The Business

• 40-consultant boutique consulting firm based in Dubai
• Annual revenue: ~AED 28M, primarily T&M and retainer engagements
• Previous tooling: Excel timesheets, QuickBooks for invoicing, manual project cost tracking

The Problem

Partners suspected significant billable leakage — consultants worked overtime regularly but invoices reflected standard hours. Timesheet submission was inconsistent (often filled weeks after work was done, with details forgotten). Project profitability was visible only at quarter-end. New engagement quoting relied on “memory” of past projects rather than data.

The Solution

Standard RIM-based Odoo Enterprise deployment focused on three core modules:

• Project — every engagement set up as a project with task structure, budgeted hours, and stage gates
• Timesheets — mobile entry with hourly granularity, daily reminders for un-submitted time
• Accounting + Invoicing — automated invoice generation from approved timesheets with project-level invoicing controls

Results (Month 5)

Where the 19% Came From

• Consultants now logged time daily — fewer forgotten hours
• Project managers reviewed and approved time weekly — fewer adjustments at quarter-end
• Project budget vs actual visible weekly meant scope-creep conversations happened in real time, not after the fact
• T&M invoices generated directly from approved time — fewer disputes at invoice time because clients knew what to expect