BigTime

BigTime is a professional services automation platform covering time and expense tracking, project management, billing, and resource planning, aimed at firms running multiple concurrent engagements with varying fee arrangements.

How accounting firms use it

The core use is understanding whether engagements make money. Time is recorded against projects with budgets attached, actual cost is compared to budget as work progresses, and profitability is visible per engagement rather than emerging at year end.

Supporting several billing models simultaneously is what makes it practical for firms in transition. A practice moving from hourly to fixed fees can price new engagements one way and legacy ones another without maintaining parallel systems, which is usually what stalls that transition.

Key features

Time and expense capture works from browser, desktop, and mobile, with approval workflows before entries reach billing. Project management covers tasks, phases, budgets, and dependencies.

Billing supports fixed fee, time and materials, percentage complete, retainer, and milestone arrangements, with write-up and write-down handling and batch invoice generation. Payment collection is built in.

Resource planning shows allocation and capacity across the team, highlighting over-commitment before it becomes a delivery problem. Reporting covers profitability, utilisation, and realization by client, project, and staff member.

Who it’s best for

Mid-sized accounting and consulting firms that manage work as projects and need profitability and capacity visibility at that level, particularly advisory-weighted practices where engagements vary in scope and fee structure.

Compliance-focused practices generally need Karbon, Canopy, or Mango for deadline and workflow management. BQE Core is the closest direct competitor, and Harvest or Bill4Time suit firms wanting something lighter.