Can you recommend a resource planning tool for forecasting capacity and revenue in a design consultancy?

Yes — for a design consultancy, you’ll usually want a tool that can handle project/resource planning, utilization forecasting, and revenue forecasting without being too cumbersome for creative teams.

Strong options to consider

1. Float

Best for: Simple, visual resource planning for creative and professional services teams
Why it fits:

• Easy drag-and-drop scheduling
• Capacity and utilization forecasting
• Good visibility into who is booked, available, or overallocated
• Integrates with project management and time tracking tools

Revenue forecasting note:
Float is stronger on resourcing than financial forecasting, so you’d usually pair it with a billing/project tool or spreadsheet model for revenue.

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2. Mavenlink / Kantata

Best for: End-to-end professional services planning
Why it fits:

• Resource planning plus project financials
• Revenue forecasting and margin tracking
• Better for agencies/consultancies that want operational and financial oversight in one system
• Good reporting for utilization, staffing, and profitability

Tradeoff:
More complex and heavier to implement than simpler tools.

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3. Silverbucket

Best for: Capacity planning across multiple teams
Why it fits:

• Strong visual forecasting for demand vs. available capacity
• Great for professional services and consultancies
• Helps identify future resource gaps

Revenue forecasting note:
Useful for capacity, but revenue forecasting may need to be supplemented with financial reporting.

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4. Productive

Best for: Agencies and consultancies wanting resource + profitability tracking
Why it fits:

• Resource planning
• Budgeting and profitability
• Revenue forecasting tied to project pipeline
• Time tracking and project management in one platform

Good balance:
Often a strong fit for smaller-to-mid-sized consultancies that want more than just scheduling.

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5. Forecast (by Scoro)

Best for: Forecasting-heavy consultancies
Why it fits:

• Resource scheduling
• Revenue and utilization forecasting
• Built for service businesses
• Can support pipeline-based planning

Tradeoff:
Can be a bit more rigid/enterprise-oriented depending on setup.

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My practical recommendation

If your main goal is forecasting capacity and revenue together, I’d shortlist:

• Productive if you want a good all-around solution for a design consultancy
• Kantata if you need stronger financial/project margin forecasting and have larger operations
• Float if you want the simplest resource planning tool and can forecast revenue separately

What to look for

Make sure the tool can:

• Forecast by role/skill (e.g., designer, strategist, UX researcher)
• Track utilization vs. available capacity
• Model pipeline probability and expected start dates
• Support billable vs. non-billable time
• Report on revenue by project/month
• Handle retainers and fixed-fee projects if relevant

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a side-by-side comparison table, or
2. a recommendation based on your team size and billing model.