Deltek's Ajera is an integrated project management and accounting suite for architectural and engineering (A & E) companies that includes light payroll functionality and also can integrate with third-party payroll providers (ADP, Paychex, Quickbooks, etc.). The product was acquired with original developer Axium in June 2014. CRM functionality can also be added via integration with the Deltek Ajera CRM.
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Microsoft To Do
Score 8.2 out of 10
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Microsoft To Do replaces the former Wunderlist task management tool.
For small to medium engineering and architecture firms, Ajera appears to be the right size. Beyond the engineering software, Deltek Ajera has all the features a small to medium firm will need for smooth operation. AR, AP, Payroll, reporting, project management are all in one package. We chose to self-host because the licensing was more cost effective for us, but cloud hosting is also available.
It's such a simple and effective tool! If you need an app to safely store your To-do's and make sure you stay on top of things, this is it. You can divide tasks lists into folders (like "home" and "business"), share the lists with co-workers, set notifications, even mark items as a priority. It's great for smaller, day-to-day tasks but if you need something to manage a bigger project or a team, you should look into more robust project management tools. Although this is a great app, it cannot replace tools like TeamWork, Basecamp etc. But they work great together
Widgets are the best feature of Ajera. Designers can make tiny reports for the entire company, or for one or two individuals. These little reports are the first things that the employee sees when they log in. Viewers of the reports are able to filter, sort, group, print or export the widget without impacting the other users. Deltek has been releasing new features that allow the editing of data in widgets. You can now create new projects or edit timesheets from the widgets.
Credit card importing and credit card reconciliation in Ajera has greatly decreased time spent by administration. You can import credit card transactions from your credit cards. It saves on data entry, and it is easy to see what receipts you are missing when you get the statement.
Mobile timesheets and expense reports help engineers or other users enter their time and expenses as they are on the go. They can take pictures or receipts or submit their timesheet from home.
The Project Command Center is a one stop fountain of information. Everything the project manager wants to know about a project can be found here. You can also add custom fields that allow you to tract addition information.
Wunderlist is what you need for your to do lists. It's really simple to use.
Allows you to set due date to your lists, share them with your team and/or create a folder to divide and organize all your list set
Also, Wunderlist is compatible with all platform and devices. So you can always be updated on your list or work on them from wherever you are and with all the devices you have.
The actual user interface and the way to navigate around the app is very intuitive and easy to learn/use which would make me give it a high ranking, but the syncing issues drop down my rating because there are times where you add an item to the list and then it just disappears. Then when you add it again the sync will happen and now you have duplicates. The other negative with the usability is adding extra information to an item, such as files or comments or assignments. You can do it but it's difficult to tell which items have this information from the main screen. You have to click on them individually.
I have not had an issue where I needed to reach out to Wunderlist, but I know their contact and online chat is easy to access and feel confident that they would be helpful. My only worry is Wunderlist is becoming Microsoft to-do in May 2020, and I believe the app will become worse after that.
The previous systems were essentially timesheet systems only with very basic accounting. It's mostly the accounting subsystem that made us select Ajera.
Wunderlist is the cleanest of all these products, and also the most functional. It performs exactly like you would expect a to-do app to work, and you can make it as simple or as complex as you want. Trello boards were too much for my employees to comprehend and they could never get the hang of it. Microsoft TO-DO is just a stripped down remake of Wunderlist and will be a while before it catches up (if it ever does). Todoist is the most similar to me, and it was mostly an aesthetic choice that made me choose Wunderlist.
Productivity Increase - Knowing exactly what I need to do and when makes sure that I am on the right track, working on the right project and task at the right time, and not missing anything (or wasting my time on tasks that don't move the needle).
I'm delivering and following through on projects (big and small) without worrying about if I'm missing anything. This has helped specifically in product releases. One task I used to be late on every year was holiday greeting card releases in May. No one is ever ready to design holiday cards in April, so I wasn't even thinking about it. However, retail shops are buying their holiday products in the summer. I would always remember September as the weather started to change, which would lead me to miss out on the bulk of retail shop sales. With Microsoft To-Do, I mapped out the entire project, starting with designing 3 Hanukkah cards, to 3 Christmas cards, to printing them, photographing them, listing them, and marketing them. All with deadlines attached. Every detail was planned out in a doable way. For two years in a row, I did not miss out on this release and my sales have increased 300% year-over-year in part because of my release planning in Microsoft To-Do.
Do you know those tasks that pop up in meetings that you write down somewhere and then sometimes just completely forget? No? Just me? Either way, I used to have them scattered in notepads, sticky notes, and notebooks, and a lot would be lost in the wind. With Microsoft To-Do, I take all of those to-dos gathered during the day and add them to my to-do list with a deadline at the end of my work day. Now, I never miss anything.
