Resource Planning and PSA · Researched comparison

Best PSA Software for Consulting Firms

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Key takeaways

  • BigTime and Scoro give consulting firms the lowest published entry prices in this list, at $20 and $17 per user per month.
  • Kantata, ConnectWise PSA, Autotask PSA and Accelo publish no list price, so budget planning starts with a sales quote.
  • HaloPSA publishes one price for every module, £69 per agent per month billed annually on its UK page, with onboarding quoted by scope.
  • SuperOps PSA Only starts at $79 per technician per month billed annually, and adds remote monitoring in its higher plans.
  • Firms under 10 people should start with a published price tool, while firms over 50 people should shortlist the quote only platforms.

Comparison

How these compare
ToolBest forPrice rangeFree plan
KantataLarge consulting firms on Salesforcequote onlyNo
HaloPSAFirms that want one price for every module£69 per agent/month (billed annually)Free trial (30 days)
ConnectWise PSAIT consultancies with ticketing and billingquote onlyNo
Autotask PSAMSP style consultancies in the Datto systemquote onlyNo
SuperOpsMSPs that want PSA with monitoring$79 per technician/month (billed annually)Free trial (14 days)
AcceloSmall consultancies that want sales to cash in one placequote onlyNo
BigTimeFirms that bill time and run QuickBooks$20 per user/monthFree trial (14 days)
ScoroConsultancies that want quoting to invoicing in one system$17 per user/month (billed annually)Free trial (14 days)

How we choose

We reviewed vendor pricing pages, product documentation and feature lists for each tool on 12 November 2026, and we compared what each platform covers for a consulting firm, from quoting and resource planning to time tracking, billing and reporting. Where a vendor publishes no price, we recorded quote only rather than repeating a third party estimate as fact, and where third party figures are mentioned, we label them as unconfirmed. We did not claim hands on testing, and we did not use numeric scores or star ratings, since those reflect other buyers and not your firm. The shortlist favours tools that serve consulting work directly, with real billing and resourcing depth, over general project tools with a billing add on.

Our full method

The shortlist

★ Best overall

The best PSA software for consulting firms

2

Kantata

Best for Large consulting firms on Salesforce

Website: https://www.kantata.com/

Best for: Large consulting firms on Salesforce

Starting price: quote only

Free plan: No

Pros: Deep resource planning with skills matching; Strong project financials and forecasting

Cons: No published price, so budgeting needs a sales quote; Long setup for smaller teams

Kantata combines the former Mavenlink and Kimble products into one platform for professional services firms. It covers resource management, project delivery, time and expense tracking, financial management and business intelligence, with an expertise engine that matches consultants to work by skill and availability. Firms that run Salesforce will find the native connection useful, since client records, opportunities and delivery data can sit in one flow.

The trade off is cost and complexity. Kantata does not publish a list price, and third party estimates put entry pricing in the range of $45 to $59 per user per month, which we could not confirm from the vendor page, so treat that range as unconfirmed and ask for a written quote. Implementation takes weeks rather than days, and the depth that suits a 200 person consultancy can feel heavy for a 10 person firm. Ask for the full quote early, including integration fees and support tiers, before you commit to a trial or a demo.

3

HaloPSA

Best for Firms that want one price for every module

Website: https://www.usehalo.com/

Best for: Firms that want one price for every module

Starting price: £69 per agent/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: One price covers every module with no tiers; Deep workflow customisation and billing

Cons: Onboarding package is required and priced by scope; No built in remote monitoring

HaloPSA is a UK rooted PSA from Halo Service Solutions that covers ticketing, service desk, CRM, project management, contracts, time tracking and billing in one platform. Its pricing page lists a single per agent price with every module included, which makes comparison simple: there are no editions to work through and no features held back for a higher tier. The US list price is $99 per agent per month billed annually for 1 to 24 agents, stepping down with volume, while the UK page shows £69 per agent per month billed annually.

The catch is the first year cost. Every purchase includes an onboarding package priced by scope, and Halo does not publish that figure, so the licence price is only part of the total. Configuration is deep, which suits firms that want to shape workflows around their own process, but it also means setup takes time and admin effort. Firms that already run a separate monitoring tool will be comfortable, since HaloPSA integrates with major remote monitoring tools rather than bundling one.

4

ConnectWise PSA

Best for IT consultancies with ticketing and billing

Website: https://www.connectwise.com/

Best for: IT consultancies with ticketing and billing

Starting price: quote only

Free plan: No

Pros: Wide procurement and distributor integrations; Mature ticketing, contracts and billing

Cons: No published price for PSA; Long onboarding and auto renewing contracts

ConnectWise PSA, formerly ConnectWise Manage, is the service delivery core of the ConnectWise platform for IT service providers and consultancies. It handles ticketing, service level agreements, project management, time and expense tracking, contracts, procurement and billing, and it connects to the wider ConnectWise range, including remote monitoring, remote access and security products. The distributor integrations with Ingram Micro and TD Synnex suit firms that resell hardware alongside services.

Pricing is the main drawback for a buyer who wants a number before a sales call. ConnectWise publishes no price for PSA, and its pricing page routes buyers to a quote form, with two packages, Essentials and Pro, neither showing a figure. Third party transaction data puts PSA in the range of $95 to $145 per user per month for 10 to 25 users, but that is reported data, not a vendor price, so use it only as a planning range. Check contract renewal terms carefully, since subscriptions auto renew unless notice is given well in advance.

5

Autotask PSA

Best for MSP style consultancies in the Datto system

Website: https://www.datto.com/products/autotask-psa

Best for: MSP style consultancies in the Datto system

Starting price: quote only

Free plan: No

Pros: Strong ticketing, billing and contract management; Deep integration with Datto RMM

Cons: No published price on the vendor page; Demos and pricing both need a sales request

Autotask PSA comes from Datto, a Kaseya company, and it is built for managed service providers and IT consultancies that run service delivery as their core business. It brings together ticketing, project management, time tracking, billing, CRM, quotes, contracts and a client portal, with custom dashboards that give managers a view of work, revenue and technician load in one place. Firms already using Datto RMM will find the pairing natural, since tickets, assets and service records share data.

Datto publishes no Autotask price list. Its pricing page is a form headed with a request for tailored pricing, asking for company details before any figure is given, and demos are also by request. Third party listings cite $50 per user per month, but that figure could not be confirmed on the vendor site, so we do not use it as a starting price here. Get a quote that covers every user, module and integration you plan to use, and ask what is included in onboarding, since implementation support is not priced on the page.

6

SuperOps

Best for MSPs that want PSA with monitoring

Website: https://www.superops.com/

Best for: MSPs that want PSA with monitoring

Starting price: $79 per technician/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Published pricing with a PSA only option; Built in AI assistant and automation

Cons: PSA only plan excludes remote monitoring; Per technician pricing rises fast as headcount grows

SuperOps is a cloud platform that joins PSA and remote monitoring and management in one product for managed service providers and IT teams. The PSA side covers ticketing, contracts, invoicing, client management and time tracking, while the higher plans add endpoint monitoring, patching, mobile device management and an AI assistant called Monica that triages alerts and creates tickets. For a consulting firm with an IT services arm, that combination removes the need to stitch a service desk to a separate monitoring tool.

Pricing is published, which is rare in this group. The PSA Only plan starts at $79 per technician per month billed annually, while the combined Pro plan starts at $129 per technician per month billed annually and Super at $159, each covering 150 endpoints per technician. Monthly billing costs more, at $149 for Pro and $179 for Super. A 14 day free trial is available. The limit to watch is scope: the PSA only plan has no monitoring, so firms that want both should price Pro, not the entry figure.

7

Accelo

Best for Small consultancies that want sales to cash in one place

Website: https://www.accelo.com/

Best for: Small consultancies that want sales to cash in one place

Starting price: quote only

Free plan: No

Pros: Covers sales, projects, retainers and invoicing in one flow; AI assisted timesheets and forecasting

Cons: No published prices and no free trial; Seat minimums apply on entry tiers

Accelo is a professional services automation platform aimed at consulting, accounting, IT services, architecture and engineering firms. It runs the full client journey from sales pipeline and quotes through projects, retainers, support tickets, time tracking and invoicing, with a client portal and profitability reporting on top. That breadth suits a small consultancy that wants to replace several separate tools with one system, rather than a firm that only needs time tracking.

Accelo no longer publishes prices. Its pricing page shows plan tiers with feature lists and a request pricing button on each one, and every buyer is routed to a demo and a custom quote. Older public figures ran from about $20 per user per month on a Core tier to about $90 on an Advanced tier, with a three user minimum on entry, but Accelo does not confirm those figures today, so we do not present them as current prices. There is no free plan and no free trial, so the only way to see the product is a demo, and onboarding packages are also unpublished.

8

BigTime

Best for Firms that bill time and run QuickBooks

Website: https://www.bigtime.net/

Best for: Firms that bill time and run QuickBooks

Starting price: $20 per user/month

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Time tracking tied directly to invoicing and budgets; Two way QuickBooks and Sage Intacct sync

Cons: Advanced and Premier tiers are quote only; Resource management is a module on top

BigTime is a PSA platform for professional services firms that bill clients for project work, with time and expense tracking, project budgeting, invoicing, payments and utilisation reporting in one place. Its strength is the link between hours and money: approved time feeds invoices, budgets show burn against plan, and rate management handles the different fee types a consultancy charges. The QuickBooks integration syncs both ways, which matters for firms that keep their books in QuickBooks or Sage Intacct.

Essentials starts at $20 per user per month and covers time, expenses, invoicing and the QuickBooks integration. Advanced and Premier add custom reporting, project templates, project budgeting and multi level approvals, but BigTime no longer publishes figures for those tiers, so price the tier you actually need through sales rather than assuming the entry number. Resource management is priced as a module on top of the platform or as a standalone option. A free trial is listed on the vendor site, so a firm can check the time to invoice flow before signing.

9

Scoro

Best for Consultancies that want quoting to invoicing in one system

Website: https://www.scoro.com/

Best for: Consultancies that want quoting to invoicing in one system

Starting price: $17 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Pros: Modular pricing, so you only buy the apps you use; Quote to cash flow with real time profitability

Cons: Five user minimum on every combination; Full end to end combination costs much more than entry

Scoro is a professional services automation platform that runs quoting, projects, resourcing, time tracking, billing and reporting from one data model. It is built from eight core apps that a firm mixes and matches, and it sells ready made combinations for common workflows. The Quote to Cash combination, at $29 per user per month, connects estimates, delivery, time and invoicing, while the Projects and Resources combination, also $29, covers delivery and resource planning. An AI assistant called ELI answers natural language questions about project data.

Pricing starts at $17 per user per month for the Time billing combination, with a five user minimum on every combination, so the lowest monthly licence cost is $85. Annual billing takes 13 to 17 percent off the monthly rate, depending on currency and combination, and the full end to end combination runs to about $57 per user per month. A 14 day free trial is available. Small firms should note the seat minimum: a three person consultancy still pays for five seats on day one.

What to check before you buy

Start with your billing model, since it decides which tier you need. A firm that bills hourly needs clean timesheets, rate cards and approval flows, while a firm that bills fixed fees needs project budgets, burn tracking and change control. Then check resource planning depth: can you see who is free next month, match people by skill, and model what happens when a project slips. Ask each vendor for a written quote that lists every user, module, integration and onboarding fee, and confirm whether annual billing is required for the price you were shown.

Use the table below to match team size to a starting point, using the verified entry prices in this guide.

Check the seat minimum before you sign, since Scoro needs five seats and Accelo has minimums on its entry tiers. Check what happens at renewal, since some vendors raise prices or add usage fees after the first year. Ask how long setup takes and who does the work: HaloPSA and Kantata both need real configuration time, while BigTime and Scoro can be live faster for a small team. Finally, confirm the integrations your firm relies on, such as QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Salesforce or your accounting package, and ask whether each one is included or charged as an add on.

FAQ

What is the cheapest PSA software for a small consulting firm?

Scoro has the lowest published entry price in this list at $17 per user per month billed annually, but its five user minimum means the lowest monthly licence cost is $85. BigTime follows at $20 per user per month with no seat minimum stated on its entry tier. Quote only tools may undercut both after negotiation, so ask for a written quote before you decide on price alone.

Which PSA software is best for resource planning?

Kantata leads on resource planning depth, with skills matching, capacity views and scenario modelling for large consulting teams. Scoro and BigTime also cover resource planning, with Scoro offering it in its Projects and Resources combination at $29 per user per month. The right pick depends on team size: Kantata suits firms over 50 people, while Scoro and BigTime suit smaller teams.

Do consulting firms need PSA software or project management software?

A consulting firm that bills clients for time needs PSA software, because project management tools rarely cover invoicing, utilisation, rate cards and project profitability in one place. A firm that only tracks internal tasks can manage with project software. If revenue, margins and staff capacity drive your decisions, PSA software is the right category, and a general project tool will leave billing as a manual job.

How long does it take to set up PSA software?

Setup ranges from days to months depending on the tool and the size of your firm. BigTime and Scoro can be live in days for a small team with standard billing. HaloPSA, Kantata and ConnectWise PSA need weeks of configuration, data migration and training, and HaloPSA requires an onboarding package priced by scope. Ask each vendor for a written setup plan with dates before you sign.

Can PSA software handle fixed fee and hourly billing?

Yes, the tools in this list support both models, though the depth varies by tier. BigTime handles hourly rates, fixed fees and phase budgets, and Scoro covers estimates, time tracking and invoicing in its Quote to Cash combination. Check that your tier includes rate management, budget tracking and change control, since some entry tiers limit billing options. Confirm multi currency support if you bill clients abroad.

Sources we checked

  • https://www.kantata.com/pricing/
  • https://www.usehalo.com/pricing
  • https://www.connectwise.com/pricing
  • https://www.datto.com/products/autotask-psa
  • https://www.superops.com/pricing
  • https://www.accelo.com/pricing/
  • https://www.bigtime.net/pricing/
  • https://www.scoro.com/pricing/
How we score

Need the method behind these picks?

We publish the criteria and the weights, so you can disagree with them.

The best PSA software for consulting firms#1 PICK