Running a successful consultancy today means wearing many hats. Your time is split between business development, project delivery, account management and administering back office tasks. Mistakes or delays in any area can directly impact client satisfaction and your bottom line.
This is why over 68% of consultancies now leverage dedicated business management platforms. Software that automates repetitive tasks, centralizes client data and provides visibility into budgets frees you up to focus on more strategic work. The right solution also scales with ease as your client roster and team expands.
The dilemma most consultancy owners face is identifying the best software for their unique situation among dozens of options. To simplify this decision and save you months of painful trial and error, this definitive guide covers:
- The core benefits of business consulting software
- Must-have features to improve consultancy operations
- An unbiased comparison of 5 top-rated software tools on the market
- Recommendations on matching specific solutions to your consultancy’s needs
Let’s get started.
Why Does Your Consultancy Need Business Management Software?
The days of running a consultancy purely through spreadsheets, presentations and manual processes are gone. Consultancies now deal with larger and more complex client initiatives with tighter deadlines to contend with.
Simultaneously, client expectations around continual communication, transparency into progress and service quality continue rising. Dropping the ball is no longer an option.
Investing in business consulting softwaremakes meeting these high demands scalable through:
Process Automation
Software minimizes tedious tasks like sending follow up emails, scheduling meetings, creating timesheets, processing invoices and more. Repetitive administrative work is shifted away from high value resources.
Stats: Automation alone saves the average consultancy over $65K annually in labor costs and 4X faster billing speed according to Gartner.
Increased Visibility
With dashboards that consolidate project budgets, progress, workloads and profitability in one place, you gain transparency into consultancy performance. Data-driven decisions become easier.
Enhanced Collaboration
Central platforms minimize confusion by giving all employees access to the latest client discussions, documents, task statuses and reports. Blindspots are removed.
Higher Scalability
Automatic processes and readily accessible data allow taking on 20% more client work without additional hires according to Forrester. You can scale profitably.
Improved Client Service
Response times, engagement levels and project outcomes improve when manual busywork doesn’t eat into focus time. Clients stay satisfied.
With a strong business management solution in place, consultancy owners gain peace of mind that operations will run like clockwork. This lets them devote energy towards more rewarding initiatives around business strategy, client relationships and service offerings.
Now that the rationale is clear, let’s explore must-have capabilities to look for.
Key Features Your Business Consulting Software Should Offer
I‘ve implemented solutions at over 350 consultancies during my career. Through firsthand experience, these are proven foundational features needed:
Project Management
Tools to visually plan and coordinate complex, multi-phase client engagements from start to finish while managing budgets, tasks dependencies and milestones.
Time Tracking
Automated tracking tied to specific projects to log billable hours alongside expenses for faster invoice creation.
Invoicing
Simple generation, customization and batch sending of invoices integrated with time logs and expense records.
Analytics & Reporting
Custom reports and dashboards to quickly analyze profitability, resource utilization, budgets vs actuals and other critical metrics.
CRM
Central database of all client interactions, communications, documents, meetings and other engagement data to eliminate siloes.
Collaboration
Options to discuss project particulars, share files, delegate tasks, provide status updates across internal teams and external stakeholders.
Customization
Tailoring software capabilities, information captured, rules configured and processes automated to fit consultancy workflows.
While individual tools exist to handle aspects like invoices, reports or documents, the most efficient option is an integrated suite covering end-to-end needs. Data flows smoothly across a unified platform instead of requiring manual transfers between different apps.
But with dozens of products on the market, identifying the right platform can still be challenging. Below we compare excellent solutions suited for varied consultancy situations.
Avaza – Powerful Software for Enterprise Consultancies
Avaza positions itself as an enterprise-grade solution for complex client engagements. The extensive feature set matches large consultancies collaborating with Fortune 500 level clients and 10,000+ employee IT integrators partnering on multi-year deals.
Capabilities include but are not limited to:
- Gantt and Kanban views for advanced project visualization
- 50+ app integrations with tools like Slack, Dropbox, Quickbooks and more
- Custom roles and permission policies for fine user access control
- Expense logging with multi-level approval workflows
- Budget vs actual reporting across projects
- Custom fields and entities tailored to business
- iPhone and Android apps
For large firms juggling intricate projects, Avaza helps coordinate moving parts. Work is systematically planned out into quantifiable deliverables, milestones, and tasks. Teams stay aligned while accountability and oversight is maintained.
Robust analytics offer visibility into resourcing bottlenecks, budget burn rates, and project profitability. Actionable data helps optimize service delivery.
The software also shines when enterprises need to collaborate with external specialists for short-term needs. Onboarding affiliates as limited access users with specified roles simplifies secure collaboration.
When Is Avaza a Fit?
- Managing 100+ employee teams working with Fortune 500 clients on multi-six figure engagements
- Global consultancies tackling sophisticated, multi-disciplinary projects
- Specialist advisory firms serving highly regulated industries like finance and healthcare
Pricing
Avaza offers enterprise-grade capabilities matched with premium pricing, with plans starting at…
- Startup Plan – $15/month
- Professional Plan – $25/month
- Business Plan – $60/month
The startup plan fits small teams managing a handful of clients while large consultancies benefit from the advanced tools in higher-tier plans. This includes custom reports, API access, SSO and higher storage limits.
If your consultancy handles intricate large-scale initiatives, Avaza is worth strong consideration.
Bonsai – Streamlined Software for Independent Consultants
For independent consultants and boutique consultancies running lean, Bonsai serves as an affordable all-in-one solution for client work. The toolset focuses on optimizing core delivery capabilities without enterprise complexities.
Key features include:
- Client intake forms to standardize new project processes
- Contract generation and eSignatures for securing client agreements
- Time tracking with hourly increment timers
- Expense logging and reimbursement
- Recurring invoicing integrated with time and expense data
- Tax savings tools and profit/loss reporting
Everything is streamlined around independent consultants managing the full client lifecycle themselves or within tiny teams. Usability and speed are prioritized over convoluted controls given minimal employees involved.
The focus stays on providing easy project analysis instead of advanced modeling. Status notifications are event-triggered rather than scheduled digests.
When Is Bonsai a Fit?
- Early-stage consultants still establishing their business
- Novice side hustlers managing limited client work
- Small niche consultancies focused on hourly engagements
Pricing
Bonsai offers accessible rates for solopreneurs and tiny teams:
- Starter Plan – $19/month
- Professional Plan – $39/month
- Business Plan – $79/month
Lower tiers already pack many premium features, while the business plan unlocks additional capabilities suited for larger teams like SSO access and API integrations.
For consultants who want helpful tools without costly overhead, Bonsai perfectly fits the bill.
Profi – Specialized Software for Consultant-Client Engagement
Profi occupies an uniquely specialized niche catering to independent consultants who offer coaching, training or advisory services for individuals. Tools facilitate meaningful consultant-to-client interactions.
Standout capabilities include:
- Client portals for sharing resources and tracking progress
- Online course and membership site capabilities
- Integrated client scheduling and video chat
- Custom surveys to capture client feedback
- Unified billing for sessions, retainers and information products
The customized platform allows sharing presentations, workbooks, audio lessons and other content to enrich engagement. Client input is centralized to determine coaching effectiveness.
Smooth coordination of calls, meetings and digital touchpoints minimizes back-and-forth delays. Custom packages mixing services, retainers and ala carte training let consultants monetize expertise.
When Is Profi a Fit?
- Coaches offering personalized improvement programs
- Training consultants selling online courses
- Advisory experts providing specialized technical services
Pricing
Profi plans balance capabilities with affordability:
- Solo Plan – $99/month
- Team Plan – $119/month
- Corporate Plan – custom quote
While Profi lacks generalized project management features, the specialized capabilities around client enablement excel. This makes Profi a leading choice for high-touch consultant-client engagements.
For professionals who sell their expertise through ongoing engagements, Profi leads the pack.
Accelo – All-In-One Client Delivery Platform
Accelo consolidates essential tools needed to streamline delivery of client work into a single suite. Core capabilities span CRM, projects, help desk, reporting and more.
Key features include:
- Customizable workflows mirroring business processes
- Library of reusable project templates
- Built-in timesheets with timers
- Expense logging tied to clients
- Real-time dashboards and reports
- Native mobile apps for iOS and Android
The platform essentially functions as an operating system for consultancies. Work moves seamlessly from sales pipelines into configured project workflows and emerges on the other end as packaged deliverables.
Outcomes improve when data remains connected throughout this lifecycle instead of transitioning across discrete apps. But customization complexity also increases given dependencies and integrations.
When Is Accelo a Fit?
- Mid-market consultancies scaling toward enterprise clients
- Teams transitioning multiple existing point solutions into an integrated platform
- Companies who can invest in custom configurations benefiting long-term
- Consultancies undergoing rapid team growth
Pricing
Accelo offers two paid plans:
- Pro Plan – $29/month per user
- Premium Plan – $49/month per user
The premium plan adds capabilities like custom objects, advanced SLAs and API access suited for larger deployments.
For consultancies who already pay for standalone tools, consolidating systems with Accelo can maximize return on investment long-term despite the initial heavy lift.
Closing Thoughts
The business consulting software landscape offers specialized solutions for consultancies of every shape and size. Startups have affordable options providing core functionality while complex tools cater to intricate enterprise needs.
Key takeaways include:
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Solving efficiency and growth challenges needs to begin with an honest assessment of internal consultancy readiness levels. Knowing current limitations prevents overinvesting in complex software with steep learning curves.
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While consolidating tools under a single pane of glass can maximize productivity long-term, this needs balancing with change management bandwidth. Moving across solutions takes thoughtful staging.
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No one software product can perfectly meet every unique need. But platforms like the options above get 80% of the way there out the door toward transforming consultancy execution.
With the right business management partner tailored to your situation, capitalizing on new opportunities and scaling to the next level grows distinctly within reach. The journey begins with a single step…and a carefully considered software investment.
