Contact Info
Australia
What should an Australian consultancy expect from an ERP consultant?
Australian consultancies juggle government panel work orders, commercial SOWs, contractors who may raise super or payroll tax questions, and capacity that shifts with leave entitlements. I map how your firm wins, resources and invoices each engagement, document the rules your advisors confirm, and guide the choice and rollout of a platform that reports utilization, bench and margin consistently.
Last reviewed by Vikas Saroj
I work remotely with Australian consultancies: management and strategy firms, digital and technology advisors, public sector specialists and small practices built on a bench of employees and a wider circle of contractors. Many earn a large share of revenue through government panels, where work arrives as individual work orders under a standing deed.
Their systems usually include a CRM, a resourcing spreadsheet, a timesheet tool and Xero or MYOB for the books, with the partner meeting pack stitched together by hand. Before discussing platforms, I trace how a work order or SOW becomes staffed, delivered and invoiced work.
What I Do
I advise directors, practice leads and finance managers of Australian consulting firms who want delivery, staffing and billing to tell the same story.
I map how a panel deed, its rate schedule, each work order and its variations relate, so authorized value, rates and remaining budget are visible for every work order the firm holds.
Availability that accounts for annual leave, long service leave, public holidays in each state and part-time arrangements, so bench and utilization start from realistic capacity.
Records for contractors working as sole traders or through their own companies, holding agreements, rates, ABN details, engagements worked and the status outcomes your advisors document.
A change process that turns client requests into priced variations before work is delivered, linked to the original work order or SOW and its budget.
Each client's travel and allowance terms recorded with the engagement, so interstate trips and regional site visits are rebilled as agreed or knowingly absorbed by the engagement.
Scripted demos on your own work orders and SOWs, a weighted fit-gap and a review of implementer proposals before you sign anything with a vendor.
What to Measure
An ERP for consulting should make these numbers available without a spreadsheet. I design the data model and reports around them from the start.
Platform Fit
How I Work
How your firm wins and delivers
Director and practice lead interviews
Panel deeds and work orders
Contractor arrangements reviewed
Current capacity spreadsheet
Rules agreed before build
Capacity and utilization definitions
Variation workflow
Contractor record requirements
Scored platform demos
Live on real engagements
Implementer coordination
Open work orders migrated
UAT with engagement leads
Capacity and margin dashboards
Commonwealth, state and local government agencies in Australia buy much of their consulting through panel arrangements. A firm is appointed to a panel under a deed with set terms and a schedule of rates, and individual pieces of work are then issued as work orders or official orders, often after a quick quote against other panel members. Each order has its own scope, price basis and limit.
For the ERP, the panel is a parent record holding terms and maximum rates, each work order sits beneath it with its value and period, and timesheets and expenses consume the order. Engagement leads should see remaining value and forecast to complete on every order, because exceeding it without a variation usually means unpaid work.
Variations are where many firms lose money. A client asks for one more workshop or another round of review, the team obliges, and the variation is raised late or not at all. I design a change process where requested scope is logged, priced and approved before it is delivered, with the approved variation increasing the order value in the system. The general consulting model is on my consulting ERP page, while law, accounting and engineering practices are covered on the Australian professional services page.
Australian consultancies often extend their bench with contractors who quote an ABN and work as sole traders or through their own companies. How each arrangement is treated is more than a label in the contract. Depending on the facts, questions can arise about employment status, superannuation obligations for some contractors, state payroll tax on certain contractor payments and the personal services income rules that affect the contractor. Each has its own tests, and the answers belong with your accountant and employment advisor.
Your system should capture the facts those advisors rely on: the contracting entity and ABN, the agreement, the rate basis, the engagements worked, and the outcome of any status review with the date it was made. Where super is payable on a contractor's labor, the payment process needs to calculate and remit it. Where payroll tax may reach contractor payments, finance needs a report of those payments by state.
Operationally, contractor time belongs in the same timesheet system as employee time, approved by the same engagement leads. That lets contractor invoices be matched to approved hours and gives directors an engagement margin that includes everyone who worked, at the rate the firm actually paid.
Utilization arguments in Australian consultancies usually start with the denominator. Employees accrue annual leave and, after enough service, long service leave, public holidays differ by state, and many consultants work part time or compressed weeks. If available hours are calculated as a standard week for everyone, utilization looks poor in some months and inflated in others, and nobody trusts the report.
I agree the definition with directors before configuration. Available time is standard hours for each person's work pattern, less public holidays for their state and approved leave. Billable time is clearly defined, including whether pre-sales work and proposal writing count. Bench is available time with no booking. Contractors are reported separately as delivery capacity rather than mixed into employee utilization.
Leave entitlements also matter to cost rates. A consultant's cost to the firm includes salary, superannuation, payroll tax where it applies and leave, and engagement margin should reflect that loaded cost. The staffing view then shows upcoming leave alongside bookings and pipeline, so resource managers can see a gap in a team well before a work order starts.
Australian engagements often involve flights between capital cities, regional site visits and occasional work for clients in New Zealand or Asia. Expense terms differ a great deal: government work orders may reimburse travel only when pre-approved and within agency limits, commercial SOWs may reimburse at cost or include travel in a fixed fee, and some clients pay a set daily allowance.
I record the terms on the engagement and design approval so claims are tagged as rebillable or absorbed when they are approved, with receipts attached. Allowances paid to consultants under the firm's own policy are tracked separately from what the client reimburses, because both affect margin and the allowance may have its own tax treatment for the employee. Check that treatment with your accountant.
GST then applies to the invoice according to the client and the service, including whether recharged costs follow the treatment of the fee. My Australian ERP consultant page covers GST, BAS and payroll design more broadly. The aim here is narrower: every trip ends up either billed correctly or consciously absorbed.
Australian consultancies commonly weigh three routes: a professional services tool connected to Xero or MYOB, an ERP that brings projects, resourcing and billing into the general ledger, or a sales-led CRM stack with time capture bolted on. The deciding factors are the share of panel work, the number of contractors, the need for leave-aware capacity planning and how much directors rely on forward bench views.
I test each shortlisted option against your scenarios: a work order with a variation approaching its limit, a contractor timesheet matched to an invoice, a capacity view across states with leave booked and a retainer drawn down monthly. Results are scored against the requirements, and I review each implementation proposal before you commit. The ERP evaluation service describes this stage.
Sessions run online and are timed for your team's day, which matters when directors sit in Perth and Sydney. Process maps live on a shared board and requirements in documents your leads comment on directly. A face-to-face workshop can be arranged if one decision needs it. The Australia hub outlines how I support Australian businesses more broadly.
Tell me about your business and current systems. I’ll suggest the most sensible first step.
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Share your business requirements with me and I will help you understand the right process, architecture and platform before implementation.
FAQ
No. That depends on the facts of each arrangement and should be confirmed by your accountant or employment advisor. The system should hold the outcome, the date it was reviewed and the payment rule that follows, then calculate and report super where it applies. I design those records and the payment process around the advice you receive.
Approved leave and public holidays should reduce available time, so utilization measures how well working time was used. Leave balances also belong in the staffing view, because long service leave or extended annual leave creates gaps resource managers need to see early. I agree the formula with directors before reports are built.
Yes. The panel holds the deed terms and maximum rates, each work order is a child record with its own value, period and variations, and time and expenses consume the work order. Directors then see remaining value per order and across the panel without keeping a separate spreadsheet.
Not necessarily. Some Australian consultancies leave Xero in place as the general ledger and connect a separate resourcing and billing tool to it. A full ERP becomes more compelling with several entities, many contractors or complex panel work. I weigh both options against your requirements so the choice is made on evidence.
Yes. Consultancies already deliver much of their own work online, so remote discovery, mapping, demos and testing feel familiar to directors and engagement leads. I plan sessions within your working hours across states, and decisions are recorded in writing as we go. In-person time can be discussed by arrangement if a specific workshop needs it.
Every business is different. Share where you are today and what you want to fix, and I’ll tell you honestly whether and how I can help.
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