Question 1

Which software is suitable for consultancy firms?

Accepted Answer

For consultancy firms where employees work on multiple client projects at the same time, software that combines project planning with capacity and resource planning is particularly relevant. This allows you to see what work is planned, which consultants are available and where potential capacity or workload bottlenecks may arise.

Question 2

Which software is suitable for consultancy firms?

Accepted Answer

This mainly depends on the complexity of the planning. For small consultancy firms with few employees and projects, Excel or a calendar may be sufficient. As consultants are allocated across more projects and changes become more frequent, central planning software becomes more useful.

Question 3

How do you plan consultants across multiple projects?

Accepted Answer

Look not only at the plan for each individual project, but also at each consultant&rsquo;s overall workload. Include client projects, internal work, leave and other commitments. This makes it clear when different projects require the same capacity at the same time.

Question 4

How do you prevent consultants from becoming overloaded?

Accepted Answer

Bring planned work and available capacity together, including internal work. By looking ahead at future workloads, you can identify sooner when someone is approaching their maximum capacity and reallocate work in good time.

Question 5

What is a good alternative to Excel for a consultancy firm?

Accepted Answer

When an Excel plan requires a lot of manual maintenance, multiple versions exist alongside each other or cross-project visibility is lacking, central planning software can be a logical next step. The right solution depends on whether you only want to organise projects or also plan capacity and employees across multiple projects.

Question 6

What is the difference between project management and capacity planning?

Accepted Answer

Project management focuses primarily on organising and delivering projects: work, responsibilities, deadlines and progress. Capacity planning looks at people&rsquo;s available capacity in relation to the planned work. In consultancy, the two are closely linked because the same consultants are often allocated across multiple client projects.