ClientsOpportunities, quotes, product catalogue
ProjectsPlanning, tasks, sign-off
ServiceHelpdesk, tickets, retainers, assets
TeamPeople, absence, time
MoneyInvoices, e-invoicing, insights
AgentsLeadtime Agent, your own agents, automation
PSA software brings projects, time tracking, resource planning and billing together for service firms. The label matters less than two questions: are proposal, project, time, support and invoice really one process? And do the people who earn the money like working in it? Many systems fail on the second question. A clean system pays off even for small teams.
From my first day as a managing director I looked for a tool that would let me actually run a company. I never found it. In the end we built it ourselves.
In 2009 I co-founded the digital agency eins+null and ran it for 13 years, growing it to about 50 people and more than 1,000 projects. Over that time we tried, bought and dropped an incredible number of tools, often after a year. This article is what I learned from that about PSA software.
What PSA software is
PSA stands for professional services automation. The term comes from industry analysts and describes software for companies that sell working time: IT service firms, agencies, consultancies. It brings together what otherwise sits in separate tools at such firms.
| Area | Typical question the system has to answer |
|---|---|
| Proposals and sales | What did we promise the client, at what price? |
| Projects and tasks | Who does what by when, and where do we stand? |
| Time tracking | Where did the time actually go? |
| Capacity | Who still has room next week? |
| Support | Which tickets are open, and do they count against the retainer? |
| Billing | How much of it is on an invoice, and are we making money on the project? |
Whether a vendor calls it “PSA”, “ERP for services” or “agency software” matters less. What matters is whether these questions can be answered from one system.
What it looked like for us
At eins+null we had the usual mix: various CRM systems, Excel and a lot of home-built tooling wired together somehow. The heart of how we worked was an open-source ticketing system we used deep in our daily routine.
For the technical work it was fine. But a huge number of things were missing beyond pure delivery: proposals, capacity, controlling, billing. So step by step we built a set of modules around the ticketing system. That became our internal system CONNEX, and later Leadtime grew out of it.
My real motivation was something else. As an inexperienced managing director, a tool that gave me the structure to understand how things in the company fit together would have helped enormously. There was very little like that.
Why so many systems get dropped after a year
When we dropped a tool, it was rarely because features were missing. Mostly, the team simply did not use it properly. At a service firm, many people work with the system and want different things from it: management, project leads, developers, support, accounting.
What matters most is the productive work, where the money is earned. If the people there are annoyed, say by time tracking or by how collaboration is organised in the tool, they will work around it. And a system people work around produces wrong numbers, however good its reports look.
A system people work around produces wrong numbers, however good its reports look.
The problem with bolted-together suites
Many classic ERP and PSA systems feel patched together to me. With some large vendors you can clearly tell the suite was assembled through acquisitions over the years: many modules, built by different development teams over two decades. On the feature list everything is there. In daily work the parts still do not fit together cleanly.
That is exactly where the friction comes back that you wanted to get rid of. You still do not have everything in one place, you still retype things, and you still have to chase people for status.
How to recognise a good one
- One process, not modules: from the first conversation through proposal, project and ticket to the invoice, everything hangs off one record. Nobody transfers anything by hand.
- The team likes using it: real-time time tracking without form overload. Whoever works on a project finds what they need right there.
- Structure that thinks along: the system shows how proposal, effort, utilization and margin connect, rather than just collecting data.
- Packages and retainers: if you sell fixed prices or hour packages, you see consumption at any time.
- Agents work in it: AI agents have their own account and role and handle routine in the same process as the team, not in a chat window next to it.
That is how we built Leadtime, the platform for IT service firms, agencies and consultancies. The overview shows which areas it covers.
When it pays off
I would actually recommend working with a clean system from the very start. Even a small company benefits from structure. Everyone has to send invoices, and everyone should understand where their time goes.
Sure, with two people you can just muddle along. That works. But you limit yourself, and switching gets harder with every person who joins.
Frequently asked questions
What is PSA software?
PSA stands for professional services automation: software for service firms that brings projects, time tracking, resource planning and billing into one system, often extended with proposals, CRM and support.
What is the difference between PSA and ERP?
A classic ERP is built for companies that make or trade goods. PSA is built for companies that sell working time: it centres on projects, hours, capacity and margin per engagement.
At what size does a service firm need PSA software?
With two people you can get by without one, but you limit yourself. I recommend working with a clean system from the start, because it creates structure: every service firm has to send invoices and understand where its time goes.
How do you recognise good PSA software?
Proposal, project, time, support and invoice are one continuous process rather than bolted-together modules, and the team actually likes using it. Today one more question matters: can AI agents work in it with their own account?
Sources
- Own experience: eins+null, digital agency, 2009 to 2022, about 50 employees, more than 1,000 projects; the internal system CONNEX and later Leadtime grew out of it.