In a business setting, it’s important to think of software as a force multiplier. A force multiplier is any tool that you can use in order to increase the output that comes from a set amount of input. In English, this means that if you carry on, working at the same rate, using a force multiplier will help you to accomplish more. A simple example of this would be a forklift truck. Using this, you could put in the same amount of effort as you would moving boxes manually and accomplish much more.
So, that’s what software should do for your business as well. It should take some of the weight off of your team so that they can achieve more and have energy to spare at the end of the day.
A project management tool is a great example of this, and the very best examples of this kind of software will allow you to streamline your workflow, facilitate communication, and avoid mistakes and accidents.

Investing in Software
For all these reasons, project management tools can help you to save a lot of time and money and to drastically increase your profit margins. This is why you should always think of using this kind of software as making an investment. When you pay for a tool like Asana or Trello, you should get more back out of it.
And in some unique circumstances, it makes sense to go one step further and to outsource the creation of your own project management system.
The reason this makes sense is that it means the tool will be perfectly suited to your particular workflow. It means you can remove the features that are distracting that you don’t need, and it means that you can introduce elements that you will find specifically handy.
For instance, if you find yourself inputting the same information over and over again, creating your own tool could mean that this becomes a simple checkbox or even that’s it’s automatically filled out. Anything that you find yourself doing repeatedly, you could streamline by creating your own project management tool, and you could even get it to flag problems and make suggestions, seeing as it will know your industry.
Not only could this save you a huge amount of time and allow you and your team to provide a better service, you may even find that you end up creating a marketable product in the process!

These apps are not project management tools in themselves, but when combined with other project management tools, they can be immensely powerful and really help to speed up your workflow. Here, we will look at some of the best tools and apps that will make project management a bit easier.

Google Docs
Google Docs is an absolute lifesaver for project managers all around the world. Google Docs is basically a cloud storage system with an office suite built in for good measure. This makes it easy to not only share files but, also, to edit them on the go and to work collaboratively on them.

Google Calendar
Sticking with Google for a moment, the calendar is also a hugely useful tool. Google Calendar makes it easier for you to keep track of your own to-do list and schedule, while at the same time giving you a way to share your availability with others and to see when your colleagues are available. This makes arranging a meeting much easier.

Skype
For all the amazing power that online collaboration tools offer, sometimes you’ll still just need to hash things out in person. Skype is the closest you can come to doing this, though there are many other options available these days, too, such as Facebook chat and FaceTime.

IFTTT
IFTTT is a fantastic web app that allows you to combine the features of multiple apps to trigger and respond to events. What does this mean? Well, for example, you can set up a relationship between Gmail and Todoist, so that e-mails from clients show up on your to-do list as jobs to complete.

Dropbox
Dropbox is a simple and robust cloud storage service that makes it easy for you to store files online and share them with others. Dropsync is also a useful tool, allowing you to automatically download files to your smart device from specific folders.

Evernote
Project management and note-taking go hand-in-hand. It’s all good and well organizing other members of your team, but when you’re at risk of forgetting what you need to do, or when you need to refer to that clipping that you found online, Evernote is always going to be incredibly helpful.

Pinterest
For creative projects, Pinterest is an excellent way to share ideas and to create mood-boards. When a Task Complete doesn’t quite cut it, this is a much more visual and expressive form of remote communication.

Splashtop Remote
For when you just can’t explain to your client how to open that file, Splashtop Remote lets you take charge of their computer and even see their screen.

When it comes to project management tools, Asana, Basecamp, and Trello are pretty much superstars. Each of these three has gained a lot of popularity and found a large number of users, and between them, they cover most requirements for a variety of different organizations and businesses.
But while these three are all great, they are certainly not the only options available, and it’s worth the time to look at some of the competition, which may better suit your specific requirements. Here, we will look at some of the other big players available that aren’t one of those big three.

Orchestra
Orchestra has the ability to create tasks and lists of tasks and, then, to assign them to people or share them. Users can comment on tasks, mark them as done or started, and upload completed work. The app is beautiful, works flawlessly, and the whole experience really does feel like conducting an orchestra, only the players are typing on keyboards rather than playing trumpets.
You can try out Orchestra for 30 days, and overall, it’s similar to PHPCollab with a little more polish.

Flow
Flow is a particularly well designed and beautiful project management tool. It allows you to plan projects with teammates and has the ability to add tasks, comment on them, assign them to other members, and more.
An exciting feature coming to Flow that’s something pretty different from the competition is the Flow Concierge Service. This lets you assign simple tasks to personal assistants!
The apps are attractive, and it only costs $99 a year for the full service.

Google Docs
Google Docs isnt really a project management tool, but that’s only because it does so much else. Actually, Google Docs has more than enough features to make it a great choice for managing projects. You can create spreadsheets, documents, presentations, and more, store them all online, and edit them in real-time.

What’s more, Google Docs is completely free to use, it provides tons of storage for adding a range of files, and it’s something that everyone has access to. It’s nicely compatible with Microsoft Office, which makes a nice change for Microsoft and Google to be getting on together!
There are a few small bugs, but other than that, this is a pretty powerful suite of tools for managing any project and it can certainly bail you out in a crisis!

PHPCollab is a project management tool that is perfect for internet entrepreneurs and online businesses. As the name suggests, the tool is used mainly for collaborative projects (usually online) and is coded using PHP.

How it Works
PHPCollab is a simple project management tool, but that is a strength. Users can create projects and then assign them to users with specific due dates. Likewise, unassigned tasks can be viewed by anyone, and files can be uploaded with relative ease.
So, a simple use scenario might be if a company was working on a website and had outsourced things like the coding, the design, and the content creation to different members around the world. Using PHPCollab, each freelancer could log-in to their account and then see which task they had to work on and when it needed to be completed by. Once they finished creating their PNG, their Word document, or their HTML code, they could simply upload it and mark the task complete. From there, they could wait for another task to be assigned, or take the initiative and find an open job to start working on.

The Benefits and Drawbacks
PHPCollab is a little different from other project management tools like Trello. This is a very bare bones  tool and one that favours a structured task setting approach. For certain types of project and business though, that’s perfect and it really can streamline the process of working together online  or even in the same office. There’s never any need to send an e-mail to get more work and everyone knows what they should be doing at any given time.
But at the same time, PHPCollab is also very limited in what it does. There’s ways to upload multiple files simultaneously for instance which is pretty basic stuff for a tool of this nature. Likewise, while it’s possible to add comments to a file or a task, there’s not really any way to edit a file live or to engage in an active discussion. For a tool that focuses on collaboration it’s a little short on actual teamwork.
That said, if you’re running an online agency or are part of a team, then PHPCollab may just have the tools you need. If you can overlook the limitations and the bare-bones presentation, then it can be a great aid to your workflow.

There are plenty of great project management systems out there, which range from Trello to Orchestra to PHPCollab to Asana.
But, while all these project management tools have their uses, none of them is quite perfect. For starters, many of them cost money. Then, there’s the fact that once you get too deeply entrenched in one system, you’ll find it hard to migrate to any other. Then, there’s the small matter of having introduce everyone you work with to that system.
And on top of all that, project management tools are generally too broad and don’t specifically cater to your business or workflow. Now, one solution to this is to create your own project management tool, but if you don’t know how to code and don’t have the resources to outsource that, then this can be tricky.
Fortunately, there are ways around this problem. Read on to learn how you can MacGyveryour own project management system out of parts.

A Simple Note Taking Solution
Note taking apps like Evernote are highly popular, but they present all the same problems that the aforementioned project management solutions do.
But, really, why do you need one if you have a basic operating system? Create a directory on your computer called Notes, and then, add subdirectories and sub-subdirectories for each category of note. You can add text files to be those notes, images, and anything else. You can do the same thing for tasks.

Cloud Storage
Only instead of putting this subdirectory on your Desktop, you’re now going to put it in your Dropbox folder or in your OneDrive folder. Make this a shared folder, and that way, you and all of your teammates can edit it. This is, essentially, a project management system!

Extras
If you need a little more structure, then you can also add a spreadsheet for assigning tasks and discussing them. Likewise, if you use a tool like IFTTT (If This Then That), you can sync your different accounts up so that your Google Calendar is populated with the new tasks you add, for instance, or so that a spreadsheet keeps track of everything you upload and edit.
If you’re using Dropbox, then you can also use an app called Dropsync to sync those folders and files to your mobile device.

Conclusion
There are many more options here, and really, you don’t have to use any of these suggestions. The point is that there are enough cloud tools and other apps out there that you can now create your own project management system that fits your workflow. As long as everyone knows the system, the sky is really the limit!

If you work online and, especially, if you often find yourself collaborating remotely, then you might have heard good things about project management tools. These are tools and apps that essentially allow you to organize your tasks and projects and share them with the rest of your team.
But with so many different tools and options available, where do you begin? And what can you expect to gain from these apps?
The Benefits of Project Management Tools
If you’re juggling multiple tasks and projects at once, then having a structured tool where you can lay out all the individual steps and goals is a great way to ensure that you’re staying on track. What’s more, this allows you to share your plan with colleagues so that you can communicate what needs to be done quickly and effectively.
But project management tools go beyond this. For starters, project management tools are normally cloud based. This means that your team doesn’t have to be in the same place in order to see their assignments and goals. This, in turn, liberates you to work remotely while still ensuring everyone is on the same page.
What’s more, project management tools often sync up nicely with other online tools, including e-mail, chat, and to-do lists. This means that you can automate much of your workflow, and save yourself a lot of time.

Choosing a Project Management Tool
When it comes to choosing a tool for project management, you aren’t going to be stuck for choice. To name just a few of the popular options, you have:
Trello
Asana
Basecamp
Orchestra
Flow
PHPCollab
Todoist
Smartsheet

On top of this, you also have a host of different tools and apps that you can use in conjunction with traditional project management software, including video conferencing software, cloud storage software, social media, and more!
Each of these tools is slightly different and better suited to specific types of work. For instance, options like Orchestra and PHPCollab are particularly well suited to agencies and other scenarios where you have a client and freelancer.

In some cases, though, you may find that the project management tool you’re looking for still doesn’t exist. In that case, you can look at creating your own software from scratch, either by coding it manually or by outsourcing the process.

This is an advanced option, but if you create something that perfectly suits your workflow, it can be more than worthwhile.