Best HR software for consulting firms
PeopleMuster ranks first for consulting firms: $3 per person a month holds the employee record, timesheets against client projects, utilisation and the capacity plan in one database. Zoho People ranks second, with project timesheets in the product and its most complete plan at $10 per user a month.
How this was judged
Ranked on how cheaply one published price holds a consulting firm's people and its client-project hours in the same product.
Five products were compared on 24 September 2026, with prices read from each vendor's own pricing page that day. Products that keep the people record and client-project time together come first, ranked by the price of their most complete published plan. Keka sells both halves too, but its base price isn't published, so it follows the priced ones. Tools that cover one half follow, by entry figure, with ties in alphabetical order. Disclosure: PeopleMuster is our product, and it sits where the method puts it.
The ranking
PeopleMuster
$3 per person a month, every module included, no tiers. $30 per person a year on annual billing.- Who it suits
- A consulting firm that sells its people's hours and wants HR and delivery on one record.
- Where it wins
- Consultants log each day's hours by project, managers approve them, and utilisation reports break the hours down by project and department. Projects carry billable and fixed-price or hourly flags. The capacity plan shows leave and holidays, and client records show each client's local time. Meeting transcripts from Fireflies file themselves against the right project.
Zoho People
People Plus $10 per user a month, $9 billed yearly. Essential HR from $1.50 ($1.25 yearly). Paid plans start at five users. Verified 24 September 2026.- Who it suits
- A firm already using other Zoho apps that wants HR and timesheets from the same vendor.
- Where it wins
- Its timesheets model jobs, projects and clients, with billable flags, inside the HR product.
- Where it falls short
- Invoicing from those hours sits in other Zoho apps, and paid plans need five users.
Keka
Priced by region on plan tabs (Foundation, Strength, Growth), with a minimum headcount. Base price not published. Checked September 2026.- Who it suits
- A services firm that wants HR, payroll and project timesheets from one vendor and is ready for a quote.
- Where it wins
- It sells HRMS, hiring and a PSA with projects and timesheets as parts of one product.
- Where it falls short
- The base price isn't on the page, and it changes by region.
BambooHR
Core $10, Pro $17, Elite $25 per employee a month. Teams of 25 or fewer pay a flat rate from $250 a month. Verified September 2026.- Who it suits
- A US firm that wants a dedicated HR system and runs client work in another tool.
- Where it wins
- It positions itself around HRIS, payroll and benefits, with every tier printed on the page.
- Where it falls short
- Client-project delivery runs in a separate tool, and Pro is $17 against Core's $10.
Productive
Essential $10 per user a month billed yearly ($12 monthly), Professional $25 ($29 monthly), Ultimate custom. Three-seat minimum. 14-day trial. Verified 24 September 2026.- Who it suits
- A consultancy that wants project delivery software and already has an HR system.
- Where it wins
- Built for agencies and consultancies, with time off and capacity planning in it.
- Where it falls short
- Employee records live in an HR system it connects to, such as BambooHR, Personio or Rippling.
Questions people ask
What HR software do consulting firms need?
A consulting firm needs the usual HR record plus a clear view of where its people's hours go. In PeopleMuster both sit on one record: attendance, leave and shifts on the HR side, and timesheets, utilisation and the capacity plan on the delivery side. It's $3 per person a month for all of it.
How does PeopleMuster report utilisation?
It works from logged hours. You see total hours, utilisation percentage and average daily hours, split by project, by department and by timesheet status, with a week-over-week trend. You can post the report to a Slack channel. For scale, Deltek's A&E study of 12 May 2026 put staff utilisation at just under 60%.
Can a consulting firm switch from spreadsheets?
Yes. We load your people, leave types and projects with you during setup, and there's a CSV importer for people, leave balances and projects. There's no setup fee. Every new customer gets 14 days free with no card before the $3 per person a month starts.