Beyond the Spreadsheet: 3 Steps to Real Resource Management

"We'll just manage it in a spreadsheet."

It's the most common phrase at a small consultancy, and it's the number one thing holding your operations back. Spreadsheets can't give you real-time visibility. They actively create resource conflicts, lead to consultant burnout, and making forecasting impossible.

This "spreadsheet shuffle" means you're constantly juggling outdated files, leaving you with poor visibility into who's on the bench and who's overbooked. It's time to move beyond this chaotic, high-friction process.

Here are 3 steps to finally get resource management under control:

1. Centralize Your Capacity.

   You can't staff projects efficiently if your data is scattered. The first step is to get all consultants' availability, skills, and roles into one single source of truth. This immediately ends the guessing game of "who can actually take on this new project?"

   
   

2. Get a Real-Time Utilization View.

   A spreadsheet is outdated the moment you save it. You need an accurate, real-time dashboard that shows billable vs. non-billable time across the firm8888. This is the only way to see exactly where revenue is leaking 9and deploy the right team instantly10.

   
   

3. Model "What-If" Scenarios.

   Stop committing to new projects with your fingers crossed. The final step is to model the new project intake before you commit. This allows you to plan with confidence, see the impact of new work on your team, and prevent overbookings before they happen.

Moving beyond spreadsheets isn't just about new software; it's about running your firm like clockwork.

Ready to stop guessing and start leveraging? 

At ALTA Consulting, we are inviting 15-20 small consulting firms to join our private, no-obligation beta for Leverage App. Request your free access today.