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Which Project Management Platform is Right For You?

Which Project Management Platform is Right For You?

With over 400 online project management tools in the market, professional service providers are spoilt for choice. We speak with businesses every day wanting to switch to a new project management tool. Some come to us with a solution in mind, while others want some help in selecting the best solution for their immediate and future needs.  

We know it is not only a daunting task but also a large time investment to navigate trials and software vendors all wanting your attention.

So, to help shortcut the system evaluation process, we’ve put together our perspective on 8 project management tools that we feel address the spectrum of most businesses’ needs today.

Discover more about each of the solutions at a glance below, then click through to our report for each platform.

 


Xero Projects

FeaturesProsCons
Designed for small teams (ideal for less than 5 people)Easily draw database from Xero

Minimal customisation
Simplistic reporting
Unable to integrate quotes
Xero integrationSimple set up & usability
$10 per month (with a Xero subscription)Great invoicing flexibility

Want to know more? [Read our blog review on Xero Projects]


Harvest & Forecast

FeaturesProsCons
Suits those with a simple quoting process

Flexibility in time capture
Easy to track project progress
View projects at a glance
Limited pipeline management functionality

$12 per person per month
Great option for those who prioritise time tracking
No link between estimate and project
Limited project management functionality beyond tracking time and expenses

Want to know more? [Read our blog review on Harvest & Forecast]


Streamtime

FeaturesProsCons


Designed for creatives
Xero integration
$0-40 per month


Track time via a ‘to-do’ list
Simple timesheet usability
Great invoicing flexibility
Very fixed dashboard personas offer limited detail
An adjustment for those used to traditional timesheeting
No quick way to invoice for repetitive jobs

Want to know more? [Read our blog review on Streamtime]


ActiveCollab

FeaturesProsCons


Simple, user-friendly interface
Client collaboration
Good for businesses with non-complex projects that require little to no customisation in regards to estimating, invoicing and CRM




Flexible permissions to allow client access to project details
Assign custom rates to each client
Detailed task lists



CRM capabilities lack depth
Limited flexibility and no templating
No invoicing templates for duplicate jobs

Want to know more? [Read our blog review on ActiveCollab]


Zoho Projects

 

FeaturesProsCons
Variety of modules allows for a customisable all-in-one solution

Nice facility to track support issues for clients and projects
Caters to a variety of working styles
Detailed task lists



Diversity of functionality can feel overwhelming
Lacking in financial visibility
Comprehensive yet more costly than other solutions

Client portal for collaboration
Suits big teams requiring more complex communication

Want to know more? [Read our blog review on Zoho Projects]


WorkflowMax

FeaturesProsCons
Aimed at small-medium businesses


Good level of customisation
Ability to input data in a number of ways
Flexible and comprehensive report builder
Limited staff scheduling functionality
Affordable price (by user bands)
Some integration limitations
Some rigidness and lack of flexibility for modern working styles
Lead management add-on additional $15 per month

Want to know more? [Read our blog review on WorkflowMax]


Scoro

 

FeaturesProsCons

 

End-to-end solution
Extensive functionality and modules that cater for a wide range of professional and creative agencies
$34-97 per month

Excellent dashboard view
Streamlined quote and pipeline module
Excels with resource planning
Configuration of templates is quite difficult to master, some HTML experience is necessary
Complexity of the solution can result in some confusion when first implementing Scoro
  

Want to know more? [Read our blog review on Scoro]


Accelo

 

FeaturesProsCons


 

Accommodates a range of businesses and industries
Accessible by both Collaborators (access for free) and Professionals
US$39-79 per month
Great for tracking the work and progress of a client throughout its lifecycle

Sales module somewhat difficult to navigate
Extensive capabilities often hindered by the complexity of the system


Project module is impressive though complex
Great depth of information that can be stored, filtered, viewed

Want to know more? [Read our blog review on Accelo]


If you have any questions, or want to know more about any of the solutions we’ve investigated, get in touch! We’d be happy to walk through your business needs and help you find the perfect project management solution.

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Is Scoro Project Management Software Right For You?

Is Scoro Project Management Software Right For You?

Scoro is a comprehensive tool that boasts an impressive end-to-end experience for its users. Founded in 2013, Scoro is one of the faster growing project management solutions in the market. It is winning its customer base through regular improvements to its sites. Scoro aims to ‘bring structure to your work’ and tie in all your business functions into one single solution – an aim that they have been quite successful in achieving.

A one-stop-shop

Scoro allows for businesses to manage their entire workflow in one place. Built upon the framework of ‘sell it, work it, bill it’, Scoro’s strength lies in its extensive functionality and modules that cater for a wide range of professional and creative agencies. Scoro houses businesses development, project management and financial functions – all with their own set of customizable fields and purposes – ensuring all areas of your business is accounted for and optimized. The process of optimization only continues after implementation, with software enhancements being continually added and an active support line that averages an hour and a half response time.

A single page view is mastered by Scoro. The PM tool offers a new meaning to accessibility – whether you are looking at clients, projects, quotes to invoices, Scoro shows all relevant information in a single page where you can easily filter or view information as you please. Insightful and comprehensive filtering is achievable through the in-depth details that Scoro allows you to store.

Quote and pipeline management

Business development is made easy through the quote and pipeline module in Scoro. If your business works on similar quotes and project scopes, standard quote templates can be created and easily applied. Products and services can even be predefined with specific user rates, quantities and descriptions making the process even easier. Client facing pdf templates can also be customised to show information as required by your business, however it is important to note the configuration of templates is quite difficult to master as it requires HTML experience – it is a fiddly process. After you have created the quote, you can simply click and drag quotes into different status columns in the pipeline. This provides an accurate and visual representation of potential and upcoming work.

Once the work has been won, simply turn the quote into a project with two clicks of your mouse. The quoted line items can even be converted into phases and tasks of the project, reducing the time taken to set up the project and the work that needs to be completed.

Resource planning

Resource planning, an area where many project management tools lack, Scoro excels. Project managers are able to assign tasks to team members by a drag and drop system. The planner view allows the manager to view their team members existing tasks, available time and upcoming calendar events – their teams capacity.

Scoro’s time capture functionality is one of the best in the market. Time is tracked against tasks assigned to projects or clients and is differentiated between billable and non-billable. Users have the option to add time via the task, a time tracker or even a timesheet module where all the user’s active tasks are displayed in one matrix. Both managers and users can visualize the time entered through easy to read graphs. At a glance, managers will be able to identify areas of the business where significant amounts of time is being put towards and if team members are working to capacity.

Billing made easy

After you ‘sell it’ and ‘work it’, the part of the business that keeps you afloat is to ‘bill it’ – and Scoro makes this easy for you. If you are billing at a fixed rate, you can simply use the data on the quote to invoice a client within a few clicks. Or, if your business bills on time and materials, work reports can be created and converted into invoices with all the relevant information. These easy yet comprehensive methods, if set up correctly, can save you significant amounts of time.

Dashboard at-a-glance

Scoro’s dashboard view is one of the best in the market. Not only has Scoro built the dashboards to be visually appealing, the widgets and graphs provide all users the ability to view critical information as soon as the enter their site. Gone are the endless clicks and exports of important data, Scoro gives you the ability to configure and display key metrics that are important to you.

Scoro provides a complete experience for its users. The customizability and functionality of Scoro, combined with the countless possible integrations, allows for businesses of all trades to manage their projects from start to end. Scoro provides the opportunity for businesses consolidate their operations into a single software, however the complexity of the solution can result in some confusion when first implementing Scoro.

Have questions?

We’d be happy to answer them or take you through features of Scoro in more detail. Or, if you’re wondering if another solution might be better for you, we’ve also done the hard yards for you and taken a look at other project management platforms, including: Xero Projects, Harvest & Forecast, Streamtime, ActiveCollab, Zoho Projects, WorkflowMax and Accelo.

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Business Continuum Announced as Scoro’s Exclusive Integration Partner for Australia and New Zealand

Business Continuum Announced as Scoro’s Exclusive Integration Partner for Australia and New Zealand

It’s packed with features, easy-to-use, and the most comprehensive new project management tool to hit our shores in a long time. Meet Scoro. We’re thrilled that Scoro is now available in Australia and New Zealand, and that Business Continuum has been announced as the exclusive integration partner for this region.

So, what is Scoro?

This cloud-based software solution is considered to be the Salesforce equivalent in the project management software space. It’s seriously impressive and packed with features, and it’s customisable for any business with project management needs – like creative agencies, design studios and other professional service businesses. Users can get more work done, organise multiple projects, track timesheets, invoices and payments and manage the entire business within a single cloud solution.

Effective immediately, Business Continuum will be introducing Scoro’s broad spectrum of services to Australian and New Zealand businesses that need advanced project management support.

Ben Harrison, in-house Scoro expert

To ensure Business Continuum has advanced in-house knowledge of Scoro and all its features, we recently sent our Client Manager Ben Harrison to Estonia for an intensive two-week immersion course with Scoro’s founders. Ben spent time working with the Estonian founders of Scoro, learning all facets of its impressive features and enjoying the sights of the Estonian capital Tallinn.

“Because I was concentrating on my deep-dive into Scoro as much as possible, I didn’t get much time for sightseeing,” said Ben. “But I did enjoy getting around Tallinn. Estonia is a beautiful country with an ancient history that is visible with the walled city in the centre of Tallinn which I enjoyed exploring. It’s a fascinating contrast of different styles of architecture from significantly different eras.

A great welcome from Scoro.

“The Scoro team was really welcoming. What’s impressive about Scoro is how seriously they take improving their product—they average five major releases a year, all with 20 or more significant updates. They are very open to suggestions on how the features could be improved and they are keen to understand the unique requirements of the Australian market.”

Project management features for complex projects

“Scoro is a modular product, one of its core strengths. It does very specific things and yet it remains very customisable. If some features that are not applicable to certain types of business they can easily be switched off. And, it offers great ways of assigning tasks within teams or offices. Because it provides customisable views, users can create a dashboard showing who’s doing what as part of the project.

“Now that I’ve learned it intricately, I am looking forward to helping Business Continuum clients get the best out of its project management features.”

Attention to detail and speedy responsiveness

“This (the Scoro team) is a young, diverse and enthusiastic team,” says Ben. “It was great to be part of such a positive and enthusiastic organisation. To me, it’s a brand that feels more human and authentic now that I’ve worked closely with them. They’re really dedicated to quality and continual improvement, so if an issue is raised, it’s corrected within hours or days. They move fast. There is no defensiveness. If a user or a partner raises an issue, they take it on board and do their best to fix it rather than pushing back. I’m convinced that’s part of the reason for their phenomenal success and quick uptake around the world.”

A typical day in Scoro’s Tallinn office

“For the fortnight I was there, I would set myself up in a meeting room, and check in with emails from the Business Continuum team back home,” says Ben. “I would then typically have meetings with the team to talk through the processes and features of Scoro in detail. At lunch time, like clockwork, everyone would take a break at the office ping pong table. Actually, plenty of good ideas got their origin at that ping pong table! Of an evening, I would join up with the team to enjoy the dining scene of Tallinn, it’s right on the Baltic so it’s famous for its seafood dishes.

“Being there for two weeks allowed me to really immerse myself with the software and actually use it for applications. I can confidently say I know Scoro inside out now and have built some great relationships into the heart of the business.”

Party like an Estonian

“I was lucky enough to be with Scoro during their annual summer get together. The Scoro office from Riga in Latvia joined the Tallinn team for a weekend retreat in a stunning lakeside cabin in Latvia. And, they did not hesitate to let their hair down! There were plenty of team building games and drinking. All terrific fun, and I was honoured to be invited along.

Want to know more about Scoro?

Contact us for a chat about how Scoro can help improve your project management workflow.