Starting a new business can be a challenge, especially when you have limited resources. Although there are many tasks you need to handle, management is one of the most important. While hiring a skilled manager may be expensive, their expertise is necessary for organizing resources, assigning tasks, and tracking progress. This is where project management software can make a big difference in managing your business.
A project management software for startups helps you handle these tasks efficiently, even if you have little or no experience in management. With the right software, you can stay organized and ensure your projects follow the plan.
Studies also show that startups face a 47% chance of scope creep, meaning their projects often go off course. Additionally, their projects are 10% more likely to fail compared to larger companies. Therefore, it is very important to prevent these problems to keep everything running smoothly.
We have reviewed some of the best project management software for startups and highlighted the 10 best tools below that can make a great impact in keeping your projects on track.
But first, let us understand what project management software is and how it can help your business.
What Are Project Management Software for Startups?
There are software you can use as a manager or someone filling the role, even if you do not have the experience and skills. Among these software, some have a design that specifically helps startups through a project.
In particular, these software may aid you in the following tasks:
- Track task assignments
- Monitor time used for each task
- Calculate and track resources used
- Document all actions taken by staff
Furthermore, using these software can make it less overwhelming to tackle a project since you can easily observe all of its parts in one application. With increased visibility, you will make better decisions to optimize resources, track accountability, and gather performance data.
Top Project Management Software That Startups Use
There are tens of software you can use to manage a project. In fact, you can even use basic software such as Google Docs to manage your project. Yet only specialized applications will offer you all of the features you need to smoothly do all your managerial work.
To guide you toward the best software, we have selected these 10 programs that focus on making managerial work simpler:
| Software | Pricing |
| ClickUp | Free / $7 – $12 (per user per month) |
| Asana | Free / $10.99 – $24.99 (per user per month) |
| Trello | Free / $5 – $17.50 |
| Wrike | $9.80 (per user per month) |
| Airtable | Free / $20 – $45 (per user per month) / Custom |
| Zoho projects | $5 – $10 (per user per month) |
| Basecamp | Free trial / $15 / $299 (per month) |
| Teamwork.com | Free Trial (30 days) / $5.99 / Custom |
| Jira | Free (up to 10 users) / $790 (a year) – $1,525 (a year) |
| Monday.Com | Free (for 2) / $9 – $19 (per user per month) / Custom |
Now, let us examine these software in detail.
1. ClickUp
Out of all managerial software, ClickUp is the most highly recommended. It helps you plan your project, collaborate, and measure your progress. An interesting feature is the automation of workflow, which makes it easier for you to assign tasks, give them a hierarchy, and verify that the staff has completed them.
In addition, you can message or video conference within the application, allowing you to directly communicate with ease.
Pros:
- Integrates with Slack, Google Suite, and Dropbox
- Facilitates creation of investor and partner documents
- Creates reports on all of your teams performance through real-time analytics.
Cons:
- The free version only offers 100 MB of storage
2. Asana
Asana offers some incredible managerial tools for startups. Namely, it allows you to create projects, create calendar schedules, and automate task assignments. This software also checks whether tasks go over budget.
Pros:
- Tracks accountability and responsibility for tasks
- Integrates with Google Drive, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and much more
- Offers a variety of templates necessary to start a project
Cons:
- Has an overwhelming number of features
- Lacks time-tracking features
3. Trello
With Trello, you can easily visualize your project. It has boards that you can drag-and-drop, label, and color. In each board, you can assign tasks and even automate this assignment. Plus, you can add a tag to each new board or several, which will further help you if you want to search for something specific.
Pros:
- Offers 250 automated commands in a free plan
- Integrates with Google Suite and Slack
- Accepts unlimited members and cards in a free plan
Cons:
- It can be difficult to scale up
- Relies on integration to offer the same features as other management software
4. Wrike
If you want a sleek dashboard to visualize your project, you should consider Wrike. This software’s dashboard has multiple features, including task assignment and tracking, file storage, and effort tracking.
Pros:
- Allows you to customize dashboards
- Facilitates resource management
- Has an intuitive interface
Cons:
- Works more efficiently for large teams
5. Airtable
Airtable offers some of the best business tools for startups. Chief among these tools is its spreadsheets and database. These tools allow you to efficiently make charts that are easier to understand than raw data.
Pros:
- Allows customization of dashboard
- Measures performance
- Generates data reports
Cons:
- It does not allow you to directly manage tasks
6. Zoho Projects
Getting Zoho Projects is the best solution for those with Zoho CRM. Zoho Projects integrates well with it, allowing you to smoothly track tasks, assign them, and monitor them. Then, it uses this data to create invoices and even give you reports with easy to understand charts.
Pros:
- Operates on website, desktop, and phone
- Offers virtual meeting features
- Tracks activities to facilitate resource efficiency
Cons:
- Has a high learning curve to fully utilize
- Reports bugs inefficiently
7. Basecamp
If your startup project especially needs collaboration, you should consider Basecamp. The software allows you to have group chats, threaded conversations, and share files. In addition, you can use it to make to-do lists, assign tasks, and manage feedback.
Pros:
- Displays the entire project on one page
- Functions on both iPhone and Android phones
- Easily transfers large files
Cons:
- Lacks priority labels on tasks
- Cannot track expenses
8. Teamwork.com
Teamwork.com is a software that caters to different fields of project management and startups. It scales easily and requires little training to use. Plus, you can integrate this software with Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams.
Pros:
- Assigns tasks with varying priorities
- Uses reports to generate billing documents
- Generates reports with interactive graphs
- Allows you to create dashboards
Cons:
- Billing feature only functions if you attach hours to tasks
9. Jira
Another project software you should consider is Jira. As a matter of fact, it allows you to efficiently apply agile project management. Also, it is especially useful in the coding industry because it has a bug tracking tool.
Pros:
- Contains a roadmap for task assignment and idea communication
- Generates reports with burndown charts
- Has customizable reports, timeline, and forms
Cons:
- Integration is varied yet time-consuming
- Does not allow high definition download of reports
10. Monday.com
Lastly, you should consider Monday.com if your startup deals with considerable quantities of data in its daily operations. In this software, you will be able to customize your boards and track tasks.
Pros:
- It is quick to install
- Allows you to comment, tag, and like posts
- Integrates with Slack, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Jira, GitHub, Trello, and Dropbox
Cons:
- It is only available online
Wrapping up
By and large, ClickUp, Asana, and Trello are the best project management software for startups. They are the most popular for startups because they are especially effective at task management and tracking. Nevertheless, Wrike, Airtable, Zoho Projects, and Basecamp are also quite useful. From file storage to spreadsheets to invoice creation, they each have notable advantages.
Interestingly, Teamwork.com also offers interactive graph creation, while Jira offers bug tracking. Meanwhile, if your startup deals with data, you should consider Monday.com.
Now that you have considered each of these software, tell us in the comment section which interests you the most.
