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How to better track and manage your projects with Podio

When people think of project management tools Intellinote:Put your tasks, files, messages, and online meetings in one place Intellinote:Put your tasks, files, messages, and online meetings in one place Intellinote makes it more easy to better manage, collaborate, and communicate with your team, colleagues, and clients with a full mix of file sharing, organization, and real-time video and text chat. Read More Now, of course, it's a great tool for managing tasks, deadlines, deliverables, and resources for a project. But what do you use to keep track of multiple projects ?

Whether you have a template of one or ten, a tool that can track status and meetings, send reminders, and even store all the documents for a project is also very useful. This is where Podio comes in to help you with managing multiple projects, a team of others, or just a way to track them. Here are some tips and tricks to get the most out of Podio to track your projects and your team.

How to better track and manage your projects with Podio

Implement Podio Applications

Podium is a tool you use. “apps” to manage different aspects of the workspace Podio:A Single Dashboard to Manage Your Organization's Tasks Podio:A Single Dashboard to Manage Your Organization's Tasks Read More. Apps are available by function and industry and include things like meetings, ideas, clients, purchase orders, invoices, contacts, and more. The best way to use Podio is to get the apps you need. Start by checking out the Podium App Market and review available packages by function or industry. This will help you get off to a good start and you'll still be able to get individual apps later.

How to better track and manage your projects with Podio

For example, if you are using Podio for event management functions , There is a package that contains applications for participants, venues, vendors, speakers, events, and a guest list. Another example uses the sales industry and includes a suite for lead management, which has apps for sales, leads, sales meetings, communications, and products.

How to better track and manage your projects with Podio

Use the apps in Podio to track every aspect of your project, big or small. All of these can be arranged on the main screen of the work area and contain the fields you are most likely to need. But, you can also modify any app to customize it exactly the way you want. These apps are the backbone of Podio and will give you great flexibility in tracking your projects and their moving parts.

Take advantage of Connected Services and Extensions

A useful feature of Podio is its connection to other services. If you are interested in connecting your Microsoft Exchange Calendar to export events, your Go to Meeting account to start meetings directly from Podio, or your Evernote Account for attaching your notes, then Podio has you covered. To keep track of your tasks and stay on top of your projects, connecting to other services you use is definitely the way to go. In order to successfully use Podio, these connected services allow you to obtain items you need that may exist elsewhere, but are necessary for your project.

Along with these services, you can easily connect Hightail, Box, ShareFile, Office 365, Windows Live, Facebook, SugarSync, and Dropbox. Getting connected is easy; just click Account Settings from the main navigation and then Services . Each service has its own connect button, and after you sign in, you'll see them rise to the list where they're ready to use.

How to better track and manage your projects with Podio

In addition to connecting services, you can take advantage of Podium Extensions that integrate with many third-party developers. Integrations with MailChimp, Google Maps, and Xero allow you to further enhance your Podio experience. For example, there is a QuickBooks extension that allows you to import customer and account information into Podio, where you can set up automatic invoicing between systems.

How to better track and manage your projects with Podio

How Podio compares to Trello

If you haven't tried other tools like Podio for project tracking and management, it can easily be compared to Trello Trello - a unique, simple and powerful project management system from a good home Trello - a unique, simple project management system and powerful Good home Does the name Joel Spolsky mean anything to you? If so, you'll want to read this post as it showcases Spolsky's latest and greatest project. And if not, you should know that this is... Read More If you've tried both, then you probably have a preference or possibly use both, but for different things. Both offer the basics for tracking projects, tasks, and people, along with handy notifications, reminders, and custom formatting options for tools. So how are they different?

Workspace

While both Podio and Trello have well-organized workspaces, Trello would have to fall into the "easiest setup" category. Podium takes a bit longer to set up for use. After you get the apps you need, you can use them to set up tiles or widgets for your main work area and rearrange them to look good. With Trello, you see your boards right away and after choosing one, you see your cards. Yes, there is also a setup time with Trello, but that time has been spent. Setting up your projects and tasks. rather than Configuring the tools you need for them. As in Podium. But, if you don't mind taking a little time to create a really custom workspace, then Podio allows that where Trello doesn't.

How to better track and manage your projects with Podio

Connected services

When it comes to connecting calendars, meeting software The 6 Best Free Online Meeting Tools To Collaborate With Your Team The 6 Best Free Online Meeting Tools To Collaborate With Your Team Small teams don't need expensive business apps for collaboration. Here are six great tools you can use to manage your team's data, communication, and more. Free. Read More You can attach files and photos to cards in Trello from places like Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive (below). You can also connect Trello to iCal to view your cards or even the Sunrise Calendar if that's your scheduling choice. But in general, Podio has more flexibility with options for connected services.

How to better track and manage your projects with Podio

Mobile Access

Both Podio (iOS, Android) and Trello (iOS, Android) have free mobile apps available that really make project tracking convenient. For your phone or tablet, they both have you covered. If you are a visual person who appreciates the boards and cards used in Trello, you will be very happy with their app. It has a sleek interface and the drag and drop is quite responsive as well. Similarly, Podio is a good app if you like to view your data tables, recent team activity, and make updates to items. Either way, using mobile options lets you stay in touch with your projects, notifications, and team when you're on the go.

Tips for using Podium

Once again, Podio is a tool for managing projects, tasks, and even your team that is quite different than software like Microsoft Project. It gives you a way to track, check statuses, assign tasks, and keep your projects on that carefully crafted plan. Here are some tips for using Podio if you're new or haven't taken full advantage of its features.

  • For team management, use the Out of Office the app Each team member can easily select Vacation, Remote, or Conference to describe the type. Then, after dates are entered, a manager can quickly approve or reject time out of the office. Notifications can also be sent, which provide great reminders if someone on your team is leaving.
  • Try the available Web Forms for your site Podio will create forms for your website with the click of a button. You can then customize the form and post the shared link you receive or place the embed code directly on your website. Using our event management example from earlier, you could easily have a form for interested clients to fill out to request your services for their event.
  • Take advantage of simplicity. export function . Every app you use contains an option to export the data. This is very useful for updating your team in a status meeting or your boss when he wants updates on all the projects for his team. The export function can be seen when you select the key icon from within the application.
  • Customize Applications for full effectiveness. Each app comes with the basics you'll need. However, each one can be edited and customized so you can use the exact fields, lists, states, and other elements you need within each one. Simply click the wrench icon once you're in the app and select Modify Template .

How to better track and manage your projects with Podio

Podium plans

If you're new to Podio, there are a few different plans you can choose from, including a free option . If you have a team of up to five people, you can get all the features of a basic plan, except User Management, for free. If you have more than five users; There are plans starting at $9 per month. You can have unlimited users with benefits such as training sessions, priority support, and advanced settings, depending on your paid plan.

Do you use Podio or are you still considering it??

If you are a current Podio user, what helpful tips do you have to share with readers? If you're still considering using Podio to track projects, what are your deciding factors and what do you look for in a tool? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!