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SUNAGO Matrix
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BigTime Software

SUNAGO Matrix vs BigTime: Two Published Prices, Different Shapes

Both products publish a price, so this comparison can be concrete. BigTime states that "BigTime Essentials starts at $20 per user/month"; SUNAGO Matrix is EUR 3 per seat per month billed yearly. BigTime also has things SUNAGO Matrix does not: two-way QuickBooks sync, DCAA-compliant timekeeping for US government contractors, charge codes at phase level, WIP accounting and a task hierarchy with budgets at every level.

Same job, a fraction of the per-seat cost

Both prices are public, so the sum is easy: EUR 3 per seat per month against BigTime's published $20 per user per month entry tier. SUNAGO Matrix adds the pipeline to delivery and costs every hour after utilization and overhead, so project margin is real. If you run QuickBooks or hold US government contracts, that is ground we do not cover.

Key Differences

A Cost Rate That Is Actually True

For a consulting firm the cost of an hour is not the salary divided by a standard year. SUNAGO Matrix computes each person's cost per hour as annual salary divided by their billable hours, after part-time capacity, vacation entitlement and their real utilization, then adds that person's share of company overhead, with non-billable colleagues' salaries rolled into the overhead pool. Every margin, EAC and FAC here is built on that rate. A tool that costs hours at a number you typed in will report a project margin that is wrong in your favor.

Both Prices Are Public

BigTime publishes an Essentials entry price of $20 per user per month. SUNAGO Matrix publishes EUR 3 per seat per month billed yearly. That is a real, checkable gap, and it is the clearest reason a small firm looks at us.

Pipeline in the Same Product

SUNAGO Matrix carries deals, win probability and revenue forecasting in the same product as delivery and capacity. BigTime is anchored on delivery and billing with QuickBooks behind it.

Cost at Completion as Standard

EAC and FAC sit on every project in SUNAGO Matrix. BigTime documents budgets at task and subtask level, WIP accounting and scenario modelling, which is strong financial tooling but not the same named forecast.

Feature Comparison

FeatureBigTime SoftwareSUNAGO Matrix
Cost per hourNot documentedSalary divided by that person's own billable hours, after part-time capacity, holiday entitlement and actual utilization, plus their share of company overhead
Published entry price"BigTime Essentials starts at $20 per user/month"EUR 3 per seat per month billed yearly
Cost at completion (EAC / FAC)Budgets, WIP and what-if modelling; EAC/FAC not namedEAC and FAC on every project
Sales pipeline in the same productNot its focusDeals, win probability and revenue forecasting alongside delivery
QuickBooks integrationTwo-way sync with QuickBooks Online and DesktopNo QuickBooks connector; Xero sync
US government contractingDCAA-compliant timekeeping and government contract charge codesNot offered

Who Should Choose What?

Choose BigTime Software if:

  • You run QuickBooks: BigTime syncs two-way with QuickBooks Online and Desktop, and SUNAGO Matrix has no QuickBooks connector at all
  • You hold US government contracts and need DCAA-compliant timekeeping and contract charge codes, which SUNAGO Matrix does not support in any market
  • You need budgets at task and subtask level, and WIP accounting for unbilled work, neither of which SUNAGO Matrix has

Choose SUNAGO Matrix if:

  • Your project margins are only as good as your cost rate: SUNAGO Matrix derives each hour's cost from salary, real utilization, vacation and company overhead rather than a number someone typed in
  • Price matters and both are public: EUR 3 per seat per month billed yearly against a published $20 per user per month entry tier
  • You want cost at completion on every project rather than budget-versus-actual after the fact
  • You want the sales pipeline in the same product as delivery and capacity, on one license
  • You want capacity planning that nets vacation and absence out of availability

SUNAGO Matrix and BigTime Software: three years of license cost

One question: how many people. The totals below are three years of license cost at each vendor's own published price. Where a vendor puts the capability SUNAGO Matrix includes in a higher package, that is shown too - and where that package has no published price, that is shown as well, because it is the part a buyer cannot work out alone.

Three years, the horizon buyers budget in.

SUNAGO Matrix

one plan, everything included

€4,320 over 3 years

€3 per seat/month, billed yearly · no seat minimum · no tier above this one

BigTime Software

bigtime.net/pricing · read 2026-08-06
Entry package$28,800over 3 yearsEssentials

$20 per seat/month, as published

Premier: no published price. Project Budgeting is listed under Premier, not Essentials, so the figure above is the entry package rather than the one that does this job. Advanced, Premier and Enterprise all show "Request Demo" instead of a price.

Each figure is in the currency that vendor publishes in. Nothing is converted, and no combined saving is shown across two currencies, because an exchange rate is a number we cannot document for you. License cost only: implementation, training and support are priced separately by most of these vendors.

See the full price page for what is in the plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does SUNAGO Matrix calculate the cost of an hour?
Not by dividing salary by a standard year, which is the mistake that makes consulting project margins wrong. For salaried staff, cost per hour is annual gross salary divided by that person's billable hours, where billable hours are their capacity adjusted for part-time percentage, minus vacation entitlement, multiplied by their actual utilization rate. On top sits their share of company overhead: yearly operating expenses divided by the firm's total billable hours, with the salaries of non-billable colleagues rolled into that overhead pool. So a consultant at 60 percent utilization costs materially more per billable hour than the same salary at 85 percent, and every project margin, EAC and FAC reflects it.
What will this cost us?
EUR 3 per seat per month, billed yearly, on a single plan with everything included. There is no feature ladder to climb and no module to add later. For comparison, BigTime publishes an entry price of $20 per user per month. Price out the plan you would actually need at your headcount and the sums are easy to do.
How long before we are actually using it?
Days, not a project. You create the workspace, add your people with their salary, capacity and utilization, and import or enter your live projects. From that point every logged hour updates cost, margin, Estimate at Completion and Forecast at Completion automatically. There is no implementation partner in the middle and no configuration phase to get through before the numbers mean something.
We already run BigTime. Is there a reason to look at this?
The usual one is that project margin only becomes visible after the fact, and it is wrong when it does, because the hourly cost behind it was typed in rather than derived. SUNAGO Matrix costs every hour from salary, real utilization, vacation and company overhead, then forecasts where each project lands while there is still time to act, with the deal pipeline and resource capacity in the same product. If that is the gap you have, it is worth a look. If it is not, you are probably fine where you are.

Compare the published prices, then compare the scope

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