The PSA-Sysadmin exam (PSA System Administrator 2023) validates your ability to configure, maintain, and optimize Certinia's Professional Services Automation system from an administrative perspective. This certification is part of the SysAdmin Certifications path and is designed for IT administrators, system implementers, and technical consultants who manage PSA environments. This page outlines the exam syllabus, question formats, and a practical study roadmap to help you prepare efficiently and build confidence before test day.
Use this topic map to guide your study for Certinia PSA-Sysadmin (PSA System Administrator 2023) within the SysAdmin Certifications path.
The PSA-Sysadmin exam combines multiple-choice and scenario-based questions to assess both foundational knowledge and practical decision-making in real-world administrative contexts.
Questions progress in difficulty and emphasize practical application, reflecting the kinds of decisions you'll make as a PSA administrator in production environments.
An effective study plan breaks the four core topics into weekly milestones, allowing you to build depth progressively and connect concepts across configuration, automation, and user governance. Dedicate time to both theory and hands-on practice, then simulate test conditions in your final week to refine pacing and reduce anxiety.
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Configuration Management and User Management typically account for a larger portion of the exam, as these domains directly impact system stability, security, and day-to-day operations. However, all four topics are tested, so a balanced study approach is essential. Pay special attention to how configuration decisions affect user permissions and automated processes.
Custom settings and metadata define the data structures that PSA uses to track projects, resources, and financials. Configuration groups organize these settings logically so administrators can manage them efficiently and apply them consistently across business units. In practice, a well-designed metadata framework enables accurate project costing, resource allocation, and compliance reporting, making this topic critical for any PSA implementation.
Hands-on experience is valuable, especially for understanding configuration workflows and testing automated jobs. Prioritize labs that cover role-based access control setup, custom field creation, and scheduled job monitoring. If you have access to a PSA sandbox, practice setting up a test business unit with custom cost structures and running a scheduled maintenance job to see the results firsthand.
Many candidates confuse configuration group scope with user role scope, or overlook the cascading effects of permission changes on dependent processes. Another frequent error is misunderstanding how automated jobs interact with metadata, for example, assuming a job will run without checking its schedule and trigger conditions. Review the relationships between these domains carefully during your final week.
In your final week, take one full-length timed practice test and review every question you missed, focusing on the explanation rather than just the correct answer. Spend 2-3 days drilling scenario-based items, then use your remaining time to review the weakest topic area. On the day before the exam, do a light review of key definitions and avoid cramming new material.
When a timecard is submitted into an Approval process, you would like to capture the Submitted Date in a field to use for reporting purposes. You've already created the new Submitted Date field on the Timecard object.
What is the easiest approach to use in setting up this configuration within an Approval process?
Why Use an Approval Process Field Update?
Approval Processes allow Field Updates when records move between stages.
The best practice is to update the Submitted Date as soon as the Timecard is submitted.
How to Configure This in Salesforce?
Step 1: Navigate to Setup > Approval Processes.
Step 2: Locate and edit the active Approval Process for Timecards.
Step 3: Under 'Initial Submission Actions', click 'Add New Field Update'.
Step 4: Select the Submitted Date field and set it to TODAY().
Step 5: Save and test by submitting a timecard.
Why Not Other Options?
Option B (Workflow Rule): Salesforce recommends Approval Processes over Workflows for approval-related field updates.
Option C (FinancialForce Flow): No need to modify PSA Flow when Approval Processes natively support field updates.
FF-PSA v15 Customer Overview.pdf, Page 40.
You are notified that some approved Miscellaneous Adjustments records are not getting picked up in the Billing Event Generation process during month end billing.
Which two of the following system settings do you need to have in place for Miscellaneous Adjustments to get picked up in the billing run? (Choose two.)
When Miscellaneous Adjustments records are not picked up in the Billing Event Generation process, the issue is often related to the system settings. The following conditions must be met:
Effective Date Range: The Miscellaneous Adjustments record's Effective Date must fall within the time period specified in the Billing Event Generation process. If the date is outside this range, the record will be excluded from the billing event.
Transaction Category Mapping: The Transaction Category on the Miscellaneous Adjustments record must be included in the BillingCategories configuration option. This ensures that the system correctly categorizes and includes the Miscellaneous Adjustments in the billing process.
On the other hand:
Option B ('The person running the Billing Event Generation process does not have Billing Miscellaneous Adjustments permission control for the Region, Account, or Project') is incorrect. While permission controls impact user access, they do not directly affect whether Miscellaneous Adjustments records are picked up by the billing process.
Thus, the correct answer is A and C.
PSA Sys Admin Essentials Student Guide Fall 20
FF-PSA-v15-Customer-Overview_1.0
Your company wants to be able to automatically notify Resources by email about their missing timecards, when they have not entered the full amount of contracted hours for the previous week.
What is the best method to use within PSA to enable this?
Understanding Missing Timecards Notification in PSA:
PSA tracks missing timecards to ensure compliance with time entry policies.
The system can automatically notify resources who have not submitted their timecards.
Options Analysis:
Option A: 'Use the Missing Timecards Scheduled Job and Email Alert' Correct! PSA provides a scheduled job to detect missing timecards and send automated email alerts.
Option B: 'Use the Time Variance Scheduled Job and Email Alert' Incorrect! Time Variance is used to compare planned vs actual hours worked.
Option C: 'Use a Salesforce Report based on Monthly Estimate vs Actuals Records and subscribe the Resource to receive the report by email' Possible, but not the best method since it requires manual intervention.
Steps to Schedule Missing Timecards Notification:
Go to PSA Administration Tab.
Find Missing Timecards Scheduled Job.
Configure the job:
Week End Date: Auto-filled.
Include Sublevels: Yes (for hierarchical reporting).
Type: Last Week (ensures past week's time compliance).
Schedule Frequency: Weekly (e.g., Monday 9 AM).
Set up an email alert template to notify employees.
Monitor missing timecards via reports.
PSA Sys Admin Essentials Student Guide.
Which of the following are currently available PSA workspaces?
Certinia PSA provides three primary Workspaces, designed for different user roles:
Project Management Workspace:
Provides tools for project tracking, task management, and milestone tracking.
Ideal for Project Managers.
Resource Management Workspace:
Helps manage resource allocations, availability, and staffing.
Used by Resource Managers to ensure project assignments align with capacity.
Services Delivery Workspace:
Focuses on project execution, financial tracking, and billing integration.
Used by Service Delivery teams to monitor project performance.
These Workspaces help users access critical project data quickly and improve efficiency in managing operations.
PSA Sys Admin Essentials Student Guide
What tool can be used to "schedule backlog calculation" and "schedule utilization calculation" in PSA?
Understanding Backlog and Utilization Calculation in PSA:
Backlog Calculation: Tracks the remaining work (revenue) on projects. It includes scheduled and unscheduled backlog.
Utilization Calculation: Measures how effectively billable resources are utilized, distinguishing between historical and scheduled utilization.
Options Analysis:
Option A: 'Feature Console' Incorrect. The Feature Console is used to enable/disable PSA features, not schedule backlog/utilization calculations.
Option B: 'PSA Administration' Correct! PSA Administration is used to schedule backlog and utilization calculations.
Option C: 'PSA Admin App' Incorrect. The PSA Admin App provides access to administrative tools but is not used for scheduling calculations.
Steps to Schedule Backlog and Utilization Calculation:
Navigate to PSA Administration Tab.
Locate Schedule Backlog Calculation and Schedule Utilization Calculation.
Configure the scheduling parameters (e.g., frequency, time period).
Save and monitor scheduled jobs in Apex Jobs in Salesforce.
PSA Sys Admin Essentials Student Guide.
