What’s the Best Task Management System For Your Small Business?

If you aren’t using a task management system yet, this is your sign! A task management system is essential for ensuring your small business stays organized with your many clients and projects. If you already use task management software and feel like the features aren’t cutting it, then it’s time to explore other options. Many business owners are hesitant to buy or move their task management systems to a new platform because they feel like the price tag isn’t worth the features they get. Even if you don’t use all the features available, these systems are still well worth the price! 

Researching the best task management systems and how they can support your business is a time-consuming task. To make your life a little bit easier, I’ve compiled a few of the best task management system platforms out there and how they can help you stay organized in your business. 

Why You Need to Stay Organized

Why is it so important to stay organized within your business? Sometimes, pen and paper can’t do it all. Whether you work by yourself or with a team, it can be easy to get lost in task progression if there isn’t clear communication about what’s been completed and what hasn’t. Most task management software offers a weekly view and task breakdown to help you plan what needs to be prioritized, what can be done later, and what you can delegate to other teammates. If you repeat the same tasks weekly, recurring task automation would be appropriate for your business.

Task management systems improve communication and make your workflow more efficient. More productivity means you can expect to complete projects on time, if not faster! Task management software is a consistent way to inform you (and your team) about a project’s current progression and what else needs to be finished. The benefits a task management system delivers far outweigh the price tag. Let’s compare some systems to see which is best for you!

Task Management Systems

ClickUp

ClickUp is an all-in-one task management software that consolidates every crucial aspect of communication, task completion, and time management without compromising efficiency. The platform is intuitive, so you’ll learn how to use ClickUp in a snap. 

Features

• Customizable tasks for teams. Includes subtasks, priorities, checklists, relationships, tags, and goals for projects and team members. 
• Shareable and collaborative documents, whiteboards, project overview dashboards, a chat function, and automation for recurring tasks. 
• Tracks time for how long a task takes and estimates how long future tasks may take. 
• Templates for different activities and projects.
• Over 1,000 tool integrations.
• Customizable views allow you to create a workspace that works best for your unique business needs. It simplifies ClickUp for those who feel it’s overwhelming by being able to create and filter down the different lists, folders, and spaces.

ClickUp provides almost everything you need to plan and communicate with your team in one platform. Its integration options make this platform convenient and limit the need to use a suite system like Google or Microsoft. It also provides resource guides to help you learn how to use ClickUp. 

Pricing Options

Pricing options are per member per month.

• Free: The ClickUp free plan has limited basic features and 100MB of storage. 
• Unlimited ($5/month): Everything in the free version, with unlimited storage and unlimited access to basic features
• Business ($12/month): Everything in the unlimited version. Offers unlimited access to automation and expands on features like time tracking, public sharing, and team settings. 
• Business Plus ($19/month): Everything in Business. More customizations for roles, permissions, workload, and Clickup automation. 

Small, medium and large teams with multiple clients or complicated projects with several subtasks should consider using ClickUp. Businesses that need one space for all project resources, collaboration, and organization or looking for scalability would find ClickUp able to meet all their business needs.

Asana

Asana prioritizes task completion and communication among team members, stakeholders, and other guests overseeing projects.

Features

• Project overview features like resources, tasks, and overall work progression. Reporting tools like goals, milestones, status updates, and dashboards are available to the team.
• Team management controls like creating teams, file and document sharing, privacy controls, and an inbox (chat) function.
• View daily tasks and workload of yourself and other members. Includes card and calendar task views, task approvals, and forms. 
• Create customizable reports.
• 200+ app integrations for suite workspaces and communication platforms. 

Asana allows guests and organization members to view task progression and gives them access to the resources available in each project. Asana focuses primarily on task management and communication among teams. 

Pricing Options

Asana offers monthly and annual pricing options. Subscriptions are billed per user.

• Basic ($0): Up to 15 users. Unlimited basic task management features and team management. 100+ integration options are available. 
• Premium ($13.49/month, $10.99/month annually): Everything in the basic version. Access to task management options like timelines, reporting across projects, forms, rules, and milestones. Unlimited users and guests. Admin console and the ability to create private teams and projects. 
• Business ($30.49/month, $24.99/month annually): Everything in the premium version. Access to portfolios, goals, team member workload, custom rules and forms, approvals and proofing, and access to advanced integrations. 

Asana is for project or client-based teams that complete linear tasks. Asana prioritizes clear communication and convenient rules for completing tasks and who has what responsibilities. If your business regularly uses outside workers to complete tasks, this platform is suitable for including them in task progression.

Trello

Trello is a Kanban board-based task management software that assigns “cards” (tasks) with different subtasks to team members. 

Features

• Shows boards with projects that include information like subtasks, project timelines, calendars, and a map feature for real-time location reporting. 
• Dashboards visualizing metrics about your work, due dates, and card assignments. You can also view tasks in a spreadsheet form. 
• Automated workflows using rules and commands for actions like reassignment, recurring tasks, and app integration. Trello will also suggest new automated actions based on your workflow. 
• Customizable templates and add-ons to boards for different industries and projects. 
• 194 app integrations. 

Trello works best using the kanban card view, which makes it easy to see the subtasks that make up a whole task and how work is split among team members. The map feature is very useful for businesses that rely on real-time location reporting. 

Pricing Options

Trello offers monthly and annual billing options. Subscriptions are billed per user.

• Free: Unlimited cards, add-ons, storage, and customizations. Ten boards per workspace, 250 workspace commands, and assignee and due dates.
• Standard ($6/month, $5/month annually): Everything in the free version. Unlimited boards and storage. Advanced checklists, custom fields, 1,000 workspace commands, and single board guests. 
• Premium ($12.50/month, $10/month annually): Everything in the standard version. Adds different views (calendars, timelines, tables, dashboards, and maps), unlimited workspace commands, allows viewers, and gives admin and security features. 

Trello is best for teams with several projects with a linear workflow or requiring several subtasks to complete the main task. It is also great for businesses that prefer other apps for working and communication but need an affordable option to track task progression. Businesses that travel often and need real-time location reporting can also benefit. 

Airtable

Airtable delivers highly customizable workflows and sync features for team collaboration and productivity. 

Features

• Everyone on your team can create a customized workflow interface suited to their needs and work style. 
• Offers simple and complex automation options. 
• Several project views options like timeline, kanban board, Gantt charts, calendars, and gallery view. 
• Options to create reports and find metrics about your team’s work habits. Permissions and locked information features for specific users or projects. 
• 30 app integrations and real-time data sync within the software and from other platforms. 

The Airtable features are super responsive and customizable task management software that’s helpful for large teams with several linear tasks or projects requiring a lot of collaboration.

Pricing Options

Airtable bills each user annually. 

• Free: Unlimited bases (similar to boards/projects), up to five creators or editors, unlimited commenters and viewers, interface designer, one extension per base, and one sync integration.
• Plus ($10 per user): Everything from the free version. Includes three extensions per base, three sync integrations, custom forms, a six-month revision and use history, and automatic syncing. 
• Pro ($20 per user): Everything from the plus version. Includes ten extensions per base, seven sync integrations, Gantt and timeline views, one-year revision and use history, personal and locked views, and editing permissions. 

Airtable is perfect for medium to large-size teams with linear tasks and those who need a consistent syncing function. Teams that consistently have outside editors or guest users viewing their work would also benefit. Airtable is an affordable option for businesses that need simple task management software.

Monday

Monday is highly customizable and responsive to teams collaborating on large projects. Monday also collects data and creates charts to visualize workload, workflow, and task progression.

Features

• Task visualization views like Gantt charts, dashboards, kanban boards, calendars, charts, workload, and maps. 
• Allows guest access and viewing. 
• Collaboration features like file storage, documents, whiteboard, and shareable forms. 
• Offers private boards and documents. 
• Users can customize their view with templates, notifications, and automation. 
• Integrations for platforms like Microsoft Suite, Google Suite, Zoom, and Adobe Creative Cloud. 
• Collects data to create dashboards that visualize performance insights and work habits. Monday also has a panic mode that will lock down the account if team credentials are compromised. 

The insights feature shows a custom chart or table using data collected from your team, which can help you see what tasks are taking the most time or what areas need improvement. Monday’s panic mode is a huge plus for teams responsible for sensitive information. 

Pricing Options

Monday subscriptions can be billed monthly or annually, but they will be the same price. Each subscription is billed per user. 

• Individual ($0): Covers two people. Includes three boards, unlimited documents, and access to over 200 templates. 
• Basic ($8 monthly): Everything in the individual version. Unlimited viewers and tasks, more storage space, and the creation of one dashboard. 
• Standard ($10 monthly): Everything in the basic version. Timeline, Gantt, and calendar views. Outside users can access and collaborate on projects. 250 automation and 250 integration actions monthly. Can create a dashboard using data from five boards. 
• Pro ($16 monthly): Everything in the standard version. Access to private boards and documents, time tracking, and chart view. 25,000 automation and 25,000 integration actions per month. Can create a dashboard using data from ten boards.

Monday is great for large teams with several projects consisting of several subtasks or other actions to complete. Monday’s panic mode is perfect for teams handling large amounts of sensitive information that need a secure platform to host materials. Businesses that want to use data to adjust their workflows or gain insights about task progression can also use Monday to manage their tasks. 

Did you see a few task management software you like? Choosing the best task management software can be tough, especially when you see yourself using a few of them! It’s all about which platform will best suit your business, budget, workflow, team size, and communication style. If you’re unsure which platform would be the best for your business, contact me today for a systems execution strategy! We’ll go over your workflow and expectations and match you with the best platform to get tangible results for your business. 

About Solutions Integrators

To keep it simple, I’m a Chief Systems Officer. I take your complex problems and find ways to simplify them. My goal isn’t just to save you time (saving you time is the easy part!) – I want to fully level up the way you interact, manage, and fulfill offers for your clients. I want to help you provide a cohesive experience. An experience that not only feels like quality but looks that way too. From onboarding to offboarding – I want to transform each phase of interaction from lead to signed client. Let’s work together!