Project Management Systems Help Successful Organizations and Entrepreneurs Plan, Collaborate, and Execute to Get Things Done
Studies have shown that companies can increase production by as much as 30% with the implementation of a good project management system. Regardless of whether you are a solo entrepreneur or a small or midsize business owner, a good project management system can make a huge impact on your productivity, thus allowing you to generate more revenue while still only utilizing the same resources you currently have.
When that collection of spreadsheets and collaboration or communication tools gets too cumbersome to bear, its time to pull it all together in one place with one of the many project management solutions available online at low, or even zero, cost.
Most good project management system softwares integrate well with common business solutions on the market today. Outlook, Apple Mail and other email clients, many customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, and invoicing software solutions like Freshbooks or Intuit, often integrate directly or can be connected through advanced programming interfaces (APIs). Many systems today also provide mobile tools, as well as time tracking, expense tracking, and secure team collaboration.
The best management tools support traditional project management ideologies, but also incorporate emerging technologies and, most importantly, are easy to use because adaptation rates suffer when the software is so difficult to use that it ends up being an expensive tool that is not doing anything other than taking up space on your computer’s hard drive.
Here are my top choices for project management
- Liquid Planner offers predictive scheduling, dynamic collaboration and easy time tracking as well as flexible estimate building for best or worse case scenarios, multiple project planning and organization, analysis and trend reporting, and a multitude of email, calendar and smart device application integration. At rates as low as $24 per month to start, this is a cost efficient solution.
- Evernote is more for the solo entrepreneur who is trying to stay on top of projects, appointments and clients. It has some awesome collaborative apps that allow integration with CRM solutions like Nimble, iCal, Google tools and others. Evernote is free, but you can choose the premium version for about $5 per month and the bells and whistles that come with that are well worth the fiver to get them.
- Basecamp by 37 Signals is great for business people working alone or in conjunction with team members. With a calendar, to-do lists, time tracking and file sharing, Basecamp integrates well with most commonly used calendars and billing software solutions; Basecamp producer 37 Signals also offers the Customer Relationship Management system Highrise and Campfire is a great solution for team collaboration with real time chat. Pricing starts at $1 per day for Basecamp.
- Clarizen helps you manage projects, tasks, resources, and budgets. You can also associate emails, chats and documents, as well as integrate the solution easily with many other commonly used SaaS applications. Clarizon offers a 30 days free trial and starts at around $25 per month for one user.
