Project management software is a term for software that helps a business manage all of the separate projects it has. It helps to improve efficiency by fostering collaboration between employees, and it keeps projects on budget by accurately controlling costs.
It’s no wonder that large enterprises are big 
users of project management software. They have myriad projects and budgets that can stretch into millions of dollars. The software they use to manage everything often costs thousands of dollars a year. However, small business owners do not need to pay exorbitant fees to properly manage their projects. There are a few good low-cost options available, including the popular Basecamp and Zoho Projects. Both offer free plans to manage one project, and cheap plans that can scale up as a business grows. Both are also web-based, so users can access them from anywhere that has an internet connection and a browser.
Small business owners are always juggling many tasks, and it can be hard to keep track of everything, especially when using Excel or paper-based processes. Project management software can organize many areas of your business and give you dramatic results right away. Here are a few ways that a small business can use it to improve business processes:
1. Tracking projects
Business owners can hold less status update meetings and forget about email to see how far a project is in completion. Progress for all projects is easy to keep track of within the software. It provides a snapshot into each project and task, to see everything that has been completed and what needs to be done.
2. Meeting deadlines
Project managers can enter start and completion dates to all of the business’ projects and tasks into their project management system to ensure the project stays on schedule. When a deadline is nearing, employees will receive notifications and they will be able to manage their time to complete what they need to finish to meet their deadlines.
3. Collaboration
Project management software creates a central place for employees to efficiently collaborate on projects. Employees can share documents, updates and timelines with co-workers and management. The project manager can assign employees individual tasks and track them as they work towards completion.
4. Delegating tasks
Business owners can very easily delegate tasks to employees. Once an employee is in the system, an owner can assign roles to all of the employees. It makes it easy for employees to know exactly what each of them needs to do, keeping them focused and performing at a high level. According to each role, employees are able to access information appropriate to their needs, and information can be added about who to contact for various parts of the project for any questions that come up.
5. External communication
A business can communicate with external parties, from the various vendors to clients a business owner works with, which makes it easier to work together when necessary. Project managers can grant external parties login privileges to share documents, access files and review the work being done in each project. Plus, a business has total control over what view an external party has, so a client can’t see another one’s data for example.
Project management software used the right way will help a small business meet its goals, get more work done efficiently and increase profit. When competing against larger entities, it is important to stay nimble, and creating a good system for managing projects will create a competitive advantage against competitors without one.
Business owners: are you using project management software, and if so, what are your recommendations for people thinking of implementing it?
Image Source: Ivan Walsh
