Business team members need to stay aligned on their projects. Poor communication not only quietly undermines productivity but can also result in lost revenue and missed growth opportunities. To maintain clarity, enhance productivity, and protect company revenue, it’s essential to use a project management system. The best project management software serves as a valuable resource for staying organized, streamlining task delegation, and enabling clear communication on the status of tasks and goals.

An Introduction to Project Management Software

Project management software provides businesses with platforms and tools to plan and manage their workload, organize specific projects, and centralize files and data, all of which make work faster and more efficient. However, according to research by project management specialists Wellingtone, fewer than a quarter (23%) of businesses use dedicated project management software. Most companies continue to rely on Excel, paper, or other traditional tools.

According to a Wellingtone survey, one of the biggest challenges businesses face in project management is managing multiple projects simultaneously. Additionally, many companies report that their project managers lack sufficient training.

When choosing project management software, it’s essential to evaluate each provider based on several key criteria:

• Cost and Additional Fees: Look beyond the basic price to consider any hidden or added fees, ensuring it fits your budget without unexpected expenses.
• Features and Functionality: Assess what the software offers in terms of features. Identify the tools you actually need versus “nice-to-have” features to avoid paying for unnecessary options.
• Reports and Analytics: A good project management tool should provide comprehensive reporting capabilities to help track progress and performance.
• Integration Options: Check whether the software integrates smoothly with your existing tools and systems, which can enhance efficiency and streamline workflows.
• Customer Reviews and Support: Consider feedback from current users and the availability of support. This can be crucial for troubleshooting and maximizing the software’s potential.

In this section, we’ll guide you step-by-step through evaluating these factors to find the project management tool that best suits your needs.

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Project management software provides essential features that support the success of most projects. However, some tools stand out due to extra or specialized features that can better serve specific teams or business needs.

Researching these unique features is vital to selecting software that aligns with your team’s approach, business type, and project requirements. Here are some widely used project management tools and features:

• Resource Management: These tools help you effectively plan, monitor, and document the use of resources, such as team members, in executing a project. By tracking resource utilization, they reveal gaps in availability or instances of overuse, which can help prevent burnout. With these insights, you can adjust resource allocation to ensure a balanced workload and maintain team productivity.
• Budget Planning: These tools enable you to input your budget and monitor expenses and invoices, allowing you to compare actual project costs against your planned budget. By tracking any differences, you can quickly identify potential budgeting issues. Additionally, financial forecasting tools assist in predicting future expenses, helping you avoid going over budget or encountering funding shortages that could jeopardize the project’s continuation.
• Task Management: These features enhance project efficiency by automating repetitive tasks, helping to streamline your to-do lists. Examples of automation include invoicing, identifying critical project changes, and managing workflows.
• Charts and Reports: Project management software provides digital charts that facilitate the planning, tracking, and adjustment of project timelines, budgets, and quality as needed. Two popular types of charts include Kanban and Gannt charts. Kanban Charts display tasks on a timeline board, allowing you to visualize the status of each task and manage workflow effectively. Meanwhile, Gantt Charts offer a comprehensive overview of a project’s timeline, illustrating its phases, tasks, and outputs. Gantt charts help you see how tasks overlap and the overall progress of the project.
• Client Management: Client Management Tools: Many project management software solutions provide features designed to involve clients in the project execution process, keeping them informed about project status and fostering professional relationships. Key features often include Video Conferencing Tools for direct communication and collaboration with clients through virtual meetings; Invoicing to Streamline the billing process; and Client User Access to ensure clients can view relevant project information without accessing sensitive data.
• Integrations: Integrations enhance the performance of project management software by tailoring it to your specific needs. For instance, integrations with tools like Slack and Google Drive facilitate collaboration among team members directly within the software, making it easier to work on project deliverables together.

Additionally, integrating with Stripe enables your team to efficiently invoice clients for completed deliverables. Many project management software options offer hundreds, if not thousands, of integration possibilities, allowing you to connect with a wide range of tools and applications.

• Risk Management: Common project risks often involve exceeding the budget, delivering lower-quality outcomes than anticipated, or failing to meet deadlines. Fortunately, many tools within project management software can help you navigate these challenges and balance competing demands to achieve your project goals. Key tools include Timelines, Checklists, Critical Path Charts, Cost Breakdowns, Cost Variance Reports, and Scheduling Tools.
• Mobile App: Mobile applications enable teams to efficiently track, manage, and deliver project deliverables from virtually anywhere, ensuring that all members stay informed regardless of their location. Access to real-time information empowers team members to make informed decisions that keep projects on track. Additionally, mobile apps provide personalized content tailored to each user, allowing team members to see their specific tasks, activities, and milestones that need to be completed each day.
• Demo and Feedback: While project management software may boast the ideal features, its effectiveness ultimately depends on your team’s comfort level with the platform. To address this, many software providers offer demos that allow your team to explore and test the software, often enabling them to pilot it on an actual project. After testing, gathering feedback from team members is crucial to assess the software’s usability and suitability for your specific workflows.

Reporting capabilities within project management software present crucial data in a meaningful manner, allowing you to assess the success of your projects and identify areas for improvement. The best project management solutions provide dashboards that visually represent data through graphs, tables, and other formats, making it easy to extract insights at a glance.

Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that you need to monitor, as well as the types of reports necessary for tracking them. When assessing potential software options, investigate their reporting and analytics features, including dashboards, to ensure they meet your requirements. Useful reports in project management software may include project status, health, team availability, risk, variance, and timeline reports. Commonly tracked KPIs encompass the percentage of tasks completed, return on investment (ROI), schedule variance, planned versus actual hours, and the planned project value.

Ease of Use

When selecting project management software, it’s important to consider tools and designs that enhance usability for your organization, especially in the face of challenges like limited knowledge of best practices or a high volume of daily tasks. The right ease-of-use features will vary based on factors such as your company’s tech-savviness and size. However, here are some commonly valued ease-of-use features that small to midsized companies often find beneficial:

• Automations: Automations streamline complex tasks, making them quick and effortless by handling repetitive and often tedious activities without requiring human intervention. This reduction in hands-on interaction simplifies project management, allowing teams to focus on higher-level tasks and strategic planning. Preset automation recipes further enhance this ease-of-use feature, providing intuitive templates that users can apply to common processes.
• Templates: Software templates for project management are designed to integrate project management best practices, providing a structured framework for various types of projects. These templates offer predefined formats for tasks, timelines, and workflows, enabling teams to standardize their processes and ensure consistency across projects.
• Mobile Apps: From a logistical perspective, mobile apps enhance the usability of project management software by streamlining the gathering and sharing of essential information, enabling team members to complete tasks promptly. For instance, project field practitioners can update relevant project status information in real-time, eliminating the need to return to the office to input data.
• Learning Materials: Knowledge bases within project management software serve as valuable resources for project managers and team members, offering comprehensive learning materials to help users master the software. These resources typically include clear, layman-friendly definitions, instructional videos, and tutorials that explain how to effectively implement the software’s features. Demos provide another excellent opportunity for learning. Often delivered as live sessions, these demos allow users to interact with software experts who can showcase features and answer questions in accessible language.

Customer reviews provide valuable, real-world insights into the experience of using the software you are considering and working with its provider. To gather this information, search for your chosen software on technology review sites and read the feedback from past and current users. This research can reveal common glitches, any hidden costs that may not be prominently disclosed on the provider’s website, and how the software stacks up against competing solutions.

Access to quality customer support is essential to ensure that any software glitches do not derail your entire project. To better understand your chosen provider’s customer support, check review sites like TrustRadius and examine the company’s support plans to see what resources will be available to you and when. It’s important to ensure that support is responsive during your normal business hours and accessible through the communication channels your team is accustomed to using. This preparation can help you mitigate potential issues effectively.

Consider the Company Size

When evaluating project management software, it’s important to consider that startups have different needs compared to large enterprises. For instance, enterprise companies often require the capability to manage projects with execution steps that extend across the globe, while startups typically focus on projects concentrated in one or two locations.

Demos can be invaluable in identifying which tools are best suited for your organization’s size and which might introduce an unnecessary learning curve. While one software plan or tool may be ideal for your current needs, these requirements are likely to evolve as your organization grows. For instance, you may eventually need software with enhanced automation capabilities to scale your operations or increase file storage capacity. Therefore, it’s crucial to select software that not only avoids unnecessary features but also has the potential to meet your growing needs over time.

Pricing for project management software geared toward small to midsized businesses (SMBs) typically ranges from free to approximately £15 per user per month, depending on the desired features. Most providers also offer 15% to 50% discounts for annual payments. Additionally, many companies, including startups, nonprofits, and educational institutions, can access these tools for free. Free trials are often available, allowing users to evaluate whether they want to transition from a free plan to a paid one.

Most providers offer a free plan that limits the number of users. For instance, monday.com permits two users per free account, while higher-tier plans accommodate more users. As you move to more expensive plans, they typically include enhanced features, such as increased storage, additional viewers, better customer support, improved security, advanced collaborative tools, automation options, customization capabilities, and detailed reporting charts. Enterprises usually need to request a custom quote for tailored pricing and features.

Key Advantages of Using Project Management Software

In addition to saving time and enhancing efficiency, project management software can foster greater collaboration within businesses, leading to innovation and improved workflows. In a survey conducted by Monday.com, a project management platform, 54% of workers spend five or more hours per week completing repetitive tasks and believe they could reclaim this time by utilizing tools that automate those processes.

Research by project management software provider Findstack revealed that approximately 11% of resources are frequently wasted due to ineffective project management. Additionally, a study by PWC found that 77% of high-performing companies regularly utilize project management software to boost efficiency. By implementing project management software, businesses can experience several key benefits, including saving time, Increased productivity, enhanced collaboration and communication within teams, and improved tracking of progress and goals.

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If you’re looking to get more organized or want the ability to track all your workplace functions in one central location, project management software could be the solution you need. However, since different programs offer a variety of unique features, it’s important to conduct research to determine which platform provides the benefits and functions that align with your business needs.

Consider starting with platforms that offer a free version or a free trial, or at least take the time to watch a free demonstration. This approach allows you to familiarize yourself with how a platform operates before investing time and effort into setting everything up.