Insights · Knowledge, not a service
The project-services application of the Customer Engagement family. Successor to Project Service Automation (PSA), today integrated with Business Central or Finance — from quote through resource dispatch to project invoicing.
What is Dynamics 365 Project Operations?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations is Microsoft's cloud-based application for project-driven service organisations. It covers the full opportunity-to-cash process: from sales opportunity through quote calculation, resource planning, project execution, time and expense capture, to invoicing and project accounting.
Functionally it includes:
Project Operations runs on Dataverse and integrates natively with Sales (opportunity handover), Customer Service (service projects) and — depending on deployment variant — with Finance or Business Central.
Predecessor & history
Until 2020, Microsoft had two project products in its portfolio: Project Service Automation (PSA) on the Customer Engagement side and the Project Management Accelerator on the F&O side. Both worlds were functionally incomplete and poorly integrated. With Project Operations, Microsoft merged the two paths into a single unified product in 2020.
Milestones:
Customers on older PSA installations have a Microsoft-supported migration path. Data models are similar, but the substantive customizations (custom entities, Power Automate flows) need to be reviewed and partly rebuilt.
Licensing model
Project Operations is licensed per user. In addition, three deployment models determine the functional scope. All prices: list prices, net, per user per month, annual commitment. As of May 2026.
| Licence | List price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Project Operations Full User | approx. EUR 120/user/month | Full functionality: opportunity, quote, resource management, project planning, time and expense, project invoicing. For project managers, consultants, resource managers. |
| Project Operations Team Member | approx. EUR 8/user/month | Restricted licence for occasional users: time entry, expense capture, approvals, read access. For staff who only post time and expense. |
| Attach licence | approx. EUR 25–50/user/month | If you have Sales Enterprise or Customer Service Enterprise, you can attach Project Operations at a reduced price. |
Three deployment variants:
Use cases
Project Operations is less suitable for pure product-only business models (manufacturers without service share), for very small consultancies (under 10 consultants) without structured resource dispatch, or for internal project steering without billing context — there Project for the Web or a lighter tool will suffice.
If you want Project Operations implemented
This page frames the terminology and licensing. If you want Project Operations configured, migrated or extended, here is the right place: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations — service page. There you will find our approach, references and price indications for discovery, implementation and resource coaching.
arades alternative · for smaller setups
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations is powerful — but not the right tool for every setup. Our own Project & Service Management (P&SM) app is the leaner alternative on Dataverse, built specifically for IT service firms, consultancies, and smaller PSA setups.
Project Operations: from 20 users (Microsoft license minimum)
P&SM: from 1 user — fits setups with 5–50 consultants, not only at enterprise scale.
Project Operations: per-user license (on request)
P&SM: significantly less per user (on request). Plus: no Microsoft PO license needed — runs on the Power Apps Per User plan.
Project Operations: e-invoicing not included — additional license / integration required.
P&SM: E-Invoicing module included out-of-the-box (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, PEPPOL).
Frequently asked questions
Project for the Web is a lightweight project-management tool inside Microsoft Planner / Microsoft 365 — for internal projects without billing. Project Operations is the full CRM app: opportunity-to-cash, resource management, time and expense, project-based accounting, ERP integration. Rule of thumb: if you book hours against projects and generate invoices from them, you need Project Operations.
Approximately EUR 120/user/month for the full-user licence (project managers, consultants, resource managers). For occasional users (approvers, part-time consultants) there is a Team Member licence at approximately EUR 8/user/month. As of 2026, Microsoft list prices.
PSA was the predecessor — until 2020 the standalone project-services app. Project Operations replaces PSA and unifies the CRM side (opportunity, resource, time) with the ERP side (accounting, invoicing). Microsoft set PSA to end-of-life in 2025; existing PSA installations must be migrated.
Project Operations comes in three deployment models: "lite" (standalone, without ERP accounting), "CE-only with Business Central" (accounting in BC) and "F&O-integrated" (full F&O depth). Which fits depends on size and existing ERP landscape. Customers without an ERP often start with "lite" and add Business Central later.
6–12 months depending on deployment variant and number of consultants. A lean "lite" rollout for 30 consultants is achievable in 6 months. An F&O-integrated variant with multi-country and subcontractor management more typically 12 months, in group-wide rollouts longer.
30 min introduction
Which deployment variant? Which migration from PSA? Which ERP integration? Let's talk.
