Tag: Project

The Best Project Management Software (In-Depth Review)

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It’s every manager’s worst nightmare. 

That ONE project that never seems to end. Nothing goes as planned and missed deadlines lurk around every corner. You can’t remember the last time you laughed. Your boss is mad and your employees stumble around trying to figure out what to do next. 

You drive home wondering what went wrong and why the universe is working against you. If only there was a better way. 

It doesn’t have to be this way.

By choosing the right project management software, projects won’t throw you into that panic-inducing nightmare.

I’ve managed countless projects, hundreds of teams, and bounced around to every project management software you can think of. 

From Wrike to Trello. Trello to Asana. From Asana back to Wrike. 

Rinse and repeat with every possible combination of tools on the market. 

And you want to know a secret? It doesn’t matter which project management tool you use as long as you pick the right one and stick to it.

But to help make your decision easier, I reviewed six of my favorite options and put together a list of what to consider as you go through the process of choosing the right software. 

The top 6 options for project management software

  1. Zoho Projects – Best for versatility
  2. Wrike – Best for marketing teams
  3. Teamwork – Best for remote teams
  4. Asana – Best for small teams
  5. Smartsheet – Best for large teams 
  6. Trello – Best free project management software

How to choose the project management software for you

The best project management software for you depends on your projects’ complexity, the size of your team, and the features you need. 

And choosing the right one can feel impossible because there are thousands of different tools.

So before we dive into my top recommendations, let’s talk about what to look for as you go through the process of finding the right software. 

Number of users

Most project management software is charged on a per user per month basis. So, it’s crucial to understand how many seats you need and your budget. 

If you have a large team with hundreds of users, you’re better off choosing an enterprise plan with custom pricing to get the most bang for your buck. 

However, if you have less than 15 people, Asana is an excellent choice (free for up to 15 users). 

And if you have fewer than three users, you can use Zoho Projects for free as well. 

Project complexity

For simple and straightforward projects, basic project management software is all you need.

 And you can probably get by using a free forever plan with Trello, Asana, or Zoho Projects. 

However, as your projects get more complex, you need more robust features. So, you may need to upgrade to a paid plan if you go with a basic project management software. 

On the other hand, tools like Wrike and Smartsheet offer more advanced and industry-specific capabilities. But they come with a higher price tag. 

Task management

Task management is one of the most important features to pay attention to. 

While most project management software includes basic task management, it’s important to consider the advanced capabilities you need. 

Do you need to create task dependencies? Maybe you need to create recurring tasks on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis. Or perhaps you want to assign multiple people to the same task. 

This also includes things like:

  • Checklists and due dates
  • File attachments
  • Task archiving/deleting
  • Task prioritization
  • Automation
  • Subtasks

So, carefully consider how you plan to manage projects and the task management features you need before making any decisions. 

Discussion features

The best project management software includes internal discussion features like comments, forums, or instant messaging. 

This is an essential feature that lets you keep discussions streamlined and intact with the different tasks or phases of your project. Rather than searching through thousands of emails, you can open the task and see everything related to it right away. 

All of my top recommendations include this in some capacity. But make sure the software you choose includes robust discussion features as well. 

Customization

Every project and team is different. 

So it’s important that your project management software can adapt to meet your needs. Whether that’s a fully branded dashboard, the flexibility to scale, or improved functionality with the right integrations. 

Furthermore, think about how you want to view and share project progress. Different software offers different project views, reporting, and analytics. 

Start by creating a complete list of required features and integrations.

Lastly, consider everything you need your software to do and speak to a sales team to make sure their tool can handle your top priorities within your budget. 

The different types of project management software

There are various different types of project management software. Some are much better than others while some are reserved specifically for developers or enterprises with a large budget. 

Let’s walk through them together. 

Cloud-based

All of my top recommendations are cloud-based software. This means that the software lives on a cloud server and you can access it from any web browser on any device. 

This is the preferred type for most users because it’s easy to use, doesn’t require any infrastructure on your part, and you can access everything regardless of where you are. 

You typically pay for this type of software on a per user per month basis. 

Industry-specific

Different types of projects may require industry-specific solutions. 

These make your life easier with pre-made templates, automated workflows, and more features specific to the types of projects you’re managing. 

Most of the software on this list offer solutions for industries like:

  • Digital marketing
  • Manufacturing
  • Education
  • Real estate
  • Construction
  • Software development
  • Remote teams

With that said, these companies also offer standard subscriptions at reasonable prices that don’t include industry-specific tools. 

So you don’t have to use these higher-priced solutions unless you want to. 

Most of these solutions come with custom pricing based on your specific needs. So they may be outside your budget, especially if you’re a small company or a brand new business. 

On-premise

On-premise project management software lives on your servers, rather than on the cloud. And while it’s more secure, you can only access the software from devices on your network. 

You also may need to install new infrastructure or hire an in-house maintenance team to update and maintain the software for you. 

This is why none of the recommendations on this list are on-premise solutions. 

Open API

Open API software is perfect for developers or if you’re interested in hiring a developer to create a custom project management solution for your business. 

This type of software is highly customizable but difficult to manage if you’re not a developer. 

And this level of customization isn’t necessary for most users. So, I didn’t include any open API software on this list. 

#1 – Zoho Projects Review — The best for versatility

For most users, Zoho Projects is my top recommendation. 

They offer a free forever plan, and paid plans start at just $3 per user per month. So, it’s incredibly affordable for small businesses and can scale as your business grows. 

Whether you’re managing simple or complex projects, Zoho has everything you need, including powerful features like:

  • Hosted file storage
  • Task dependencies
  • Recurring tasks
  • Visual workflow builder
  • Time tracking
  • Task assignments and prioritization
  • Chats, forums, and feeds
  • Reporting and analytics

The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create workflows and track project progress quickly. Plus, you can view projects using Kanban, Gantt, or calendar views. 

Furthermore, their internal communication tools (chat, forum, and feed) streamline team collaboration where it matters most. 

You can also take advantage of more than 100+ built-in integrations with business tools you’re already using to run and manage your business. 

These integrations include Slack, Zapier, DropBox, and more. 

Zoho’s plans include:

  • Free — up to 3 users, two projects, and 10 MB of storage
  • Standard — $3/user per month and up to 10 projects (between 6 and 10 users)
  • Express — $4/user per month + unlimited projects (between 12 and 50 users)
  • Premium — $5/user per month + unlimited projects (between 15 and 100 users)
  • Enterprise — $6/user per month + unlimited projects (for 20+ users)

Start your 10-day free trial to take Zoho for a test drive today. 

#2 – Wrike Review — The best for marketing teams

Over 20,000+ businesses, including Google, Airbnb, and Dell, use Wrike to manage marketing and sales projects worldwide. 

With Wrike, your project management software adapts to meet your needs, rather than the other way around. And features like custom workflows and dashboards, automation, and real-time communication make this an excellent choice for dynamic marketing teams of all sizes. 

You also get end-to-end visualization so you can hone in on problem areas while maintaining constant forward movement with each project as a whole. 

Furthermore, Wrike includes powerful marketing-specific templates including

  • Campaign management
  • Product launching
  • Marketing operations
  • Content creation
  • Event management

And you can combine those with standard project management features like task management, proofing and approvals, communication tools, and real-time progress visibility. 

Project views include board, spreadsheet, Gantt, calendar, and custom views. 

Wrike also includes seamless integrations with 400+ business tools, like Salesforce, G Mail, and Google Drive. So, you don’t have to worry about software incompatibility issues or anything like that. 

You can start on their free forever plan for up to five users, but you may find it limiting. Paid plans include:

  • Professional — $9.80/user per month (5 – 15 users)
  • Business — $24.80/user per month (5 – 200 users)
  • Enterprise — Custom (5 – unlimited users)

They also offer tailored plans for marketing teams, but you have to contact them for a custom quote. However, it includes specialty templates, Wrike Proof, and more. 

Start your 14-day free trial or sign up for a free forever plan to get started today.

#3 – Teamwork Review — The best for remote teams

If you’re managing a remote team (or a soon-to-be remote team), Teamwork is an excellent choice. Their remote work module is specifically for distributed teams who need a flexible way to keep work moving forward. 

20,000+ teams plus big names, including Disney, Netflix, and Spotify, rely on Teamwork for their remote project management needs — and for a good reason. 

The software makes collaboration, task management, and project visibility a breeze regardless of where your team lives (and works). And as Teamwork says, “Just because you’re not in the same room doesn’t mean you can’t be on the same page.”

This remote project management software includes excellent features like:

  • Internal chat software
  • Centralized workspaces
  • Board views
  • Custom project templates
  • Workload balancing
  • Time tracking
  • Gantt charts

Furthermore, you can pick and choose which software you need. Or, you can save 49% by bundling all of Teamwork’s software together. 

At $35/mo per user (minimum of five users), it’s more suitable for businesses with a decent budget. But, their project management module alone is much more affordable, starting at $10/mo per user. 

Alternatively, you can start with a free forever plan for up to five users and two projects. This is an excellent choice for small teams or fast-growth companies. 

Sign up for a 30-day free trial to try Teamwork’s remote project management solution today.

#4 – Asana Review — The best for small teams

Asana is an excellent choice for teams of up to 15 people. 

And with millions of users spanning 190+ countries worldwide, you can rest assured you’re in good hands. 

Their free forever plan includes 15 seats, unlimited tasks and projects, assignees, due dates, and everything you need (aside from a few advanced features) to manage projects of all sizes efficiently. 

With Asana, you can map out even the smallest steps of every project to ensure forward movement and track your team’s progress along the way. 

Furthermore, you can enjoy features like:

  • Drag-and-drop board views
  • Timeline views
  • Automated workflows
  • Work requests and forms
  • Calendar view
  • Portfolio overviews
  • Workload balance
  • Custom fields
  • Reusable templates

Not only that, but the entire interface is beautiful and easy to navigate. 

You can choose between pre-made industry templates or create your own to get your team on track in no time. 

And with 100+ integrations including Adobe, Slack, Gmail, Chrome, Drive, and more, you can rest easy knowing Asana plays well with the tools you’re already using. 

Plus, you can share files, communicate, and share feedback all in one place. 

With a free price tag (for up to 15 users), Asana’s hard to beat. However, if you outgrow the free plan, you can upgrade to one of their paid plans, including:

  • Premium — $10.99 per user per month
  • Business — $24.99 per user per month
  • Enterprise — custom pricing only

Sign up for a free forever plan to get started with Asana today!

#5 – Smartsheet Review — The best for large teams

Smartsheet is a dynamic project management software built for enterprises and large teams. However, the solution is flexible enough to suit businesses and projects of all sizes. 

They specialize in rapid-movement projects with a ton of moving parts. So, you can trust Smartsheet for even the most complicated projects. 

With Smartsheet, you can gain end-to-end project visibility with grid, card, Gantt, and calendar views. Furthermore, you can gather data from forms, automated workflows, and recurring tasks to see what you need to see, and when. 

However, the software goes beyond essential project management. It’s an award-winning work execution platform that’s easy to implement, manage, and maintain. 

Plus, 75% of fortune 500 companies use Smartsheet to get things done. 

So, you’re in good company. 

All plans also include on-demand customer support, continuous education materials, training + certification programs, and consulting services to help you make the most of your new project management software. 

And you also get collaboration tools, all four project views, and extensive mobile apps/integrations with every plan. 

While Smartsheet is overkill for most small businesses, it’s an excellent choice for large companies and enterprises looking to streamline their business processes. 

Their paid plans include:

  • Individual — $14 per month 
  • Business — $25 per user per month (minimum of three users)
  • Enterprise — custom (enterprise-grade features and tools)
  • Premier — custom (enterprise + premium features and tools)

Sign up for a 30-day free trial to try Smartsheets risk-free with no credit card required. 

#6 – Trello Review — The best free project management software

If you’re on a tight budget, Trello is an excellent free project management software. 

Plus, millions of users, including Pinterest, Peloton, Fender, and Costco, rely on it to map out and manage projects of all shapes and sizes. 

It’s an excellent tool for basic visual project management for any type of project, from home improvement and side hustles to marketing campaigns and full-blown business operations as well. 

Trello uses boards, cards, and lists to organize projects, making it a familiar and comfortable platform. You can drag and drop cards, move cards to new boards, and cross tasks off as you go along.

Furthermore, you can create automatic workflows with rule-based triggers, calendar commands, and more. 

Plus, the free forever plan includes intuitive features like:

  • Unlimited personal boards
  • Unlimited cards and lists
  • 10 MB file attachments
  • Up to 10 team boards
  • Basic automation
  • And two-factor authentication

It’s an excellent solution for teams of all sizes since everyone can join for free. However, you need to upgrade to a paid plan if you need more than ten team boards. 

And if you outgrow the free plan, you can upgrade to an affordable paid plan for more advanced features. Trello’s paid plans include:

  • Business Class — $9.99/user per month
  • Enterprise — $17.50/user per month 

Sign up for a free forever plan to get started with Trello today.

Summary

Zoho Projects is my #1 recommendation for most users, starting at just $3 per user per month with an extensive free forever plan as well. 

However, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all project management solution. 

So, make sure you understand your needs and requirements before making any decisions. And don’t forget to use the criteria we talked about as you go through the process. 

What’s your go-to project management software?

The post The Best Project Management Software (In-Depth Review) appeared first on Neil Patel.

Create a Perfect Practical Project Plan and More –10 Brilliant Business Tips of the Week

The Hottest and Most Brilliant Business Tips for YOU – Create a Perfect Practical Project Plan and More

Our research ninjas at Credit Suite smuggled out ten amazing business tips for you! Be fierce and score in business with the best tips around the web. You can use them today and see fast results. You can take that to the bank – these are foolproof! Let’s get you started with a perfect practical project plan!

Stop making stupid decisions and start powering up your business. Demolish your business nightmares and start celebrating as your business fulfills its promise.

And these brilliant business tips are all here for free! So settle in and scoop up these tantalizing goodies before your competition does!

#10. Start Selling!

Our first jaw-dropping tip is all about setting up your first ad campaign on Amazon. Score says Amazon selling could be huge for your business, and we are inclined to agree. After all, where else are you going to be able to buy a toothbrush, a screen door, fresh raspberries, and a tee shirt for a baby? And check out with them all in the same cart?

So if you sell a good (as opposed to a service), then this tip is all about you. 

Get Going

So our favorite part of this article, without a doubt, is how it just launches right into step by step instructions. About the only way it could possibly be any more helpful would be if there was a video. But that’s okay.

And we also loved the drum which he seem to beat an awful lot around here – measure! Because, as we have said it before, but it bears repeating. You can’t really know if you’re succeeding if you don’t measure. 

#9. And Speaking of Amazon…

The next awesome tip is about generating leads on Amazon. Side Hustle Nation writes that Amazon, at bottom, is basically another search engine.

So think like an SEO person.

This means attracting your prospects with content to start bringing them into the sales funnel.

In the case of the article writer, it was about books. So his initial bait was to offer a book for free. As in, zero dollars and zero cents.

The book is still on Amazon, and it is still free. So, how does this guy make money? Well, it may be obvious by now – the free book reels in the prospects. So those people are qualified leads by definition. So they might read the book and visit its accompanying website. Or maybe they just order one of the books you have to pay for.

Either way, the bait is working precisely as intended.

Not a writer? Then offer something else (small!) for free. Sell widgets? Then why not add a free explainer video? Or you could even price something in your Amazon storefront at $0. For fun, why not change it up on occasion? 

Free is always loved. And free always has attention paid to it. 

If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! The perfect practical project plan is in reach.

#8. Reel in Your First Customers

Our following life-changing tip concerns starting up and landing your very first customers. Success Harbor tells us it might take a while to get your first customers. So their first top is perhaps a surprising one – figure out what you’re going to live off for the next six to twelve months. 

Because that will not only keep food on your table. It will also – at least, that’s the idea – keep you from being desperate. Well, at least in the beginning. Because the truth is, we have all seen desperate people. 

How often do you want to buy from them? This is not out of the goodness of your own heart or anything like that. So it’s not to help out a friend. This is more, someone who you have no connection with is trying to sell you something. Or, better yet, two people are. One is desperate, the other’s not. You’re more likely to buy from the confident seller.

It’s just like in the dating scene. So shore up your budget before you get started, and keep desperation at bay, at least for a while. Let your perfect practical project plan exude confidence.

#7. But What Are You Going to Sell Them???

For our next sensational tip, we looked at finding products to sell online. Small Biz Trends informs us that startups, of course, are up against not only each other, but also Walmart and Amazon, among others. So instead of trying to compete on that hopelessly tilted playing field, why not look for unique items?

And don’t forget about scalability. That is, prepare for success. If one product does incredibly well, you don’t want to be fine-tuning it by hand all the time. 

Hand in hand with this tip is to consider the logistics. Your rainbow widget might be incredible, but if you’re importing from a country about to go to war, you might want to think twice about using such a supplier.

Like with so many other things we talk about here, try to make things easy on yourself.

#6. Find ‘Em Online

This tip is so cool, and it works! Word Stream notes there are five great strategies for reaching your B2B audience online. While we may often think of B2B as business to business, what are companies composed of?

Anyone?

Bueller?

People!

And those people, just like you, are online. They are pinning and tweeting and Facebooking and snapping.

And they are also, probably, on LinkedIn. This social media platform often seems to be forgotten in marketing articles, but it’s truly ideal for finding a B2B audience. So then have LinkedIn find lookalikes. 

Hey, you just might get some new customers.

#5. The Perfect Practical Project Plan Can Be Yours

Grab this mind-blowing tip while it’s hot! 

Learn how to put together the perfect practical project plan! Copy Blogger says it’s best to bite into a project in small chunks. Which makes terrific sense.

Smart Resource Planning Credit SuiteA Fer-Instance

So, picture this. You bought a house from the little old lady down the street who only drove it to church on Sundays. Er, you know what I mean.

It’s a lovely house. But it’s huge! And it needs to be cleaned. So, before you say you’ll just hire someone, or you’ll put it off, let’s throw out those options. For the sake of this example, okay?

How do you clean your messy mansion?

In stages. 

How do you tackle a project?

In stages.

Wait – that’s kinda the same thing.

Yep. 

Templates and Timesavers

We really loved this tip, about essentially eliminating nagging, repetitive tasks. Do whatever it takes to stop reinventing the wheel all the time.

Create macros. Save Excel templates. Create a custom style in Word. Whatever it takes. Even when your perfect practical project plan is done and dusted, if you do whatever it takes to stop reinventing the wheel, you’ll still have those templates and macros. There’s no need to stop using them.

If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! The perfect practical project plan is in reach.

#4. GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

Check out this spectacular tip, all about helping your team accomplish their goals. Inc notes management can do a lot to help team members get to where they personally want to be.

Let’s Talk About the Future. That Perfect Practical Project Plan Won’t Write Itself!

What we really liked was the first tip, to essentially open up a dialog on employee goals. And to share your goals with the people who work for you.

Say what?

Yes, tell them what you’re planning for yourself, too. Because singling out the people lower on the totem pole for goal-setting and achieving means you might not see anything accomplished. You can’t have a perfect practical project plan for your employees without having one for yourself.

True StorySmart Resource Planning Credit Suite

Your intrepid blog writer, over 20 years ago had, shall we say, a difficult boss. Now, there were a lot of reasons why this person was difficult to work with and for. But one major reason was the goals were dictated. By her.

And of course no one ever saw her goals. There was, therefore, no accountability at the middle managerial level. To this day, your blog writer hasn’t got a clue whether this person’s own goals were created by her or dictated to her.

Either way, this was a recipe for rebellion. This was particularly the case because the selected goals were a lot less about employee enrichment, and a lot more about the great glory of said difficult boss.

That didn’t go over so well.

So we were particularly pleased with the idea that the dialog about goals is just that: a dialog. It is a give and take and it’s not the boss telling the employee what to do. After all, the employee gets that all the livelong day. 

At least let them make their own goals.

#3. Make/Produce/Create

It’s not your imagination: this winning tip can help you be a more creative teammate at work. Creative Live tells us creativity does not need to be a solitary pursuit. Hoorah! The best perfect practical project plan allows for diverse voices.

Check Your Ego at the Door

This is maybe the most valuable tip to us. Creativity is just not going to happen if you continually shout down other people’s ideas. So go around the room. And listen, fer gosh sakes! Seriously, if you’re not going to listen to other people, why work in a team setting to begin with?

Walk a Mile in My Sneakers

This tip was a close second for us. The concept is, bring in as many points of view as you can. Get different perspectives, and you may find what you thought was an amazing idea is anything but to the people who will be most affected by it.

So haul in someone from sales, and another from engineering or accounting, and more. They have rather different vantage points from yours. So in that, there is strength.

#2. It Must Be True; I Saw it on TV

Our second to last unbeatable tip can give you a new perspective on small business public relations and dealing with the media. Succeed As Your Own Boss states there is a kind of art and a science to PR.

Our fave tip was all about how ‘off the record’ is basically a unicorn. It doesn’t exist! For all of the times you’ve seen a politician yammering on a hot mic, just imagine it’s your face and your yammering.

If you don’t want some piece of information to come out – surprise! – don’t talk about it.

Or, as we said when your intrepid blog writer was a kid (which was when the dinosaurs roamed the planet), “Shut up!”

#1. Om Shanti Success!

We saved the best for last. For our favorite remarkable tip, we focused on 19 amazing success mantras from Zig Ziglar. Addicted 2 Success says these are words to live by.

And, holy cow, we say a lot of the same things. Coincidence? We think not!

In all seriousness, the list is just terrific. We highly recommend reading the entire article. Our favorite success mantra?

Don’t compare yourself to others.

Or, as Teddy Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” So give yourself a break, and stop thinking others are better. You’re better, too.

Talk about your perfect practical project plan!

So which one of our brilliant business tips was your favorite? And which one will you be implementing now? 

If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! The perfect practical project plan is in reach.

The post Create a Perfect Practical Project Plan and More –10 Brilliant Business Tips of the Week appeared first on Credit Suite.