Managing projects is a tough job, but using modern tools can free up a significant amount of time. Project managers are often buried in tasks, resulting in extra work hours. With software tools, it’s easy to eliminate repetitive reporting and data management duties.
The last thing a project manager responsible for running the whole project should do is spend hours filling in Excel sheets, reporting in multiple databases, and not being aligned with the team. However, some project managers still spend 20–25% of their time managing such duties and tasks.
Below is a list of helpful project management tools to help project managers stay on top of their tasks. These tools are affordable, and anyone can start using them without any help from IT. Use them to save valuable time to be allotted to more critical tasks.
#1 Trello—easy-to-use project management
Trello is a simple project management solution with a to-do list and task management tool for project managers.
It’s flexible in set-up and allows customization according to your needs. The tool stores project-related files, checklists, tasks, notes, and comments. You can access it by assigning tasks, making it accessible to anyone on your team.
The great thing is that your project management tool is always accessible. You can use it with any mobile device or tablet or while sitting behind a computer.
The price is also worth mentioning. Trello has a robust free package; if you want to upgrade it, it costs $9.99 monthly.
It’s a pretty nifty tool for project managers. In addition to helping you organize your own project management jobs, it also allows your team members to collaborate, share tasks, and stay informed.
#2 Slack—team communication
There are several channels that help individuals and teams communicate, including phone, e-mail, Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp, SMS, Webex, Join.me, etc.
If you and your team members are using several of these tools to communicate, the information is likely shared across platforms. This makes it hard to keep everyone updated, and no comprehensive record or history is kept.
Now, there is Slack—a great tool that helps keep your team’s communications in one place and ensures everyone is informed and information is accessible.
Slack allows you to maintain your project team’s communications in one channel. You can send private messages, files and emoticons. It also allows you to create discussion channels for groups of team members, among other additional features.
All the information is stored in one place and accessible in the future. Slack can be used with mobile devices, tablets or even computers.
#3 Google Spreadsheets and Google Drive – storing and sharing files
Google Sheets is a tool similar to Excel but with some great additions. It allows you to edit, share, and access your spreadsheets online.
Google Drive is a great place to host all your important Google sheets. It is basically an online equivalent of Microsoft Office. It allows all your stakeholders to have access to the latest version of your documents, be they contract templates, invoices, or budget files.
This Google product makes sharing files with your team, customers, or subcontractors easy. Everyone uses the same version of a file, and there is a feature to track all changes made.
Google Drive is just one product in G Suite, which includes a calendar, e-mail, storage drive, conferencing, and more. Prices start at $5 a month (https://gsuite.google.com/pricing.html). The business package, which costs $10 a month and offers unlimited storage and archiving, makes it pointless to manage anything on your servers.
#4 Dropbox—easy-to-access file folder and sharing
Dropbox is a robust file storage and sharing tool that works across devices and is as easy to use as a regular folder on your computer.
The power of Dropbox is that storing information in folders allows you to access the same folder you have at work from a computer at your home.
So whenever a computer crashes or breaks down, or you need to access your files no matter what device you are using, Dropbox ensures that there is always a backup. The price for 2 TBs is $16.58 per month.
#5 Planyard – easy way to manage project financials
Managing project financials can be a time-consuming process. Storing files in servers, budgets in Excel tables, reports in an accounting system, and all the communication that runs through e-mail might consume up to 25% of project managers’ working time.
Planyard makes it easy to manage your contracts, contract terms, and invoices—all in one place. You can also automate commitments.
The finance management process is tightly connected, eliminating the need for recurring data entry. This also keeps information synced and makes it easy to keep up with project costs and profitability predictions.
When the project starts, upload your budget Excel sheet, add contracts, approve commitments, and approve invoices.
BONUS #6 Smith.ai
Since project managers need to keep in touch with the customers and their subcontractors, all parties must respond quickly before and during a project, without incurring hefty staff costs & interruptions, by outsourcing call answering and receptionist duties to Smith.ai, a 24/7 virtual receptionist service.
You can have the most critical issues forwarded to you right away and the less critical ones collected for you so that you can deal with them when the critical challenges are less hectic.