Project management tools for small business owners.

warui kiondo
Runnovate Virtual Assistants
9 min readMay 19, 2021

When running any type of business it is very convenient when you have a project management tool so that you can run your projects effectively. There are several factors that are important in ensuring that your business runs smoothly. For example, you must ensure that your team knows what needs to be done when it needs to be done, and how they need to do it. This way, everyone knows the progress being made and you’ll get better results.‍

Project management tools allow you to manage your team more effectively because you can always be aware of what’s happening around you. The most important thing is that it’s going to make your team more efficient. The more your team knows about the projects and tasks they’re working on, the more they can get done. All you need to do is make sure you are evaluating the apps you use carefully. After all, the wrong apps and tools could slow down your team rather than improving it. We’ve gone through dozens of apps and tools to find the ones we’ve mentioned below, and we think these are the top ten that you should be looking at for your needs.

Let’s take a look at some of the best Free Project Management software available, so you can select the best fit for you and your team:

  1. ClickUp

If you want to manage tasks efficiently, including managing your more substantial tasks, full projects, or small tasks you’ll want to check out this tool. It is suitable for all types and sizes of teams and businesses. It’s designed to let you customize everything, so you have a system that works for you. It also enables you to do automatic scheduling with estimated times, and you can choose who gets to see what on the system. That way, when you bring your team into the system, they’re not automatically privy to everything.

You can set goals and see how they’re doing as well as change up the view that works best for you, check on the status of projects and more. You’ll also have an inexpensive rate because this system is paid based on how many people you have on your team. Another great fact about ClickUp is that it allows for more than 1000 integrations with other softwares like Slack, Google Drive, Google calendar just to name a few.‍

Click up is also downloadable on any device!

‍ClickUp Features:

  • Process management
  • Task management
  • Time management
  • Complete customization
  • Integrations
  • Team collaborations
  • Reporting
  • Apps and devices

Pricing.

ClickUp has a free version that offers 100MB storage, unlimited tasks, unlimited members, and two factor authentication. It also has a premium version that costs $5 per member per month which offers unlimited storage, unlimited list, board, and calendar views, unlimited integrations, unlimited dashboards, guests and permissions, goals, portfolios, and custom fields.

2. Trello.

Trello provides a basic but easy-to-use system for keeping track of all of your different tasks. You can create entirely different boards for different types of jobs, different projects, different teams, or anything else you like. You get to switch between boards however you want and create any tasks that you want within them.

You can drag and drop your cards, add tags, fields, priority levels, and a whole lot more. The interface is user-friendly, and there are even power-ups that help you add on different features that you may need. You also can choose between different modes that range from free for individuals or small groups up to an enterprise version that’s available for each member of your team.

‍Trello Features:‍

  • Drag & drop
  • Detailed & Quick Overviews of Front/Back Cards
  • Tasks and subtasks
  • In-Line Editing
  • Deadline Alerts and Notifications

Pricing.

Trello has a free version for teams and individuals looking to be more productive. It also has a business class that is very suitable for teams with up to 100 members. It allows team members to track multiple projects and visualize work in multiple ways. This premium version costs $10 per member per month when billed annually and $12.50 when billed per month. There is also the Enterprise package that caters to companies that need to connect work across teams and enhance org-wide controls, security, and support. In order to know the pricing for this package, you have to contact the sales team at Trello.

3. ProofHub.

The user-friendly aspect of ProofHub is one of the first things you’re going to like. Then you will love that it has got a minimal learning curve. You can organize the projects you want to create, the teams that are responsible for them. This makes management very easy and ensures that each team is accountable for on-time deliveries. You get to customize everything from the color scheme to the names and logos that you use. There are even six different language options, so you can make it work for your team even if you are international.

When you set up each of your team members, you will be able to assign roles and provide only the level of access that each team member needs. You also get mobile options that work with both iOS and Android devices.

‍ProofHub Features:

  • Time tracking
  • Kanban boards
  • Project templates
  • Proofing and file approval
  • Gantt charts
  • Idea management
  • Product road mapping
  • Multi-language
  • Custom workflows
  • Custom roles

Pricing.

There is a free version that offers great discounts for non-profit organizations. There is an essential premium version that costs $45 per month if billed annually and $50 per month when paid every month. This version offers 40 projects, up to 15GB in storage, and unlimited users. There is also the ultimate control version that costs $89 per month when billed annually and $99 when billed monthly. This version supports unlimited projects, unlimited users, and 100 GB storage.

4. Monday.

What if you could have a system that makes things easier for you and is named for everybody’s least favorite day of the week? Well, you can with Monday. This system offers you plenty of features, including following Twitter and LinkedIn threads and even commenting on different tasks. You also can customize who can access various projects. If you already use other systems, you can integrate them into your account, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and Zapier.

The open-source framework is one of the best parts of this tool, letting you create any integrations and other features you may want. You can also get more detailed reports, and you can add on any people you want, including third-party agents or freelancers. You can choose between different pricing structures depending on the size of your team.

Monday Features:

  • Collaboration tool for multiple employees.
  • Visual display of progress.
  • Easy communication.
  • Email notifications
  • Execution Board — with big screen display
  • Integrations with Dropbox, Google Drive, Pipedrive just to name a few

Pricing.

It has a free individual plan for individuals looking to keep track of their work and tasks. This plan supports up to 2 users. There is also the basic plan that costs $8 per person per month. It is suitable for teams that are just getting on managing projects online in one place. The standard plan costs $10 per person per month and allows teams to visualize their work in different ways and collaborate externally. There is the pro package that costs $16 per person per month and is highly recommended for teams that need to collaborate on complex projects with more automation and integrations. The enterprise package was created for organizations that need enterprise-grade security, control, and support.

5. Teamwork.

This tool allows you to create workflows that are simple for people to understand. You can create different projects, milestones, and tasks. This system works on iOS, Android, Google Chrome, and Web. That means any of your users and team members can access it no matter where they are or what type of device they use. And you can check in to see just what they’re doing through the snapshot view.

You get to assign high, low, and medium priority to tasks, see how your team is doing, and even set up the start dates and due dates for everything.

‍Teamwork Features:

  • Gantt charts
  • Reporting dashboards
  • Templates
  • Collaboration
  • Board View
  • Time Tracking
  • Workload management

Pricing.

You can try out the whole thing for free for 30 days. Then you pay based on the number of people who are on your team. There is a free version for small teams and individuals just getting started with project management. A deliver version that that allows you to manage multiple projects, it costs $10 per user per month when billed annually and $12.50 when billed annually. There is the grow version for teams that want to be more organized and efficient. It costs $18 per user per month when billed annually and $22.50 when billed monthly. There is also the enterprise version that offers advanced security, extra speed, and additional security. For the pricing for this, you must consult the sales team.

6. Wrike.

This tool will give you the ability to communicate with your team while collaborating. They also have document management tools and different communication features. It allows you to set up priorities for what needs to be done and make sure that your team is working more efficiently on the tasks that matter. It allows for integration with different softwares like Google and outlook.‍

With this system, you can use Gantt charts, which help you to create the timelines you’re looking for. You also get a more straightforward process for staying up-to-date on what’s happening in your projects so you can send the information on to your clients.

‍Wrike Features:

  • Interactive Gantt charts
  • Kanban boards
  • Purpose-built templates
  • Time tracking
  • Collaborative team editing
  • Folder hierarchy

Pricing.

There is a free version that allows the sharing of simple task lists for small teams. There is also a professional version that costs $9.80 per user per month that allows for full project collaboration and planning. The business version costs $24.80 per user per month and allows for robust work management with customization & exec reporting. The enterprise version offers a comprehensive solution with advanced security & controls. For the pricing of this, you need to consult the sales team.

7. Smartsheet.

If you want your team to be able to collaborate on anything and everything, this is a great way to go. Smartsheet integrates with the enterprise tools and apps you’re already using, so you can focus on the work that matters most. It offers you attachment options so you can upload files directly into the system from Google Drive, Onedrive, Dropbox, and many of your other favorites. You can even see who is busy and who isn’t on your team so you can contact people at more convenient times. All you need to do is take a look at the dashboard.

It allows you to set up different permissions, and you can make sure everything is maintained and updated correctly along the way. That’s because it sends out automatic update requests to make sure everyone is on the same page. When you are ready to try it out you will find time-tracking, reporting, resource management, and planning. It’s all entirely cloud-based, too, so you can access it from anywhere. ‍

‍Smartsheet Features:

  • Spreadsheet templates
  • Time tracking
  • Reporting
  • Resource management
  • Planning
  • Predecessor tasks
  • Automated workflows
  • Add ons and integration

Pricing.

There is a free version with limited features. The standard individual plan goes for $14 per month and the standard business plan costs $25 per user per month. There is an enterprise plan that will need you to contact the sales team for a quotation.

8. Asana.

Asana allows you to track everything that everyone is working on very well. This program gives you the ability to create the task list you want and then move it as much as you like. You also have a visual project timeline that you can use to see everything you need to get done. You can even set up your progress, note due dates, and make sure that scheduling and rescheduling are simple and easy.

What makes this application even better is that it works with several of your other favorites. You can link it to your Slack, Google Calendar, and Dropbox. All of these links make it easy to integrate, and they also ensure you don’t have to put in information all at once.

Asana Features:

  • Document Management
  • Project Management
  • Time & Expense Tracking
  • CRM
  • Collaboration Tools
  • Portfolio Management
  • Resource Management

Pricing.

Asana has a free version with limited features. The premium version costs $10.99 per user per month when billed annually and $13.49 when billed monthly. The business plan costs $24.99 per user per month when billed annually and $30.49 per user per month when billed monthly. The enterprise package is for organizations that need additional security, control, and support.

Conclusion.

Runnovate virtual assistants have undergone continuous training in the listed tools above. You will be able to work on projects seamlessly with them and they will always deliver quality work on time. Hire a virtual assistant today by filling out this form.

--

--