In our continuing series focused on PSAs (Professional Services Automation) supported within the Synthesize platform, we now spotlight HaloPSA.
We don’t endorse or recommend any particular PSA – be sure to do the research to find the right PSA for you.
Why your MSP needs a PSA
For many MSPs, investing in a PSA is a healthy sign of business growth. An MSP in the startup phase may not need the power and utility of a PSA; a growing and expanding one, however, may find the investment invaluable. In addition to streamlining your operations and improving efficiency, consider these financial benefits that your MSP may reap by investing in a PSA:
- Improved resource utilization: A PSA can help MSPs allocate their resources more efficiently, ensuring that the right people are working on the right tasks. This can lead to better utilization of billable resources, reducing the need for excess staff and improving profitability.
- Accurate time tracking: A PSA can help MSPs track time spent on various tasks and projects more accurately. This enables them to bill clients more accurately and reduces the risk of undercharging or overcharging clients for services.
- Faster invoicing: A tool can automate invoicing processes, making it faster and easier to bill clients for services. This can help MSPs get paid more quickly, improving cash flow, and reducing the need for manual billing processes.
- Improved project management: A PSA can help MSPs manage projects more efficiently, enabling them to complete projects on time and within budget. This reduces the risk of cost overruns and project delays, improving profitability and client satisfaction.
- Better cost control: A PSA can help MSPs track project costs more accurately, enabling them to identify areas where costs can be reduced. This can help MSPs control costs and improve profitability.
- Improved client billing: A PSA can help MSPs automate client billing processes, reducing the risk of errors and disputes over invoicing. This can improve cash flow and reduce the time spent on billing disputes.
- Real-time reporting: A PSA can provide MSPs with real-time reporting on project status, resource utilization, and profitability. This enables MSPs to make data-driven decisions that can improve financial performance and reduce the risk of costly mistakes.
Get to know HaloPSA
HaloPSA describes itself as an all-in-one software platform for MSPs, offering the following features:
- Service Desk: a helpdesk ticketing system to manage customer problems that connects directly to information about customer contracts, assets and service levels. It manages incidents, problems, change control, knowledge management, request fulfillment, and service catalogues.
- Contracts: maintain a single source of truth about each client’s software licenses, leases, maintenance agreements and more, allowing you to stay on top of renewals and expiries and monitor the profitability of each customer account.
- Sales & CRM: all the information your MSP needs to support sales
- Billing: Generate invoices based on contract details
- Portal: a self-service portal to help your customers answer common questions and supports the assistance your helpdesk team can provide them when they need it.
- Stock: manage hardware for your customers, including the option to create a storefront for them to buy what they need when they need it
- Analytics: instant insight into what’s happening in different areas of your business, including your helpdesk and sales, as well as KPIs and business data.
- Projects: baked-in project management capabilities to ensure that your customer projects are well-managed and that all involved team members can effectively collaborate to achieve project goals promptly.
- RMM & remote: all the tools your MSP needs to remotely monitor and manage client infrastructure – keep an eye on the health and performance of sysems, troubleshoot issues, deploy software updates and perform similar tasks from within HaloPSA.
- Time tracking: automatically capture time spent on customer interaction to accurately bill those customers on a pay-as-you-go arrangement.
Choosing the PSA that’s right for you
In this series, we’re spotlighting different PSAs to showcase the benefits they bring to an MSP, but ultimately the choice of PSA has to make sense to you. The PSA you choose must meet the specific needs of your business, offer features that align with your business objectives and be easy to use and implement. To make an informed decision, consider factors such as the PSA’s pricing structure, scalability, customization options, integrations, reporting capabilities, and customer support. Look for a PSA that offers a comprehensive suite of tools and features, including project management, time and expense tracking, billing and invoicing, and resource management. Additionally, consider a trial period to test the PSA before committing to a long-term contract. Ultimately, choosing the right PSA can help streamline operations, increase efficiency, and improve overall profitability for your MSP.
The Gradient advantage
Gradient amplifies the benefits of a PSA when you choose one that integrates with the Synthesize platform. Where a PSA will help you capture contractual obligations to a client, Synthesize’s Billing Module will ensure that monthly variations to the contract, such as increases in the number of software licenses, or changes in service levels, are updated as part of monthly billing reconciliation, ensuring that your MSP is getting paid for everything it does. Utilizing Synthesize’s Alerts module, on the other hand, ensures that tickets are being captured in and routed through your PSA.
Both modules streamline and improve key back-office functions that add value to the bottom line, but can be prone to error if managed manually.