Running a business can be quite challenging, more so if your workers or partners are remote. In situations where people cannot report to a physical office, you might need project management software to coordinate your operations.
Here are some of the things you need to consider when selecting project management software:
1. Accessibility
Your remote workers are likely to carry out their tasks using different platforms. Therefore, your project management solution should be compatible with Mac as well as PC. The mobile version should be accessible on both iOS and Android. In addition, you need to ensure that the mobile version contains the core tools which will allow your workers to carry out tasks on the go.
2. Collaboration
The project management system should allow your workers to communicate about tasks and projects through chat or in-app messaging. The messages should appear adjacent to the relevant subjects of discussion. In addition, the software should allow users to attach files and folders from cloud storage to projects. This makes it easier to keep track of information.
3. Projects
The ideal solution allows you to display all your projects and their current status. At a glance, project managers should be able to keep track of what has been completed and what is next. A good project management solution will also allow you to assign tasks to workers. You should be able to filter the tasks by label, due date etc.
4. Integrated accounting
Look for project management software that can also manage accounting tasks such as job costing, invoicing, time tracking and estimates. This will save you the cost of buying separate accounting software.
5. Client collaboration
If your projects involve collaboration with clients, find project management software that that allows you to give outsiders access. The solution should also come with email integration which includes a wide range of email templates and the ability to send as well as track client emails. Some platforms even allow you to integrate email addresses with related social media profiles.
6. Customization
Customization is very crucial for most organizations, more so when niche-specific products are involved. Therefore, you need to find project management software that can be configured according to your needs. This could involve modifying workflows, data objects and screens. Project management software such as Tradify comes with customization options for plumbers and other types of trades.
7. Price
Some project management software is free to use, though with very limited capability. If you want more features, you will have to go for premium software. Hosted onsite solutions are usually more expensive since they involve licenses, servers, terminals, software upgrades and ongoing maintenance. The best option for small businesses is web based or SaaS solutions which only require a minimal recurring fee.
8. Security
The security of your data should be a major consideration when choosing project management software. You can lower your risks significantly by using an onsite project management solution. This will allow you to limit the number of people that can access your servers, thus lowering your risks. SaaS solutions might be cheaper, but are more risky since the data is stored by a third party.
9. Trial
As a general rule of thumb, you should never purchase any software without trying it out first. It is not enough to read about the features and look at reviews from other customers. You need to actually try it out to determine if it would be a good fit for your business. Therefore, be sure to choose project management software that comes with a free trial period.
