs of their clients.

Empower Automation in Any Industry (AI, Machine-learning, Robotic Processing)

Automation within ERP systems can provide significant benefits to professional services companies by streamlining processes through advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, and robotic processing. An ERP system can automate a wide range of manual processes and significantly reduce the risk of user errors. This can help service firm companies to save time and resources, and increase efficiency.

With an ERP system that leverages these advanced technologies, companies can automate tasks such as tracking costs, time, expenses, managing resources, billing, and revenue recognition. This can allow teams to focus on billable work and strategic tasks, rather than administrative tasks. Additionally, the use of AI and machine learning can also lead to better decision-making and optimization of business processes as well as improved task management. ERP systems like S/4HANA Cloud by leveraging advanced technologies can be a valuable tool for professional services companies that need to achieve automation in order to provide improved services to their partners and clients.

Improved Financial Reporting

ERP systems can provide significant benefits to professional services companies by improving financial reporting. With advanced reporting capabilities, ERP solutions can track and manage business transactions from a single software. This can improve data visibility and provide real-time insights into financial performance, allowing companies to make more informed management decisions.

Additionally, by utilizing cloud accounting functionality, ERP solutions can deliver more accurate financial statements and enable precise revenue and cost management across the entire service organization. This can help professional services companies to optimize their financial performance, increase efficiency and compliance, and gain a competitive edge in the industry they serve.

The right ERP system will be a valuable tool for professional services companies that need to improve their financial reporting in order to stay competitive and grow their business.

Open Integration to Best-in-Class Solutions (using SAP Business Technology Platform)

ERP systems can provide significant benefits to service firms by enabling open integration to best-in-class solutions. By leveraging a platform such as SAP Business Technology Platform, companies can ensure that data flows freely between different systems, leading to streamlined workflows, improved efficiency, and increased visibility.

An open API allows for tight integrations with a wide range of complementary solutions, providing professional services companies with the flexibility to build on the functionality of their ERP system as their management needs evolve. This can allow companies to leverage the best solutions for their specific needs and improve performance in areas such as employee expense reporting, operations, human resources, and customer relationship management.

Providing open integration to best-in-class solutions can be a valuable tool for extending a professional services company's unique position in their field while supporting their clients’ needs.

Flexibility, Scalability, and Adaptability

Professional Services firms have to address specific pain points, and it is crucial for them to have a solution that is flexible enough to adapt to their unique needs. Cloud-based ERP solutions like SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, are highly scalable and flexible, providing a more intuitive solution for all types of service-based businesses (Management Consulting, Tax, Accounting, Engineering, or Field Service). These management solutions can provide real-time access to data from any location, allowing professional services companies to stay connected and productive even when working remotely.

Cloud ERP solutions have the ability to scale with the growth of the business, ensuring that the software can meet the evolving needs of the company. Having the right ERP system that offers flexibility, scalability, and adaptability is vital for the support and growth of a professional services company transforming itself into an Intelligent Enterprise.

Enhanced Communication and Collaboration

A fully configured and integrated cloud ERP system enhances communication and collaboration within a Professional Services organization and with their clients. ERP systems accomplish this efficiently by connecting different service departments and divisions within an organization into a centralized system. This allows for more effective processes and enables employees to easily share information and communicate with one another and their clients.

For example, the marketing team can easily access information from the sales team, and the finance department can access expenses without having to request them from each division or employee. Additionally, a well-implemented ERP system will break down technical silos within an organization, ensuring that all teams are working together towards the same goal and delivering value to clients as well as to the organization

ERP for Professional Services Industry: Solutions for Professional Service Companies