LiquidPlanner is one of the leading online project management software in the market. It employs intelligent scheduling technology to facilitate teams to perform their work better. While the software works excellently in project management, it is much better than traditional project management apps because you can accomplish more with it, owing to several additional features. LiquidPlanner facilitates teams to make work schedules, track work progress, make better decisions, and ensure projects are completed on time.
This software is ideal for medium and large organizations that want their teams to work smarter. Read on to know its features, pricing, pros and cons, and other details that you need to know before purchasing it.
Getting Started
To get started, you need to register at www.liquidplanner.com. The registration process is quick and easy. You will need to provide basic personal information like your name, email, phone number, and password. After signing up, you get a few popup windows that try to explain a few things to get you started quickly. If you need more help, there are several videos and tutorials on how to make the software work for you.
Once you login to the site, you will realize that it is easy to add tasks and projects. You will have some prompts on where to find some basic features. Project managers use it with any project. The software allows you to create a project and add your team members. Besides, you can add tasks, assign them to each member, and set milestones for each one of them. Liquid Planner makes everything else easy as you will be able to track the projects’ progress until completion.
Features
The platform offers a wide range of cutting-edge features that help companies in various ways. Here are the key features of LiquidPlanner.
Team and members
The application has a feature for adding real or virtual team members. Under each member, you can specify their accessibility level, availability, team, and more. Adding your team is an easy task. you may also invite members to include them in your list. When adding members, you determine how they use the site. The application provides three categories of members.
- First, there are restricted members who can only view the project. They may not make any changes to the project or account. This category may the client or only people who are meant to oversee the project.
- Second, you can add someone as a full member. This category is for people who can view the project and make changes to the site. They can access project reports and people workload reports.
- Then, there is the manager category that offers access to timesheets and advanced analytics of the project.
- Lastly, you have an administrator category. This is for individuals with unlimited access to the setting of the workspace. They can also invite members.
Task Management
A manager can easily keep track of a specific project. The platform offers different ways to view projects and tasks. You can use the default view of Gantt Chart or Kanban cards. On the platform, you get a comparison of what made the project take a longer or shorter time. Managers have a way to compare the intended timelines to the actual time taken for a task.
Tasks come with features where you can easily add members of your team. Similarly, you can add schedules for each member. You can take a glance and understand who is free to take on more tasks. However, it’s not possible to add sub-tasks on the menu, which may be a setback.
The members you add to your team can add their best and worst work scenarios. The software then plans on utilizing their best timelines and when they can complete given tasks. If a member wants some time off, he or she can input the vacation details on LiquidPlanner. The manager will be able to see what work is affected and can reassign tasks accordingly.
Likewise, a time tracking tool is available if you want to keep time. You can run the timer on your browser and record the time as you work. You can use the recorded time for billing the client. Besides, one can still key in time manually when the worked time has not been captured using the time tracking tool.
App Integration
The software can be integrated with several services. These include Google Drive, Box, online calendars, and DropBox. Salesforce had also been integrated but it has since been discontinued. Additionally, there are other apps that you can add to the platform using third-party APIs. Adding the app may not be a one-touch formula.
You can use Zapier and Cloudpipes to add the apps you want to integrate. The process will require a lot more work than you have planned to do. You can use third-party apps to connect the Planner with the tools you need to use. You will have to do some legwork to determine if your tool can connect with the LiquidPlanner. If you have a mobile workforce, LiquidPlanner has mobile apps for Android, iPad, and iPhone users.
Resource management
You can easily manage your workforce using the tool. On the platform, each team member can fill in their details, including when they desire time off work. That way, a manager will quickly learn what tasks will be affected when someone is away.
When a team member has pulled away from a task for a one-off project, you may need to replace them. The Planner helps you identify workers with a similar skill set that may fit the position. You will also be able to pick someone free enough to take up the tasks.
It is relatively easy to track the workload for your workforce. You will be able to adjust priorities with the drag and drop options on the Planner. The Planner, on the other hand, re-adjusts to capture all the changes made for each employee.
Managing work
As a manager, keeping track of work projects is not easy. However, LiquidPlanner offers you a simple way to keep track of work progress. Having schedules from every worker, you can make plans using the data given from the platform. You can also share work proportionately without having to run background checks. The Planner makes it possible for you to select workers with a given skill set and their availability.
Furthermore, the Planner will lay out a project’s critical plan and give you a chance to readjust tasks according to the changes. That allows you to keep track of everything that you set out to do on a particular project.
Similarly, you can allow your clients to view the progress of the project. Clients will be able to make plans accordingly, following the reports given.
The software supports ad hoc, which means that you can manage other tasks that are not a part of a project. For instance, if a team member has another three-hour task somewhere, his task will be affected. People who are also reliant on his work will also experience delays. That alone will affect the whole project’s timelines. Therefore, a manager must account for all these issues when planning for a project.
Support
Learning how to use the platform can be a headache for most people. However, the company offers two free consultations to businesses with more than ten users to help them with the setup. This is because creating a complete profile for a business may seem hard to some managers, and they may even struggle to help their juniors with the setup.
Other than that, users can always read the manuals and documentation available on the site to help them complete the setup and get started. If these options do not work, you can call, chat, or email the support team, which is always ready to help you with the setup process.
Plans and pricing
The Liquid Planner comes with two-tier platforms with an annual payment plan each. They also have a five-user minimum.
- Professional
This is the basic plan for the LiquidPlanner. The plan is ideal for small businesses or departments that run several projects simultaneously. It costs $45 monthly per user. The plan is billed $540 annually. It features time tracking, predictive scheduling, restricted member access, trend and analytics reports, and dashboards.
- Enterprise
The Enterprise plan $69 per month for a single user. It is billed $ 828 per user per year. This plan suits large organizations managing hundreds of projects and resources that are distributed. With this package, you get upgraded features that provide an unlimited number of active tasks and clients.
The Enterprise plan gives you access to unlimited dashboards, expense tracking, additional custom fields, single sign-on, and resource workload report. While this plane may be costly, it offers better features than competitors.
If you want to try LiquidPlanner and know how it works before purchasing either of these plans, you can sign up for the free trial plan. You will have access to the features of the Professional plan for 14 days.
Pros
1. Effective
The platform gives you excellent services. You will have an easier time managing your work schedules and workers. The reports on schedule give professionals an easier time managing their workers and projects.
2. Great Support
Thankfully, Liquid Planner offers excellent support for users. If you get stuck anywhere, you can seek help setting up or using the platform. They also offer support services to startups with more than ten users, that is, two free consultations.
The customer service is available from Monday to Friday through the phone, email, or chat. You can utilize the service if you are experiencing difficulties with the setup process.
3. Excellent Schedule
Scheduling on the Liquid Planner will give you an easier to manage your day to day running. The users can quickly enter their preferences, making it easier to assign duties. You can know the workers available and the time they will carry out given tasks.
4. Unique Dynamic Features
LiquidPlanner has a range of features that facilitates users to find the information or tools they need. The friendly design offered by this software makes it easy to access these resources quickly.
Cons
1. Requires Training to Use
After signing up, many users have issues with the site as they do not understand how to use it. Training is a requirement as everything is not as direct as you would expect from every modern platform. While it offers guidance on how to set it up, it may take time to adapt.
2. Costly
The cost of using the platform may be too high for startups and small entities. It requires you to pay for at least five users. Business owners may find the cost outrageous. The fact that the plans are billed annually further complicates the issue.
3. Challenge to Manage Many Employees
Entities with many workers may have issues using the platform. The dashboard may be tedious to scroll through as there are so many users. The platform also lacks an option where you can add sub-tasks for workers.
4. No Invoicing or Billing
There is no invoicing or billing that is included when purchasing ant of the two plans. Without any payment record, it may be difficult to account for the money spent.
Conclusion
While this project management software may have several cons, it is a reliable tool for teams that want to get smarter. The features it offers helps to manage projects effectively and guarantee their success. Compared with other applications meant to perform similar to LiquidPlanner, you will hardly find any other application with the kind of functionality offered by this software. It has excellent project management resources and tools.
However, some users prefer competitor software because of the difficulty of using LiquidPlanner, especially for first-timers. Thus, an upgrade of the interface would help keep the users from running to the competition. As for the prices, established entities may find this a non-issue since they stand to gain a lot by using the software.
In fairness, Liquid planner offers the best project planning services you need for effective project management. The Planner is convenient and efficient, which gives you value for money.
