Industry · Professional services
Put your experts on the right work and bill it sooner
A firm that delivers its expertise on client sites is a Service Operation: the client request, the crew on site, the materials, and the invoice. Ludia Consulting’s senior consultants connect them so engineering, testing and inspection, and field-based advisory firms book the right people, see project margin while it can still change, and invoice sooner. Then your people run it without us.
Sources: SPI Research 2026 Professional Services Maturity Benchmark (2025 data, 509 organizations), as reported by Certinia, 2026 and Deltek, July 2026. Ludia’s own numbers: two professional services clients, one of them scheduling field work across tens of thousands of client sites.
Firms have the work; they can’t see who is free to do it
Margins rose in 2025 while utilization hit a record low. The gap sits in staffing and billing.
SPI Research treats about 75% as the utilization target, and the average firm ran at 66.4%. Your COO sees bench next month and overtime this week, on the same team. Your CFO sees it in unbilled work in progress and write-downs.
Firms that deliver on client sites feel it twice. The engineer’s time and the test results live in a truck, a spreadsheet, and an inbox. The invoice waits until someone pulls them together.
Clients are also pushing toward fixed fees and not-to-exceed caps. Those contracts reward firms that know their estimate at completion every week.
And many firms face a decision this year. Deltek Vision moved to sustaining support in January 2026, and Deltek Cloud access to Vision winds down in the first quarter of 2027. The move off Vision is the cheapest moment in a decade to decide how projects, people, and finance should work together.
Sources: SPI Research via Certinia, 2026; Deltek, Upgrade FAQ for Vantagepoint, Jan 2026.
A field-delivered firm earns its margin between the site and the invoice
Each team can do its part well and the invoice still waits on the paperwork. We connect the five links, so the client deals with one firm and your CFO sees one set of numbers.
- 1 · Request intake
Customer Service (opens Microsoft’s site)Every client request scoped and routed the first time
A new test, an inspection, or a change in scope lands on the project it belongs to, so the project manager sees it the same day.
Agents at work: project coordinators hand case setup and intent to the Case Management and Customer Intent agents (generally available), and keep the client conversation.
- 2 · Project and field delivery
Project Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
Field Service (opens Microsoft’s site)The right expert on the project, booked before the bench forms
Resource managers book people by skill, certification, location, and availability, from a tentative hold to a confirmed booking.
Agents at work: dispatchers review field schedules drafted by the Scheduling Operations Agent (preview, not for production use yet), and practice leads still decide who works with which client.
- 3 · MobilityField Service (opens Microsoft’s site)
Power Apps (opens Microsoft’s site)Field reports finished on site, the day of the visit
Engineers and technicians record time, readings, and photos on a phone or tablet, even out of coverage.
Agents at work: field staff draft time and expense entries with the
Project Operations Time Entry and Expense agents (paid preview), and confirm every entry before it’s submitted. - 4 · Resources and materialsProject Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
Supply Chain Management (opens Microsoft’s site)Equipment and materials ready before the crew arrives
Test equipment and subcontracted work are reserved against the project, so the crew doesn’t wait on a delivery.
Agents at work: procurement leads let the Procurement Agent (paid preview) follow up on late supplier orders, then decide what to expedite.
- 5 · Project accounting and billingProject Operations (opens Microsoft’s site)
Finance (opens Microsoft’s site)Work invoiced sooner, and margin seen while it can still change
Hours and field results post to the project, so invoices go out on schedule and the CFO sees estimate at completion every week.
Agents at work: project managers approve time with the Project Operations Approvals Agent (paid preview), and controllers use the Finance Agent for reconciliation and collections follow-up.
Across every link
Agents take the entries and follow-ups between the site, the project, and the office; your people make the calls. See the connected Service Operation →
Underneath it all
Azure (opens Microsoft’s site)
Microsoft Foundry (opens Microsoft’s site)
Dataverse (opens Microsoft’s site)
Microsoft Azure is the secure cloud every link runs on: identity, integration with the systems you keep, and the data that ties them together. In Microsoft Foundry we build, test, and govern the custom AI agents and models your operation needs beyond the ones inside Dynamics 365. They work from your own data and are evaluated before they touch the work. How we build AI →
The work, as your engineers and inspectors do it
Four jobs your people do every day, and what changes when the record goes with them.
Field engineer or inspector
The report drafted from the site
Readings, photos, and test results captured on site become a draft report, so the engineer reviews and signs instead of writing from memory at night.
Their call: the findings and the signature.
Resource manager
The right certification on the right job
Staffing shows who is certified for which inspection or install, and who is free by week, so a job isn’t sent to someone who can’t sign it off.
Their call: who goes where.
Project manager
Changes that update the budget and the bill
A change request amends the contract, the budget, and the billing together, so added scope gets billed.
Their call: what to ask the client to approve.
Consultant
Friday time in minutes
Time is drafted from the week’s calendar and assignments, and the consultant confirms it, so invoices go out on Monday.
Their call: what was billable.
What changes for your CEO, CFO, and COO
For the CEO or managing partner
Grow and acquire without rebuilding the back office
Add an office, a service line, or an acquired firm on the same roles, rates, and project structure. You see utilization and margin for the whole firm in one view.
For the CFO
Less unbilled work, and overruns seen before month-end
Time and field results land on the project, so work in progress gets billed and fixed-fee overruns show up in the weekly numbers. And you know what the work costs and returns before you sign.
For the COO or head of delivery
More billable hours from the experts you already have
See who is free next week, with which skill and certification. Book the right engineer once, and stop paying for bench and overtime on the same team.
Ludia’s senior team knows project-based firms from first meeting to results
Four things decide results for a firm that sells expertise, project by project.
The right people
Consultants who live on utilization too
Our senior, US-based consultants bill their own time too, so they know utilization and the Friday timesheet first-hand. The person who plans your work stays to deliver it.
The right knowledge
They know how a project-based firm makes money
Rate cards, fixed-fee and not-to-exceed contracts, revenue recognition, and field work orders, plus deep Dynamics 365 know-how and a standing feedback loop with its product teams since 2018.
The right tools
Proven methods, one practice at a time
Microsoft’s 
Success by Design practices and a pilot in one practice or office, so it proves out before the rest follow. Automation and AI only where they earn their place.
The right outcome
A firm that runs it themselves
We measure success by your satisfaction and by how well your team runs things after we step back.
Where professional services firms see results first
Staffing from one view of every booking
Resource requests, tentative and confirmed bookings, skills, and certifications in one place. Your resource manager stays in charge of who goes where.
Time and field results captured the day they happen
Time, expenses, and field results entered on site, so the invoice goes out sooner and fewer unlogged hours end up written down.
Field Service →Contracts billed the way you sold them
Time and materials, fixed fee, not-to-exceed, and retainer work on the same project, each billed by its own rules. Invoice proposals go out complete.
Scope changes that reach the invoice
A change request updates the contract, the budget, and the billing together, so added work gets paid. Microsoft’s change-order feature is still in preview, and we’ll tell you when it’s ready for your firm.
Revenue recognition out of the spreadsheet
ASC 606 methods set by contract line and recorded in the ledger, with an audit trail. The month closes without a side workbook.
A clear answer on life after Deltek Vision
We compare Vantagepoint with one model for projects, people, and finance, using your own contracts and staffing. If Vantagepoint is the better fit, we’ll say so.
Agility and enablement
Your team adds the next office or rate card without calling us.
Project-based firms change fast: a new service line, an acquired firm, a new contract type a client insists on. Your own team should make those changes.
Your administrators work alongside our consultants from the first sprint. Every design decision is written down with the reason behind it. Your finance and delivery leads get a runbook for adding an office, a role, or a billing rule.
How we work →
Point of view · The right knowledge
Record-low utilization is a staffing-data problem.
Most firms have the work. What they can’t see is who is free next week, with which skill and certification, and at what cost. So practice leads staff by spreadsheet and hallway conversation, and the bench grows next to the overtime.
The fix starts with one view of demand and supply by skill and week, fed by bookings people trust. Agents can draft a staffing plan from that view. Who works with which client, and who grows into the next role, stays with your practice leads.
Read our perspectives →
Where we’ve done this work
Ludia works with firms that sell expertise delivered on client sites: specialty contractors with service divisions, facility-maintenance providers, and engineering, testing, and inspection firms. Client names stay confidential.
Professional services · Service + Finance
A phased plan the client’s team owns
A 2,000-person MEP contractor moves service and finance forward on one plan
The contractor’s leaders looked at finance and field service together with Ludia’s senior architects. They came away with a blueprint and a phased plan they can fund one phase at a time.
Professional services · Mobility + Service
Expertise in every technician’s hands, across tens of thousands of sites
A national facility-maintenance provider gives its technicians each unit’s history, manual, and readings on site
Its technicians work with an assistant built in 
Copilot Studio on Field Service, and its scheduling covers multi-site retail and restaurant chains.
Engineering, testing, and inspection · Service + Finance
One connected record across finance, field service, and projects
An employee-owned engineering, testing, and inspection firm connects field work to payroll and the invoice
The firm, with offices across the Upper Midwest, began by mapping how its operations ran end to end. It now works across Finance, Field Service, and Project Operations with payroll and time connected, and Ludia provides ongoing support.
Counts from Ludia’s client records, Sept 2026: two professional services clients. We also support an engineering, testing, and inspection firm and a healthcare quality-improvement nonprofit on Project Operations.
Built on Microsoft Dynamics 365
The Microsoft products behind each part of your Service Operation. Each one links to Microsoft’s own page.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project OperationsInstallations and projects: quoting, staffing, time, cost, and project billing.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field ServiceWork orders, scheduling, and the technician’s mobile app, from dispatch to completion.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 FinanceBilling, job cost, and the close, on the same numbers the field uses.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer ServiceCases, knowledge, and service agreements, so every request reaches the right person.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Microsoft Copilot StudioCustom agents built on your manuals, jobs, and processes.on microsoft.com (opens Microsoft’s site)Delivered the way Microsoft recommends, with FastTrack (opens Microsoft’s site) and Success by Design (opens Microsoft’s site).
For your IT team: what Microsoft has ready for project-based firms, and what isn’t ready yet
Some of what Microsoft ships for professional services is ready for production, and some is still in preview. Our architects tell you which is which before you plan around it.
Project Operations covers the core from quote to cash
Generally available. Estimates by role, resource requests, time and expense, and invoice proposals on time-and-materials or fixed-fee contracts. Choose Core or Integrated with Finance early; switching later is costly.
Field work and projects now connect to finance
Generally available. Work orders from project tasks (July 2026) and connected Field Service, Project Operations, and Finance workflows (Sept 2026).
Revenue recognition on cost estimate is ready
Generally available, Sept 2026. Recognize fixed-fee revenue on the cost estimate instead of the estimate at completion, recorded in Finance.
Subscription billing and change orders are still early
Preview, Sept 2026. Subscription billing for professional services, Change Order Management, and not-to-exceed improvements. We validate them with you before you commit.
Agents: one ready, most in preview
Finance reconciliation in 
Microsoft 365 Copilot is generally available. The Project Operations Time Entry, Expense, and Approvals agents and the Procurement Agent are in paid preview. The Scheduling Operations Agent is in preview and not for production use yet.
Where Deltek may still fit better
Firms under about 100 people often do better on Vantagepoint or Ajera. Federal cost-plus contractors should know that DCAA judges a firm’s accounting system, policies, and people, not the software.
Status as of Sept 28, 2026, from Microsoft Learn, Project Operations 2026 release wave 1 (updated Sept 3, 2026), Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 announcements (Sept 23, 2026), and the AI at Work roadmap. Microsoft now ships changes continuously, so we re-check status before every plan.
Professional services insights
Resource management
Record-low utilization is a staffing-data problem
Firms have the work. They can’t see who is free, with which skill, next week.
Finance
Leaving Deltek Vision is a decision about how your firm runs
Why the forced move is the cheapest moment in a decade to put projects, people, and finance on one set of numbers.
Enablement
Time entry is a retention tool
Consultants judge how well a firm runs by the Friday timesheet. Capture time from the day’s work instead.
Questions professional services leaders ask us
We’re on Deltek Vision. Should we move to Vantagepoint or look at alternatives?
Decide how your firm should run first, then pick the software. Vision moved to sustaining support in January 2026, and Deltek Cloud access to Vision winds down in the first quarter of 2027. A single-entity design firm under about 100 people is usually best served by Vantagepoint. A firm that is multi-entity, acquisitive, runs on Microsoft 365, or delivers field work should compare one model for projects, people, and finance on Dynamics 365. For architecture and engineering design firms, see Architecture, engineering and construction.
Can one system bill fixed-fee, time-and-materials, not-to-exceed, and retainer work on the same project?
Yes. Each contract line in Project Operations carries its own billing method, so one project can mix them. Subscription billing and not-to-exceed improvements are in preview as of September 2026, so we test them against your contracts before you rely on them.
Can we run ASC 606 revenue recognition without spreadsheets?
Yes, with Project Operations connected to Dynamics 365 Finance. You set the recognition method by contract line and the entries post to the ledger with an audit trail. Your auditors still review the judgment calls on contract changes and variable fees.
Can our field crews and project teams work from the same numbers?
Yes. Field Service work orders can be created from project tasks, and Microsoft’s connected Field Service, Project Operations, and Finance workflows became generally available in September 2026. Time and results from the site post to the project, and from there to the invoice.
Is Dynamics 365 DCAA-compliant?
No software is. DCAA assesses a contractor’s accounting system, policies, and people. Dynamics 365 can support compliant cost accounting, such as indirect rates, unallowable costs, and daily time with an audit trail, but adequacy is your firm’s determination to earn.
How does Ludia deliver for a 300-to-1,000-person firm without disrupting client work?
In phases: a pilot practice or office, then waves by office or entity, following Microsoft’s FastTrack and Success by Design methods. A senior solution architect scopes the work and stays through go-live. The biggest variable is agreeing on roles, rates, and project structure across the firm, so we settle that first and document every decision.