Best Resource Planning Software for Consulting Firms

Scoro works well for consulting firms that manage the full journey from quote to invoice. A quote becomes a project budget, the budget becomes a staffing plan, and time entries feed back into cost and margin views. Managers can plan by role or person, compare planned hours with actual hours, and see which engagements stay profitable. Utilisation reports show billable and non billable time side by side, which helps leaders talk about bench time with real numbers. The dashboard brings pipeline, delivery and finance together, so a partner can check workload and revenue in one view. Scoro also supports retainers, expenses and invoicing, which suits firms with mixed fee models. The interface carries a lot of detail, so new users need time to learn where each report lives. Firms that run many concurrent engagements often value the joined up view of sales, delivery and money.

Price: $19.90 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: scoro.com

Kantata targets consulting firms that manage many engagements, many teams and many clients at once. Its resource planning shows capacity across the whole portfolio, not just one project, so leaders can spot conflicts weeks ahead. Scenario planning lets managers test what happens when a large engagement starts early or a key consultant takes leave. Skills and roles drive staffing suggestions, which helps when a firm needs a certain mix of experience on a client account. Financial views link planned hours to revenue and cost, and dashboards serve partners, delivery leads and finance teams with different cuts of the same data. Kantata integrates with common finance and CRM systems. Because pricing is quote only, buyers should ask for a full quote that covers every user, module and support tier. The depth suits larger firms, while a ten person consultancy may find simpler tools faster to adopt.

Price: quote only

Free plan: No

Website: kantata.com

Accelo suits consulting firms that live on retainers, repeat engagements and long client relationships. The system follows a client from first enquiry through proposal, project delivery and invoice, so history stays in one record. Resource planning shows who works on which retainer, how much time remains, and when a retainer needs renewal. Managers can balance retainer work against project work, which protects delivery dates when both types compete for the same people. Time tracking, expenses and billing sit inside the same workflow, and approvals keep client charges clean before invoices go out. Reports track utilisation, retainer burn and project margin, giving partners a clear view of account health. Accelo supports several service modules, so firms can start with projects and add sales or retainers later. Pricing is quote only, so ask what each module costs and which users count toward the licence.

Price: quote only

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: accelo.com

Teamwork gives consulting firms a clear way to organise client work, tasks and time. Each client holds its own projects, and workload views show who has room and who is full across those projects. Managers can assign work by person, set start and due dates, and move tasks when priorities shift. Time tracking links hours to tasks and projects, so billing and budget checks use the same numbers as delivery. Milestones and task lists keep delivery visible, while comments and files keep client context near the work. Teamwork also offers invoicing and budgeting features that suit firms billing by project or hour. The free plan lets small teams start without a subscription, though larger firms will need a subscription tier for workload planning and deeper reports. It suits firms that want structure without the weight of a full professional services suite.

Price: $9.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: teamwork.com

monday.com gives consulting firms a flexible board system they can shape around engagements, staffing and pipelines. Teams build boards for clients, projects or people, then use timeline, calendar and workload views to see capacity. A workload view shows hours or tasks per person, which helps managers spot overbooking. Automations move work forward when a status changes, and dashboards pull numbers from several boards into one view. Time tracking is available, though the fuller version sits on higher tiers, so buyers should check which tier covers their needs. Integrations connect email, calendars and finance tools, which keeps client work in step with the rest of the firm. The free plan suits a small team testing the layout, while growing firms move to a subscription tier for timelines and workload features. monday.com suits firms that want to design their own planning process rather than follow a fixed consulting template.

Price: $9 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: monday.com

ClickUp packs many planning tools into one workspace, which suits consulting firms that want tasks, docs, time and goals together. Workload views show capacity by person across projects, and custom fields can hold rate cards, engagement codes or client names. Teams can plan with lists, boards, timelines or calendars, and switch views without losing data. Time tracking links hours to tasks, and reporting shows where time goes by client, project or person. Goals and dashboards help partners track utilisation targets and delivery progress in one place. The free plan covers basic use, and the subscription tiers add workload features, advanced reporting and more storage. New teams should keep the setup simple at first, because the wide feature range can hide the core planning views. With a clear structure, ClickUp can serve a consulting firm from first plan to final invoice.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: clickup.com

Asana suits consulting firms that value clear tasks, owners and deadlines across many engagements. Portfolios group client projects together, and the workload view shows how much work each person carries across that portfolio. Managers can rebalance tasks when one consultant is overloaded and another has room. Timeline views show engagement phases, dependencies and key dates, which helps delivery leads plan around client deadlines. Custom fields can track engagement type and rate band, so reports stay useful for consulting work. Time tracking is available, and integrations link Asana to finance and billing tools. Asana does not include native invoicing, so firms that bill from the same system will need a separate billing step or an integration. The free plan covers small team task work, while workload and portfolio features need a subscription tier. It fits firms that plan well in Asana and bill elsewhere.

Price: $10.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: asana.com

Smartsheet suits consulting firms that like to plan in sheets, rows and dates. Projects live in grid views that feel familiar to anyone who has used a spreadsheet, yet Gantt charts, timelines and resource views add planning power on top. Resource management shows allocation by person across projects, so managers can see double bookings and bench time. Formulas, dependencies and conditional formatting help teams model engagement plans, budgets and dates without extra tools. Dashboards pull sheet data into portfolio views for partners and delivery leads. Forms collect client requests or intake details, and automations send reminders when dates or approvals change. Time and cost tracking work through linked sheets or integrations, rather than a built in billing suite. The starting tier covers core sheets, while resource management needs a higher tier, so confirm the tier before you buy. It fits plan heavy firms that want control over every row.

Price: $9 per member/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Website: smartsheet.com

Harvest suits consulting firms that want simple, honest time tracking tied to projects and invoices. Team members start timers or enter hours against a client project, and managers see time by person, project or task. Budgets show hours used against hours planned, so overruns appear early. Invoicing turns approved hours and expenses into client invoices, with rate cards by person or project. Reports cover utilisation in simple terms, project costs and team time, which suits small firms that do not need portfolio forecasting. Harvest integrates with project tools such as Asana and Trello, so firms can plan elsewhere and track time in Harvest. The free plan covers one seat and two projects, which lets a solo consultant test the flow. Resource planning stays light, so larger firms may outgrow it. For small consulting teams that bill by the hour, its clarity is a real strength.

Price: $9 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: getharvest.com