In this MSPCFO Office Hours session, hosted by Michael Coopersmith, attendees explored how managed service providers (MSPs) can move from scattered, overwhelming data to clear, actionable insights using MSPCFO’s business intelligence platform. The focus was on building a data-driven culture that improves profitability, enhances engineer utilization, and optimizes client agreements.

Define Your Data Challenges

Michael began by identifying the common data issues MSPs face: unstructured information, disconnected reporting systems, unclear metrics, and complex visuals. These problems create what he called “data chaos,” where volume undermines visibility.

Why Clarity Matters: Goals and Impact

A lack of clarity in your data can lead to poor decision-making, missed financial opportunities, and underperforming teams. Michael emphasized that clean, comprehensible data enables better decision-making around pricing, staffing, and client management—helping MSPs drive higher profitability.

MSPCFO’s Role: Turning Chaos into Insight

Michael detailed how the MSPCFO platform takes raw PSA data—whether from Autotask or ConnectWise—and turns it into more than 50 dashboards and reports. These provide critical insights such as:

• Identifying which clients are profitable (and which are not)
• Comparing engineer productivity, utilization, and billable hours
• Detecting underpriced or misaligned fixed-fee agreements

The platform makes data instantly usable, helping leaders course-correct without waiting for quarterly reviews.

Real-World MSP Examples

Michael shared examples of how his team has been using MSPCFO to:

• Adjust poorly priced agreements for better margins
• Improve engineer time tracking and productivity
• Proactively reallocate resources based on workload trends

These use cases demonstrate how real-time visibility leads to smarter decisions and tangible results.

Key Takeaways and Practical Tips

• Track metrics that matter—like client margin, effective rate, and utilization—to stay ahead of issues.
• Use data clarity to guide agreement pricing and client strategy.
• Surface top and bottom-performing clients and engineers.
• Monitor engagement and anomalies frequently to act before profitability is affected.

Why It Matters for Your MSP

• Eliminate guesswork with clear, structured reporting.
• Identify and address profit leaks faster through automated insights.
• Clear visibility into engineer productivity, utilization, and efficiency by analyzing time entries, tickets, and both cost and revenue driven by your engineers.
• Build a continuous improvement loop powered by data.