Top 7 Best Task Management Software & Tools in 2020

Whatever you do, wherever you do it and whomever you do it for, your business is subject to an immutable law… productivity is the key to profitability. And in order to keep yourself, your team and your entire operation productive, you need cogent project management. Project management is not a new discipline. In fact, it’s been around in some form or another since the 1900s. Whenever businesses have sought to establish themselves, make major changes or trim the fat off of their operations, project management has helped them to do it. And, as in most things, technology and software can go a long way towards making it easy and efficient to employ the discipline of project management in your business projects. 

Recommended article: Top 10 Best Task Management Software & Tools in 2020

There was a time when project and task management software solutions were only available to large companies with big budgets. But that was before the explosion of SaaS (Software as a Service) and the cloud-based app marketplace. These developments have created a level playing field in which nascent startups can stand shoulder to shoulder with established corporate titans. 

Whether you’re getting a new startup off the ground or managing a new project for an established brand, task management software can drive productivity and enhance profitability. And affordable software tools are just a few taps of a screen away. 

Our Top 7 Task Management Software Tools

Go to the Apple or Android app store and you’ll find a plethora of cloud-based task management tools that are diverse in scope and applications. From simple to-do list applications to apps that manage workflows, events, sales and marketing efforts, no matter what you do… there’s an app to help you do it more efficiently. 

Let’s take a look at 7 of our favorite task management tools for operations of all shapes and sizes. 

Wrike

Wrike is a browser-based task management suite that’s well suited to small-to-medium sized projects but may struggle with large-scale implementation. It has robust task tracking functionalities for the day-to-day but this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are also Gantt charts and integrated reporting tools all accessible from an easy to use dashboard. 

Wrike doesn’t stop at task management, either. It can also be implemented by creative, marketing, professional services and product development teams. Whether you’re seeking to improve workflow visibility, streamline your processes, or make the business of project planning simpler, Wrike facilitates these by providing a centralized communication silo for team members.  Business and Enterprise plan users can also view time logs and use a suite of time tracking features to ensure that the team’s on task.

There’s even a completely free plan, albeit with limited features, for up to 5 users. Professional plans are reasonably priced and scalable starting at $9.80 per user per month on an annual basis. 

Learn more about Wrike.

monday.com

monday.com was founded in 2012, and over the past eight years it’s become one of the top project management providers. monday.com offers dashboards and multiple views as well as time tracking tools. It allows managers to view employee workloads and adjust projects and tasks accordingly. Using monday.com’s application builder, called App Framework, developers can build an existing monday.com app using low-code development – allowing non-programmers to design applications as well. After building an app, users can also integrate it with other platforms. monday.com is flexible on mobile devices, allowing teams to smoothly work over their phones or tablets if need be. 

monday.com is famous for its organized, visually appealing workspace. Users can choose from multiple templates or design their own. The platform also features document collaboration, where users can create and edit documents directly using the software’s online docs viewer.

monday.com offers four pricing plans: Basic, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise. Their most popular plan, Standard, costs $10 per user per month. The first three plans offer a free trial for interested businesses. 

Learn more about monday.com.

Smartsheet

Smartsheet, a popular project management platform founded in 2005, uses a spreadsheet-style interface to share files seamlessly across teams. It offers an arsenal of business development features such as professional consultants and accelerators, which help businesses and teams speed or manage acquisition, sales, and customer relations. 

Smartsheet’s automation feature allows users to design their own workflows. Content design becomes smoother with Smartsheet’s collaborative features, such as reports, content review options, and schedule and deadline reminders for content creators. The platform offers dashboard creation and design: with dashboards, users can craft their own work outline and progress reports, share important documents, and track project progress with KPIs. Smartsheet’s portals share important company information with the team.

Smartsheet offers four pricing plans: Individual, Business, Enterprise, and Premier. Individual starts at $14/month, and Business is $25 per user/month. Enterprise and Premier are best suited for larger businesses. 

Learn more about Smartsheet.

Mavenlink

Mavenlink, a project management platform founded in 2008, uses its Operational System of Record to organize teams and streamline projects and business operations. It helps users to see the connections between their projects and collaborate easily with teammates. Mavenlink’s five tiers combine to provide teams with an encompassing view of their business processes. The five tiers are project management, resource management, business intelligence, project accounting, and team collaboration. 

Mavenlink’s Operational System of Record (OSR) facilitates better forecasting and planning for the future, as well as greater awareness of project and financial status. Its M-Bridge feature offers integrations, notably G Suite, Salesforce, Slack, HubSpot, and Jira. Mavenlink’s single integrations dashboard allows users to manage their integration platforms from one consolidated location; the dashboard also shows data from the integration platforms. 

Mavenlink offers four pricing plans: Teams, Professional, Premier, and Enterprise. Teams and Professional offer free trials to prospective customers. The plans have range from fewer features (Teams, which offers team collaboration and some project management features) to Enterprise, which offers full features from all five of Mavenlink’s OSR tiers. 

Learn more about Mavenlink.

Teamwork Projects

Teamwork Projects is for you if you want powerful functionality but a simple and intuitive interface!  It is designed with simplicity, visibility and easy collaboration in mind. Users can easily see what each team member is working on, which team members are working together and what their next task will be upon completion. Its simple interface allows clear visibility that isn’t obfuscated by complex charts.

Users can plan tasks and divide them into discrete subtasks and use milestones as markers with a choice of Gantt chart or in the list view. There is even a range of task list templates to facilitate a quicker start. There’s also a built-in messaging function to help keep your team on task and the ability to share content via notebooks. Its board view makes task flow visualization easy. You can track project time, use tags for easy organization and use robust invoicing, billing and reporting tools. It even integrates seamlessly with a range of third-party apps.  There’s a free plan that offers basic Project Management functions for up to 5 users, or a range of paid plans starting from as little as $9 per user per month on an annual basis, with a minimum of 5 users.

In a growing market, users of all kinds are in the driver’s seat. They can choose from a wide range of task management solutions for their specific needs, size, and propensity for future growth. 

Learn more about Teamwork Projects.

ZohoProjects

ZohoProjects, which is part of the Zoho suite of applications, has a nice range of features at a very attractive price point.  Its capabilities include task automation and management, time and issue tracking, and social task management as well as useful tracking and reporting functionalities. It’s easy to create, assign and track tasks through to completion. There are also milestones for easier tracking as well as a Kanban board view, and a Calendar view for better visibility. The application boasts a Gantt chart, resource utilization, and even integrates well with Analytics and other Zoho or third-party apps. Features are all fully customizable so teams can better tailor their interfaces to their needs.

Best of all, flexible pricing means that it can be scaled in direct proportion to need you won’t need to worry about cost-efficiency. There are even a free 10-day trial period and a free limited plan for up to 5 users.

Microsoft Project

Cautious entrepreneurs and project managers will likely want to go with a name they can trust. But it’s more than brand familiarity that earns Microsoft Project space on this list. This software has actually been a staple of the market, and for many is the yardstick by which planning project solutions are measures, especially for larger projects. 

With a familiar look and interface you’d expect from other MS Office apps, it has a wealth of features and a handful of tutorials to get newcomers up and running. Among Microsoft Project’s functionalities are task management, resource management, and portfolio management tools as well as built-in templates for project planning, ready-made reports, multiple timelines, and even a roadmap view. As well as managing workflows users can share reports, model portfolio scenarios, request resources and evaluate project proposals. It also has a robust suite of resource analytics for effective project monitoring.

It’s flexible, too, making it viable for businesses of all sizes. There’s a cloud-based solution, starting at just $7 per user per month on an annual contract. Or, alternatively, there’s an on-premise solution, which starts at $620 desktop. If your operation is already MS-centric, you’ll have no issues with integration, either.