There are hundreds of project management software providers out there, all of which can help your business stay on track and on budget with key initiatives, and ensure project stakeholders can collaborate and communicate.
But each has different features, prices, and strengths and weaknesses that make them more or less suitable for your business. We’ve compared the best project management software providers around to bring you our pick of the five best.
We also explain what to consider when choosing a project management software and explore some of the key features and functions you should be aware of.
Check out this list of the top 5 project management software providers for UK small businesses.
How is this top 5 composed?
These project management software providers were selected based on the business type for which they were developed, expert reviews, and their key features.
Important functions include making workflow tools accessible in one location, easy documentation, and budget tracking. When reviewing the products, our experts considered the time it takes to become familiar with the platform, the ease of use, and the level of help and support on offer.
Choice for project management software: what should I take into account?
With literally hundreds of project management providers on the market, how do you ensure you pick one that actually makes things easier? A product that doesn’t suit the way your business operates could actually end up making you team less efficient.
You should take the following into account when choosing our software:
1. Your project management team
Understanding the capabilities of your team is necessary when choosing the right project management tool. Small, autonomous and organised teams have different needs then bigger teams that work on big and more complex projects. Map out the requirements of your project team(s) first!
2. Project management method
Is your team working in an agile way or are they working according to the lean principle? Some tools are better suited for the former or the latter. So define which methods are used by your teams to make a better choice.
3. Your budget
Usually you pay about £10 to £30 per month for a good project management system. For a more complex system in which, for example, you also do time tracking, budgeting and team scheduling you can look at an SME project management provider.
4. Integration with other software
Do you also use software for team scheduling and time tracking or do you keep track of your customer contacts in a CRM package? If so, you could see if integration of both systems is possible, which can make things much more efficient and convenient.
Important functions
In addition to the above, you can select a project management system based on the functions that are important to you.
For example:
- A cloud-based solution – being able to access your project management from the cloud means it’s accessible by any member of the team from any device
- Accessible workflow tools – there should be one centralised location for all key workflow tools, which can help to streamline operations and reduces the time it takes for team members to get to grips with the platform
- Collaboration – collaboration tools such as messaging, shared boards, and the ability to share files are vital if you want everyone to be on the same page
- Easy documentation – it should be easy for stakeholders to access the essential documentation that will inform their decision-making
- Budget tracking – a decent software will make it clear to you at all times how new decisions and actions are affecting or eating into your budget
