Top Features for Project Management Software
Project management software includes crucial features such as task management, scheduling, and resource allocation to help plan and track projects in small to large companies. It assists collaboration by file sharing and communication; presents visual project progress through Gantt charts; and incorporates reporting and automation to facilitate consistent workflows, along with monitoring progress. Top Features for Project Management Software are detailed in this article to bring an idea to businesses that are looking to deploy project management software in their workspace.
Top Project Management Software Features
Task Management
Task management in project management software facilitates task creation, assignment, progress tracking (via Kanban boards or Gantt charts), prioritization, and dependency setting. rIt also facilitates integration with other software, alongside key collaboration features such as file sharing, time tracking, and reporting. Many project management software solutions offer customizable workflows, automated reminders, and different views for visualizing tasks under task management.
Benefits
- Workflow customization: Project management software, through its task management feature, can customise or design unique workflows that fit the specific needs of a project or team.
- Integrations: Task management offers connections to other popular software, such as email clients, calendars, and file-sharing services.
- File sharing: This includes attachment and sharing of documents, images, and other files related to a specific task.
ClickUp
ClickUp includes the ability to plan, track, collaborate, and report on tasks. It is an all-in-one productivity platform with teams collaborate to plan, organize, and perform using tasks, Docs, Chat, Goals, and Whiteboard. Customized with just a few clicks, ClickUp helps companies to work more effectively and boost productivity to new heights. The feature score is 9.2.
“ClickUp is the single source of truth in our content marketing company. It drives our project flows, holds relevant documentation, and automates communication and task distribution. The ability to track time, hand off sub-tasks, and organize details without needing to perform 5 “housekeeping” tasks in the middle of project productivity is a massive win for our business.”
Read Tim’s full review here.
Resource Management
Resource management offers real-time visibility of resource availability, task and workload allocation, time tracking, resource forecasting, and reporting and analytics. These tools help to balance workloads, prevent burnout, and ensure projects have the right people and materials at the right time to meet objectives.
Benefits
- Time management: This feature ensures that the right resources are available at the right time, minimizing delays and keeping projects moving forward smoothly.
- Cost Control: It helps track project budgets, avoids unnecessary expenses like overtime, and ensures resources are allocated to the most profitable initiatives.
- Smarter Decisions: Resource management provides clear data on skill gaps and future resource needs, enabling organizations to stay informed and take proper hiring or training decisions.
monday.com
monday.com brings next-level strategies and opportunities with a resource management plan to maximize resources and minimize workload. It is an open platform designed for users to create the tools they need to run their projects. The user interface includes building blocks like Apps and integrations, allowing teams to build or customize their work solutions. The feature score is 8.4.
“We needed a solution to connect our purchasing department with our design department. This has expanded to other departments, and it works very well. Working across departments with all information in one place and all communication in one place is precisely what we needed to create a good foundation for the work.”
Read Kim’s full review here.
Gantt Charts
Gantt charts play a vital role in project management software by offering a visual timeline for projects, featuring tasks, dependencies, and milestones to help with planning, tracking, and resource management. It includes interactive timelines, progress tracking (in progress charts), task assignment, resource allocation, and collaboration for sharing files and communicating with cross-functional team members.
Benefits
- Project Path Analysis: It identifies task sequences to determine the project’s minimum completion time. This facilitates focusing on what’s most critical.
- Customizable Reports: It generates project progress reports and shares high-level updates with stakeholders.
- Progress Tracking: It shows the progress of each task through a percentage completion bar or by displaying the overall project’s status.
Airtable
Airtable, with Gantt charts, shows tasks or events along the y-axis displayed against time along the x-axis. Airtable is a project management and collaboration platform that enables content pipelines, user research, event planning, product management, and more. It combines spreadsheet, database, calendar, and kanban functionality within one platform. The feature score is 8.4.
“I use Airtable for my business and with a nonprofit that I’ve been affiliated with for the past 7 years. Across both, I’ve used Airtable for the following: database to track animal welfare projects, a media pipeline for video creation, a tracker for screening job applicants, a sales database, and so on.”
Read this Verified User’s full review here.
Workflow Automation
Workflow automation offers customizable tasks like assignment and status changes, pre-built templates for quick setup, drag-and-drop interfaces, and AI-powered features for intelligent assistance. Workflow automation saves time by automating repetitive tasks, request routing, built-in approvals, real-time data and reporting, integrations with other tools, and multi-project views such as Gantt charts and Kanban boards.
Benefits
- Integrations: This feature integrates with other third-party apps and tools to create a seamless, automated ecosystem. Tasks are also managed automatically by assigning tasks to team members
- Customizable workflows: Workflow automation designs workflows to match specific team processes, with options for conditional logic and branching paths.
- Approvals: It builds automated approval cycles for documents and designs created by employees.
Trello
Trello enables companies to use workflow automation to route work requests along an approval process automatically. Trello from Atlassian is a project management tool based on a Kanban framework. It operates best for task management in a to-do list format and supports sharing boards and cards across users or teams. It has a free version and paid versions that add automation, collaboration, and administrative control. Trello’s users score the product 8.2/10 for this feature.
“My employees are scattered across the US. We use Trello to track the activities that need to be accomplished, as well as who is responsible for accomplishing them. I use the automation feature to create lists of recurring activities each month. I also use the template feature, combined with the checklists, to create lists of reports that need to be sent on a monthly basis.”
Read Mary’s full review here.
Team Collaboration
Team collaboration is very important for any organization, and under project management software, it includes task management, real-time communication, file sharing and document management, project planning, reporting, and analytics. These features are accessed through a centralized hub for teams to work together, track progress, and stay aligned, regardless of their location.
Benefits
- Communication: Effective project communication means ensuring the right information reaches the right people at the right time. This practice keeps projects aligned with their goals, clarifies scope, manages risks, informs stakeholders, and strengthens collaboration. A well-structured communication plan defines who needs specific information and how and when it will be delivered.
- File and document sharing: This feature has a central place to store, share, and attach files and documents for projects or tasks. Many tools offer integrations with services like Google Docs.
- Visual project planning: It offers visualizing the project timelines with tools like Gantt charts, Kanban boards, etc. These timelines help teams to understand dependencies and track progress visually.
- Shared calendars: Teams share a calendar under this feature. This keeps everyone in sync by sharing project timelines, deadlines, and milestones.
Wrike
Wrike operates excellently in team collaboration capabilities, allowing team members to work directly with each other and provide team updates. Wrike is an enterprise-grade collaborative project management platform that helps companies create a structure that helps accelerate business impact and lets teams focus on the right work. It offers tailored solutions for marketing and creative teams, project management teams, product teams, and service delivery teams. Real users give Wrike a score of 8.7 for this feature.
“We use Wrike as our centralized project management and workflow platform to track payer contracting negotiations from initiation through execution. Contracting involves multiple stakeholders, including legal, finance, operations, provider leadership, and payer representatives. Wrike helps us coordinate these activities in a structured, transparent way.”
Read Kara’s full review here.
Email integration
Email integration in project management enables teams to create, manage, and track tasks directly from their inboxes. It streamlines communication by converting emails into tasks and actions. This feature converts emails to tasks, assigns tasks via email, adds attachments, sets task details, and receives notifications for project updates. This integration provides a single platform for project communication, improves efficiency, and ensures that no important information is missed by connecting email to project tasks.
Benefits
- Improved Productivity: The feature streamlines workflows by creating and updating tasks and ensuring that actionable items from email conversations are not lost.
- Enhanced Collaboration: With enhanced collaboration, teamwork, especially for remote teams, is facilitated by providing a unified space for communication and task management.
- Increased Efficiency: It reduces the time spent switching between applications by managing tasks and communications from the email inbox.
Asana
Asana, with Email integration, allows work requests to be made directly from email. The tasks are managed and performed with activities scheduled in email inboxes, which saves time and enhances proficiency. Asana is a web and mobile project management app with tasks, projects, conversations, and dashboards for managing activities. The feature score is 7.8.
“We use Asana to fulfill work orders. A form connects to Asana to create a work order. We are then able to assign the work order to an individual based on the level of importance/work they have. Asana allows us to see what tasks everyone is working on, making it easier to assign new tasks to individuals with a lighter workload. This product addressed easy workflow updates, tracking of previous tasks/work orders, and a central place to put new ideas.”
Read this Verified User’s full review here.
Timesheet Tracking
Timesheet tracking includes logging time for specific tasks, automatic timers, and manager approval workflows. It generates reports for invoicing and payroll, compares planned hours vs. actual time taken to analyze project pace, and provides real-time visibility into project progress and employee performance.
Benefits
- Budgeting tracking: This feature monitors project costs by tracking how much time and money are spent on projects, and helps to stay within budget.
- Task management: It assigns tasks, sets deadlines, and monitors progress, using the time tracking data to understand project pacing.
- Resource management: Timesheet tracking uses time tracking data in order to balance workloads, prevent overwork, and ensure resources are allocated efficiently.
BQE CORE
BQE CORE has the timesheet tracking ability to track all billable and non-billable hours for each project. It is a business management software built specifically for professional service firms offering billing assistance, project management, and accounting solutions. The feature score is 9.4.
“Now that we use BQE COREwe have a better way to track time and expenses along with accounting. In our industry we are typically a subconsultant on new construction projects and this software is particularly useful in our industry. It is helpful for marketing and project managers to be able to view all of the client information in one place, as well as keep accounting visible for particular users. Time tracking for us has never been more efficient!”
Read Sydney’s full review here.
Invoicing
Project management software with invoicing facilitates time and expense tracking, automated invoice generation linked to project progress, and customizable templates for professional billing. It also involves payment gateway integration for online payments, multi-currency support, and client portals for transparent communication. These manage cash flow, financial accuracy, and streamline the billing process for projects.
Benefits
- Pre-billing information: This feature consolidates all necessary data, such as quotations, timesheets, and other costs, in one place for easy invoice building.
- Multi-tasking: It allows users to work on multiple projects at a time without losing track of progress, along with managing payables and receivables.
- Cash flow forecasting: Invoicing helps with real-time insights and forecasts to manage cash flow based on project billing.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet creates, manages, and sends invoices to clients during or after completion of a project to keep up with seamless invoicing. Smartsheet is an online project management and collaboration tool that functions on automated alerts, instantaneous updating and sharing across team members, resource management, a Gantt chart view, exportable and automated reports, and integration with email. The feature score is 7.8.
“The main way I use Smartsheet is for project management and event management. We do a lot of exhibitor conferences here, and Smartsheet is ideal for planning, tracking, and assigning tasks, as there are a LOT of moving parts when attending a conference as a vendor. Being able to attach PDFs and images to line items comes in very handy with signed agreements, latest versions of marketing collateral, etc.”
Read Dustin’s full review here.
Choosing the Top Features For Project Management Software
Project management software is a digital platform that manages tasks under various projects through collaboration with other tools in order to manage a seamless workflow in a business. Considering the few top features for project management software mentioned in this article, companies must ensure that they consider the most suitable software when it comes to their business needs.
To continue your research, explore the project management software on TrustRadius. You can compare products, read verified reviews, and see which solutions best fit your needs. You may also find value in related categories and resources, including:
