These allow teams to create and share various tasks and assignments from one location. This makes it easier for team members to collaborate on projects and for managers to track progress and project completion.
Project management tools usually are cloud-based, multi-user platforms with numerous features, including mobile apps for on-the-go status updates and real-time task views for monitoring multiple projects at once.
Basecamp
Basecamp is a management tool that places everything your team needs to get work done in one place. Within every project, your team gets message boards, to-do lists, file storage, real-time group chat and automated check-in questions. Basecamp can also integrate with third-party mobile and desktop apps, such as TaskClone, Zapier, Project Buddy and Zoho Flow.
Basecamp Personal is a free plan for individual projects and small teams. The plan, which includes 16GB of cloud storage, allows three separate projects and up to 20 users.
With the paid option of Basecamp Business, you’ll gain unlimited features and users are allowed. A high amount of storage space is also part of the paid plan — a necessity to keep the workflow going. This also guarantees saved projects for as long as you need access.
Asana
Asana is a project and task management tool designed to help your team organize, track and manage their work, no matter where they are. Its automation features reduce bottlenecks, streamline approvals, convert standard projects into custom templates and save you the time of manually updating project schedules when deadlines change.
Asana offers a basic plan that’s free to use for up to 15 team members, includes calendar and list views and allows you to assign tasks and due dates. The free plan integrates with third-party apps, like Jira Cloud, Adobe Creative Cloud, Gmail and Slack.
Remote file-sharing and cloud storage tools
With these tools, teams can securely share and store files in the cloud, which can boost collaboration efforts. File-sharing services make it incredibly easy to share interactive files. You can make edits, add comments and collaborate on content from anywhere in the world.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a file-sharing service that provides cloud storage and file synchronization in one centralized workspace. It allows you to create, store and share cloud content from Google Docs, Sheets and Slides; Microsoft Office files; and Dropbox Paper.
Dropbox Basic is a free account with 2GB of storage. With it, you can access and share photos and documents from any device and easily back up and recover shared files. Dropbox Basic is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android operating systems.
Check out our best picks page for more information on Dropbox and our other picks for the best document management software.
Google Drive
Google Drive is a cloud storage service that allows you to store, sync, share and access files across any device. As a G Suite service, Google Drive integrates with other Google applications, including Google Forms, Drawings, Docs, Sheets and Slides.
Google Drive’s personal plan provides 15GB of free cloud storage. Your storage account is used by Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos, allowing you to store files, save email attachments and back up photos or videos in one workspace. Google Drive offers downloads for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. Google Drive’s free version tends to fill up quickly.
Time Tracking
Timesheet applications and software tools are musts for accountability among your company’s staff members. Time tracking applications are essential for project budget planning. The following are free and paid options for time tracking virtually.
Clockify
If you’re looking for a free and user-friendly tool, consider Clockify. The application has the distinction of supporting an unlimited number of users and no limit on projects. Features include tracked hours via virtual timers, prefilled timesheets and categorizations by project. Users can also mark time sheets as billable or paid. Reporting features are customizable with a visual breakdown available.
Toggl
Toggl is free to sign up for, with paid options that offer more advanced features such as billable rates, time audit, calendar integrations and project templates. The program works as an application but also has support as a browser extension. Toggl works offline, too.