Spreadsheets are flexible. Generic ERPs cover accounting and payroll. Neither is built around a consultant’s engagement. This page compares the three approaches without naming other software vendors.
Where a spreadsheet still wins
Everyone already knows Excel. A partner can sketch a staffing grid in an afternoon. There is no SaaS contract. That flexibility is real — until three files diverge at month-end: plan, timesheet, invoice.
Where a generic ERP still wins
Group accounting, statutory payroll, procurement at scale. If the firm is a slice of a larger industrial group, the ERP may already be mandatory. The cost is re-keying consulting craft (staffing, post-project reviews, billing on actuals) into screens that were not designed for it.
What BestConsultant is for
The chain from hire to cash: staffing that sees leave, timesheets that pre-fill from the plan, invoices that reuse actual days. Not a general ledger. Not a factory MES. Built by a consultant, for consulting firms.