Why use a PSA Solution over Spreadsheets?

2023 is just around the corner and believe it or not, many service-based businesses still heavily rely on spreadsheets to manage processes! They use these spreadsheets to model and manipulate data sets, create graphical visualizations, and inform future planning, and decision making. Even though spreadsheets still play an important role, many businesses are beginning to realize how much time they really consume and are moving away from them, because they feel they limit collaboration, transparency, and visibility; spreadsheets are being replaced for more robust and collaboration-friendly

solutions like PSA software. Businesses are becoming smarter in their approaches and switching to alternatives after losing money and time due to errors and chaos that comes naturally with spreadsheets.

If your business manages only a handful of resources and projects then an automation tool likely isn’t significant to keep track of your resources and project details that lead to accurate project management and completion. Project management from conception to completion using a manual process is a realistic option for your small businesses running a relatively low volume of projects, especially if those projects lack complexity and require a small number of your resources time.

The headaches caused by spreadsheets!

No Visualization

With Spreadsheets you see all the raw data at once by default, it’s difficult to interpret what’s important and what’s not. Visualization tools such a PSA software can be used to highlight the important aspects of a data set or results, but in spreadsheets, it’s hard to see the bigger picture. You are missing the point if your team finds it hard to identify the messages or see how the data relates to their day job.

Not Intuitive

The majority of spreadsheet users find it difficult to create complex formulas. Their knowledge is limited to simple functions like "sum", "average "filter", for advanced applications, the average users must turn to co-workers with advanced training. Yet, businesses use spreadsheets for a range of business functions and data of all types – and those tiny cells weren’t designed for a lot of your data. That makes spreadsheets cumbersome and awkward for your team to manipulate.

Loss of Data

By default, Spreadsheets aren’t designed to store historical data, so often, in an attempt to keep the size of them manageable, they are “updated” and businesses can lose their historical data. This makes it difficult for your businesses to spot trends over time and compare data across longer timelines.

Collaboration Restraints

It's difficult to share a spreadsheet among many of your team members. This comes with the risks that data could accidentally be deleted or changed, the spreadsheet that is shared, rarely offers data in real-time. Typically, it might get emailed once a week, this again creates the risk of your critical information getting lost in transition.

Security Risks

Spreadsheets are usually shared around your business via email, cloud or hard drive, this leaves your business and clients' data at risk of security breaches. Even password-protected spreadsheets can be compromised with the right hacking software. Most spreadsheets have no built-in audit trail, so there is no way to record who made the changes or why.

The joys of using a PSA Solution

Connect collaboration amongst teams

Good PSA Software combines all departments, offering an effective and natural destination for communication, organizing, and collaboration across the team on a project level or a full business level. With PSA software you can easily move tasks between projects, assign people, upload assets as files, comment, and get the right eyes on the matter. It’s quick, easy, and done within one simple system allowing your team to increase productivity.

Automatic invoicing and insights

PSA software can automatically generate your invoices based on client projects. This will save you a substantial amount of time and improve the accuracy, and speed of your invoicing process. PSA software helps you notice outstanding invoices associated with clients and help you chase payments before you proceed with projects. All your financial data is available in one solution in real-time. Now you can picture a world where chasing invoices no longer hurts productivity.

Managing Resources

Like most businesses, you will often have to work with limited resources at your disposal. As a result, many people are assigned to several tasks at once. Lack of visibility is the main cause of this for most businesses. With PSA software you will have access to a central dashboard view of your entire business's resources. This allows you to ensure that the right resources are working on the right projects, based on real-time project timelines as the project evolves.

Managing Decisions

Again, like most businesses your resources are often spread over multiple projects and teams at any one time. This is counterproductive as it makes it difficult for your team to get the right information in front of you and other management at critical times. As a result, you end up playing a guessing game on decisions and hoping for a good outcome. PSA software provides critical project insights necessary to track actual service delivery performance. Guided analytics will give you and your team a trusted foundation for informed decision making.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Incorrect or uninformed project decisions is a huge time waster and a risk for your service firm. PSA software contains all your relevant information around a project in one unified solution. Any updates or changes made are global across the PSA solution giving all your resources access to view the changes avoiding manual edits. Additionally, PSA software enables your resources to track all of your projects: you can view historical costs, risks, and pay-offs in order to get better insights on how to price in the future. Information is key for the effective management of your service firm, and PSA software provides the answer!

Using one unified solution such as PSA software in place of spreadsheets will allow you to gain real-time data insights that support fast, strong decision-making. Your team can easily and safely share and collaborate on private business and project data at the touch of a button. You can reduce data errors, free up yourself and resources, escalate data entry and administrative time. PSA solution can streamline everything from project management to resources to time and expenses, so you’ll save even more!

Also, check out - What is PSA Software? Everything You Need to Know

Try The Innovative Approach To Spreadsheets With PSA...

CrossConcept Continuum goes beyond traditional PSA solutions available today by incorporating cutting-edge UI technology making the solution more user-friendly, resulting in fewer clicks within the solution and time spent logging data. CrossConcept Continuum has been built from the ground up to integrate with all major accounting systems to seamlessly synchronize projects and accounting within one unified system.

Our innovative PSA solution allows organizations to maximize profitability b integrating connecting projects and financial accounting, enabling you to manage all stages of your project from conception to completion and deliver on your promises.

CrossConcept has decades of experience helping service organizations automate their processes. Clients have ranged in size from a handful of people to over thirty

thousand. The founder's and team’s real-world experience is what drove and shaped the creation of CrossConcept Continuum.

Our solution is a simple, yet powerful PSA solution built with the end-user in mind - fast, flexible, powerful, and user-friendly! We are offering all new clients a free 2-week trial with no contract obligations. This is a great opportunity for any business to try out the solution and decide if PSA software is for you!

To book a free 15-minute consultation, email: marketing@crossconceptinc.com or call: 1-888-528-3898 x110.