PSA software for project firms of 20 to 100 people

What is PSA software

Professional services automation (PSA) software is a unified framework for managing project-based work across the delivery lifecycle, from sales and staffing to billing and reporting. SAP describes that scope for IT services, consulting, engineering, legal, accounting, and marketing firms. The same category also covers utilization for billable staff, which is how a firm sees whether the people it pays are producing billable work.

Project management software plans and executes tasks inside a project. PSA connects that work to staffing, billing, utilization, and revenue. A task list can look current while hours, expenses, and milestones still miss the invoice. Owners and finance leads look for PSA software when billing, utilization, and revenue have to follow the work.

Firms of this size usually buy the work in one of three shapes. An ERP such as Odoo or Dynamics 365 Business Central can carry projects, time, billing, and the general ledger on one database. A profession tool such as BQE CORE, Deltek Vantagepoint, or Monograph ships architecture and engineering vocabulary, and Karbon ships accounting-practice workflow. A general PSA such as BigTime or Kantata can sit beside a separate accounting package. The rest of this page prices those options as of November 2026 and says which shape fits which firm.

MSP PSA is a different product

Search results for PSA software often lead with tools for managed service providers. ConnectWise describes that PSA as software that connects ticketing, project management, time tracking, billing, and reporting, and that can turn ConnectWise RMM device alerts into tickets. Autotask and HaloPSA sit in that same MSP class. ConnectWise prices its PSA by package quote: Essentials is aimed at day-to-day service delivery, and Pro adds sales, finance, procurement, and inventory. There is no published list price.

That design follows tickets, service agreements, and device alerts. An engineering, architecture, or accounting firm is buying something else: phase fees, utilization, realization, project work in process, and a choice among time-and-materials, fixed fee, and retainer. If you run a help desk, this page does not price that category. If you sell projects, use the shortlist below.

PSA software side by side

Use this table to see the shape of each option before you read the detail. Prices are vendor list prices as of November 2026. Where a vendor publishes no price, the cell says pricing is by quote. Microsoft says its displayed prices are informational and can differ at checkout because of currency, country, and regional variants.

Best PSA software by firm type

Best PSA software depends on how the firm bills, not on a single ranking. Match the product to utilization, project accounting, phase fees, or recurring engagements, then check the November 2026 price.

Architecture and engineering firms live on phases. BQE CORE Foundations includes phased billing, cost and schedule by phase, and reports for utilization, realization, and profitability, and BQE says more than 3,000 A&E firms use CORE. Monograph markets forecasting, staffing, and project accounting to the same firms, with pipeline as an add-on. Deltek Vantagepoint covers the same professions and publishes no price. An architecture or planning practice that wants phase fees, consultant costs, and the ledger together can start from Flectic's Odoo Architecture and Planning package. A consulting engineering firm with discipline budgets, utilization, and subconsultant costs can start from the Odoo Engineering Services package.

Accounting firms with monthly closes, year-ends, and recurring engagements need preparer and reviewer flow more than a construction-style phase schedule. Karbon is built for that practice work. As of November 2026, Team is USD 59 per user per month on annual billing, and Karbon says Business, at USD 89 on annual billing, is the plan most of its customers choose. A bookkeeping, tax, or advisory firm that also wants the firm's own books on the engagement can start from the Odoo package for accounting firms.

Multi-service consulting that needs a general ledger as well as projects should shortlist Odoo, because Project, Timesheets, and Accounting share one subscription, or Business Central, because projects, WIP, and invoicing sit in the finance product. A firm that wants a dedicated PSA and will pair it with Dynamics 365 Finance or another ERP should price Project Operations at USD 135 per user per month in the US, or CAD 183.20 in Canada, paid yearly. The industry overview for this work is the professional services page.

Odoo as PSA software

Odoo does not ship a product named PSA. Standard and Custom each include the apps, including Project, Timesheets, Accounting, CRM, and HR, for one per-user fee. Project can bill customers from time on tasks or from milestones, and project updates show profitability, milestones, resources, and tasks. The first app, including Project, is free for unlimited users on Odoo Online until more apps are installed. Odoo Project, Timesheets, and project billing describe that chain.

As of November 2026 the US pricing page lists Standard at USD 24.90 per user per month on yearly billing for the first 12 months on the initial users ordered, or USD 31.10 monthly, and Custom at USD 49.00 yearly or USD 61.10 monthly. Light users are priced by quote. The page shows no CAD price, so ask Odoo for one rather than converting the US rate. Someone who enters a timesheet, or an employee record with no linked user, counts as a paying user. Portal customers are not paying users.

Odoo Custom, which is the higher plan, adds Odoo Studio, agentic AI, multi-company, external API, and the option to host on Odoo.sh or on premise. Odoo.sh hosting is not included in the subscription, and implementation services are excluded. Odoo says companies under 50 employees usually buy implementation Success Packs from Odoo, while companies above 50 employees usually use a partner. Profession-specific pieces, such as architecture phase fees or accounting engagement stages, are configuration on top of the apps. Planning can schedule shifts by role and link them to projects and sales. Project Operations lists resource skill matching.

Business Central and Project Operations

Business Central project management covers creating projects, scheduling resources, budgets, time sheets for machine and employee hours, work in process, recording usage, project supplies, and invoicing when the project finishes or on a schedule. That suits a firm whose main need is project cost inside a finance-led ERP. The Business Central jobs and projects guide walks through the setup. As of November 2026, Essentials is USD 80 per user per month paid yearly, Premium is USD 110, and Team Members is USD 8. On the Canada price list the same licences are CAD 108.50, CAD 149.20, and CAD 10.90, plus applicable tax. Microsoft's pricing pages do not name one licence tier for projects, so budget the full user you will assign to project work and confirm the tier at checkout.

When estimates, skills, subcontracting, and proforma billing become the main problem, Dynamics 365 Project Operations is Microsoft's PSA licence. As of November 2026 it lists at USD 135 per user per month paid yearly, and CAD 183.20 on the Canada page, plus applicable tax. The pricing page groups capabilities under deal management, work planning, resourcing, project execution, subcontracting, and billing and proforma. The product supports fixed-price, time-and-materials, and retainer contracts, resource skill matching, budget-to-actual tracking, and project cost and revenue profiles.

Microsoft says Project Operations interoperates with Dynamics 365 Finance or an external ERP through open APIs. The finance system remains the general ledger. Read that limit before you compare the USD 135 licence with Business Central Essentials at USD 80: you may be paying for both the PSA users and the finance users. The Project Operations guide, the pricing guide, Odoo pricing, and Odoo versus Business Central go further on the platform choice.

BigTime, Kantata, BQE CORE, Deltek, Monograph, and Karbon

BigTime fits a professional services firm that wants time and billing next to QuickBooks. Essentials starts at USD 20 per user per month as of November 2026 and includes time and expense, project portfolio management, billing and invoicing, automatic reconciliation, and QuickBooks integration. The page does not say whether that starting price requires an annual commitment. Advanced, Premier, and Enterprise prices are not published. Premier adds multi-currency invoicing, custom cost and rate management, project budgeting, and multi-level approvals on top of Advanced. Resource management and quoting are additional modules, so a firm that needs a staffing board should ask for those module prices in the same quote.

Kantata's pricing page says plans are tailored to company size and way of working, and it collects a form for a quote. No list price is published as of November 2026. Kantata belongs on a shortlist when you want a dedicated PSA and can judge the product from a proposal. Keep Kantata off the license spreadsheet until the quote arrives, because headcount has nothing public to multiply.

BQE describes CORE as architecture and engineering firm management software, founded by an architect and an engineer, and says it also serves consulting firms. The company says more than 3,000 A&E firms use CORE. Pricing is by quote. Foundations includes time and expense, billing, project management with phased billing and cost and schedule by phase, and reporting for utilization, realization, and profitability. Accounting, CRM, HR, and payroll are extra modules. Payroll tax filing is described as powered by Gusto for US-based businesses, which matters for a Canadian firm that needs payroll in the same quote: ask what is included outside the US.

Deltek describes Vantagepoint for architecture, engineering, and consulting firms, with accounting and financial management, CRM and pipeline, project management, resource management, and payments. Deltek lists Ajera as its project and accounting software for small architecture and engineering firms. Treat both as pricing by quote.

Monograph's pricing page is a calculator for architecture and engineering firms. As of November 2026 it displayed a subscription range of USD 45 to 490 per month before an employee count was entered. That range is not a per-user rate and it is not a price for a 20 to 100 person firm. The subscription includes forecasting, reports, staffing, and project accounting. Pipeline is a separate add-on. Use the calculator with your headcount before you compare it with a per-user licence.

Karbon fits accounting firms. As of November 2026, Team is USD 59 per user per month paid annually or USD 79 paid monthly, and Business is USD 89 annually or USD 99 monthly. Monthly billing is only for teams of 4 or more. Enterprise is custom. Team includes time tracking, budget reporting, billing, payments, and engagements. Karbon says customers can pay in Canadian dollars, and the page did not print a separate CAD amount next to the USD figures. It is accounting practice management. Phase-fee billing for an architecture studio is a different product.

What 30 full users cost on list prices

List price is the licence only. The table multiplies published per-user prices by 30 full users for one month, as of November 2026, on yearly billing where the vendor states it. It leaves out implementation, hosting, add-on modules, taxes, and discounts beyond what the vendor already prints. Odoo's lower yearly figures apply for 12 months to the initial users ordered.

Take a 40-person architecture firm as a second pass, with these assumptions: all 40 people enter time, so all 40 are paying users on Odoo; US firms use the USD list; Canadian firms use the CAD list before tax; no add-ons. At Odoo Standard's USD 24.90 yearly rate the subscription is USD 996 a month in the first year, and at USD 31.10 it is USD 1,244 a month. The same 40 users on Business Central Essentials are USD 3,200 a month, or CAD 4,340 a month before tax. BigTime Essentials at the published starting price is USD 800 a month, and the higher BigTime tiers have no public amount. None of these figures is an implementation fee.

BQE CORE, Deltek Vantagepoint, Kantata, and ConnectWise publish no list price, so they are left out of the multiplication. Monograph's public figure is USD 45 to 490 per month on a calculator before headcount, so it is not a 30-user product of a per-user rate. Add the accounting module, or a separate ledger, when the PSA does not post the general ledger itself.

Canadian prices, GST/HST, and holdback

US and Canadian firms can use the same shortlist, and they should not use the same dollar figure when the vendor prints both. As of November 2026, Business Central Essentials is CAD 108.50 per user per month, Premium is CAD 149.20, and Team Members is CAD 10.90, paid yearly, plus applicable tax. Project Operations is CAD 183.20 per user per month on the same basis. For 25 users, Essentials is CAD 2,712.50 a month before tax on the Canada list, and USD 2,000 a month on the US list. Those are different currencies, and both figures are licences only.

Karbon accepts Canadian dollars as a billing currency. Its pricing page lists USD amounts without a CAD price beside them, so ask Karbon for the CAD invoice before you compare it with Microsoft. Odoo's public page shows no CAD price either. Ask for the currency on the order form.

A business registered for GST/HST charges, collects, files, and remits that tax. The Canada Revenue Agency explains the obligation on its businesses page, and rates sit on the CRA GST/HST calculator and rates page, which change by place of supply. Where a Canadian contract withholds part of a progress fee until a later certificate, the project invoice should show the held amount separately from the amount due. Use the percent named in the contract.

When an ERP-based PSA fits, and when a dedicated tool fits

An ERP-based PSA fits when the firm already runs the books, purchasing, and billing next to a time tracker and spends the month reconciling them. Odoo puts project, time, billing, and accounting on one subscription. Business Central puts project WIP and invoicing in the finance product. The ERP licence can be higher than BigTime Essentials at USD 20 or Karbon Team at USD 59, and it is the price of projects and the ledger on one subscription. Do not treat that licence as a lower total until both the PSA and the accounting package are quoted.

A dedicated tool fits when the profession's billing language is the whole requirement and the general ledger can stay where it is. A studio whose work is fee phases gets BQE CORE or Monograph vocabulary immediately. An accounting practice whose work is recurring engagements gets Karbon's engagements and billing. A firm under about 15 people with a standard billing model often starts there, because the template is the product. Firms of 20 to 100 people should weigh that speed against the number of systems they are willing to reconcile each month.

Questions to ask every vendor before you shortlist

Ask each vendor and each implementer the same questions. Write the answers next to the November 2026 price so a low licence does not hide a missing module.

• How does time entered by a person reach an invoice, and who can edit it on the way?
• How are fixed-fee, time-and-materials, phase-fee, retainer, and milestone billing set up, and can one project mix them?
• Where do subconsultant costs, expenses, and change requests post, and how do they reach the client invoice?
• What does resource planning cover: roles, skills, hours per week, cost rates, and forecasts past the current month?
• Does the tool post to a general ledger, or does it export to your accounting package, and who maintains that link?
• Which reports are in the product you are buying: utilization, realization, WIP, unbilled time, and margin by project?
• For a Canadian contract, can the invoice show GST/HST and a holdback amount from the contract?
• What is the price for your user count, in USD or CAD, including every module, and what changes at renewal?
• On Odoo, who counts as a paying user, including anyone who only enters a timesheet?
• What does data migration include, and who checks open projects and unbilled time at go-live?

Where Flectic fits

Flectic is an independent consultancy that implements both Odoo and Microsoft Dynamics 365, and we earn no vendor quota on either. We do not implement BQE CORE, Deltek, Monograph, Karbon, BigTime, or Kantata. We fit when a professional services firm of 20 to 100 people in the US and Canada only sees utilization and project margin at month-end, and wants pipeline, delivery, and finance connected so the quote, the timesheet, and the invoice match.

On an Odoo project we can start from a fixed-scope package: engineering services for discipline budgets and engineer utilization, architecture and planning for phase fees, and accounting for engagements, reviewer stages, and recurring fees. The wider offer is on the professional services page. Book a free discovery call when you want a written proposal before any configuration starts. Dynamics 365 is the other platform when Business Central finance, or Project Operations beside an existing finance system, is the better licence.

• Live utilization by person and team, updated as time is logged.
• WIP tracked against budget, so an overrun shows during the engagement.
• Invoices built from approved time and milestones.
• Engagement margin by client, project, and partner.
• Phase fees and consultant costs visible against the budget while the phase is open.
• A dedicated PSA is a sound choice when its template matches the firm and the ledger can stay in another product.

How Flectic can help

Flectic connects pipeline, delivery and finance on Dynamics 365 or Odoo for professional services firms of 20 to 100 people in the US and Canada that only see utilization and project margin at month-end. Accounting, engineering and architecture firms can start from a fixed-scope Odoo package, and those packages are proposed at 8 to 18 weeks across Core and Growth. See how Flectic works with professional services firms, then Book a free discovery call.

Frequently asked questions