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Setup Check

ERP for service businesses

Run projects, time and billing profitably.

When time, cost and revenue hang off the same project, you know the margin while the project is running. Not only when it closes.

Every one of these problems has the same root:

  • Projects feel profitableBut they are not.
  • Hours are logged too lateAnd so they never get billed.
  • Billing is delayedBecause the data comes from several tools.
  • Utilization cannot be plannedIdle time one week, overload the next.

Project data, time and billing sit in separate systems.

That is exactly what an ERP connecting the two solves. Billing is the sore point in service businesses: ERPNext derives the invoice directly from the logged time and expenses.

Billable hours flow into the invoice draft, with fixed fees and milestones alongside. That closes the gap between delivered and paid, which eats margin in many service businesses.

What ERPNext can do for service businesses.

01

Projects and tasks

Budget, phases, progress, planned versus actual per project.

02

Time tracking

Against project and task, as the basis for billing and analysis. It only works if it is easy.

03

Service billing

Time and fixed-fee models, recurring invoices, straight from the logged time.

04

Resources and utilization

Who is booked when, and where idle time or overload builds up.

Three places where margin disappears.

  • Logging

    Hours get reconstructed at month end

    What is not logged the same day gets estimated, or forgotten.

    AfterLogging that fits into the working day, against project and task.

  • Billing

    Delivered is not invoiced

    Between the work done and the invoice sits a gap nobody puts a number on.

    AfterBillable hours in the invoice draft, and visibility of how much actually gets invoiced.

  • Planning

    Retainers and change requests slip

    Recurring work runs alongside and gets overlooked in the day to day.

    AfterRecurring invoices and change requests on the project instead of in someone's head.

Layered glass form: areas going live one step at a time
Fig. 01 Project, logged hours and invoice with no break in between

Frequently asked questions from service businesses.

Can we mix time-and-material and fixed-fee projects?

Yes, both models are supported, including combined in the same project.

Is the invoice raised straight from the logged time?

Yes. Billable hours can be carried into the invoice draft, with fixed fees and milestones alongside.

Do we see profitability per project?

Yes, based on logged time, cost and revenue, while the project is still running.

Can the team's utilization be planned?

Yes. ERPNext sets availability against project demand, so bottlenecks and idle time show up early.

Can retainers be billed automatically?

Yes, via recurring invoices, often combined with process automation.

When hours slip through, you lose margin you have already earned.

In the Setup Check we check whether ERPNext brings your projects, time and invoices together cleanly, and where the first step sits.

Request a Setup Check