Redundant tasks abound in work life, no matter the industry or specific nature of your business. However, there are many resources available to minimize the impact of these redundancies on your daily operations and protect your team’s productivity and, ultimately, your business’s profitability.
Digital workflow management tools are one such resource. They can facilitate more efficient work and keep your team aware of how their efforts fit into the big picture of your business goals.
Let’s review why key processes should be in place before you decide to adopt new software, then take a look at the best workflow management tools for business users in various functions.
Business Processes To Set Up Before Adopting Software
Before deciding on a specific platform, it’s best to have a deep understanding of the business processes your team engages in regularly and whether they require simple or complex workflows.
Even if you haven’t identified them as such, nearly every process your team takes part in can be represented in workflow form. For example:
A sales call is part of a full funnel representing many interactions between a prospect and your sales team
Completing a single client work task is part of a larger series of dependent tasks in a given project
Individual time logs trigger the creation of reports that represent your team’s total billable vs. non-billable time
Sending one detailed invoice can be an important step in maintaining regular communication with recurring clients
You could lose out on major opportunities to connect essential stages of your client’s journey from prospect to payment if you silo these single actions. Deciding how best to connect them in your business before you add workflow management software to the mix is critical.
If you need to start from scratch in developing business processes, TechTarget recommends following eight essential steps:
Take inventory of current processes (even if they weren’t intentionally derived)
Define a goal for each process
Outline activities for each process and identify automation opportunities
Use the appropriate workflow type to create a process map
Assign tasks and decide who will oversee the process
Run through the process, test and iterate
Determine the metrics you’ll use to measure success
Seek feedback from stakeholders
Workflow management software can help with the execution steps, replacing manual processes and offering new, more efficient ways to complete tasks. Below, we’ll dive into the best workflow management tools for some of the core business functions in professional services: sales, project management, billing and overall client work.
Best Workflow Management Tools for Sales Teams
Sales is a department that can benefit tremendously from tightening up workflows. It’s especially important for busy sales teams to automate repetitive processes so they can focus on fully engaging with prospects.
Here are three popular, effective platforms that can help.
HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM is a pipeline management tool that provides real-time visibility into your firm’s sales pipeline. The free tier offers additional tools to assist sales, along with marketing, customer service and operations professionals. HubSpot CRM is well-known for helping business owners and their teams nurture existing client relationships.
Features
Intuitive contact management with enriched data
Lead management, including nurturing, scoring and automated sales alerts and tasks
Option to send emails and make calls directly from the platform
Thorough deal tracking and pipeline dashboard and performance reports
Pros
Free subscription option with CRM essentials for new firms
Option to upgrade to Sales Hub for additional key features and expanded workflow tools
Cons
Free plan does not include customer support and it’s very easy to max out its limitations
Limited customization that’s not ideal for companies with complex sales processes
Salesforce
Salesforce is a web-based CRM solution that helps companies manage their customers, partners and employees. The platform has multiple pricing levels and features that can scale to enterprise level, making it a great choice for rapidly growing service firms that need a solution to expand to meet their needs.
Features
Sales automation, including customer data, workflows and contract management
Drag-and-drop interface for lead qualification, discounts and approvals
Visibility into a lead’s path for greater personalization
Robust reporting and analytics, including forecasting and pipeline visualization
Pros
Ability to automate business processes, from simple tasks like creating automatic email alerts to more time-heavy tasks like filling out orders
Fully customizable, with options to add custom fields and tabs, create email templates and build reporting dashboards
Cons
Cost per user per month can be higher than other CRMs
Zoho CRM is a platform built to help businesses of all sizes manage customer relationships. It equips companies with the quality customer data they need to develop longer-term relationships and build sustainable revenue. Zoho has a number of features that help sales representatives engage with leads and predict revenue from upcoming deals.
Features
Workflow automation tools for quotes, contract management and more
Sales funnel and lead management
Sales forecasting
Reporting and analytics
Pros
Free version is available for three or fewer users
Pay-as-you-go service allows customers to pay monthly or annually without a contract
Cons
While the free and standard levels offer some solutions, many of the workflow-related features available through Zoho are only available on higher-priced plans
Top 3 Tips for Making the Most of a Workflow Tool for Sales
Take advantage of opportunities to automate lead follow-up, as ChiliPiper reports that leads are 21 times more likely to be qualified with a response time under 30 minutes.
Use templates as much as you can — for emails and quotes at a minimum — while keeping their content customized with your ideal customer in mind.
Create a simple process for your team to document where bottlenecks happen so you aren’t losing leads and potential revenue because of workflow mistakes.
Best Workflow Management Tools for Project Management
If your team has already mapped out workflows and primarily requires a task management and team collaboration solution to help simplify the project management stage, the three platforms below may work well. They provide advanced task organization and broad visibility, plus mobile apps for teams that need to work with clients in the field.
Asana
Asana is a work management platform built to help teams organize, assign and track projects. Featuring templates, automation and reporting tools, Asana helps teams manage task lists, collaborate across projects and improve visibility into project progress.
Features
List, calendar, timelines and Kanban board
Project and task templates to simplify recurring work
Goal tracking for company, team and individual levels
Reporting dashboards to track progress
Pros
Adaptable workflows and custom forms for multiple industries and project types
Asana offers a free version with limited capabilities
Cons
No invoicing or accounting options or integrations
ClickUp is a productivity platform that helps professional services teams plan, organize and collaborate on work using tasks, Docs, Chat, Goals, Whiteboards and more. The customizable platform can fit the needs of teams of all types and sizes.
Features
Multiple views, including list, box, Gantt, board and calendar
Dashboards to track tasks, time tracking, sprints, status and team members
Time tracking using a global timer that works from desktop, mobile and Chrome
Goal tracking to measure project goals by tasks, monetary values and more
Pros
Intuitive and easy-to-navigate user interface
ClickUp offers a free version with limited capabilities
Cons
ClickUp does not have a built-in CRM, so connecting projects to their respective clients can be challenging
Smartsheet is a more powerful, intuitive version of an Excel spreadsheet. The platform has built-in project management tools like Gantt charts, file sharing and collaborative features that are popular among project managers at small businesses and enterprise organizations alike.
Features
Task dependencies
Complex process management with customizable permissions
Executive dashboard for easy visibility among leadership teams
One user notes that it “struggles to consolidate data” across sheets
Top 3 Tips for Effective Use of Workflow Tools for Project Management
Make tasks as specific as possible when you set up new workflows. This will ensure that your project team understands their roles and prove helpful for reworking processes.
Dedicate sufficient time to training your team on new digital tools. You’ll experience the benefits of workflow automation only if your team knows how and when to apply it.
Apply team efficiencies to internal communication. Efficient project management is only one step in the client experience, so connect project workflows to other departments.
Best Workflow Management Tools for Billing and Invoicing
Another key function of your business that stands to benefit from better workflows is billing. While many accounting software platforms include billing functionality, they may not sufficiently allow for workflow optimization. The platforms below are not exclusive to billing, but offer the option to connect billing to other parts of your service business.
BigTime (recently acquired Projector PSA)
BigTime is a professional services automation (PSA) software that offers project management, time tracking, billing and more for accounting and consulting firms, creative agencies, IT providers and other professional services businesses. This platform was built to connect teams and offer company-wide visibility and detailed reporting in a modern user interface.
Features
Multilayer approvals for time, expenses and invoicing
Full suite of project accounting tools, including budgeting and vendor management
Micro and macro business intelligence reports
WIP dashboard displays upcoming income
Pros
Ability to include budget status, tax rates and time logs on invoices
Integrates with popular accounting software
Cons
BigTime and Projector PSA remain two separate — and separately billed — platforms
BigTime Wallet required for clients to make payments via online portal
Sage Intacct is a cloud-based accounting software with planning and finance-related workflow automation tools to streamline business processes. The platform helps businesses manage projects, resources and budgets and increase visibility.
Features
Custom project accounting to understand costs, revenue and billing for projects
Resource management with insight into team utilization and efficiency
Financial reports and dashboards act as one centralized, accurate data source
Automated revenue and expense reallocation to simplify revenue management
Pros
Automated billing and data consolidation save time and reduce inefficiencies
Connect employee time logs to billing codes to improve billing accuracy
Cons
No built-in CRM to connect client billing records to projects
SubscriptionFlow is a revenue management platform designed to optimize subscription management for a variety of industries, including service-based businesses. It supports various billing types, including flat-fee and usage-based. Billing can be automated, saving service businesses from spending time on redundant invoicing tasks, and customers can use the client portal to make payments.
Features
Automated billing to manage recurring client work
Subscription lifecycle management
Retention management, including rewards programs, coupons and discounts
Client portal with multiple payment options
Pros
Variety of billing models match specific industry needs
Built-in solutions to support recurring revenue
Cons
Not applicable for service businesses that don’t do a significant amount of recurring work
Workflow customizations are specific to revenue and not connected to other stages of client work
Top 3 Tips for Using Workflow Automation Software for Billing and Invoicing
Before choosing a software that will automate time tracking, determine how many types of billable services you have and ensure that the platform can separately track rates.
Don’t forget to automate follow-up, and encourage clients to pay you faster by experimenting with the day of the week when you send invoices and follow-ups.
Take advantage of SMS invoicing when available. Square found that invoices sent by text are paid the fastest.
Best Overall Custom Workflow Management Platforms
While you could go with one of the above nine platforms for managing workflows in a particular facet of your business, we find it’s often a wiser choice for service businesses to use one centralized platform that can set up and attach workflows in sales, project management, billing, ticketing and more.
How do we know? See how one tax consultancy increased its profits by 93% after consolidating its workflows with Accelo.
Accelo
Accelo is a cloud-based client work management platform that combines all of the above areas that require workflow management: sales, project management and billing, plus additional products for ticketing, reports and retainer management. Designed to help professional services firms, including agencies of all sizes, Accelo gives your team the power to manage client relationships from prospect to payment in one unified space. This powerful tool provides customizable workflow management solutions across all stages of the client journey to expand visibility, improve collaboration and increase profits.
Setting up a custom event-based trigger in Accelo
Features
Custom workflows to automate and streamline business processes
Centralized client database connecting client records to projects, tasks and billing
Project management tools, including automated time trackers, useful project templates and resource management
Retainer tools, including contract management and recurring work automation
Pros
Not limited to one industry or stage of client work, so it’s customizable for all service businesses
Hive is a productivity tool that helps teams manage projects and processes with flexible project layouts, native email, resourcing, group messaging and file sharing. Specifically made with hybrid and remote teams in mind, the platform supports collaborative work with communication tools like video chats and shareable notes.
Features
Automatic and manual time tracking and timesheet reporting
Custom action statuses to help users track progress and urgency levels
Goals tracking helps teams set, track and monitor team and organization goals
Custom project and action templates to simplify recurring work
Pros
A free version is available for individual users
A library of pre-built workflows are available to customize
Cons
Some users share that the platform can be slow at times
Kintone is a work management platform with a customizable, drag-and-drop interface. It provides data management, project management, CRM and recruitment solutions for various industries. Kintone is a viable option for small businesses or non-profits that need to track customer data and manage basic projects.
Features
Workflow management
No-code automation
Inventory management
CRM database
Pros
Client access to workspace
Customizable apps can be combined for each business’s unique needs
Top 3 Tips for Maximizing Efficiency With Software for Custom Workflows
Outline workflows with assignees and time estimates for each task prior to adopting a platform. This gives you a complete picture of how all of your functions connect.
When you have a new type of project, service or client, document everything early on. Once you’ve ironed out the kinks, revisit your initial automations to improve them.
Reminder: Integrations and Templates Reduce Redundant Tasks
There are certain types of workflows that apply to many businesses, but there will be some nuances that apply to your industry or business alone. No matter which workflow software you choose, be sure to check out the wide range of integrations and templates available to verify whether you can achieve exactly what you want.
Explore an Automated Client Work Management Platform
Ready to experiment with what could be possible if your team were to perfect workflow management?
Accelo helps agencies, consultancies, IT businesses, accounting firms and other professional services businesses set up custom automations to save time, maximize efficiency and boost profitability. Try it out via a free trial or click below to set up a demo.
Author Bio
Chelsea Williams
Accelo's blog posts are brought to you by a team of experienced subject matter experts. With a deep understanding of client and sales management, resource planning, and project efficiency, we aim to share our knowledge and practical insights to help you navigate the complexities of operating a service based business.
Our goal is to provide you with expert-driven content, up-to-date information, and actionable advice on Professional Services Automation, designed to help your business succeed.
