As a freelancer, one of the best ways to separate yourself from the competition is how you handle the project. You can be the best designer in the world, but fail yourself because you can’t manage projects correctly. On the other hand, you don’t have to be the best designer to handle your projects properly and give your clients a smooth experience.

There is no reason why any freelancer shouldn’t be using a project management application. They are extremely important and I can’t stress that enough. Yet, so many freelancers don’t use these applications. I’m not sure why, but I hope it’s not because of price because pretty much every solution offers at least one free trial. So that must mean it’s because freelancers don’t know of any applications. Well if that’s the case, you’re in luck because Sentences showing you eight great solutions to make sure you manage your projects successfully.

5 PM:

5 PM is a new project management tool that I’ve had an opportunity to play around with a bit. It looks great, and has a lot of functions, but I think that having so many functions may be a bit detrimental to 5 PM. The beautiful thing about industry leader, Basecamp is that it is simple and easy to use. 5 PM, though it looks nice, seems a bit overwhelming when first opening it. It doesn’t seem to flow to well, and looks more like a program rather then a web application. Pricing is fair though, and I would definitely encourage those of you who are looking for a change from Basecamp to check out 5 PM. It’s definitely got potential.

Teamwork:

Teamwork is a great project management tool that’s been a very popular alternative to Basecamp. It’s got a great interface that closely resembles Basecamp (though it looks much better in my opinion). What I really like about Teamwork is that it offers a time tracker, something that Basecamp doesn’t, and it even has a basic risk manager (which I don’t personally have a use for). But it’s got some bells and whistles that may entertain you, so give it a try.

Basecamp:

Basecamp has long been the leader of the project management applications. It’s got a great interface that is easy to use, simple to navigate, and appealing to the eye. I personally use Basecamp to manage all of my projects, and though I’ve tried a few others, I always come back to Basecamp. I love how I can customize the colors to fit my business. It’s got affordable plans, and my clients have never asked how to use it…they simply learn how because the application is intuitive and simple. I’ve experimented with 5 PM on one of my clients, and he immediately began to ask questions on how to post something. After I heard that, I went straight back to Basecamp and have never had a problem since. They are the leaders for a reason.

Desk Away:

I’ve never used Desk Away, but a buddy of mine pointed it out to me. The first thing that I see about this website that is an immediate turn off is their “logo”. Or at lack thereof. The application looks easy to use, but doesn’t really appeal to me graphically. I do like the reports feature, which offers bar graphs to show the progress of a certain part of a project. Though I don’t see myself paying for an application like Desk Away, it does offer an alternative to the popular applications and could set yourself apart.

Co Mind Work:

A few of my buddies have been raving about CoMindWork. Though it does look awfully a lot like Basecamp, it does offer some great features that Basecamp doesn’t such as Tags, Goals, a better Messaging system, Blogs, Time Tracker, and more. The only problem with CMW is that it costs significantly more then any other application listed here. It offers a powerful punch though with great features and a great design, and though their free trial does allow you to manage 5 projects, the next upgrade is a whopping $75.00 for 25 projects. If they were to offer something smaller, like 10-15 projects for $35 or so, I’d possibly be interested since that’s only $3.50 per project at 10 projects per month.

Action This:

ActionThis is one of the newer project management applications that I’ve had a chance to test out. The interface is pretty appealing, albeit not exactly professional. The icons on the dashboard are a little overwhelming and it seems to get tackier and tackier the more I see it. One of the great features though is integrating ActionThis into Microsoft Outlook so you can manage your email system a little better with your clients. Not bad, though I think an application should be able to handle that without having to use another program.

Huddle:

Huddle is a neat looking program that is nicely designed and easy to use. The pricing is definitely competitive, and it does serve as one of the better alternatives. It got all the basic features that are found in every project management applications. The cool thing about Huddle though is the addition of a Facebook application that allows teams to communicate and work together, even in Facebook. There is also a great knowledgebase for designers to fill out FAQs for their clients. Huddle is extremely promising, and I already know a few European designers who are experimenting with the application and considering moving.

Freelancer Panel:

Freelancer Panel is a great application that is geared directly for the freelancer. What of the best things about Freelancer Panel is the ability to install the application on your server. That means that you can customize it to fit exactly into your website so that your clients don’t have to use a 3rd party website to access their project details. Furthermore, it’s affordable (at only $15/month). I think being able to have the application on your own server makes it seem as if it is custom and exclusive to your company, something that may be important for image. You can even send invoices and track time with Freelancer Panel, so the basic features are there, as well as some of the more important ones that some of the popular alternatives have overlooked. Though I don’t use FP for myself, I’d be interested in seeing what some FP users have to say about it, so please share!

Like I said earlier, one of the most important parts of freelancing is how you manage the project. If you have a professional image, you’ll succeed. Project management helps keep you up to date and motivated, while keeping the client informed and safe. If you don’t use any of the above applications, you should be asking yourself how many clients do you get on the regular. Ever since I started using Basecamp to handle my projects, my client list has nearly doubled and remained consistent. It does a lot for your reputation and when you can treat your client to a professional atmosphere, they’ll definitely return the favor.

Best regards,
Bryan