Certinia PSA vs Upland PSA
professional services head-to-head for ERP teams: evidenced capabilities, published pricing, and which ERPs each actually integrates with.
| Starting price | Quote-based | Quote-based |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
| Company size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Stated ERP integrations | None listed | Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Oracle Fusion Cloud, Workday, Microsoft Dynamics 365 |
| Vendor | Certinia | Upland Software |
Our take
Where Certinia PSA leads
- Stronger evidenced coverage on 11 of the 30 capabilities where they differ (led by reusable estimate templates from prior actuals and quote-to-project conversion).
Where Upland PSA leads
- Stronger evidenced coverage on 19 of the 30 capabilities where they differ (led by sales pipeline & opportunity tracking and multi-level timesheet approval workflows).
- Stated Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Oracle Fusion Cloud, Workday, Microsoft Dynamics 365 integration the alternative doesn't list.
Where they differ
The 30 capabilities (of 61 in the professional services taxonomy) where the evidence separates them, biggest gaps first. “Not evidenced” means our research found no public documentation of this capability — the vendor may still offer it. Confirm on a demo.
| Capability | ||
|---|---|---|
| Reusable estimate templates from prior actualsSales, Scoping & Quoting | Core strength Best-practice and reusable estimate templates drawing on prior project actuals | Not evidenced |
| Quote-to-project conversionSales, Scoping & Quoting | Core strength Instant project creation from an approved estimate | Not evidenced |
| Sales pipeline & opportunity trackingSales, Scoping & Quoting | Not evidenced | Core strength Real-time visibility into project pipeline before commitment |
| Multi-level timesheet approval workflowsTime & Expense Tracking | Not evidenced | Core strength Configurable, automated approval workflows |
| Expense approval workflowsTime & Expense Tracking | Not evidenced | Core strength Configurable, automated approval workflows |
| Multi-currency invoicing & tax handlingBilling & Revenue Management | Not evidenced | Core strength Multi-currency, multi-tax-group and intercompany transaction support |
| Deferred revenue / WIP trackingBilling & Revenue Management | Not evidenced | Core strength Deferred revenue tracking for prepaid purchase orders |
| Financial forecasting & what-if scenariosProject Financials & Profitability | Not evidenced | Core strength What-if scenario planning to protect margins; what-if scenario modeling for profit-margin planning |
| Period / month-end close supportProject Financials & Profitability | Not evidenced | Core strength Day locking and mandatory note entry; transaction locking and full audit trails |
| AI assistant for natural-language queriesReporting, Analytics & AI | Not evidenced | Core strength PSAi natural-language queries across multiple projects with drill-down supporting evidence |
| Predictive risk / margin-erosion flaggingReporting, Analytics & AI | Not evidenced | Core strength Project Fields Validator flags anomalies, missing hours and effort hotspots |
| Immutable audit trails & transaction lockingGovernment Contracting & Compliance | Not evidenced | Core strength Audit trails positioned for DCAA/SOX; transaction locking and full audit trails |
| Native ERP / accounting-system connectorsPlatform, Integrations & Security | Not evidenced | Core strength Integration with accounting systems for invoicing and payroll systems for expense reimbursement; ecosystem covers Microsoft Dynamics, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Oracle and Workday |
| Native iOS / Android mobile appsPlatform, Integrations & Security | Not evidenced | Core strength Native iPhone and Android apps for time and expense capture |
| Quote & estimate approval workflowsSales, Scoping & Quoting | Supported Approval workflows enforcing financial limits and tolerances | Not evidenced |
| Bid vs. actual variance analysisSales, Scoping & Quoting | Core strength Named "bid versus did" variance analysis | Partial Estimated-vs-actual time comparison to flag cost overruns |
| Configurable rate cardsProject Financials & Profitability | Supported Resource, role and seniority modelling with pricing and discounts | Not evidenced |
| Shared document & milestone visibilityClient Experience & Collaboration | Supported Shared project visibility across sales and delivery teams | Not evidenced |
| Pre-built report libraryReporting, Analytics & AI | Supported Prebuilt and customisable billing/revenue reporting templates | Not evidenced |
| DCAA-compliant timekeepingGovernment Contracting & Compliance | Not evidenced | Supported Audit trails the vendor positions for DCAA, SOX and similar regulatory requirements |
| Public API & webhooksPlatform, Integrations & Security | Supported Off-platform systems connect via API | Not evidenced |
| Capacity planning & demand forecastingResource Management | Supported Capacity and recruitment-gap analysis | Core strength Capacity and demand forecasting at department, role or resource level |
| Visual resource schedulingResource Management | Supported Schedule editing and reassignment workflows | Core strength Assignment by hour, day, week or month based on client needs and budget |
| AI-assisted staffing recommendationsResource Management | Partial Configurable best-fit resource matching; not explicitly described as AI-driven | Supported PSAi suggests next actions based on analysis; not explicitly a staffing-matching engine |
| Skill-gap & capacity-gap identificationResource Management | Supported Capacity and recruitment-gap analysis | Partial Skills inventory kept current via HR-system integrations; explicit gap analysis not detailed |
| Multiple project views (Gantt, Kanban, list, calendar)Project Management & Delivery | Partial Work Planner scheduling dashboard; specific view types not detailed | Not evidenced |
| Web & mobile time entryTime & Expense Tracking | Supported Time and expense submission from any device | Core strength Native iPhone and Android apps for time and expense capture |
| Expense capture & receipt submissionTime & Expense Tracking | Supported Time and expense submission from any device | Core strength Native iPhone and Android apps for time and expense capture |
| Recurring / retainer invoice automationBilling & Revenue Management | Partial Subscription billing covers recurring revenue; explicit recurring-invoice automation not detailed | Not evidenced |
| Custom, role-based dashboardsReporting, Analytics & AI | Supported CRM Analytics-powered financial reporting | Core strength Live financial data across projects and clients |
Both grade identically on the other 31 capabilities — see each product's full profile: Certinia PSA, Upland PSA.
Certinia PSA vs Upland PSA — FAQs
Is Certinia PSA or Upland PSA better for ERP integration?
They state different ERP coverage: Certinia PSA lists no ERP integrations publicly; Upland PSA lists Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Oracle Fusion Cloud, Workday, Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Which is cheaper, Certinia PSA or Upland PSA?
Neither publishes a list price — both quote. Ask each for the all-in first-year cost at your seat count, as one number, and compare those.
Get pricing for both
Tell us your ERP, seat count and must-haves and we'll come back with an independent view of what Certinia PSA and Upland PSA should each cost you — and whether a third option belongs on your shortlist.