For most consulting, engineering, and advisory firms under 100 people, BigTime wins on implementation speed and ecosystem breadth. It goes live in 4–8 weeks, integrates with QuickBooks, Sage, and Salesforce, and has a large partner network for fast onboarding. Year-one costs run $17K–$44K for a 50-person firm. Projector is the better call for firms where resource management depth is the primary operational need — its capacity planning, skills-based matching, and multi-project portfolio visibility are meaningfully deeper than BigTime's. Projector also offers cloud or on-premise deployment, which matters for firms with specific data residency or compliance requirements. But that depth comes with a longer implementation (6–16 weeks) and a steeper learning curve.
At a Glance
Quick Comparison
| BigTime | Projector | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Enterprise PSA: time, billing, and project management | Resource-management-first PSA with deep capacity planning |
| Ideal Firm Type | Consulting, engineering, advisory, agency firms | Professional services firms with complex resource allocation needs |
| Ideal Firm Size | 15–300 employees | 30–150 employees |
| Starting Price | ~$20–$40/user/mo | ~$18–$38/user/mo |
| Implementation Time | 4–8 weeks | 6–16 weeks |
| Accounting Built In | Integrates with QuickBooks, Sage, Xero, Dynamics | Integrates with QuickBooks, Sage, Xero, NetSuite |
| CRM Built In | No — integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot | No — integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, other CRMs |
| Deployment | Cloud only | Cloud or On-Premise |
| Time & Expense Depth | Clean, user-friendly PSA time tracking | Deep time tracking with project-phase coding and expense policy enforcement |
| Resource Management | Solid capacity planning and resource booking | Advanced: skills-based matching, utilization forecasting, multi-project views |
| Scalability | Strong for PSA-first firms up to 300+ users | Strong for resource-driven firms 30–200 employees |
Year-One Cost by Firm Size
What You're Actually Spending
Both platforms land in a similar price range for licensing and implementation. BigTime's faster implementation (4–8 weeks) reduces external consulting costs. Projector's deeper configuration requirements extend implementation timelines but deliver more granular resource management and project profitability reporting.
| Firm Size | BigTime Year One | Projector Year One |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Employees | $10,000–$28,000 | $11,000–$30,000 |
| 50 Employees | $17,000–$44,000 | $17,000–$45,000 |
| 75 Employees | $25,000–$65,000 | $26,000–$68,000 |
| 100 Employees | $35,000–$85,000 | $36,000–$90,000 |
* BigTime estimates include PSA licensing plus integration with external accounting. Projector estimates include PSA licensing plus resource management configuration. Implementation costs vary by partner and firm complexity. Both platforms offer annual subscription pricing that reduces per-user cost at higher headcounts.
Feature Breakdown
Head-to-Head: Seven Dimensions
Capability
BigTime
Projector
Time & Expense Management
✓ Clean, user-friendly time and expense tracking built for PSA workflows. Web, desktop, and mobile entry. Multiple billing rates, expense categories, and project coding. Strong user adoption among consultants and project managers — less feature-heavy than Projector but easier to learn and onboard.
✓ Deep time tracking with project-phase coding, expense policy enforcement, and receipt scanning. Supports complex multi-phase project structures. Better for firms that need time coded to granular project phases rather than just project-level billing codes.
Accounting Integration
◐ Integrates with QuickBooks, Sage, Xero, and Dynamics GP. You keep your existing accounting software; BigTime handles time, billing, and projects. Less invasive — your bookkeeper keeps using the same GL. Requires clean data flow configuration between BigTime and your accounting system.
◐ Integrates with QuickBooks, Sage, Xero, and NetSuite. Similar model to BigTime — PSA layer on top of existing GL. Projector's financial reporting module is deeper, giving you project-level P&L visibility that flows back into the accounting system if configured correctly.
CRM Integration
◐ No built-in CRM. Integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, and others via API. For firms already using a CRM, this isn't a gap — it's just a separate system to maintain. BigTime focuses its energy on PSA rather than CRM.
◐ No built-in CRM. Integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, and other CRM platforms via API. Similar to BigTime — firms with an existing CRM maintain it separately. Projector's CRM integration is comparable in depth to BigTime's.
Project Management & Scheduling
✓ PSA-focused project management — project dashboards, budget tracking, milestone management, and Gantt views. Better UX for project managers who aren't engineers. Sufficient for consulting and advisory firms managing straightforward project structures.
✓ Strong project management with resource-loaded scheduling, project accounting, and portfolio-level views. Projector's scheduling is more integrated with resource management — you see capacity constraints in the project plan, not just in a separate resource management module.
Implementation & Support
✓ 4–8 weeks for most consulting and advisory firms. Well-defined onboarding process, large partner ecosystem, and strong implementation resources. Less complex to configure — easier to get value from without implementing every module. Extensive documentation and user community.
◐ 6–16 weeks depending on deployment model (cloud vs on-premise) and configuration depth. Deeper resource management and financial reporting modules require more setup time. Strong implementation partners but a smaller ecosystem than BigTime. On-premise deployments extend timeline significantly.
Scalability & Long-Term TCO
✓ Scales well for pure PSA use cases — time, billing, resource management — up to 300+ users. Requires a separate accounting system that must also scale. Lower TCO for firms that don't need deep resource management configuration and want a fast time-to-value.
✓ Scales well for resource-driven professional services firms 30–200 employees. On-premise option matters for firms with specific data residency or compliance requirements. Total cost of ownership can be higher for on-premise deployments due to infrastructure and maintenance costs, but cloud pricing is competitive with BigTime.
Recommendations
Which Platform Fits Your Firm
Choose BigTime if…
- Your firm is a consulting, engineering, or advisory firm with 15–150 employees
- You want a fast implementation (4–8 weeks) and quick time-to-value
- You need strong QuickBooks, Sage, or Salesforce integration
- User adoption is a priority — your consultants and PMs need a clean, intuitive interface
- You're already using a CRM and don't need it built into your PSA
- Your project portfolio is relatively straightforward — milestone-based billing, standard phase structures
- You want a large partner ecosystem and extensive documentation to support internal teams
Choose Projector if…
- Resource management depth is your primary operational challenge
- You need skills-based resource matching and multi-project capacity views
- Your firm has complex multi-phase projects with granular billing structures
- You need deployment flexibility — cloud or on-premise — based on compliance requirements
- Project-level profitability analytics flowing into your accounting system is a requirement
- You have 6–16 weeks to invest in a thorough implementation
- Your firm manages 30+ concurrent client engagements and needs portfolio-level resource visibility
The Visibility Gap
What Neither Platform Reveals
Both platforms give you better project data — but neither tells you which of your current projects are destroying margin.
- BigTime's ecosystem breadth is only useful if your implementation is properly scoped. If you configure every module without a clear use-case for each, you'll end up with a system that has every feature and adoption from no one. The partner ecosystem is a strength — but only if you scope implementation to your firm's actual needs, not every available feature.
- Projector's resource management depth requires internal discipline to maintain. Skills matrices, capacity planning views, and utilization forecasts are only as good as the data your team enters. If your consultants don't consistently log time or update availability, the resource management module will show you fiction, not reality.
- Neither platform diagnoses your current project portfolio before you sign. If your goal is understanding where you're making or losing money today — on the projects you're already running — a margin diagnostic tool can show you your actual project-level margins using the data you already have, before you commit to any implementation. Calculate your ROI with the free ROI Calculator → or see your actual project margins with the Margin Diagnostic →
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Free Diagnostic
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BigTime vs Projector — which is better for 30–150 person professional services firms?
BigTime is the better choice for consulting, engineering, and advisory firms that want broad ecosystem integration (QuickBooks, Sage, Salesforce), faster implementation (4–8 weeks), and a large partner network for onboarding support. Projector is the stronger choice for firms that prioritize resource management depth, project-level profitability analytics, and a more flexible deployment model (cloud or on-premise). Projector's resource management capabilities are notably deeper than BigTime's — particularly around capacity planning, skills-based matching, and utilization forecasting. Firms with complex multi-project portfolios where resource allocation is a daily challenge will find Projector's depth a competitive advantage.
How much does BigTime vs Projector cost in year one for a 50-person professional services firm?
BigTime at 50-person firm: $20–$40/user/month (~$12,000–$24,000/year) plus $5,000–$20,000 implementation = $17,000–$44,000 year one. Projector at 50-person firm: $18–$38/user/month (~$11,000–$23,000/year) plus $6,000–$22,000 implementation = $17,000–$45,000 year one. Both platforms land in a similar price range — the differentiation is feature depth and implementation complexity, not core licensing cost. Projector's pricing is slightly lower on a per-user basis but implementation complexity can narrow the total cost gap.
How long does implementation take for BigTime vs Projector?
BigTime typically goes live in 4–8 weeks for consulting and advisory firms — it has a structured onboarding path, extensive partner ecosystem, and well-documented configuration guides. Projector typically ranges from 6–16 weeks for cloud deployments and 8–16 weeks for on-premise implementations. Projector's deeper resource management and financial reporting modules require more configuration time upfront, which extends time-to-value compared to BigTime. Firms choosing Projector should plan for the higher end of that range, especially if implementing on-premise.
Which platform is better for resource management and capacity planning?
Projector has the deeper resource management module of the two platforms. It includes skills-based resource matching, multi-project capacity views, utilization forecasting, and drag-and-drop resource scheduling across the project portfolio. BigTime's resource management is solid for basic capacity planning and resource booking, but Projector's depth in this area is purpose-built for professional services firms where resource allocation is a core operational discipline. If your firm manages 30+ concurrent engagements and regularly faces the challenge of "who is available and qualified for this project," Projector's resource management depth will be a daily operational advantage.
Who should choose BigTime vs who should choose Projector?
Choose BigTime if your firm is a consulting, engineering, or advisory firm under 150 people that wants a fast implementation (4–8 weeks), strong QuickBooks/Sage integration, and a large partner ecosystem to support onboarding. Choose Projector if your firm prioritizes resource management depth, project-level profitability visibility, flexible deployment (cloud or on-premise), and analytics-heavy reporting. Projector is also better suited for firms with complex multi-project portfolios where resource allocation across dozens of concurrent engagements is a daily operational challenge, or firms with specific data residency or compliance requirements that make on-premise deployment necessary.