PSA users see 15% higher gross margins than spreadsheet users, new research shows

The latest figures from The Consultancy Growth Network's Benchpress report reveal new gains for consulting firms using PSA software.

The Benchpress report, which focuses the performance of boutique and founder-led consulting businesses, compiles findings from a benchmarking survey of some of the top-performing firms in the market.

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Higher gross margins

This year's survey revealed that firms using PSA (Professional Services Automation) software reported 15% higher margins than those using largely spreadsheets, and 9.5% higher than those using multiple standalone solutions.

Here's what consulting founders, ops and finance executives have to say about replacing spreadsheets with a PSA solution like CMap:

‍"Our resourcing spreadsheet kept falling over. There used to be too much time spent on admin. But since we've switched to CMap, our month end reporting has gone from 5 days to 3."‍

Tom Schuurman, Director of Finance & Resources, Bioregional

“When you’re building a scalable consultancy, you can't get very far on spreadsheets. CMap has been an invaluable tool that has helped us scale from one to thirty five employees in our first two years.”

Tony Clark, CEO, Nextwave

"When we were using spreadsheets, we had a full-time resource manager. Now with CMap we can manage resourcing in just a couple of hours a week."

Kiara Coen, Director of Operations, Livework Studio

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Higher utilization rates

Firms were also surveyed on their average rate of non-partner roles. Firms using PSA software reported 6% higher utilization rates than firms using spreadsheets, and 4.5% higher than those using multiple standalone solutions.

With the Benchpress report showing that utilization rates have fallen this year compared to the previous year's survey, each percentage point of utilization is more important than ever for growth and profitability.

Check out our complete guide to resource utilization here.

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Want to know exactly what a PSA can do for your business? Schedule a quick chat with one of our consulting experts today to see CMap’s PSA in action.