Smashing Magazine is documenting the best online web applications out there and it recently focused on apps that help improve workflow. The pick of the litter for project management: Basecamp.
A project management application that definitely makes the grade is Basecamp. Put together by the veritable geniuses over at 37signals, Basecamp offers everything from to-do lists, milestone management, users management, task assigning, time tracking and even a built in chat.Create milestones (items needing completion by a specific date) to make sure you make your deadline. To do lists can be compiled and associated to milestones. Clients with whom you’re working, can be added as users so they can track progress on their project. If they’re computer savvy enough, you can set the permissions to allow them access to add and edit tasks and milestones etc. File uploading is also enabled which means you can track files related to a project - images, video clips… anything! When finalizing content on a project, the Writeboards allow you to upload content and work on it with a subversion type setup whereby older versions are saved and archived.
Without a doubt a powerful management application that successfully manages all possible aspects of a project with ease...
Whilst you have a number of options when it comes to online project management, with it’s multi-user setup, milestones, to-do’s, messaging, writeboards and so much more, you’ll have a hard time finding a more proficient tool than Basecamp.
The article also mentions Simply Invoices which integrates with Basecamp.
One of the big PLUS points for Simply Invoices, is it’s ability to integrate with Basecamps Task Timing feature. In Basecamp, you can set the amount of time spent on a task. Simply Invoices is able to retrieve that data thanks to Basecamps API, and you can generate an invoice based on the time spent on that task.
Blinksale is another Basecamp-friendly invoicing option which, according to Smashing Magazine, offers even more flexibility.
Complete with tagging, recurring invoice templates and the ability to integrate with Basecamp, Blinksale is a finely tuned invoicing application that was built with expandability and customization in mind.Creating new invoices is a breeze too, thanks to Blinksale’s ability to integrate Basecamp’s client list. That means when you’re done with a project in Basecamp, you simply open Blinksale and ‘import’ your client’s details for a new invoice. Invoices can also be sent along with a PayPal link that allows for easy invoice payment if you’re doing business via PayPal. Then, when payment has been made, you can ‘receive payment’ on your Blinksale invoice, and then send a special “Thank You” message to your customer.
It’s these kinds of small touches that set Blinksale and Basecamp apart and put them high on the list of the top online invoicing and project management web applications.
For the full story, read Web Applications: Improve Your Workflow. To see more tools that integrate with Basecamp, visit the Basecamp Extras page.
