By using workflow management software, you can comprehend the synergy or lack thereof among all the elements of your business. This software allows you to view the overall operation in a zoomed-out perspective, as well as delve into the specific interactions that constitute your broader work procedures.
Break down the text into smaller tasks to rephrase them while preserving the original meaning: 1. Identify bottlenecks and opportunities for automation. – Discover constraints and possibilities for automating processes. 2. Increase the speed of your businesses without making people work harder. – Enhance the pace of your enterprises without imposing additional workload on individuals. 3. Find efficiencies instead of cracking the whip. – Seek ways to streamline operations instead of resorting to excessive pressure.
We are closely examining the most popular options to assist you in finding the best workflow management software. Following thorough reviews of my top choices, you will find a brief buyer’s guide to aid you in making a decision.
Best Workflow Management Software
#1 – ClickUp Review
ClickUp is a remarkable system for managing workflows that guarantees the streamlining and optimization of each component to enhance efficiency and speed.
For almost everyone, that is why it is my number one recommendation.
Companies such as Google, Airbnb, Uber, and Nike have all been optimized to ensure a smooth workflow by offering the option to connect with over 1,000 integrations. ClickUp not only enables you to manage your workflow, but it is also highly customizable, allowing you to handle all your projects in one central location using various tools.
- Resource management
- Goal tracking and reminders
- Email and chat features
- Complex or simple spreadsheets
- Third-party app integration
- Strategy management
By having the option to create chat views, table views, timeline views, or mind maps, you can ensure that your team stays organized and keeps track of their work tasks and progress effectively, thus making their work easier.
Due to its configuration, ClickUp enables you to streamline your workflow by connecting all project tasks, email, comments, or wikis together. This platform also allows you to customize your project view and automate repetitive work tasks, resulting in significant time savings.
The tool is designed to handle larger and more intricate workflow management, and can also be used by small businesses seeking to gain control over their expanding workflow systems.
If you are transitioning from a different workflow management system to ClickUp, you can effortlessly migrate all your work and project information using the import feature.
Their price point is one of the best parts of using such a versatile workflow manager. By signing up for a free account, you can start using the system in a matter of seconds. With this, you’ll immediately receive 100 MB of space along with unlimited members and tasks.
#2 – Monday.com
If you are in charge of a remote team that is experiencing growth, Monday.com is the ideal workflow solution that effectively unifies all team members.
The system is used by BBC Studios, NBC, Discovery Channel, Hulu, Cocacola, Deezer, and 100,000 other teams. It helps in effectively managing all steps of workflow processes with onsite and offsite team members.
With Monday.com, you can easily work together with your team from any location around the globe. This can be achieved by synchronizing work progress, engaging in video chats, and utilizing multiple synced calendars to ensure that all collaborative work deadlines are met consistently.
By using templated daily team tasks, knowledge libraries, remote team requests, employee statuses, and one-on-one meetings, it is simple to begin the process of organizing tasks and automating workflows.
If for some reason none of these templates are suitable for you, you always have the option to start from scratch and create your own using their extensive range of tools.
From there, Monday simplifies the process for non-technical users to initiate automation of repetitive tasks in their workflow.
The simple automation features in Monday can help save time for anyone on any team, especially for remote workers with different business hours. This will help teams keep the ball rolling.
Monday.com has several features that are excellent for managing remote workflow.
- Weekly schedules
- A meetings board with updates and recaps
- Zoom integrations to record meetings
- Local time zone tracking for each team member
- Workload and work capacity maps for any given project
- The ability to create contingency plans from project data
#3 – Wrike
Wrike is a workflow management system created for creative teams, aiming to solve the issue of repetitive administrative tasks and iterations that can hinder the productivity of these teams. It simplifies the process by allowing all tasks to be streamlined in a single location, ensuring increased efficiency and quick turnaround times.
You can always track the progress of every job by using customizable forms, templates, briefs, and markup tools provided by Wrike, which help you manage incoming creative requests from start to finish.
Wrike’s approval tool allows anyone to provide clear project feedback on deliverables, including comments for specific images, videos, or documents. It also enables users to easily track the progress of any project and establish a more efficient intake system for work requests by designating one primary point of contact for each project.
Completing projects that involve multiple reviews and revisions becomes easier with this approach.
The creative workflow management features that they offer are among their best.
- Project approval templates
- Project scheduling
- Task assignment
- Daily marketing operations management
- Drag-and-drop dashboards
Wrike offers free access for a maximum of five users, providing 2 GBs of storage capacity. Additionally, it provides features such as spreadsheet view, task management, file sharing, and basic integrations.
#4 – Smartsheet
Smartsheet is an exceptional software for managing workflows in IT and operations teams. In the realm of IT management, consistency and speed are usually two essential requirements. Smartsheets fulfill these requirements by enabling rapid adjustment and archiving of projects, facilitating coordination of data center migrations, and even establishing automated alerts and approvals to enhance efficiency.
Smartsheets allows teams to collaborate and provides controlled access to resources. It consolidates everything onto a user-friendly dashboard with ample reporting capabilities.
The Individual plan allows for a maximum of 10 sheets and a single dashboard. However, you have the option to invite up to 10 collaborators for free per item. If you need to share projects with different groups, you can alternate between them.
#5 – Trello
If you have a limited budget, Trello’s workflow system is available for free and allows you to utilize it for up to 10 boards per team, helping you get organized.
Trello is already being used by millions of users who utilize its organized dashboards to prioritize and automate their daily tasks and projects. By creating boards, naming them, and adding tasks and team members, you can then provide specific details for each card such as due dates, work briefs, checklists, attachments, and comments.
Trello is an ideal solution for smaller teams looking to improve efficiency without incurring high expenses on work software. It offers a Kanban board style layout and is particularly favored by individuals who prefer a visually-oriented approach to managing tasks and workflows.
#6 – ProWorkflow
ProWorkflow was initially created as a downloadable workflow management tool, but it has evolved into a SaaS-based toolset that serves a global audience. Its primary focus is on project, task, and time tracking, with expanding functionalities for managing contacts, workflow, and resources.
ProWorkflow best features:
- All-in-one dashboard to see all ongoing projects with drag-and-drop features
- Accurate and easy-to-implement time management tools
- Microsoft Teams and Outlook integration
- Mobile Apps for iOS and Android
- Business management tools like quoting and invoicing
- Growing number of templates
ProWorkflow limitations:
- Designed for startups, freelancers, and small businesses but not for larger teams or companies
- Limited workflow automation key features
- Does not integrate with many common productivity tools
- Missing many common tools for project and workflow management like Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and mind-mapping
- Navigating the user interface can be confusing
- A more expensive version is needed for field and form customization and templates
- No free version
#7 – Flokzu
Flokzu is workflow software that is presented as a solution for process automation and deployment. It is specifically tailored for non-IT users who wish to automate their business processes and operations, while effectively linking the flow of information between different cloud-based applications.
This software for workflow management offers an interface that allows users to drag and drop without requiring any coding.
Flokzu best features:
- Focused on business processes—and does that very well
- Integration with most online tools through Zapier and web services
- Sandbox version to try your custom workflows out without touching live data
- Powerful report-generation tool for presenting the data gathered with automation
- Built-in database functionality
Flokzu limitations:
- Doesn’t have workflow definition, assignment, or monitoring capabilities—it only does automation
- Missing project and workflow management tools
- Missing team collaboration and communication tools
- Database tools are limited
- Connecting application program interfaces (APIs) can be difficult for novices
#8 – Backlog
Backlog is software for project management that includes code management and bug-tracking features. The platform offers a centralized place for companies to store their projects, tasks, and files. It also integrates with other tools developed, sold, and supported by Nulab, the company behind Backlog.
Backlog best features:
- Comprehensive collaboration key features for DevOps teams and others in the organization
- Good bug-reporting and bug-tracking tool
- Simple interface designed for software projects
- Dashboards are a useful tool for project managers
- Useful Slack and email integration
- Supports documentation in parallel with development teams
Backlog limitations:
- Lacks capabilities for projects outside of software development
- Integration with other productivity tools is limited
- Gantt charts don’t include dependencies
- The use of subtasks is limited
- No workflow automation to handle routine tasks
#9 – Lucidchart
Lucidchart is a diagramming platform that offers a collaborative, web-based tool for visually demonstrating project workflows. Users can utilize this workflow management solution to depict individuals, procedures, and systems related to a business or team.
This text is intended to be utilized with a workflow management system for generating graphical representations of workflows.
Lucidchart best features:
- Interactive diagramming of workflow processes and visualization of data in a single, collaborative platform to avoid context switching
- Cloud-based, so everyone on the team can access it no matter where they work from
- Chat in the edit window and real-time co-authoring
- Easy to use yet powerful; even new users can create complex diagrams
- Integrates with common collaboration and process documentation tools
Lucidchart limitations:
- Only does diagram creation
- No real tools to manage projects
- No workflow automation capability for repetitive tasks
- Large complex diagrams can bog down the system
- No templates for a few common industries like education and healthcare
#10 – Nintex
Nintex is software that manages workflows and automates tasks. What sets it apart is its ability to identify and optimize processes and bottlenecks, as well as to capture, map, and manage organizational processes. Although it is designed for business processes such as employee onboarding and data exchange, it can also be used for creative projects.
Nintex best features:
- Large library of workflow templates
- Includes some document management tools, including interactive approvals and digital signatures
- Both cloud-based automation for connecting data and repetitive task automation
- Workflow analytics capabilities to assess how well automation is going
- Documentation tools at every step
Nintex limitations:
- Focused only on process automation and only contains a few features found in fully functional workflow software
- No project management or collaboration tools
- Complex workflows are difficult to diagram and automate
- No sandbox capability
- Each capability is licensed separately and charged separately
- Pricing is for larger companies
#11 – Kissflow
Kissflow is a platform for business process management that falls under the category of low-code/no-code development. It offers the ability to create business applications and automate tasks. In addition to development tools, it also provides project visualization and tracking boards, collaboration tools, and analytics, earning it the title of a work platform.
Kissflow best features:
- A user-friendly interface oriented towards business users, not IT or software professionals
- Ability to create custom workflows for your unique needs
- Mobile app for iOS and Android
- Analytics and reporting built in to measure process performance
- Comprehensive document management system
- Low-code allows for some programming when needed
Kissflow limitations:
- The project management and collaboration tools are simplistic
- Integration with other platforms is limited
- Formulas and complex logic for fields is limited
- No way to update users on changes made by other users
- Complex workflow automation is difficult to implement
#12 – HighGear
HighGear is a software platform for workflow automation that is designed to cater to everyday business users. It can handle enterprise workflow management on a large scale. The platform offers a versatile and efficient toolset for automating both simple and complex business processes. Additionally, it provides features for task management, digital asset management, and reporting.
HighGear best features:
- A no-code process automation tool designed for managers, technical creatives, and business analysts to build, manage, and deploy enterprise-grade workflow applications
- No-code development environment makes creating applications fast
- Doesn’t sacrifice power to deliver ease of use
- Enterprise-grade security
HighGear limitations:
- Focused on process automation—and missing tools for project management and workflow optimization
- Collaboration and task management is limited
- Because it supports enterprise-level process automation, it can be overwhelming at times
- Pricing can be expensive for smaller companies
#13 – Workato
Workato is a platform for automating business workflows at the enterprise level. It offers a no-code interface called “recipes” that allows users to create automated processes. Users can specify which user activity or data changes will activate an action and select the corresponding recipe to execute.
Workato best features:
- Integration with most business software and data tools
- Enterprise-level security and governance
- User-friendly and intuitive interface
- Flexibility in how you can construct the automation of a workflow
Workato limitations:
- Powerful capabilities but also a steep learning curve
- No planning, collaboration, or project management tools
- Per-task pricing is not clear
- Debugging a recipe can be difficult
- Limited debugging tools
#14 – Cflow
Cflow is an no-code platform that aims to transform your existing email and spreadsheet-based business processes into automated workflows. Its scalability allows it to support business growth and facilitate digital transformation both presently and in the future.
Cflow best features:
- Sophisticated rules engine allows for easy setup of complex workflows
- Drag-and-drop form builder to easily capture user input for any workflow
- Easily add routing and notifications to workflows so everyone impacted is kept up to date
- Most aspects of any workflow can be customized to meet specific needs
- Reports and analytics provide consistent and constant feedback on how automated workflows are running
- Best-in-class security and encryption to protect user data
Cflow limitations:
- Focused on business workflows and not project workflow automation
- Limited project management and collaboration tools
- Workflows can run slowly when dealing with a large amount of data
- Extensive capabilities make learning the interface daunting at first
- Existing template library only includes business process automation
- Troubleshooting complex workflows can be challenging
#15 – Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a software system for customer relationship management (CRM) that manages and automates your sales workflow. It provides the expected CRM features, as well as the ability to build sales workflows and automate repetitive administrative tasks. The system is designed to assist sales teams of all sizes in controlling complex sales processes. Additionally, Pipedrive offers an activity-based sales approach, guiding salespeople through the process of finding, nurturing, and closing sales.
Pipedrive best features:
- A virtual sales assistant suggests personalized tips and ideas for improved performance as you work
- Repetitive sales tasks can be easily automated and triggered
- Open API to connect to other tools
- Users can set up simple conditional logic and actions to move sales through the process automatically
- Great integration with shared calendars and email
Pipedrive limitations:
- Not a full workflow management tool; Pipedrive just does sales process management
- Lacks workflow visualization tools
- Data entry can become repetitive
- Report customization is limited
- Workflow automation is not as capable as other CRM systems
#16 – Process Street
Process Street is a tool for business process automation (BPA) that enables users to create automated workflows without the need for programming. It permits individuals without IT knowledge to develop workflows, execute multiple iterations of each workflow, and monitor progress and distribute outcomes to others. It provides a user-friendly interface without the need for coding, specially designed for team collaboration during workflow creation and execution.
Process Street best features:
- Designed to be more collaborative than most BPA tools, it supports teamwork with activity feeds to share who did what
- Setup of user groups to manage permissions and access control more easily
- Look and feel of workflows is attractive and efficient with rich media like audio and video
- Comprehensive integration with other apps
- Powerful and intuitive form-building tools
- Extensive template library that includes business, HR, and marketing tasks
Process Street limitations:
- Not a full workflow management software system, it lacks many project management and workflow-builder tools
- Some of the more advanced workflows require third-party applications
- Workspace and process control can be overwhelming
- Process workflow setup can be confusing for new users
What Should You Look for in Workflow Management Software?
If you are not familiar with the concept, it is crucial to understand that workflow management is a method of enhancing processes and task completion with a focus on goals. This involves examining how work progresses throughout a project, which is why it is called “workflow.”
The efficiency of teams is boosted and the final product is improved by effective leaders when they incorporate workflow management software into their business processes.
Once you are familiar with the concept of workflow management and its benefits for your team, it is important to consider the key features that make this type of project management software highly efficient. Here are some essential aspects to look out for:
- Workflow management features to visually map and modify your business processes
- Key features to define and track due dates with simple drag-and-drop features to quickly move and schedule tasks
- Metrics that allow you to track project progress and manage the performance of individuals and the team as a whole
- The ability to automate routine tasks to cut down the manual processes (AKA: workflow automation)
- Integration with your other tools
- Team collaboration capabilities that include all stakeholders and team members in one space
- Customizable templates to help you create custom dashboards, track progress, and automate workflows
- Task management features with versatile project dependency mapping
Your specific needs will depend on your project goals and the project management methodologies you use. When choosing a tool, it is important to not be swayed by one impressive feature. Instead, select a solution that meets all of your requirements.
