If you work in an organization that produces a technological product (or even one that owns many digital properties), chances are there is someone on your tech team with the title of “project manager.”

As that person sprints between desks using acronyms you’re unfamiliar with and talking comfortably in tech terms that sound like a foreign language, it may seem like their job couldn’t have less to do with your role in HR. But you’d be incorrect. Because here’s a project management term that any human resources professional will recognize, risk mitigation.

In the end, that’s what project managers do. They mitigate risk in the release of projects by managing the entire process from ideation to planning to creation to execution and rollout. And that’s very similar to what a great HR team does as well. They mitigate people-related risks to ensure everyone at the organization is set up for a successful, supported, and happy career.

If you’re currently searching for HR software that will help your business grow, take a look at our HR Product Selection Tool, where you can find up to five recommendations. Need more convincing that project management can help your company’s human resources? Here are a few lessons HR teams can learn from project management pros.

1. Start with needs

Great project managers don’t start their work with a named project; they start with a need. What are customers looking for and what product can we create to fill that space? What is broken and how quickly does it need to get fixed?

Your HR team can more successfully plan for quarterly goals by using the same method. Instead of implementing projects or ideas (like a new performance review plan or benefits partner) because of a perceived requirement, look for real needs. Regularly survey team members to find out what their biggest challenges are at work, then go from there to plan solutions. You’ll find that the projects you take on are more successful and that less time is wasted doing the wrong thing with the right intentions.

2. Delegate

Project managers are master delegators. Though they are perhaps the most important party to a project’s success, they don’t actually create any of the components of the project. Instead, they assemble the best people for those jobs, delegate tasks, and then manage for completion.

In our changing world of work, HR departments can learn a lot from that method. In 2019, fifty-one percent of HR leaders said that their department lacked the staffing to uphold their workload. And in the past, tasks that have taken HR departments’ attention from people priorities included leadership communication tasks like managing relationships with board members, planning responses to legislative needs, and managing corporate social responsibility plans.

All of these are certainly valid endeavors, but one person (or even one team) can only do so much so well. That’s where delegation comes in. Ensure that your team members are all set up to focus on the needs that are most critical to HR and those things that they excel at, and then delegate the rest.

Also Read: The 5 Top HRIS Systems

3. Create structure

Project teams need structure to succeed, and that’s what project managers provide. They set milestones, meetings, and reporting at regular intervals. These expectations help keep everyone on track and make it easier to notice when risk creeps in.

Everyone benefits from structure and clear expectations. Without those things, it’s hard to meet performance goals. For employees to succeed, they need expectations to be clearly set before them from their first day and regular check-ins with a manager. The most clear and specific instructions for working hard, being timely, and upholding company standards are best.

When it comes to HR, implementing structure can happen in a variety of ways, clear job descriptions, regular team-wide town halls, formal performance review processes, and so on.

4. Get buy-in

Successful project management requires strong support from sponsors or senior leadership. Getting project buy-in from the C-suite helps ensure each project’s goals are on track with organizational priorities, helps create champions for the project’s completion, and shows individual team members how critical the project is to the company’s overall success.

HR efforts can benefit from the same approach, whether it’s rolling out a new set of core values or instituting a new payroll process, your efforts risk failure without buy-in from the top. Involve leadership in your decision making, or better yet, ensure HR has a seat at the executive team table.

5. Invest in the right technology

Many project managers use some sort of project management software to do their jobs. However, a surprising forty-four percent do not. But those who do use such a tool report improved communication, higher quality products, better adherence to timeline and budget, and increased customer satisfaction.

Leading large projects without the right software tool would be a Herculean, if not impossible, effort. And it’s not just project management. Most professionals these days can benefit greatly from a tech solution. HR is no different. There are thousands of tools on the market that address a variety of HR software technology needs, everything from benefits management to performance reviews to recruitment tracking to employee recognition and more.

With so many solutions on the market, it’s important to choose those that truly enhance your workflow. Otherwise, you might end up wasting time and money on a tool that sounds great but doesn’t fit.

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TechnologyAdvice can help you wade through the options. Explore our directory of HR tools and get free short list of vendors that meet your needs. We’ll listen to your biggest HR challenges and recommend top solutions.

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

The post 5 Ways HR Can Learn from Project Management appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

If you’re an enterprise-level IT professional and that sounds like you, we have good news. Enterprise Connect 2018 is set for March 12-15 in Orlando, Florida, and it’s exactly the event to attend if you need a lift to carry your IT communications and collaboration efforts into Q2 and beyond.

About Enterprise Connect Orlando

Enterprise Connect Orlando is designed to provide enterprise communications and collaboration IT decision-makers with the in-depth, vendor-neutral insights they need to get to the next level.

Today’s leading and emerging technologies, including the Cloud and voice-activated systems, change the way teams work together. Success requires staying ahead of the curve. At Enterprise Connect Orlando, you’ll gain the expertise you need to upgrade or replace a legacy system or even fully onboard next-generation communications tools. The conference has one goal:

To help you maximize your investments in communications and collaboration systems, services, apps and networks.

Those who will benefit most from the event include IT decision makers, application developers, equipment manufacturers or service providers, system dealers, system integrators, value-added resellers, IT analysts, and investors. If you think the conference would be great for you but other members of your team need convincing, you can even download a justification letter to share with a boss.

Attendance Details

Expert-level content shared in 70 degree sunshine? What’s better than that? Enterprise Connect will take place in early March at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, where the average monthly temperatures are in the high 70s — a nice way to close out a harsh winter.

The conference organizers have partnered with local resorts for discounted attendee pricing with amenities included. There will be a free shuttle service from the partner hotels to the event venue. Sessions kick-off bright and early on the morning of Monday, March 12, and the locknote concludes the conference at noon on March 15.

Extra Events

In addition to sessions and speakers, Enterprise Connect Orlando will feature a three-day expo where attendees can explore and interact with new and top technologies.

For social events, the conference organizers have scheduled two separate networking receptions, an appreciation party, and even a 5K fun run. They’ve also peppered the event with plenty of fun and useful extras, including professional headshots, a golf simulator, digital caricatures, and copious amounts of free coffee.

Enterprise Connect Orlando Programming

The programming for Enterprise Connect Orlando features more than 60 sessions divided into nine tracks:

• Unified communications and collaboration
• Contact center and customer experience
• Team collaboration
• SIP/SIP trunking
• Cloud communications
• Video collaboration and A/V
• Systems management and network design
• Speech technologies
• APIs and embedded communications

Click on each to see some of the sessions featured for that track. You can follow one or more tracks to ensure you’re getting access to the content that matters most to you.

In addition to individual track sessions and panels, there will be a variety of conference-wide sessions and keynote speakers to look forward to. Check out some of the names you can expect to hear from and topics you can expect to explore:

Keynote Speakers

• Jonathan Rosenberg, VP and CTO, Collaboration Technology Group, Cisco
• Cal Henderson, CTO and Co-founder, Slack
• Carlin Wiegner, GM, Amazon Web Services
• Bob Davis, Corporate VP, Office 365 Engineering, Microsoft
• Frerk-Malte Feller, Director of Workplace Ecosystem Partnerships, Facebook

General Sessions

Is Team Collaboration The Future of Enterprise Communications?

Listen as experts from the team collaboration world debate the role of their technology in the bigger picture and address common challenges. You’ll leave primed on the role team collaboration is likely to play going forward, and what you must do to prepare.

Has The Software-Communications Revolution Finally Arrived?

The shift of communications from hardware to software isn’t new, but it is poised to transform the entire industry. Learn more about how close we are to universal use of embedded communications, cloud services, and next-gen integrations such as AI and IoT.

Resiliency, Disaster Recovery, And Emergency Communications: New Threats, New Ways To Prepare

After a year of unprecedented man-made and natural disasters, this session is an important recap on how you can use cloud, mobility, and other technologies to prepare for the worst.

Enterprise Summit: What’s The Way Forward For Communications And Collaboration?

Every day, more communications and collaboration technologies arrive on the market. How do you know which might be appropriate for your organization, and how do you create an adoption strategy? This session will answer those big questions.

Learn More And Register

Does Enterprise Connect Orlando sound like positive addition to your first quarter? Use our discount code: TECHADV that will offer $200 off advance rates or a free expo pass.  This can be in conjunction with the group discount rate of an additional $100 off per registration for groups of 3 or more. You can learn more and register here.

The post Conference Preview: Enterprise Connect 2018 appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Though it was never addressed on the show, chances are Sterling Cooper didn’t have a human resources department (or personnel department as it would have been called). They didn’t become popular until a few decades later.

Starting in the 1960s, laws aimed at fairer employment practices began to pass. HR departments focused on compliance began to take shape. But they were still a far cry from today’s HR team which go beyond compliance to focus on people. Here are a few things that are different about HR now, compared to the Mad Men era.

Mad Mobile

The crew at Sterling Cooper may have taken the occasional briefcase of work home with them, but that was about the extent of remote work in the 1960s. The technology simply didn’t exist.

In 2016, 43 percent of Americans reported working some of the time remotely. HR departments may have to juggle employment laws from a variety of states, as technology is increasingly making mobile work easy.

Mad Competition

In the 1960s, the pool of competition was limited to people in the same geographic area, you’d see an ad in the paper, complete an application in person, shake a hand, and hope to get an interview (over drinks if you’re Don Draper and Roger Sterling).

Today, applicants are competing virtually against an entire globe of talent. Jobs are posted online for anyone, anywhere to see. Resumes are sent in electronically, and applicants can expect an interview over phone, video chat, or perhaps, in person.

Mad Follow-Up

Offices in the 1960s might keep a few resumes of rejected candidates on hand, but they’d be in a file folder, collecting dust. And the task would likely be left to the secretaries at Sterling Cooper, personnel departments didn’t take shape until after 1964, when the Civil Rights Act was passed.

Today, HR departments use applicant tracking systems to keep rejected applicants informed of better-aligned openings. Follow-up with applicants already in the door means less time and money spent recruiting.

ALSO READ: Creative Ways to Use Your Applicant Tracking System

Mad Automation

The primary focus of personnel departments in the late 1960s and early 1970s was on record keeping. They tracked names, addresses, paperwork, and so on. After all, Don needed to know where Peggy lived so he could show up at her door uninvited.

Thanks to HR software, most HR record keeping is now automated. This leaves HR pros time to focus on attracting, retaining, and developing top talent in new and exciting ways.

Mad (ish) Empowerment

In 1963, the same year the Equal Pay Act was passed, 59 percent of women ages 18 to 33 were not participating in the workforce.

Today, the numbers have flipped, 63 percent of millennial women are employed (Peggy and Joan would be proud). But women still earn only 80 cents on the dollar compared to men.

Until Next Season ..

With more employees seeking work that’s not just about money, but about values and potential for personal growth, HR will continue to change in the years to come. What do you predict for the future of HR? Tell us in the comments.

Top Applicant Tracking Software Recommendations

The post From Mad Men to Mad Mobile: How HR Has Changed appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

And when it comes to finances, millennials certainly are an interesting case. Many graduated or began job hunting during the great recession, leaving them unemployed or behind-employed as costs of living continued to rise. In fact, now a decade after the great recession began, millennials are earning 20 percent less than older generations did at this point in their lives.

That financial turmoil, combined with an increasing emphasis on digital living and social proof for daily decision making, has positioned millennials uniquely in the financial landscape. And technology has a huge role to play in meeting millennials’ financial needs, allaying their worries, and setting them up for successful futures.

Here are seven truths about millennials’ finances and what tech can do to help.

1. They stress more about money.

Sixty-seven percent of millennials report that financial stress distracts from their ability to focus at work. They are also used to having information at the touch of a button, anytime and anywhere. Therefore, technology can help alleviate their stress by providing easy access to personal financial information.

Mint‘s dashboards and app, for example, can house budgets and login information, while automating reminders for bills so users don’t get late fees. PocketGuard connects to customers’ bank accounts to essentially tell them exactly how much spending money they have. And HelloWallet sells tech tools to employers who can use them to help their team members better plan for retirement and take advantage of benefits.

2. They are still in student debt.

Nearly two-thirds of millennials have at least $10,000 in student debt and one-third have more than $30,000. This level of debt is holding the generation back from making the same financial commitments (such as home buying) at the same rates as older generations.

A couple of companies are already using tech to help millennials with their debt. Earnest, for example, uses a unique data algorithm to qualify clients for a student loan refinance. They also provide a mobile app and user-friendly dashboard for tracking pay-offs. As with SoFi, there is no office to visit, but customers can chat or text with a rep anytime, just the way millennials like it.

3. They are earning on their own.

More than half of millennials surveyed by Deloitte have started or planned to start their own business within a year. Furthermore, 38 percent of millennials are freelancing. This new trend towards entrepreneurship and the gig economy means millennials have more finances than ever to manage, from taxes to payroll to invoicing.

Due is a company making it easier and cheaper for business to accept payments online while Sighted integrates payments with paperless invoicing and receipts. These and other companies are building faster, easier, and more automated tools to take the financial burden of running a freelance or small business off of millennial owners.

4. They want to invest with heart.

More than 80 percent of millennials are interested in socially responsible investing, using their dollars to not only bolster their own finances but to bring about positive social change.

Aspiration is a bank that is using data analysis to measure the environmental, workplace, and governance practices of companies in their investment portfolio. Grow is using a proprietary digital platform to connect investors with companies that care. And Motif offers automated socially responsible investing. The legacy players are trying to get in on the action too, Morgan Stanley has an Investing with Impact platform.

5. They don’t trust banks.

More than 70 percent of millennials would rather visit the dentist than listen to what a banker has to say. Having grown up with bank scandal after bank scandal headlining the news, the generation is wary of existing financial institutions and tends to associate traditional banking with greed.

Financial technology startups are arising to fill the gap between millennial’s expectations of banking and reality. Examples include Lending Club, a fully digital peer-to-peer lending marketplace; Wealthfront, which replaces human advisors with an algorithm, and Robinhood, which eliminates stock trading fees and allows you to trade from your phone.

At the same time, the big banks are trying to play catch up, seeking to add more mobile-friendly features and even investing in the startups that are trying to “disrupt” their industry.

6. They aren’t saving.

Millennials are saving money at -2 percent, lower than any other generation. When it comes to changing this way of operating, automation is the name of the game.

Millennials have grown up with credit and debit cards, direct deposit, and automated bill pay. Many simply aren’t used to thinking about their budgets and savings on a daily basis. Digit is a tool that automatically calculates how much its customers can afford to save and sets it aside. Qapital is another fintech company filling this space, they play on millennials’ love of gamified experiences by asking customers to save towards a specific goal like a trip.

7. They don’t understand money.

Only 8 percent of millennials have a high-level of understanding about finances, despite the fact that 70 percent think their level of understanding is solid. This gap between perceived and actual knowledge could result in more financial mistakes being made and less financial advice being sought.

Technology can play a role in arming millennials with better financial literacy by providing that education in the ways that are most natural to the generation. One of the biggest opportunities in this space is in gamification. Gamified tools can help users change their behaviors and improve their knowledge by making banking fun and centered around a challenge.

The technological and social environment that the millennial generation has grown up in has had an enormous effect on their approach to finances. From mobile-first to automation to gamification, technology has a huge role to play in their financial lives. Companies who want to succeed in today’s landscape must adopt and innovate on these tools.

Need a little help wrangling in the millennials? Check out some gamification software options or contact one of our unbiased Technology Advisors.

Top Gamification Software Recommendations

The post 7 Ways Technology Can Help Millennials With Their Finances appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

The meaning behind these seemingly disparate numbers is simple. Successful accountants in the coming years need to focus less on simple and automatable accounting tasks, more on an advisory role, and above all, learn to master the tools on the market so that the software works for the CPA, and not the other way around.

ALSO READ: 8 Reasons Accounting Software Isn’t Just for Big Business

To help you prepare, here are four accounting software innovations to look out for in 2018.

1. Your World Will Flatten

Cloud-based accounting services are becoming the norm. Anytime, anywhere data access and sharing means that a CPA can service clients across the country of even overseas as easily as they once approached clients in their own communities. Such increased global reach flattens the world, increasing competition among the best CPAs and firms vying for top clients. Furthermore, cloud-based accounting software makes it easier for clients to switch CPAs without a large paperwork transfer.

CPAs who want to keep a leg ahead of their competitors should consider the human skills that, when combined with cloud-based software, make them stand out from the crowd. An excellent client services experience should always the foremost of where you focus. But with increased globalization, you may also want to consider mastering a foreign language. Adding a foreign language skill to your resume makes you an even more desirable partner for clients that either exist wholly in other countries or have offices worldwide.

2. You’ll Gain a New Title, Marketer

Again, increased job growth and globalization means CPAs will continue to face more competition. To win business, you can’t be idle. Word of mouth has worked well for many CPAs to grow their client lists in the past and will continue to do so with a digital spin.

The accounting software on the horizon is likely to incorporate aspects of marketing automation into the solutions. This means CPAs will be able to take advantage of the ability to send beautifully designed email newsletters or follow-ups. They’ll be able to automate sharing on social media or create videos or white papers with ease. Such tools at hand present an incredible opportunity to CPAs who choose to take advantage. In particular, automating the process of asking (and asking again) for referrals could be beneficial, formalized referral programs not only increase the number of referrals gained, but the ratio of referrals closed.

3. You’ll Become a Data Ninja

In many ways, the automation of accounting tasks like bill entry, receipt uploads, and check printing has made a CPAs work life easier. But it’s also made it easier for clients to take on these tasks themselves. According to research, 37 percent of small to medium business owners think that they can now complete many accounting tasks themselves using accounting automation.

That number is likely to grow, so successful CPAs will need to master additional ways to add value to their clients’ businesses. In addition to automating some tasks, accounting software is becoming increasingly capable of digging deep into data and the reports you want to pull are becoming more and more customizable. The right data can identify trends that will help your clients avoid risks and proactively address opportunities. The more you can provide those actionable insights, the more value you’ll have beyond what software alone can produce.

4. Your App Library Will Grow

Cloud-based accounting software makes integration with a variety of related apps seamless. And you can expect to see the number of accounting-related apps solving for a variety of challenges increase in the coming years. Successful CPAs should see themselves as app librarians, well aware of and versed in a variety of tools that allow you to create custom suites of solutions for your clients.

Not only will your clients appreciate tailored solutions, an app library will help you overcome some of the limitations imposed on your growth potential by the size of your firm. With the right apps in place, you can upsell additional app-based digital services.

Successful CPAs don’t need to fear the rise of accounting software, they need to embrace it. It’s important to be current on the products out there so that you can continue to provide value to your clients as not just an accounting expert, but a technology expert. To check your knowledge of the tools on the market, use our Accounting Software Product Selection Tool for accounting software comparisons or talk to a Technology Advisor to see which software best fits your needs.

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

The post 4 Accounting Software Innovations to Prepare for appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

The employer loyalty that kept the silent generation with the same employer for their entire career, even long after the scars of war and depression should have faded, is gone. Today, one-third of workers are planning to leave their job in the next year. The new normal is to change jobs four times before the age of 32.

Employers who want to attract and retain the top talent in the realm have to strive to become a destination workplace — where employees feel valued, challenged, engaged, and have all the benefits and perks (title, salary, flexibility, fun) that are cropping up elsewhere. And key to that mission is leadership. A great leader can make walls or break chains when it comes to company culture, either isolating themselves from their team members or innovating new ways to engage.

In the infographic below, we explore some of the trends in employee engagement today and ask leaders to question themselves, “Am I a mad king or a protector of the realm?”

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

The post Infographic: Are You A Mad King or Protector of the Realm? appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

For one marketing program manager, Tim Wulf of Intacct, that big business challenge was all about finding qualified leads. And while Tim did find a solution on a visit to TechnologyAdvice, it wasn’t the one you’d expect.

“Of all the other providers I work with, TechnologyAdvice is the only one I feel truly wants to align their programs with our goals. They’re looking to help us with business outcomes, not just lead gen.”

Intacct Faces a Challenge

Intacct is a provider of cloud-based enterprise resource management (ERP) software. More than 11,000 businesses currently rely on Intacct’s solutions to integrate management and financial reports across their enterprises. But despite their strong existing customer base, Intacct struggled to maintain a consistent volume of leads to build a new customer funnel.

The volatile swings of their lead volume lead to problems across the board in how they managed nurturing and sales. They needed a consistent driver of leads and that’s when Intacct came to TechnologyAdvice.

Our Mission Delivers

At TechnologyAdvice, our mission is to help buyers make well-informed decisions about software. After all, there are a plethora (and growing) of options out there for just about any type of solution. It can be difficult to cut through jargon-filled features lists and multiple websites, which is why we try to make information accessible and approachable.

Because of that mission, plenty of customers in need of software come to TechnologyAdvice in search of information. And through our blogs, website, and product listings, they begin to segment themselves. That makes it possible for us to authentically connect customers with the service providers that they’ll truly be satisfied with. And when that happens, both sides win.

We think Wulf said it best, “Of all the other providers I work with, TechnologyAdvice is the only one I feel truly wants to align their programs with our goals. They’re looking to help us with business outcomes, not just lead gen.“

Curious to find out what happened when Intacct partnered with TechnologyAdvice to solve their lead volume problem and maximize connections with authentically interested customers? You can preview the study below or click here to download.

Top ERP Software Recommendations

The post How to Find Authentically Interested Leads with TechnologyAdvice appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Making the list for four consecutive years, said Eric Schurenberg, president and editor-in-chief of Inc. Media, “Is a truly extraordinary accomplishment. Needless to say, making the list gets harder every year as your starting base grows.”

The average company on this year’s list has grown sixfold since 2013. As stated by Schurenberg, during a stretch when the U.S. economy grew just 6.7 percent, “that’s a result most businesses could only dream of.”

TechnologyAdvice is proud to not only to make the Inc. 5000 list, but also to represent the business community in Nashville. Only 51 other area companies made the list.

“Making the Inc. 5000 list is a testament to the hard work of the TechnologyAdvice team. I’m incredibly proud. This is a time for our team to celebrate, not only this accomplishment, but the opportunities we have in store. I couldn’t be more excited about where we’re headed.” Michael O’Hara, CEO of TechnologyAdvice

View the rest of the Inc. 5000 list to see if your favorite company made it this year.

About Technology Advice

TechnologyAdvice is on a mission to educate, advise, and connect buyers and sellers of business technology in authentic ways that meet their mutual needs.

The business technology marketplace is diverse, and most buyers struggle to determine which options are best for them. The team at TechnologyAdvice is dedicated to solving this challenge.

By leveraging their expert insights and strong relationships across the tech industry, TechnologyAdvice creates quality connections between buyers and sellers of business technology. Finally buyers can make well-informed purchase decisions through comprehensive product listings, industry analysis, and user-generated reviews. And vendors can grow their customer base through TechnologyAdvice’s unique demand generation programs that improve product awareness by placing matched solutions in front of ideal customers.

The post TechnologyAdvice Named to Inc 5000’s Fastest Growing Private Companies in America for the Fourth Consecutive Year appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

Times have massively changed. Today, a wide variety of project management software exists to fit organizations of every size (from one-person freelancers to the biggest in the biz) and learning styles (visual learners, checklist lovers, spreadsheet worshippers, and so on).

Four perennial favorites are Asana, Smartsheet, Trello, and Workfront. All offer strong cloud-based solutions. But not all are right for every circumstance. Use this guide to compare the options based on pricing, features, integrations, and mobile app ease. Then select one that works well for your needs.

Do you use any of these tools and have something to say about them? Leave a review for other’s to get a better understanding of how the project management tools work in real time.

Company Overviews

Let’s get started with some fast facts for each solution.

READ MORE COMPARISONS: 6 Customizable Software Tools for Agile Project Management

Pricing

Project management tools are typically priced per user, per month. This makes it possible for the software to grow with your organization, versus paying upfront for something that’s too large for your needs. All four of our comparison tools here also offer varying prices based on how many extra features you’d like to include.

The most affordable of the bunch is Trello. Trello offers a free option for as many members as you’d like to add, which also grants you access to all basic features. For less than $10 per user per month, you can upgrade to a version that integrates with commonly-used tools like Mailchimp and Slack and provides bigger file storage, hands-on support, further customization, and more. There is also an enterprise version for double the price of the next level down that gets you further security and support.

Asana is about on par with Trello in terms of pricing, though their free model only allows up to 15 users. For less than $10 per user per month, you can get Asana’s premium version with more user seats, control, customization, and support. They too have a “white glove” enterprise version with customizable pricing upon contact.

Smartsheet is available to individuals for $14 per month. For $15 per user per month, you can upgrade to a team plan, which again, provides greater access to customization as well as collaborative functions. For about $10 more per month, you can get a business plan, which tacks on more features for bigger teams and there is a custom-priced enterprise plan as well.

Workfront is the most expensive solution, with user licenses starting at more than double the cost of our lowest competitor’s lowest plans. But even the most basic plans include features like timesheets, integrations, and advanced reporting that the other solutions don’t offer. Pricing is customizable by the access each user needs.

Features

Task and project management are core features of any PM software. And all four of our contenders do that, albeit in very different ways. Through Asana and Trello offer enterprise-level options, they were created with small- to mid-sized teams in mind, and their features are strongest there. On the flipside, Workfront is likely too in-depth and expensive for small teams and does better with medium to large businesses. Smartsheet covers the lot.

Asana’s approach to task and project management is focused on communication. The goal of the tool is to eliminate the need for email or chat outside of the software. Other features include:

• Project templates
• Progress reporting
• Sub-tasks
• Task dependencies
• File sharing
• Search
• Task and project chat
• In-tool inbox
• Team pages
• Calendar view
• Custom fields
• Custom dashboards
• Outside collaboration

Trello’s approach to task and project management is visual. The concept for the tool came from the manual process of putting sticky notes on a wall to manage projects. Other features include:

• People tagging
• Notifications
• File sharing
• Calendar view
• Search, filtering, and labels
• Create and comment via email
• Outside collaboration
• Visual/background customization
• Power-ups that add extra adaptable features or integrations

READ MORE: Trello vs. Asana: Choosing the Right Tool for Team Projects

Smartsheet’s approach is to mimic the look and feel of spreadsheets. For those who are comfortable working in Excel or Google Sheets, the system will feel intuitive. Other features include:

• File sharing
• Calendar view
• Customizable reports
• Gantt charts
• Data-capture forms
• Automation
• Real-time team allocation

Workfront offers an all-in-one project management approach that seeks to eliminate the need for many other tools. It has all of the above features as well as:

• Critical path management
• Cost tracking
• Time tracking
• Risk management

The lists above really just scratch the surface of available features, so be sure to visit our product comparison pages or their websites for more information.

Integrations

The goal of project management software is to decrease inefficiencies and improve productivity. But that’s difficult to do when you’re constantly switching between various applications. It’s helpful to evaluate each potential PM solution to find out if it offers integrations for your most commonly used applications and tools.

With Trello’s free version, it should be noted that you only get to use an integration one time per board. For the next package up, however, you have unlimited use of integrations, which include:

• Appear.in to create a unique video conference link on every board
• Corrello for viewing boards in burndown chart format
• Evernote for attaching notes directly into Trello
• Harvest for time tracking
• Mailchimp for planning email campaigns in Trello
• Slack for sending Trello cards to chat
• And many more including Dropbox, Github, Google Drive, Help Scout, JIRA Cloud, Salesforce, Zapier, and Zendesk

Integrations are available for all of Asana’s pricing levels. Like Trello, Asana integrates with Evernote, Harvest, Mailchimp, Slack, Dropbox, Github, Google Drive, Salesforce etc. Asana also integrates with Trello itself, so if your individual team members like to use Trello for managing their own tasks or planning editorial calendars and other specialty projects, they can still link back to Asana. Their list of integrations is robust and growing.

Smartsheet offers fewer integrations than Asana and Trello, but hits on the big ones like Salesforce, Google Drive, and Dropbox. It also integrates with DocuSign, Marketo, and Skype for Business, to name a few. Plus, like Asana and Trello, it integrates with Zapier so you can connect to hundreds of apps through Zaps.

Workfront offers integrations with Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Webdam at no additional cost on top of your software purchase. For an additional fee, you can integrate Workfront with Adobe Suite, Outlook, Sharepoint, and Widen.

Mobile Apps

With an increasingly remote and mobile workforce, it’s important that a PM solution has a well-designed app for using on the go.

The Trello app often gets high marks from users for presenting an interface very similar to (and therefore intuitive to use) as the desktop version. It’s rated over four stars on iOS and 4.5 on Android.

The Asana app also scores above four stars for iOS. For Android, it scores slightly below Trello at 4.1. It simplifies the user interface compared to the desktop version for easier touchscreen usage, which means the experiences won’t be identical — mobile has fewer features.

The Workfront app has fewer user reviews, as it was just released in 2016, but it still scores above four stars on iOS and 4.6 stars on Android. You can send work requests, upload documents, track time, and review work on the app.

Most of us dread the thought of looking at a spreadsheet on a mobile phone, but Smartsheet actually does a good job of making the spreadsheet format accessible. And Smartsheet’s app scores above a four on iOS and an even four on Android.

Making a Final Decision

The right project management tool for you will depend on your company-size, depth of projects, budget, and need for more or less robust features.

Small companies, one-off teams, individuals, or those with projects that are relatively simple would probably do well to try Trello. We also like it for visual learners, or those looking to create custom usages (beyond project management, it’s useful for creating editorial calendars, employee handbooks, and more).

For a step up, small to mid-sized businesses might give Asana a try. Compared to Trello, it adds more intelligent features like progress reporting and is better for collaboration or more complex projects. We also like that it can replace the need for email or chat separately, as both are included in the tool. And the price point is really excellent for all that the tool makes available. But some people have trouble getting accustomed to all the available features, as great as they are. If visual simplicity is your priority, try Trello. If you like something more linear, try Smartsheet.

Smartsheet looks like an intelligent spreadsheet, which makes it a great option for teams that have been operating with spreadsheets as their main project management tool in the past. It will feel intuitive but adds features like file sharing and calendar views. Also, despite not having a free version (like Trello and Asana), Smartsheet does offer a free 30-day trial, so you can take it for a test run before committing.

For medium to enterprise-sized organizations, or those with very complex projects with a large number of collaborators and approvers, Workfront might be the best choice. While the other tools take more of a task management approach, Workfront has a more traditional project management focus. It offers the most robust reporting and integrations as well.

All four of these tools are excellent choices for project management and will help your team be more productive than ever before. If you’re still confused about which one is right for you, check out our Project Management Product Selection Tool for a customized recommendation or call an expert for free today.  

The post Asana, Smartsheet, Trello, Workfront: Which Project Management Software is the Best for You? appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

ALSO READ: The Top Payroll Software For Enterprise And SMB

Yet while you can forgive yourself for messing up your own check, as you add employees to your company, payroll problems aren’t so easily forgotten: Your team relies on accurate and timely payroll operations in order to live well; your business can only succeed if your budget is correctly balanced; and the IRS isn’t that understanding of excuses like, “I’m new to this” or, “Oops.”

Payroll mistakes have very real and very costly consequences. Here are five common payroll errors that with the right knowledge, tools, and preparation, your small- to medium-sized business can avoid.

ALSO READ: How to Choose the Right Small Business Payroll Software

1. Employee Misclassification

Exempt or non-exempt? Contractor or part-time employee? The rules governing how employees are classified are created to protect individuals from being taken advantage of by their employers. But most employee misclassification mistakes are a result of simply not understanding where the lines are drawn and how the labels are determined. The IRS is increasingly auditing for these classifications as mistakes can result in underpaid payroll taxes. In today’s gig economy, it’s smart to deeply familiarize yourself with the rules or consult an expert.

2. Using a Paper-Based System

The homegrown system for tracking hours and invoices that feels comfortable because you’ve had it in place so long is actually uncomfortably close to the danger zone. Paper gets misplaced, thrown away, or shuffled around. It’s not only notoriously inaccurate, it’s a time consumer. Manually moving data from paper to online systems offers much room for duplication, deletion, or other human errors.  Doing payroll yourself is an option but switching to a digital solution will prevent costly mistakes and save valuable time during tax season.

3. Poorly Handled Payroll Taxes

The list of Federal tax rules encompasses 75 pages of paper and doesn’t even begin to touch on the many and varied rules for state and local taxes. It’s enough to send anyone’s head spinning and errors always come back around to haunt you to a costly end. Late payments, missed payments, or simple lack of knowing what to pay top the list of payroll tax mishaps. Because the rules are so complex, it’s smart to bring in professional services or payroll software to avoid this mistake.

4. Over Scheduling or Under Scheduling

If you’ve been handling your employee scheduling on a piece of paper, dry erase board, or spreadsheet, it’s time for an upgrade. Just like other manual systems, going offline with your scheduling creates massive room for human error. This dark space is growing even larger as people become more reliant on their phones for information about work. Over or under scheduling shifts not only has costly implications for payroll, it also negatively impacts employee satisfaction.

5. Mishandling PTO

Another area in which mistakes are costly both in terms of finances and employee happiness is paid time off. Team members who put in the work not only deserve a break, but their productivity going forward will benefit from it. Making mistakes with tracking, accruing, and paying out unused PTO is easy to do when you use manual systems or don’t have multiple systems synced. Digital solutions can help hold both you and your employees accountable on PTO.

With the correct payroll measures in place, your business will benefit from smoother operations, more satisfied employees, and far fewer costly mistakes. Not sure where to start when it comes to payroll or hr software? Use our Payroll Software Product Selection Tool to compare more options, or contact one of our Technology Advisors for a free consultation.

Top Human Resources Software Recommendations

The post 5 Costly Payroll Mistakes Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses Should Avoid appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.