PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Basic project management is part of the successful execution of every CAS project, from designing a single label to executing multiple lines and variants.
Project management is the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge, and experience to achieve specific project objectives. These objective are reached according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters that help a business run smoothly, thus impacting the bottom line (APM, 2019).
In a post-Covid era, CAS is expanding into more sophisticated markets, building on current success, and accepting more complex projects. As a result, a review of current and potential project management tools was undertaken to ensure work is delivered on time, and within budget.
Another outcome is to improve communication, reduce collaboration complexity, understand resources allocation and prioritization, and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
A CURRENT APPROACH TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT
CAS has been successful in using basic project management principles across a variety of platforms. Estimation, planning, and scheduling are done using simple calendar breakdowns, and changes are made on the fly. However, as the complexity and work volume has increased, this approach no longer works. Therefore there is a need to identify, trial and migrate workflow to a more formal, cloud-based digital project management platform that allows seamless collaboration.
Detailed Project Management Software Comparison
Trello
Trello is a Japanese workflow management system that emphasises the importance of visualising your work to find ways to become more efficient and create better outcomes. With Trello, you create virtual boards, and then add tasks you need to get done. It’s built to work like a physical whiteboard where you add tasks on sticky notes and place them on the board.
Each Trello task card can be loaded with information in the form of checklists, due dates, attachments, photos and a comment section. There is also a notification system that updates team members if their task gets updated or changed (Wave, 2022).
Pricing
Pricing: Basic Plan: Free
Standard Plan: $10.00 p/p, p/m – required CAS option
Premium Plan: $12.50 p/p, p/m
Customer Support
The only support you can access with Trello’s free plan is through their online resources and video tutorials, although like Asana there are also user forums to ask questions. You can receive priority email support if you pay for a premium plan.
Integration
Trello is also able to integrate with popular apps and programs like Google Drive, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zapier through Power-Ups.
Simplicity
Trello is the simplest program. Trello is intuitive and doesn’t require training.
Workflow views
Trello focuses on the simplicity of using a visual board to organise (Trello, 2022).
Fig. 1. Trello, 2022. Trello Logo.
Asana
Asana is the most traditional web and mobile project management system designed to help teams organise, track, and manage tasks around projects. With Asana you separate a project into lists of different tasks. Asana has multiple project views. The calendar and timeline let you see what you need to be doing today and two weeks from now, as well as identify potential bottlenecks where tasks overlap. One of Asana’s great features is its ability to streamline your processes and cut down on time wasted doing common tasks. There are also more than 50 templates to choose from to help you create the ideal project management process and save yourself some valuable time (Wave, 2022).
Pricing
Pricing: Entry Level: Free (15 members or less)
Premium Plan: $10.99 per month – required CAS option
Business Plan: $24.99 per month
Customer Support
Asana has help guides and webinars, as well as user forums. There are also handy Asana Use Cases, where you can see how other freelancers have used Asana.
Integration
Asana offers the most integrations, with more than 100, including Dropbox, Microsoft Teams, Mailchimp, Zoom, and many others that are popular with freelancers.
Simplicity
Asana is ideal for complex projects, especially if the project involves several team members. Asana is also intuitive and doesn’t require training.
Workflow views
Asana offers several different ways to view your project, including lists, Gantt charts, calendars, and Kanban boards, as well as advanced views that are good for small- to medium-sized companies, which monitor all company functioning (Asana, 2020).
Fig. 2. Asana, 2022. Asana Logo.
Monday.com
Like Trello, Monday.com uses a visual board system to display every task you need to undertake to complete your project. You have the option to create your board or take advantage of 200 ready-to-use templates. You can customise boards by adding columns where you can do things like assign tasks, prioritise projects and resources, establish timelines and dependencies, and control how work gets done.
One of the major advantages of Monday.com is the ability to quickly see several different views of your project.
Monday.com also offers easy-to-use reporting and allows you to perform different calculations just like you would on an Excel spreadsheet (Wave n.d.).
Pricing
Basic Plan: $11.00 p/p, p/m
Standard Plan: $14.00 p/p, p/m – required CAS option
Premium Plan: $14.00 p/p, p/m
Customer support
Monday.com provides much of the same type of support as other plans. There are webinars, tutorials, help guides and forums, and you can email questions if you pay for the Basic plan.
Integration
The same integrations for Trello and Asana are available for Monday.com. Interestingly it also integrates with many project management programs and syncs with Asana and Trello.
Simplicity
Monday is simpler than Asana, intuitive and doesn’t require training.
Workflow views
Monday.com has the best workflow system that offers the most ways to view a project, including tables, charts, timelines, maps, calendars and a Kanban board and customisation (Monday.com, 2020).
Figure 3. Monday.com, 2022. Monday.com Logo.
Scheduling Software Review
CAS has to date used i-calendar for all its scheduling needs. Calendly was investigated as an alternative.
i-calendar
I Calendar is a media type which allows users to store and exchange calendaring and scheduling information such as events, dos, journal entries, and free/busy information. iCalendar implements the quickest way to navigate between dates and has powerful search functionality and time zone support (App store, n.d.).
Pricing
Free
Calendly
Calendly is an app for scheduling appointments, meetings, and events. Its goal is to eliminate the problematic back-and-forth when trying to nail down times, by sending your availability with a Calendly link. Calendly also helps coordinate across multiple time zones (Calendly.com, n.d.).
Pricing
Essential $8
Professional $12
Teams $16
Figure 4. Calendly, 2022. Calendly Logo.
Video Conferencing Review
In a time when everyone is more physically distant than ever before, technology has made it easy to stay connected. Video conferencing systems have become an asset to organisations everywhere, enabling collaboration amongst remote teams and maintaining strong relationships with business partners from all corners of the world. From virtual meetings to presentations, video conferencing systems allow for meaningful face-to-face interactions regardless of location, making freelancers and business partners feel more engaged (Qureshi, 2020).
Microsoft Teams and Zoom are two of the video conferencing platforms CAS uses for video conferencing. The team is a paid-for platform and CAS then only uses this if clients have created meetings on the platform. Zoom although it has a 40 min cut-off for the free versions has proved the most effective platform as most client calls do ideally need to be kept short for efficient time management. Zoom is also easy to operate a platform that individuals and businesses are familiar with.
Fig. 5. Zoom, 2022. Zoom Logo.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TRIAL OUTCOMES
I completed a month-long trial of Trello, Asana, and Monday.com. At the end of the trial it was revealed that Monday had the most suitable blend of features and usability. Additionally, scheduling can be transitioned from the current basic calendar layouts to a more sophisticated Gantt chart structure.
COST CAPTURE
Regarding cost capture, I conducted desktop research into the Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks accounting software. I analysed the software’s ability to cater to small business needs, the ease of operation, the ability to sync with my bank, and overall functionality.
Accounting Software Comparison
Xero
R560/ $35 a month
Easy to use software that is both customer and accountant oriented
Access from multiple devises
Administration automation
Better accounting with app integration
Software specific for small businesses
Free & regular updates
Multiple currency billings
Good, quick, concise customer service
Easy syncing of bank and financial information
Apps to customise & streamline tasks
30-day free trial period
Everything in one place – capture bills, receipts from mobile
Recommended by small businesses & friends (Xero, 2022)
Figure 6. Xero, 2022. Xero Logo.
QuickBooks
R370/ $25 a month
Easy to use software that is customer orientated
Access from multiple devises
Automation
App integration
Software for small/ large businesses
Free & regular updates
Multiple currency billings, but only one at a time
Good customer service
Easy syncing of bank and financial information
30-day free trial period
Everything in one place – capture bills, receipts from mobile
Recommended by freelancers (Quickbooks, 2022)
Figure 7. Quickbooks, 2022. Quickbooks Logo.
Sage Pastel
R494/ $31per month
Dated programming
Not user-friendly – software tailored to accountants
No automation
All-in-one single system solution for complex inventory management.
Expensive updates or add on
Paid for multiple currency billings, but only one at a time
Bad, slow customer service
Problematic syncing of bank information
30-day free trial period
The recent addition of bill & receipt capture – is not yet effective
Only recommended by Accountants (Sage, 2022)
Figure 8. Sage, 2022. Sage Logo.
I found Sage frustrating because it showed slow technological advancement, poor customer-orientated software, poor customer service, and problematic bank integration.
A month-long trial was conducted. Although QuickBooks is cheaper, at $25 a month (Quickbooks, 2022), and its offering and functionality similar to Xero, Xero’s specific design and functionality for small businesses made it the best choice for over three million people (Xero, 2022).
CAS shifted its cost accounting to rely on Xero due to ease of operations, time-saving due to automation, multi-currency billings, and time-saving receipt capturing and accurate bookkeeping. Software efficiency, app plugins, and automation resulted in a substantial cost reduction accounting.
More accounting operations have been outsourced to CAS accounting firm, Webb Accounting to free up time for creative work.
References
APM (2019). What is Project management? [Online] APM. Available at: https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/what-is-project-management/ APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition.
Asana (2022). Home Page. [Online] Asana. Available at: http://asana.com [Accessed 2 Apr. 2022].
Calendar (2022). Home Page. [Online] App Store. Available at: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/icalendar/id492076105 [Accessed 29 Apr. 2022].
Calendly (2022). Pricing - Calendly. [Online] Calendly. Available at: https://calendly.com/pricing [Accessed 20 Mar. 2022].
Corporate Finance Institute (2018). Outsourcing - Learn About the Advantages and Disadvantages. [Online] Corporate Finance Institute. Available at: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/outsourcing/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2022].
Manilall, A. (2022). Creating a Storm Accounting Structure. 2 Apr.
Moneyweb (2021). Setting up a Business: Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, or Private Company? [Online] Money Web. Available at: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/financial-advisor-views/setting-up-a-business-sole-proprietorship-partnership-or-private-company/.
QuickBooks (2022). QuickBooks Official Site, Paragraph 1. [Online] Quick Books. Available at: https://quickbooks.intuit.com.
Qureshi, A. (2020). Microsoft Teams vs. Zoom: A Side-by-Side Comparison. [Online] Intradyn. Available at: https://www.intradyn.com/microsoft-teams-vs-zoom/.
Sage (2022). Control your Business Finances with Sage Accounting. [Online] Sage. Available at: https://www.sage.com. [Accessed 18 Jun. 2022].
Trello (2019). Home Page. [Online] Trello. Available at: https://trello.com [Accessed 2 Apr. 2022].
Wave (n.d.). Project Management Tools: Asana vs Trello vs Monday.com. [Online] Wave Freelance Hub. Available at: https://www.waveapps.com/freelancing/overview/asana-vs-trello-vs-monday [Accessed 29 Apr. 2022].
Xero (2022). Beautiful Business and Accounting Software. [Online] Xero. Available at: https://www.xero.com/za/.
List of Figures
Figure 1. Trello (2022). Trello Logo. [Online Image] Trello. Available at: https://trello.com [Accessed 20 Jul. 2022].
Figure 2. Asana (2022). Asana Logo. [Online image] Asana. Available at: https://app.asana.com/0/home/1202112188872945 [Accessed 20 Jul. 2022].
Figure 3. Monday.com (2022). Monday.com Logo. [Online Image] Monday.com. Available at: https://monday.com [Accessed 20 Jul. 2022].
Figure 4. Calendly (2022). Calendly Logo. [Online Image] Calendly. Available at: https://calendly.com [Accessed Jul. 2022].
Figure 5. Zoom (2022). Zoom Logo. [Online Image] Zoom. Available at: https://zoom.us [Accessed 20 Jul. 2022].
Figure 6. Xero (2022). Xero Logo. [Online Image] Xero. Available at: https://www.xero.com/za/ [Accessed 20 Jul. 2022].
Figure 7. Sage (2022). Sage Logo. [Online Image] Sage. Available at: https://www.sage.com/en-za/ [Accessed 20 Jul. 2022].
Figure 8. Quickbooks (2022). Quickbooks Logo. [Online Image] Quickbooks. Available at: https://quickbooks.intuit.com [Accessed 20 Jul. 2022].