Target EntitiesProject Profitability Analytics, Professional Services, Utilization Reporting, Finance Reporting, Project Margin, Project P&L
Core ValueSee project margin without waiting for month-end, profit by project not just company-wide, automated finance reporting
Tech StackJira API, QuickBooks connector, Qlik, Data Warehouse, Semantic Layer, Finance Data Model
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Software & Professional Services

How a software firm got project margin out of month-end spreadsheets

This software firm bills by the project, but until month-end it could not tell which projects made money, and even then only for the company as a whole. We brought the project and finance numbers together, so leaders now see margin and team utilization for each project as the work happens.

Per project

profitability, not just a company-wide total

No more

month-end spreadsheet rebuilds

2 systems

project and finance data, now in one place

Challenge

Leaders could not tell which projects made money until month-end, and only for the whole company.

What we built

One reporting setup that ties each project to the costs and revenue behind it.

Result

Profit and utilization for every project, kept up to date on their own.

The challenge

Project work lived in one system and the money in another. To answer the question that matters most, which projects and clients actually turn a profit, the finance team rebuilt the picture in spreadsheets every month, and even then could only see it for the company as a whole. How busy and billable the team really was stayed just as unclear.

What we built

  • Connected the project and accounting systems so a project’s hours, costs and revenue finally sit in one place instead of two.
  • Built profit and loss for each project, comparing its revenue against the real costs behind it, which showed plainly which clients and types of work paid off and which were losing money.
  • Automated the utilization and headcount reports the finance team used to rebuild by hand, so month-end no longer means a spreadsheet marathon and the numbers stay current in between.

How the data flows

Source systems

Project management system
Accounting system
One reporting layer

Reporting

Profit by project
Utilization & headcount
Leadership KPIs

The outcome

Because margin is now visible for each project instead of once a quarter for the whole company, leaders can act sooner, rescoping or repricing the work that loses money and protecting the work that pays. The monthly spreadsheet rebuild is gone, and the same numbers now help with staffing and capacity decisions.

Systems & technologies

Jira APIQuickBooks ConnectorQlikData WarehouseSemantic Layer

Selected work from 3ALICA delivery teams. Some of these projects were delivered before 3ALICA's current US focus, but the work is the same kind we do now: practical analytics and reporting built on top of the systems a business already runs.

Before vs after

Before
BeforeProfit only visible at month-end, and only for the whole company
AfterProfit visible for each project, updated as work happens
BeforeFinance rebuilds the numbers in spreadsheets every month
AfterReports update on their own, no manual rebuild
BeforeNo clear read on how billable the team really is
AfterUtilization and headcount easy to see

Not sure which of your projects actually make money?

If the answer lives in a month-end spreadsheet, we can bring your project and finance numbers together so you can see margin and utilization for each project, in a focused sprint.

Discuss a similar challenge

Get in touch

Start with one operational bottleneck

Share the workflow that costs the most time, margin, or visibility today. We will review the current systems involved and suggest a practical first sprint.

Email us directly

sales@3alica.com