Orangescrum
Documentation index for AI agents (llms.txt). A markdown version of this page is available at /solutions/professional-service-project-management.md or by requesting this URL with the header Accept: text/markdown.
Professional Services

Know Your Utilisation and Your Margin, Not Just Your Deadlines

Track billable time at source, see which engagements actually make money, and turn approved timesheets into invoices without rekeying anything.

Recommended editionsCloudSelf-HostedOpen Source

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What does professional services project management need?

A services business sells time, so the numbers that decide whether it is healthy are utilisation and margin per engagement. Both come from the same place: time logged accurately against the right piece of work. Once that exists, staffing decisions, forecasting, and billing all follow from it. Orangescrum handles the whole chain, from the plan and the assignment through logged time and an approved timesheet to the client invoice, in one system rather than four.

The problem

Why services margin leaks

Utilisation is a guess until month end
Nobody knows who is over committed and who is on the bench until the finance report lands, which is three weeks too late to act.
Utilisation and workload from live logged time.
Scope creep is done for free
A client asks for one more thing, a consultant obliges, and the extra hours never reach the invoice.
Work tracked against the engagement, with cost building as it is logged.
Invoices wait on late timesheets
Billing slips a fortnight every month because three people have not submitted, and cash flow moves with it.
Timesheets with approval, then invoices generated from them.
Staffing is decided in a spreadsheet
Who is free next month lives in one manager's file, so two projects are promised the same senior consultant.
Resource and workload views built from real assignments.
Nobody knows which client is profitable
Revenue by client is known, cost by client is not, so the least profitable account keeps getting the best people.
Cost against budget per engagement.
What matters here

From logged time to an invoice and a margin

  • Time at source

    Consultants log time against the task while doing the work, with a timer or manual entry, so it is captured rather than remembered.

  • Timesheets with approval

    Weekly timesheets a manager approves, which then feed cost and billing without anyone retyping hours.

  • Invoices from approved time

    Turn approved billable time and expenses into a client invoice with your rates applied. Premium in Cloud.

  • Utilisation and workload

    See who is over committed and who has capacity, from real assignments rather than a staffing spreadsheet.

  • Margin per engagement

    Budget against actual cost per project, so you know which engagements and which clients make money.

  • Clients and associates included

    Unlimited users on every plan, so subcontractors and client stakeholders are in the system without a license conversation.

How it works

How an engagement runs

1
Set up the engagement
Create the project, set the budget or fee, and define the billable rates.
2
Staff it
Assign people from a workload view, so you can see who actually has capacity.
3
Log time as work happens
Consultants record time against tasks daily, not reconstructed on a Friday.
4
Approve, bill, and review
Approve the timesheets, raise the invoice, and compare actual cost against the fee.
Who it's for

Where services firms use it

Billable engagement delivery
Plan, assignments, and time against a fee.
Learn more →
Resource and utilisation planning
Who is booked, who is free, who is over committed.
Learn more →
Billing and margin review
Approved time to invoice, and cost against budget.
Learn more →
Availability

Which edition includes what

Orangescrum runs as managed cloud, self-hosted on your own servers, or as the open-source Community Edition. Here is exactly what each one includes.
Available in Cloud and Self-Hosted. Timesheets are on Pro, resource management and invoicing on Premium.
CapabilityCloudManaged SaaSSelf-HostedOn-premise / private cloudOpen SourceCommunity Edition
Projects, tasks, and boards
Time logging
Timesheets and approvalPro
Budget and cost trackingPro
Client access to their own project
Resource managementPremium
Workload managementPremium
Client invoicingPremium
Frequently asked questions

Professional services project management FAQ

Can we measure billable utilisation?

Yes, and it is the main reason services firms use us. Consultants log time against tasks as they work, that time rolls into weekly timesheets, and workload and resource views show who is over committed and who has capacity. Because it comes from logged work rather than a planning spreadsheet, the number is real.

Does approved time turn into an invoice?

Yes. Approved billable time and expenses feed straight into a client invoice with your rates applied, so nobody rekeys hours from one system into another. Invoicing is on the Premium plan in Cloud and included in Self-Hosted.

Can we see margin per engagement?

Yes. Set a budget or agreed fee on the project and define cost rates, and actual cost builds from logged time automatically. Comparing that to the fee tells you which engagements and which clients are actually profitable, while there is still time to change how an account is staffed.

Is there a CRM or sales pipeline?

No. Orangescrum starts once the work is won. There is no lead, opportunity, or pipeline management, no proposal builder, and no quote to cash flow from the sales side. Most firms keep their CRM and hand the engagement over to us at kick off.

Does it run payroll?

No. We are not a payroll or HR payroll system and we do not calculate pay, tax, or deductions. What we do is capture and approve the time, which you export for whichever payroll system you already run.

Can clients see their own project?

Yes. Client access gives a named client user visibility of their own project and nothing else, which cuts down the status emails without exposing anything internal.

Do we pay per consultant?

No. Pricing is a flat monthly plan with unlimited users: Basic 29 dollars a month, Pro 69, Premium 349. For a services firm that matters twice, because associates and subcontractors can be added for a busy quarter without the cost of the tool moving.

Can we handle both fixed fee and time and materials work?

Yes. Set a budget for fixed fee work and watch actual cost build against it, or bill logged billable hours for time and materials. Both use the same time capture, so a firm running a mix does not need two processes.

See your utilisation and your margin in the same place

Free 14 day trial, no credit card. Every plan includes unlimited users.