Transform your business with staffing software solutions

The staffing industry is thriving and continues to be vital during national labor shortages, but with the high demand for staff comes pressure to keep up.

The work that goes into matching the right candidates with the right roles is tough enough without trying to get it done using disconnected systems and manual billing and payroll processes. These added factors can cause inefficiencies in any staffing business, which, in an industry known for its tight profit margins, can be a major threat.

Without the right technology, such inefficiencies – and dwindling margins – can be hard to overcome.

Fortunately, staffing software solutions, usually called enterprise resource planning solutions, can help teams unify around one system, make strategic decisions with real-time data, and ultimately grow the bottom line.

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Unify around one system

Many different teams and individuals are involved in matching the right candidate to the right role. With handoffs and financial data piling up at every turn, misalignment can be quick to surface. This can lead to departments working in silos, negative impacts to employee morale and retention, and increased costs for staffing firms.

Staffing software solutions like NetSuite were built to unify teams looking at company data. Practically speaking, this means that individuals will share user-friendly dashboards of candidate capabilities and capacity, financials, insights to key performance indicators, and sales and recruitment pipelines. Sharing real-time operational information among departments can be critical to accomplishing company goals and to the bottom line.

Key takeaways of a staffing software solution:

An empowered team, making aligned decisions using the same data
Less time wasted finding reports and information in spreadsheets and filing cabinets
More encouraged employees and increased employee retainment

Enhance strategy and decision-making through real-time data

In an industry as complex and dynamic as the staffing industry, keeping a finger on the pulse of the business is difficult. For most staffing leaders, it’s unsettling to not know exactly what’s happening with the business. Before staffing software solutions existed, many companies relied on manual reports and last month's numbers to get an idea of the state of the business. This reactive approach came at a cost for many companies. Technology today rids leaders of the need for this legacy process and enables them to take a more proactive and strategic approach.

Staffing software solutions provide easy access to real-time data dashboards and allow for better decision-making using today’s data instead of last month’s numbers. Using these metrics can help companies improve financial forecasting, identify trends and gaps, and rally the organization around opportunities rather than always fixing problems.

Key takeaways of a staffing software solution:

Instant view of financial performance in real time
Quick identification of gaps and improved financial performance
Rallying around opportunities instead of chasing down problems

Grow profits with visibility into vendor, job, and client margins

Staffing leaders hear it over and over again: Profit margins in the staffing industry are slim. A few small inefficiencies can lead to a large amount of profit loss. Without quick visibility into profit margins that can be drilled down to any level, it’s not even an option to adjust and optimize assignments for profitability. In addition, minimal visibility (or in some cases, complete lack of visibility) into data can lead to uncertainty about what rate needs to be billed, when, and by whom.

Technology allows a view of profitability through multiple angles and gives better insights to fill gaps, make adjustments, and improve profitability across vendors, jobs, and employees. Beyond offering a look into resource utilization, some staffing software solutions, like NetSuite, can give visibility to candidate skills to help increase revenue per associate.

Billing is another area of inefficiency. Staffing software allows for a flexible system to provide a mix of pricing options and billing rules for maximizing billing accuracy, timeliness, and profit by vendor. The introduction of detailed visibility to the staffing industry has been a turning point for the firms that have the right tools in place.

Key takeaways of a staffing software solution:

Real-time visibility into profit margins drilled down by vendor, job, and client
Better resource utilization and higher efficiency
Flexible and dynamic billing rules allowing for less slippage

Reduce labor cost through automation

Staffing solutions such as spreadsheets and other software options might allow many smaller companies to get by. But as companies continue to grow, it becomes harder to keep up without using the proper technology or hiring more hands to help process information.

The ability to do more with fewer people leaves a huge opportunity for a business to transform. Automation through technology reduces the number of employees needed for mundane tasks and manual processes like margin analyses or payments to vendors. A smaller workforce means saving money and keeping the labor ratio at a comfortable level. Automation with NetSuite means a company can batch process client invoices, automatically invoice low-risk clients, and generate detailed copies of timesheets and expense reports – saving hundreds of hours of labor each month.

In addition, automation removes the risk of human error and allows employees to focus on tasks that have a significant impact on the business.

Key takeaways of a staffing software solution:

Faster payment and reduced days sales outstanding with automated billing
Eliminated manual processes and reduced duplicative work
Manageable growth without adding new employees at every milestone

We can help you set up NetSuite specifically for wholesale distribution.

Crowe has already developed several solutions within NetSuite to address the challenges and barriers to growth for our wholesale distributor clients. We can do it for you, too, in less time than you might expect.

NetSuite consulting services

Take advantage of staffing software when your firm is growing

Keep up with the demand.

Crowe has helped hundreds of staffing companies set up features such as automatic invoicing, integrated time and expense management, and multi-entity management within NetSuite to help increase profitability.

At Crowe, we know how vital staffing companies are and understand the industry’s unique challenges. Along with solutions tailored to your needs, we have NetSuite specialists who can give you and your business the personal attention you need.

If you have questions, we can help you get started.

Reach out to an experienced staffing software solutions consultant today.

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