Project Management Tools for Small Businesses

The concept of small businesses has always existed around the world but with the development of the internet, it has become more widespread. While the COVID19 pandemic caused many small businesses to shut down, it also launched countless new ones. Small businesses differ from large businesses not only in size but also have different legal configurations along with different market niches. As small businesses do not have the capacity to spend as much as big firms, many things are done differently. Most small businesses rely on project management tools and software to get their work done which is exactly the purpose of this article. If you are wondering which software is the best for your small business then you have come to the right place!

Project management tools carry out many functions that help small businesses. The success of a project is ensured by an excellent idea and proper execution of the idea. This is where project management comes in handy. No matter how brilliant of a plan you make for a startup if the project management is inadequate, it will adversely affect the growth of the business. Thanks to project management software, it has become easier for small businesses to get their work done. 

Cloud-based solutions have turned out to become the new go-to of the business world. Due to the cloud-based service provided by project management software, better collaboration is ensured among the project team. Another amazing benefit of good project management software for your small business is that it performs a number of different roles such as managing different tasks, tracking the time, planning your project, etc. Since documentation is also another crucial aspect of project management, using project management software helps in providing easy-to-read and accessible documents to keep a record.

Now that we are aware of some of the possible benefits of using a project management software, it is time to look into the list of top ten project management software that could best serve you those benefits mentioned above.

Zoho Sprints

The topmost in the list is Zoho Sprints, it is believed to be the 1st easiest to use project management software tool. With approximately 72% of a small business market segment, Zoho works the absolute best for small teams which have the motive to deliver fast and efficiently. It is a free-of-cost online tool for agile planning and tracking. Agile is an iterative method for managing projects and software development that enables teams to serve value to their respective customers without many difficulties. An agile team produces work in manageable, small-scale increments rather than staking all on a “big bang” launching. Most of the reviews deem it as the best tool out there for small teams. For a small business, Zoho sprints is great as it allows startups to help engage their employees while also keeping track of their performance.

Gmelius

Next comes Gmelius, with assists firms in project management it’s known as the 3rd easiest email management software. Gmelius serves the unique function of allowing you to collaborate on emails allowing you to speed up your tasks. With 84% of its market segment comprising small businesses, it could be the perfect choice for your small business. It facilitates team collaboration by transforming email inboxes into the workplace. Most of the reviews say that Gmelius is very flexible and the owners use it for workflow automation and collaboration, also it’s highly effective for keeping track of email coordination.

Akiflow

Unlike other apps, Akiflow is an individual task manager app and also serves the purpose of being a calendar desktop app making sure that you are always well organized. Staying organized sometimes takes a lot of work and energy but with Akiflow, you would be able to manage the most basic of tasks. It makes sure to carry out the essentials of productivity with a minimized effort by speeding up the completion of basics by 10 times. Since small business owners do not have as many resources and often time not as many people carrying out different functions, they ought to make avoidable mistakes. Akiflow helps eliminate those mistakes because of the way its features are designed. They help you steer clear of distractions, over-scheduling, cognitive overloading, etc. 

DHTMLX UI

The software ranking 3rd in the easiest to use project management software is DHTMLX with an estimated 82% small business market segment. It is a front-end tool kit used for efficiently developing complex user interfaces in a short span of time. It offers many JavaScript UI widgets that particularly assist in project management applications. Scheduler, Gantt chart, Kanban board, and spreadsheets are a few examples of the widgets offered by DHTMLX.

As mentioned previously, one of the primary functions of DHTMLX is to deliver multi-purpose JavaScript libraries and UI widgets (which are a crucial part of a user interface) for building agile workplace and Business-to-Business Online applications brand new. These exclusive components provide web developers with the opportunity to enhance their productivity in coding by being able to devise more advanced functionalities without investing an extravagant of time and energy. It is a one-stop where you can find everything. Its product line comprises tools that fulfill pretty much all the business needs of today’s digitalized world.

GanttProject

As the name suggests GanttProject is an open-source tool that makes use of a Gantt-like approach to carry out project management. It has been around since 2003 which means it has undergone several modifications itself. Despite employing a non-cloud-based approach, Ganttproject is a productive tool if you keep in mind its task management features. As it offers tools for online communication, it is a great choice if you are looking for a tool that could enhance collaboration and tracking of distributed projects. With 55 percent of the market segment comprising small businesses, its basic task management features fulfill all the fundamental needs of your small business.

VivifyScrum

This single page application is the answer to all your project management wishes. It is the perfect choice for businesses with small agile teams and also for large teams at the same time. This could be understood by its market segment percentage as well where 42% comprises small businesses and 55% comprises mid-market. VivifyScrum is the software that checklists all aspects of your small business-ranging from usual tasks like team collaboration and tracking the standing of your project to sending invoices to your clients through the app, directly. It is a tool that helps streamline your workflows. This software is well suited to work with Scrum and Kanban programs. Since it has an uncomplicated user interface, it becomes easier for the customers to navigate through the application. It is compatible with all devices and is available as a web, desktop, and mobile application making it all the more easy to access. With VivifyScrum you could view all your projects on a single page.

Timeghost

Timeghost is the best tool for time tracking out there. It is most helpful for those running small businesses as it could easily integrate with Microsoft 365. Its’ 90% market segment consists of small businesses that could attest to its quality and feasibility. With timeghost, you could keep the track of all small tasks on your plate that you often tend to forget such as the time devoted to documents and team meetings. Some of the time tracking features of TimeGhost includes managing timesheet, tracking office hours, billing and invoices, and automatic time capture. This project tracking solution has been exclusively designed for Microsoft 365 so if you have a Microsoft 365 account, you wouldn’t need any extra registrations on your part as it would accommodate itself with your office account. You are able to produce invoices, time reports, and many other documents via the Microsoft Power Automate connector. With its support, the users are able to attach any solution they require.

Excel Gantt chart Template

Henry Gantt was the man who came up with the idea of a Gantt chart tool back in the 1900s. It was designed a certain way to show the timeline of a project. It included a bar chart that represented the start point and the end point of different tasks in the schedule of a project. A simple Gantt chart is extremely helpful in tracking the progress of your project. A significant number of project planners use this type of chart. A Gantt chart illustrates the beginning and ending in such a way that all the tasks that need to be completed are listed down on the left. Their start dates and due dates are also mentioned along with them. At the top is the timeline beneath which a bar is present showing when tasks start and end. The tasks are commonly allotted utilizing a work breakdown strategy with summary tasks and sub-tasks. You could either make your Excel Gantt chart right from scratch or search on the internet for a free Gantt chart template that you could download. Excel Gantt Chart templates are used by everyone including project teams and businesses of varying sizes but 50% of the market segment is made up of small businesses.

Centric

Centric is a cloud-based program with a very intuitive user interface so it wouldn’t be difficult to figure out how to use it. This solution offers small businesses with necessary tools to manage and monitor projects all on a centralized platform. It could be very convenient for your small business because you could easily create a record of all the activities and monitor project achievements. You could generate program reports which would also help you assess the performance of your previous or ongoing projects so that you point out the flaws and what you are doing wrong. In simpler terms, a centric system is one that integrates the principles of governance and IT into the common practice of project management. You can also use a centralized database to store documents. Centric goes beyond just project management and includes elements for the management of intellectual property, research publications, etc.

Instagantt

We previously mentioned Gantt charts; well Instagantt is a tool that makes Gantt charts easy for you. Through Instagantt you could manage, schedule, and assess your projects easily. Improvements made in its interface over the years have allowed for it to become more user-friendly. With Instagantt, you get a clearer visualization of your Gantt charts making it easy for you to track the performance of the tasks in your small business. You could organize all tasks according to the projects and dates very easily.