Imagine leaving behind endless spreadsheets, cluttered email threads, and scattered to-do lists. With effective project management tools, this vision isn’t just a dream, but a reality for many businesses.
Professional service-based companies have the potential to save 11.4% of investment project teams' waste on average — and then some. With the right tools, teams can streamline workflows, reduce inefficiencies, improve profitability, and ultimately thrive.
Thanks to practical project management tools, some organizations are successfully reshaping teamwork and project delivery, and transforming productivity and profitability as a result.
“Project management software” refers to a wide range of platforms designed to help people manage projects. These products range from a simple checklist app or calendar to organize small projects, to robust tools that provide an overview of the entire project lifecycle with advanced features like automation and resource scheduling.
Businesses and teams of all sizes from a variety of industries use project management software:
If you're in professional services, project management software can help you keep clients at the forefront of your business while maintaining internal efficiency and productivity.
Project management software is designed to help businesses and individuals track projects, tasks, and schedules. The core value of these services is their ability to bring structure to complexity. It's an excellent tool for staying organized and ensuring your team remains on task and aligned with project objectives.
While each platform features different project management features, most of these tools aim to offer a clear picture of project progress, a central space for tracking and completing tasks, insightful reporting, and time and utilization tools.
Let’s explore these purposes in more detail with examples:
If multiple departments are working on the same project, a tool like this will help you manage those teams and ensure that deliverables are completed on time.
With access to a cloud-based project management platform, stakeholders can view the latest project status updates without having to communicate excessively and risk misunderstanding.
Example: An IT business working on a complex software development assignment utilizes project management software to coordinate effectively between their programming, quality assurance, and UI/UX design teams.
When managing projects, it’s crucial to centrally track the tasks your team members are responsible for. Yet, each person may want to list and check off their own tasks using separate preferred methods.
A core purpose of project management software is to remove this tendency to silo.
It provides a single space for assigning tasks that can also function as the tool your team uses to record when they complete them. Many platforms also send notifications when dependent tasks are done and alert managers when approvals are needed.
Example: A fast-paced digital marketing agency uses the task-tracking function of a project management solution to assign content creation, graphic design, and SEO optimization to different team members.
This kind of software is invaluable because it allows users to access real-time data via dashboards and auto-generated reports. With easy reporting at their fingertips, your leadership team can stay informed and see how each project's tasks and milestones factor into overall team performance and project profitability.
Example: A management consulting firm uses built-in reporting dashboards to monitor milestones, budget, and team performance for each project and client account without having to integrate other platforms.
Automated time tracking is a vital feature of project management software, especially if you want to accurately invoice your clients.
With software that tracks billable and non-billable hours, you can log the time worked on each task. Then, you can combine the hours with project and client data to generate comprehensive reports that help you make key decisions about rates.
Example: An accounting firm uses a project management tool's time-tracking feature to precisely account for billable hours on invoices and analyze opportunities for efficiency improvements.
There are additional reasons to use this kind of software and plenty of crossover between the above purposes.
Related: An Overview of Project Accounting with Accelo
Your aim for using a certain type of software may not always align with the range of benefits you discover once you’re in it. Here are just a few possible outcomes when your business starts using effective project management software.
If you're a business owner, you need access to your projects' progress today and a long-term view of how your workload aligns with team capacity.
Instead of planning projects in endless spreadsheet tabs, you can use smart software to outline timelines, set milestones, and prioritize tasks. Ideally, project software will let you build lasting workflows that you can adapt to carry your team through many clients and years.
Managing everything your team does is nearly impossible without some kind of tracking system. Project management software can help you organize your tasks, view client history, and communicate using messages and notes housed in a single platform.
This eliminates much of the need for email or other tools, meaning you're more likely to stay focused on the project at hand and avoid costly distractions.
Agility and speed are the hallmarks of good project execution. This is where project management software truly shines. Features like task management, collaboration, and reporting allow users to pivot quickly when necessary.
If your projects are well-organized and you know where all your time is going, it's easy to see how much they'll probably cost. Combine that information with billing data, and you'll have an accurate estimate of each project's actual cost before you ever start.
READ NEXT: 25 Pro Tips for Profitable Project Management
Despite its allure, certain project management platforms have a few drawbacks.
For those who work on multiple versions of projects, choosing the wrong tracker can be problematic.
A tool that’s made for time-bound, deliverable-focused projects may not be as effective at handling ongoing, service-oriented projects.
Project management methodologies vary, from agile and scrum to waterfall and lean. Each has its own unique approach, and not all software can accommodate every variation.
For example, agile projects emphasize iteration, which may not be achievable in software designed for the more linear waterfall approach.
It’s essential to investigate whether a platform is made for your preferred way of managing projects or, better yet, can support multiple methodologies.
While effective for small teams and small projects, large teams, interdependent milestones, and multifaceted tasks can stretch the capabilities of many project management tools.
An engineering firm might complete multi-year building projects requiring detailed resource allocation and sophisticated risk management.
The challenge is ensuring your chosen software can handle the complexity typical for your projects without becoming cumbersome or sacrificing user-friendliness.
Carefully consider both averages and extremes.
Choose a platform that can handle your current workload and scale with your business.
The best project management software platforms are versatile, offering far more than just task management or communication tools.
Below, we’ll look at eight key features that distinguish a superior project management solution.
Templates save time and offer an antidote to some of the abovementioned limitations. Project templates are a way to achieve both flexibility and consistency — they make it easier to kickstart new projects and build scalable processes.
Don’t just use templates for projects. Improve efficiency with a platform that features retainer templates, invoice templates, and more.
Everyone visualizes projects differently. Two of the most popular visual formats, Gantt charts and Kanban boards, help teams in equally important ways.
A Gantt chart is an advanced timeline view that highlights dependencies and shows how tasks relate to project schedules and deadlines.
Kanban boards act as moveable task lists and are essential for keeping them categorized.
Never used these project visualization methods? Start with this Gantt chart guide.
One of the most useful functions of project software is as a central workspace for team collaboration.
Collaboration relies on the basics of file sharing, commenting, and brainstorming, but it’s also more layered. To support true team partnership, all project contributors and account managers must have visibility of the most up-to-date project status and client communications.
Before you adopt new software, think about how you collaborate on a project — and how you’d like that to look in the future.
Built-in automation is no longer a nice-to-have feature.
To stay competitive, you need to streamline all the facets of a project, including workflows, report generation, reminders, and client follow-up.
The ripple effect of greater efficiency due to automation is big:
Your clients will take note and your bottom line will reflect it. Search for software that supports an automated approach to project management as a start.
Here are four ideas for project-related business processes to automate.
The success of your projects directly correlates with how well you allocate resources. A project management platform wouldn’t be complete without project scheduling, utilization data, and other resource management functionalities.
You don’t just need an availability calendar; you need to consider skillsets, project changes, and more to zero in on the most profitable resourcing.
Learn best practices for team scheduling and how a platform like Accelo can support you.
You can get as far into the weeds as you’d like with reporting, but at the very least, you need to know what’s going on with your projects right now:
Don’t commit to software without a way to easily view your project performance.
Project management software can help you transition from relying on historical data to being driven by real-time data.
No matter what industry you’re in, there may be times when you need to make essential updates to client work and projects on the go.
A project management app is a must-have. While mobile apps are now common, not all are as intuitive as they should be. As you vet platforms, don’t forget to explore their mobile interfaces and see if they have the essential features you need when you’re on-site or away from your desktop.
What does an effective client work management app look like? Get a glimpse of Accelo’s brand-new mobile app.
Depending on the scope of features in a project management tool, you may need to connect several other applications to customize how your team completes client work. Native integrations could be the answer, although it’s important to check their limitations and whether there is bidirectional syncing, especially for CRM, accounting software, and other data-heavy tools.
Integration potential is much less restrictive when you have access to a robust API. Read how one website management firm streamlined recurring tasks by building a site health check app that connects to Accelo.
Choosing software can feel intimidating, but there’s no need to rush into it.
Whether your key goal is to improve project timelines, track the progress of deliverables, or improve portfolio management, you should select software that offers everything you need.
Take your time and think about the following factors before making a decision:
You know your business best.
Your team size, client demographics, project type and duration, and growth goals can determine how well a given software will work. Before searching for the right platform, envision your ideal internal processes and method of interacting with clients.
For example, if customizable collaboration features are key to your success, choose software that allows such flexibility. Many platforms offer such features, but many do not.
As you evaluate client work tools, consider whether they can grow with your business. If you’re looking to scale, can a given platform help you establish processes that will withstand the pressure? What about accommodating more users?
Adaptability is just as important. Can you customize things like sales and project statuses to adapt a platform to how your team works? Software should be versatile enough that slight changes won’t affect your ability to use it to its full potential.
Select software that integrates seamlessly with the other tools your team already uses, including CRM systems and email platforms. For example, Zoho Projects integrates effortlessly with other Zoho applications, while Accelo combines nicely with Zapier, Gusto, Jira, Salesforce, Google Workspace, and Microsoft apps.
No matter how feature-rich a client work tool is, it will fall short if it’s not user-friendly. You need to work with a software provider who understands that your time is valuable.
Not only should navigating the software be intuitive, but reaching out for support should be simple and quick.
When implementing new software, expect a learning curve for new users. Consider the ease of use—the easier the platform, the easier the onboarding process will be.
Many project management platforms offer free versions. While that might sound the most cost-effective for your business, you’ll benefit more from software that offers robust features.
Free versions may be suitable for small teams and small projects but not for large teams or large-scale projects with many moving parts.
READ NEXT: The 11 Best Project Management and Time-Tracking Tools
If you’re ready to look at specific software platforms, we have a wealth of resources. Learn more about Accelo and alternatives like Wrike, Asana, Zoho, monday.com, and Trello in our industry-focused lists:
While many project management platforms offer helpful individual features, most can’t fully function as an end-to-end solution for your client-based business.
Instead of committing to more subscriptions (and excess training time) just to get a handle on tasks, invest in one platform that does it all. Accelo connects your task management to projects and, more importantly, to a client’s complete history, including sales, invoices, tickets, and more.
Book a demo to discover how Accelo could align with your project management style.
Many firms start out seeking project management software, and then discover how much more they can get from an end-to-end client work management platform like Accelo. Get inspired to make meaningful changes to your client work approach with these three success stories.
