Small and medium business owners have a never-ending desire to increase their productivity by leaps and bounds.
For a long time, this was thought to be elusive, as managing business-oriented tasks take a heavy toll.
But with the advent of something called the -Internet- in the 90s, things have changed drastically.
Moving through a time of Internet advancement
After almost two decades of the internet, we have access to plenty of online and offline tools that make business management work easier.
In colloquial and in general terms, these tools are called task management tools that can make each hour more productive for businesses.
Why choose Task Management Tools for better productivity?
The pricing dilemma
However, these software or tools are supposed to carry a hefty price tag, which is not always the case.
Various tools are available for free, and when we say free, then it means no strings are attached.
Lack of awareness
It is quite unfortunate that this message has not percolated deeper, despite having varied means of circulating information.
Some businesses work on paid tools, while others continue to struggle due to the pricing chaos.
The reason why we say it is unfortunate is the fact that businesses can benefit quite a lot with the proper usage of free tools.
Business tools play an essential role in deciding your team’s productivity.
Having said that, you need to choose the right tool so that you can accomplish the desired goal.
Choosing the right tool
A simple google search will land you hundreds of results to choose the right tool.
But we have zeroed in on the important tools only so that you do not have to toil to pick the right tool.
A gentle reminder, all these tools are available for free online.
Some of the Free Project Task Management Tools are:
Here, we have curated a list of best task management tools for businesses in different industries, so pay heed.
1. ProProfs Project
The world of modern project management tools has become highly crowded, but ProProfs Project still holds its place among top task management tools.
It is an effective tool that makes project management easier than one would’ve thought of.
The tool comes with an intuitive and user-friendly interface, which makes project tracking painless.
Plus, you get access to features like an intuitive dashboard for managing multiple tasks, Gantt charts to monitor the progress of each task, task priorities to handle project-related urgency aptly, task dependencies for seamless team collaboration, etc.,
and that ensures your project management journey stays smooth as much as possible.
All in all, this tool acts as a helping hand when it comes to handling project tasks effectively, so it’s certainly worth your shot.
2. Nimble
Nimble is an exciting tool to get access to, as it keeps project-related obstacles at bay thanks to its outstanding features.
By means of Nimble, you enjoy the perks of an organized workflow.
It makes the task management journey smooth, isn’t it?
You can easily keep a tab on activities your team is working on.
Besides securing proper task management, you lower down the possibilities of overdue work to a large extent.
This tool enables you to be prepared for anything by letting you manage your team’s calendars, so no tasks get missed or delayed.
3. Proofhub
Proofhub is one of those task management tools that promise immersive user experience, as it makes complex project-related work so easier for you.
One of the most effective features is, ‘Discussions’.
By means of this feature, you can create discussion topics so that all concerned individuals can exchange words with respect to project progress easily.
Another benefit of using this feature is you can avoid lengthy and messy email threads for good.
Besides this, features like task assignment, task priorities, timely notifications, etc. are there to give delightful experience.
All things considered, this tool is worth a shot!
4. Monday.com
Monday.com is a collaboration software that is useful for SMBs.
It is the best project management software that concentrates on the way teams work by handling workloads and enhancing communication.
This software aids in managing schedules and plans through a visual timeline.
In this way, team members can easily view the plans at a single glance.
Thus, it forms the best example of a team task management tool.
5. Avaza
Avaza is one of the promising free task management tools for a small yet client-focused business.
It comes with all the expected PM features, such as list views, time tracking, resource allocation, and much more.
All these features are available under the free plan.
This work task management tool is beneficial for all client-based businesses because of its broader functionality and features like expense tracking, quoting, and invoicing.
Under the free plan, you get access to one timesheet, one admin along with one scheduling user, and five in-use projects.
Moreover, 10 clients, five invoices per month, regular emailing, and chat support with an online knowledgebase
6. Trello
Trello is also good PM software that provides you a common perspective on any project.
This platform is available free of cost, so new companies can pick this tool to improve their business productivity.
The tool is even good for freelancers.
It has an eye-appealing dashboard, where you can see all the important tasks on the screen.
Trello empowers you with the option of creating boards.
You can categorize each board by different names like ‘to do,’ ‘doing,’ and ‘done’ for work simplification.
This is a simple yet effective PM tool that you must have as a part of your business up-gradation.
7. Airtable
If you love the basic layout to avert any sort of messiness, Airtable is a tool that you should have. This tool comes with a clean and orderly appearance.
It is in the form of a spreadsheet with more power.
You can manage your projects through this flexible spreadsheet type database application.
It also helps you in calendar management.
You need to create bases for managing Airtable projects, which is quite easy.
Premade templates make it easier to create a base.
You can also try to create it from scratch.
But choosing the premade templates will be a better option, as they are organized according to the project type.
Every element of this tool is rightly organized and easy to work with, which forms the basis of a reliable work task management tool.
The lone factor that deters its utility quotient is the limitation of file storage capacity, which is just 2GB and needs some memory boost.
8. ClickUp
If you are looking for cloud-based project task management tools, ClickUp is for you.
This tool comes up with several interesting features like a dashboard for viewing tasks, Gantt charts for monitoring task progress, and an option of drag & drop for task reordering.
The free plan of this tool permits unlimited users and tasks.
You are also allowed to create sub-tasks and connect in real-time by maintaining timesheets.
9. Zoho Projects
Zoho project is deemed as a unique tool as there are only a few tools that simplify the process of working with multiple projects.
Generally, working on multiple projects at the same time can be quite draining due to complexity related to scheduling and time tracking.
It has an upper hand in handling multiple projects as compared to its peers because it lets its users divide projects into smaller units along with deadlines.
Bug tracking feature of this tool is also one of its USPs.
On a side note, it also has a handy invoice generating function, which is in sync with the time tracking mechanism.
10. Taskworld
There are plenty of business management tools available in the market, but not all of them serve a dual purpose.
The dual-purpose tools are those which can be effective in the same fashion for both small and large scale businesses.
There is a considerable level of disparity in the way both small and large businesses operate.
Thus, it is a challenge to serve both sides of the coin with the same efficiency.
One of the important aspects of this tool is that it is completely cloud-based.
Thus, the hassles of data storage are not going to annoy you.
It also comes with advanced security features, so there is no compromise with the data stored in the cloud.
Taskworld does a great job of communicating information through data and graphs, which otherwise gets lost in the chain of command.
Thereby the employee productivity is enhanced.
The Bottom Line
But first, you need to understand your company’s structure and define which problems are you trying to solve with each tool. For example, a tool such as a corporate wiki can centralize and enhance collaboration around your company’s knowledge; or a project management tool such as Trello can organize your projects into boards.
Having said that, you need to choose the right tool so that you can accomplish the desired goal.
In a nutshell, it all comes down to the fact that- how aware you are with recent technological trends as more tools have arrived on the scene.
They may even be better and with rapid development in AI and IoT, it is more than just a possibility.
