PSA software for small businesses

Yes, once three things are true: you sell people’s time, by the hour, the day or the fixed-fee project; more than two or three people log hours against the same clients; and a project’s margin shows only weeks after it closes. Before that, a task tool and a spreadsheet are enough. After it, unbilled hours and late invoices cost more than the software. A small firm needs the core of PSA (professional services automation), not the enterprise version with skills matching, revenue recognition and multi-entity finance. For the full definition, see professional services automation.

Signs you have outgrown spreadsheets

• Timesheets are rebuilt from memory at the end of the week or the month.
• Invoices wait until someone totals the hours.
• A retainer client takes more hours than the fee covers, and it shows only at renewal.
• One client lives in four tools: a task board, a timer, an invoicing app and a sheet.

Client-work PSA, not MSP PSA

Results for small-business PSA mix two markets. PSA for managed IT service providers, such as ConnectWise PSA, Autotask and HaloPSA, runs helpdesk tickets, service levels and device monitoring. This guide is about PSA for agencies, studios, consultancies and accounting or engineering practices, which plan, record and bill people’s time.

From the first week, a team of 3 to 25 needs five things from a PSA: projects and tasks, time tracking, weekly approval, invoices with receivables, and project profitability. Capacity planning, a client portal and a sales CRM can wait until the team or the client list grows. The table shows why each part matters at this size and where it sits in PLYNTUM; hold every other tool to the same list.

Light tools often stop at tasks, time and invoices; enterprise suites add skills matching and revenue recognition. Pay for the five core rows first.

Most PSA tools charge per user, so the bill grows with every hire. PLYNTUM charges per workspace with members included, so its price moves in steps. The table applies published prices to 5, 10 and 25 people, billed annually, before tax, with seat minimums applied. Prices are in US dollars except Scoro, shown in euros and not converted. Teamwork.com, Productive, Paymo and Bonsai were read on 24 October 2026, Scoro on 25 September 2026.

Paymo’s annual price equals its current three-month offer; Scoro’s onboarding and add-ons cost extra.

At 5 people, a plan at about $25 a user costs about the same as PLYNTUM Core ($125 against $120), and entry plans cost less if you can do without approval. At 10, plans with timesheet approval cost $169 (Paymo Pro) and $120 (PLYNTUM Core); Productive Professional, $250, approves time entries but leaves timesheet submission and locking to Ultimate. At 25, Paymo Pro reaches $422.50 and Productive Professional $625, against $360 for PLYNTUM Scale. Monthly billing costs more on every tool. Detail by team size: software costs for 5 people, for 10 and for 25.

All six publish their prices and offer a trial without a sales call. They are grouped by the firm they fit, not ranked; PLYNTUM is our product and comes last under the same rules. Paymo and Bonsai are lighter tools built around tasks, time and invoices. For nine tools across all firm sizes, including quote-only Kantata, Certinia and Accelo, see our comparison of the best PSA software.

Teamwork.com: for starting free

Free for up to 5 users and 5 projects, without timesheets or invoices. Basics is $9.99 per user a month billed annually ($13.99 monthly), minimum 3; Accelerate is $24.99 ($29.99), minimum 5, with timesheets and basic invoices from logged time. Approval and profit by project or client are on Optimize, priced on request. 14-day trial; read 24 October 2026.

Productive: for agencies that want a pipeline too

Essential is $10 per user a month billed annually ($12 monthly) and Professional $25 ($29), minimum 3 seats. Pipelines are on every plan; billable time approvals start on Professional. Clients are free users, and the interface is English only. 14-day trial; read 24 October 2026.

Paymo: for very small teams on a tight budget

Plus is $10.90 per user a month billed annually ($15.90 monthly) and Pro $16.90 ($23.90), with timesheet approvals and leave management. Invoices are on every plan; the free plan is for 1 user. 15-day trial; read 24 October 2026.

Bonsai: for small agencies that start from proposals

Essentials, with invoices, is $19 per user a month billed annually ($25 monthly); Premium, with timesheets and QuickBooks and Xero, $29 ($39); Elite, with timesheet locking, $49 ($59), minimum 3. Proposals and contracts are built in. 7-day trial; read 24 October 2026.

Scoro: for firms with a finance person

Sold as app combinations at €15 to €52 per user a month as displayed, minimum 5; the billing cycle is not labelled. It covers quoting, a sales CRM and project finance; onboarding, add-ons and the customer portal cost extra. 14-day trial; read 25 September 2026.

PLYNTUM: for a flat workspace price

Launch is $55 a month ($44 billed annually) for 5 members, 10 active clients and 20 projects, with projects, time, invoices, expenses, receivables and CRM core. Core, $150 ($120) for 10 members, adds timesheet approval, project profitability, recurring invoices and the client portal. Scale, $450 ($360) for 25, adds workload and capacity planning. The 7-day trial runs on Launch with no card; there is no free plan. English and Georgian interface.

Published, but aimed at bigger teams: BigTime from $20 per user (billing cycle not stated), Rocketlane from $49 per team member (minimum 5) and Function Point at $53 per user plus an onboarding fee, all read 25 September 2026.

Ask every vendor the same ten questions and write the answers down. Many answers sit in the comparison table further down the pricing page, not on the plan cards: Teamwork.com’s seat minimums, for example, appear only there. Seat minimums, the plan that holds approval and the length of the trial change the real price more than the headline figure does.

1. What will we pay now, and with 50% more people? Include onboarding and add-ons.
2. Is there a seat minimum? Teamwork.com Basics 3, Accelerate 5, Productive 3, Scoro 5.
3. Which plan has timesheet approval? Often one plan above the entry price, or priced on request.
4. Are invoices built from logged time or written by hand? It decides how much retyping is left.
5. Does the plan cap clients or projects? PLYNTUM Launch allows 10 active clients and 20 projects.
6. How do figures reach your accountant? Ask what connects today, not what is planned.
7. Can clients see their own work, and on which plan?
8. Is there a native phone app, or only the mobile browser?
9. Which interface languages and invoice currencies are supported?
10. Is the trial long enough for a week of logging, one approval and one invoice? Trials here run 7 to 15 days.

A small firm can switch in a month without pausing client work, because only one client moves first. Pick a project that already has a fixed fee or a budget, so the margin at the end means something, and keep the old spreadsheet running until the first invoice from the new system has gone out.

1. Days 1–3: set up that project and its three to five people: the client, the project value and the tasks.
2. Days 4–7: give everyone a loaded hourly cost (the hourly rate calculator helps) and log time daily.
3. Days 8–14: approve the first full week and split catch-all tasks.
4. Days 15–21: add direct expenses and prepare the first invoice, checking it against the approved hours.
5. Days 22–30: read the margin, move the other clients and retire the spreadsheet.

In PLYNTUM the 7-day trial runs on Launch, which has no approval or profitability, so plan days 8 to 30 on a paid Core month ($150 billed monthly).

PLYNTUM fits agencies, studios, consultancies and accounting or engineering practices of about 3 to 25 people that sell hours or fixed-fee projects and want time, approval, invoices and margin in one workspace, in English or Georgian. Past 25 members, Intelligence covers up to 50 for $1,050 a month ($840 billed annually). See pricing, or small business management software for the wider picture.

Choose something else if you need:

• IT ticketing, service levels or device monitoring;
• automatic time capture (private desktop capture is in development);
• online card payments;
• a QuickBooks, Xero or other accounting integration (CSV export only today);
• a native iOS or Android app (PLYNTUM runs in the mobile browser);
• revenue recognition, a general ledger or payroll.

Every price was checked on the vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown next to it. If something has changed, tell us at info@plyntum.com and we will correct it.

• Teamwork.com pricing (checked 24 October 2026)
• Productive pricing (checked 24 October 2026)
• Paymo pricing (checked 24 October 2026)
• Bonsai pricing (checked 24 October 2026)
• Scoro pricing (checked 25 September 2026)
• BigTime pricing (checked 25 September 2026)
• Rocketlane pricing (checked 25 September 2026)
• Function Point pricing (checked 25 September 2026)

• Professional services automation (PSA) software for client-work firms
• Best PSA software for agencies and professional services firms (2026)
• Small business management software for service businesses
• What business software costs a 5-person service team in 2026