Business First Family Business, Accounting, Finance, Investing, Marketing And Management
When you run a small business, the temptation to micromanage each team and project can get overwhelming. Here’s where project management software comes in: Assign tasks, check on progress, and communicate with the team in a simple way that frees up time in your schedule. Stay on top of your small business’s projects with the following six apps for better project management.
Clarizen
Clarizen is a popular project management software. This software integrates with many other products your business likely already uses. Excel, Google Docs, Chrome, Outlook, and Jira are a few of the programs that connect with Clarizen. You’ll receive a long list of features in Clarizen, too, making this software one of the most versatile project management software packages and apps available now. Plus, team collaboration happens across several platforms, including email.
Clarizen is one of the more expensive types of project management software and apps, starting at $30 per month per user, although the cost can be worth the purchase if you need a high-level degree of project management for your neat office. Thankfully, if your small business needs a more tailored experience at a lower cost, great options exist for you.
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is one of the only entirely free project management apps available for the corporate event planner or the corporate CEO alike. This app enables you to collaborate for any number of projects or tasks. Unfortunately, the one thing Bitrix24 is missing is time management tools. However, you can use the project management software for client management responsibilities, tracking employee workload and deadlines and managing your business as a whole. You can organize tasks within projects and use Gantt charts to make sure you stay on track for target deadlines. If you need a totally free project management software with unlimited users allowed, Bitrix24 is the solution for you.
Asana
Connecting with clients, vendors, and employees happens with Asana. Project managers using the Asana iOS or Android app can share projects with small groups within the larger team and with unlimited third parties, such as management for vendors and clients. Set tasks, communicate due dates, and assign timelines to each task or milestone within a larger project.
Asana is one of the more expensive project management software packages, starting at $21 per user per month. If you often need to share your projects with third parties, however, Asana is an invaluable resource for your small business.
LiquidPlanner
Small businesses working in IT need the iOS and Android LiquidPlanner app. This app offers predictive project management resources; when you input portfolio project information, it uses that information to predict the timeline of project completion. LiquidPlanner also offers risk assessment for projects and helps you find uncertainty in each portfolio. If you run a crane rental business, then you could seriously use some project and risk analysis. Use this app to prioritize certain projects and tasks.
LiquidPlanner gives you scheduling capabilities to help you make sure the most important work gets priority, without overloading any team member with tasks. You need a minimum of 10 team members, and the lowest price is $29 per month if you buy an annual subscription. However, it is certainly worth the money if you use it in alongside the best knowledge base software to streamline operations.
Wrike
Starting at $10 per user per month, Wrike lets each team customize the workflow for their projects. Communication through the Wrike app is easy in each workspace, and attaching anything from personal loan documents to videos is simple in Android and iOS. Wrike will send you and members of each team push notifications and craft to-do lists. For project managers, seeing the big picture across projects and teams is simple.
Mavenlink
Use Mavenlink if your small business focuses on professional services. Mavenlink helps you plan your resources, track your timelines, and do accounting tasks. Work from the iOS app on your iPad mini 4 using T-Mobile’s network so you have enough space to interact with the service. Easy-to-use tabs offer planning services, time and business expenses, reports, and the projects themselves. Use the Un-carrier’s quick 4G LTE network so you don’t experience any lags while you’re working.
Subscribe to Mavenlink with five users. Prices start at a package deal of $19 a month and increase based on how many employees you have and what package you get.
Podio
For small businesses handling change, Podio is an apt project management app. This app works on iOS and Android devices, allowing you to customize each project to fit your needs. Run “what-if” scenarios in the app, connect the members of your team via online meetings, and create workspaces for each project. Change the permissions on your workspaces from private to open to employee only. Compared to some of the other software plans, Podio is relatively cheap, with a $9 per user per month basic plan.
Small businesses don’t have room to mess up on project timelines or budgets. Project management apps can help you and each member of your team stay on track with your projects as well as forced ranking guidelines.
Image from http://www.magenium.com/en/Solutions/Project-Management
