You Don’t Need a Crystal Ball to Forecast Revenue

This article was updated to reflect new information on June 1, 2022.

In today’s professional services market, translating a superior customer experience into revenue remains the holy grail. Tougher competition, an ever-changing economic climate, shorter and more complex projects, shifting customer demands, and new remote delivery models contribute to variability in previously steady revenue flows. Real-time visibility into actual revenues and future billings to drive profitable growth is more important than ever.

However, many professional services firms struggle to create a centralized view of projects, billing, finance, and planning due to fragmented operations. Disjointed systems, inconsistent processes, and siloed teams breed inefficiency and make it challenging to connect people, projects, and financial data to model and plan for future outcomes. 

To quickly pivot and adjust to market challenges, professional services firms need a holistic accounting of projects, combined with powerful planning and analytics.

Here’s where a professional services automation (PSA) platform comes in. Let’s first dive into what a PSA platform is and how professional services companies can benefit from using it.

What Is a PSA Platform?

A PSA software platform that enables service delivery businesses to manage core front- and back-end business processes. A PSA platform provides professional services firms with business automation for managing tasks like new opportunities, resource management, time and expense entry, financial transactions, and more.

To better meet changing demand, a firm’s resource managers, project managers, and finance and sales teams need a single source of truth to view and act on every type of data point. Workday Professional Services Automation (PSA) supports front, mid, and back offices by including human resources, operations, and financials all in one application. 

Workday PSA manages the entire life cycle of client-facing, billable projects by helping match the right people with the right work. The application also delivers full insight into a project and enables firms to make meaningful decisions on resource utilization, project billing, revenue recognition, time tracking, and expense management.

Let's take a look at how Workday PSA supports key elements of a project’s life cycle.

What Are the Benefits of a PSA Platform for Service Delivery Organizations?

Before a client engagement closes, sales must proactively partner with delivery and operations to ensure a successful transition. It’s crucial that firms account for current projects in conjunction with future pipeline to accurately plan for capacity and demand to meet revenue targets. 

How Can a PSA Solution Improve Client Budgeting and Billing?

With Workday PSA, firms can plan, execute, analyze, and manage projects and financials all in one place—eliminating silos and fostering collaboration. The tool’s ability to build budgets with granular dimensions and controls allows firms to more effectively manage project costs against budget. With all of the changes that can occur during a project’s life cycle, that combination of agility and control can be a real competitive difference. 

PSA and Planning: What Makes This Dynamic Duo Better Together?

In the real world, revenue variations inevitably come up. Each project is unique in its scope and fluidity—and agility is the lifeblood of most professional services firms.  

Workday PSA and Workday Adaptive Planning enable organizations to sync delivery with billing, and revenue with financial plans and forecasts. Joining Workday PSA with revenue forecasting allows service line and finance leaders to view and act on a single source of data at the same time. Firms can make better business decisions faster, allowing them to pursue more opportunities, adopt more flexible billing methods, and reduce ongoing operating costs. What’s more, Workday PSA with revenue forecasting allows firms to plan and forecast using project budgets, resource plans, or resource forecasts as the basis for revenue planning. This helps firms stay on track to meet revenue that best suits their own business needs.

Takeaway: Workday PSA with Revenue Forecasting—Agility and Insights for Superior Results 

Workday PSA provides leaders in professional services with critical capabilities to drive more profitable growth faster while maintaining a laser focus on client experience. With Workday PSA, professional services organizations can own their entire project process in one tool, giving them insights into human capital, project performance, and profitability. The tool provides a single source of truth that dynamically connects data and unlocks real-time insights. 

Combined with Workday Adaptive Planning, Workday PSA provides decision makers with “round-trip” data—instilling confidence in results and empowering informed decision-making to hit growth targets with outstanding client satisfaction.