8 powerful work management software

A recent survey from the Project Management Institute reveals that the top factors for success are organizational agility (35%) and choosing the right technology (32%). 

So, what does this translate to for busy agencies?

Delivering projects successfully comes down to great project planning and management strategies — plus work management tools that help your teams get the job done. And yet, surprisingly, this is something that many agencies struggle with.

This statistic highlights some common needs: Agencies need the right technologies to not only make work management software easy, but it has to be flexible enough to suit their organization’s unique needs.

And that’s why we’ve created this list. The following work management platforms represent some of the best in the business world — and in this diverse selection, you’ll be able to find something that suits your team well.

1. Teamwork.com

Teamwork.com is devoted to managing client work. It’s a great option for work management — tracking deadlines, resources, budgets, profitability, and more. One of the reasons why it’s great for workload planning and management is that it gives you a unified platform where you can see everything all in one spot, making it easy to track project progress and productivity.

Learn more about how our work management solutions help teams stay miles ahead of the pack.

Key features

• Plan workloads with the Workload Planner, which makes it easy to view, manage, and understand each team member’s capacity.

• Deliver profitable client work with the Resource Scheduler, which helps you map out where users should be working and for how long. Easily understand your overall business capacity to plan and organize future work.

• Track budgets using the Project Budget, Task List Budget, and Budget Expenses tools, each giving you different views and insights for managing money.

• Track profitability with the Profitability Report, which gives you an at-a-glance view of your net profit and remaining budget.

Pros

• Performs as one single place to manage projects, people, and profits 

• Integrates with lots of other tools, like Slack, HubSpot, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, and more

• Allows seamless collaboration with teams and clients

• Simplifies project planning and completion via a variety of views (Kanban, Gantt chart, table, and list)

Cons

• Could benefit from more learning documentation, though a Success Center, Teamwork Academy has recently been launched to help address this

• Wide range of functionalities can sometimes be overwhelming, as there are many ways to view and access the same information 

Pricing options

Teamwork.com offers several tiers:

• Free Forever, which is a free plan for up to five users

• Deliver, a more robust paid plan, for $9.99 per user per month

• Grow, which offers complete features, for $17.99 per user per month

• Scale, which is a custom option with enterprise features and custom pricing

2. Infinity

Infinity is designed with flexible work management in mind. It’s project management software that allows you to plan and organize multiple projects while collaborating with your team. It offers six different views plus the ability to create custom work structures for complex projects. 

While many apps in this class are geared toward certain types of professionals (like marketing teams or software developers), this app is so flexible that almost anyone can use it: marketers, developers, freelancers, educators, real estate agents, and other types of professionals. Create custom fields, to-do lists, task lists, and everything else you need to track progress and complete projects.

Key features

• Plan projects and manage tasks via multiple views.

• Customize everything from folder colors to timeline views, attributes, and more.

• Automate work processes with preset automation templates.

• Visualize data with easy, intuitive chart views.

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Pros

• Supports Kanban boards and other types of project templates

• Affordable compared to some alternatives

• Ideal for small teams and simple task management

Cons

• Limited integrations with other apps

• Steep learning curve when getting started

• Permissions limit what non-account owners can do

Pricing options

With Infinity, there are three pricing tiers:

• Basic, which is $3.75 per user per month for a minimum three users, which adds up to $11.25 per month total

• Pro, which is $6 per user per month for a minimum of three users, which adds up to $18 per month

• Enterprise, which offers custom features and custom pricing to match

3. Workfront

Adobe Workfront is a project management platform geared toward enterprises — though smaller businesses can use it, too. It offers a lot of specific features for different types of agencies. For example, marketers can use it to track projects and campaign metrics. Software developers can use it to deliver projects while using different methodologies like scrum or Kanban. Overall, this platform supports many different types of projects, team management styles, and project management styles.

Key features

• Plan, prioritize, and iterate work on the fly.

• Map projects according to goals.

• Automate with templates and real-time reporting.

• Connect to stakeholders with online reviewing.

Pros

• It’s easy to track big projects at a granular level

• Tags, due dates, and so on let you organize and prioritize tasks

• Communication and collaboration tools keep teams in touch

• Users can create timeline views, tasks, and subtasks in minute.

Cons

• Confusing for users who need simple task management tools

• Can be buggy across its multitude of tools

• Clumsy integration with third-party tools

• Expensive compared to alternatives

Pricing options

Workfront offers Pro, Business, and Enterprise tiers — but pricing isn’t transparent. You’ll need to request a quote for your desired tier level to get an idea of costs.

4. Paymo

Paymo focuses on team collaboration. It’s an app geared toward small and medium businesses — especially those focused on professional services like web design, software development, marketing, social media, creative, or consulting. As such, this app allows you to create and assign tasks, track projects, hold discussions, and create reports to track your business’s performance.

Key features

• Keep teams productive with built-in collaboration, workflows, and time tracking.

• Stay on time and on budget with project management tools.

• Track billable hours by turning timesheets into client invoices.

• Switch between Kanban, checklists, calendar view, spreadsheet, and other views.

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Pros

• Easy to track time and create invoices

• Tools that track both fixed-rate and hourly projects

• Billable time tracking and expense reporting for simple budgeting

• Straightforward setup for streamlined workspace

Cons

• Data exportation can be difficult

• Not mobile-friendly

• Client payment options mostly based in the United States

Pricing options

Paymo has several pricing tiers:

• Free, which gives you basic tools for one user

• Starter at $4.95 per month for a maximum one user — ideal for freelancers

• Small Office, which is $9.95 per user per month

• Business, which is best for medium to large teams and costs $20.79 per user per month

5. Planview AdaptiveWork (formerly Clarizen)

Planview AdaptiveWork is another platform geared toward enterprise-level work management and project planning. It offers workflow automation, collaborative tools, and more. One of the biggest features is that you will enjoy real-time visibility into all work at once — and that helps companies deliver on time while proactively identifying bottlenecks and other issues in order to better manage risks.

Key features

• Track, manage, and prioritize work requests while automatically including relevant details.

• Integrate with CRM software to assist with client project planning.

• Automate the work request process to easily convert requests into projects, work, or tasks.

• Plan capacity with full visibility into team availability using capacity planning and resource management tools.

Pros

• Supports a variety of work methods to execute at the team level

• Lets you add notes and comments to tasks and projects

• Regular updates make it user-friendly and add a lot of functionality

• Highly customizable platform lets you create views that suit your needs

Cons

• Occasional slow load times

• Lacking customization options

• Gantt functionality could be better

Pricing options

Planview AdaptiveWork doesn’t supply pricing information publicly. To find out, you’ll need to contact the company directly for a custom quote.

6. NetSuite

Unlike some other options in this list, NetSuite focuses first and foremost on enterprise resource planning (ERP). From there, the platform branches out into various features and tools that help you gain better visibility into how your business is running. It offers inventory management tools, human resources tools, automations, billing, invoices, payments — and you can use it to effectively manage work, too. If you’re looking for a platform that can handle just about every aspect of your business, Netsuite may be the one for you.

Key features

• Manage customer relations with customer-facing ERP tools.

• Track metrics, analytics, KPIs, and more via real-time reporting.

• Plan, budget, and forecast business finances with financial planning tools.

• Manage and collaborate on projects with project, time management, and resource management tools.

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Pros

• All-in-one solution to handle every aspect of business

• Easy to use despite huge numbers of features

• Great set of reporting tools for finances, analytics, and more

• Lots of views and dashboards to use for deeper project insights

Cons

• Can be overkill for teams who just need work management

• Takes a lot of time to implement

• Some users report frequent errors

Pricing options

Netsuite does not provide pricing information online. To find out, you’ll need to contact them for a custom quote.

7. StudioCloud

If you’re looking for work management software that can support less common types of businesses, StudioCloud is a great option. The app bills itself as a business management platform for professionals like photographers, tattoo artists, massage therapists, designers, and more. As such, it helps with work management through scheduling, project management tools, online bookings, client management, invoicing, marketing automation, and other features.

Key features

• Manage clients, leads, partners, vendors, and more in a convenient interface.

• Schedule appointments, clients, events, and more with scheduling tools.

• Create customized price lists so you can send custom invoices and quotes.

• Create financial reports to understand and improve business finances.

Pros

• Streamlined platform provides essential tools to service professionals

• Easy to keep track of billing and bookkeeping

• Simple scheduling for freelancers and small business owners

Cons

• Not an efficient option for larger businesses

• Focuses mainly on appointments rather than task management

• Takes a while to set up invoices

Pricing options

StudioCloud offers the following pricing tiers:

• Free Starter Version, which offers a completely free version of the platform for one user

• A la carte add-ons, which cost $10 each per month for one user, and add features like online booking, reminders, and online forms

• PartnerBoost, which comes with all add-ons and supports two users for $30 per month

• EmployeeBoost, which comes with all add-ons and supports three or more users for $60 per month

8. Odoo

Odoo is another unique offering that provides an all-in-one experience for businesses needing a robust set of tools. With it, you can enjoy customer relationship management (CRM) tools, sales tools, project management, tools to manage manufacturing facilities, accounting tools — and a whole lot more. It’s a platform that offers a ton of customization, so be sure to really explore everything it can do before deciding on the features that you want.

Key features

• Manage projects and tasks with the project management app.

• Use apps for reporting, analytics, budgeting, inventory management, and more.

• Integrate with your favorite third-party tools like Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Dropbox, and more.

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Pros

• One of few apps that lets you do it all — from customer relationship management to website building

• Easy to import and export data

• Open source platform — anyone can develop features

Cons

• Some features can be buggy because it's open source

• Volume of functions can be overwhelming

• Significant ramp-up period due to steep learning curve

Pricing options

Odoo offers three pricing options:

• Free for unlimited users on one app

• Standard, which is $24.90 per user per month to access all apps for Odoo Online

• Custom for $37.40 per user per month for all apps for Odoo Online, Odoo Studio, On-premise, and more

Try Teamwork.com today and manage your teams efficiently

Still looking for the perfect app that lets you manage your teams efficiently? Teamwork.com is among the top options. Use the platform to collaborate, share files, assign tasks, manage them — and stay on top of deadlines. It has an easy-to-use interface that will let you and your team get up and running quickly.

To give us a try, sign up for free here.