As a business owner, you know the things that are critical for success. You need to deliver an amazing client experience. You need to stay on task, on track, and on budget. You need to invest in you, your company, and your team to achieve growth.
Initially, this all seems so simple and attainable.
In fact, you’re doing it so well that it seems that new clients are coming on board all the time.
Then what happens?
Things start slipping through the cracks.
Deadlines are missed.
Projects go over budget.
Communication between the team is lost in an endless string of emails.
And let’s not even talk about all the time you spend searching for documents.
So…what do you do? You start looking for some project management software – in hopes of alleviating some of the issues you’re experiencing.
But guess what? You’re not exactly sure what you need or what you should be looking for when it comes to a project management tool.
It’s okay.
Let me share a few of the main features you should be seeking out in order to get the most from your project management tool – so that you, your team, and your clients all benefit.
Task management
This seems like a no-brainer, right? After all, the main reason you want a project management tool is to manage tasks. But, I’ve seen many agencies using CRMs and other pieces of software to manage tasks – which they’re truly not designed for. Don’t make this mistake. It will only cost you time and money down the way.
Your project management tool should be able to track all the tasks associated with a project.
The best task management features will allow you to:
- Break tasks down into smaller, more manageable pieces
- Assign tasks to specific team members
- Set deadlines for each task
- Track the progress of each task
- Add comments or notes to each task
Ease of Use
What happens when a piece of software is not easy to use?
You don’t use it. Period.
You don’t want a project management tool that is so complicated that it takes days and days to learn.
This is not to say there won’t be a learning curve – because there will be. But your project management tool shouldn’t be so complicated that it makes it impossible to learn. In fact, one of the tools I often recommend does take a bit of time to master, but we begin by teaching you the basics and gradually teach you more complex features as your level of competency grows.
Right away, you should be able to:
- Create new projects
- Add team members to projects
- Set up tasks and deadlines
- Track progress
- Share files and documents associated with each project
Collaboration
So…tell me – are you and your team living in email and Slack? Are you trying to manage all the things with these two things – but then spend what seems like an endless amount of time sifting through messages to find the information you need? That’s just not effective.
You want a tool that will allow your team to easily collaborate.
Project management software needs to allow you and your team to:
- Communicate in real-time
- Share files and documents
- Leave comments on tasks or projects
- Assign tasks to specific team members
Dashboards and Reporting
Find yourself asking who’s got a lot on their plate at the current moment? Or what stage a project is in? Or if you’re going to finish on time? Then you need dashboards and reporting. You need to be able to see how things in your business are progressing – whether it be for your team or your clients.
The best project management software will have:
- Dashboards that give you an overview of all your projects
- Reports that show you where things are on track – and where they’re falling behind
Filter and Search Capabilities
I always tell clients that they want their project management tool to be the hub of their business. This should be the place where you and your team (and sometimes your clients) come to manage just about everything. And that can mean that your project management tool contains a LOT of data. And, as your company grows, so does the amount of data you need to track. But when you have the ability to filter and search – it doesn’t mean that this data is overwhelming.
Your project management software should be able to:
- Filter and search – allowing you to quickly find the information you need
- Create custom reports for the data you want
Customization
No two businesses are alike – so why should your project management software be any different? Whether it be how you like to look at data or how you like to sort it or something as simple as whether you will work in the tool in list view or board view, your software should allow for customization.
The best project management software will allow you to:
- Customize the tool to fit your specific needs
- Integrate with other business applications
Easy Access to Documents and Project Files
So often, I hear that teams spend a lot of time looking for documents. If you can’t find the files you need, then it’s really hard to do your job. But when you can place links to important documents or even create documents directly in your project management tool, it becomes a whole lot easier – and think of the time you’ll be saving.
The Ability to Grow With You
Businesses change – and most often, that’s because you grow. Your team grows and you add more clients. As your business grows, you need a project management tool that can grow with you.
Look for project management software that will:
- Scale to meet the needs of your business
- Offer different pricing plans to fit your budget
If your business is growing and things are getting more complicated, then you may be starting to experience growing pains. And in order to alleviate those pains, it might be time to invest in a project management tool.
Now that you know what to look for in a project management tool, you can start your search with confidence. There are a lot of great options out there – so take your time and find the one that’s right for you. And if you have questions about possible solutions or want a recommendation based on your unique situation, reach out to me. You can schedule a call by going to: https://melissavmorris.as.me/discoverycall