Flowlu vs. Smartsheet

To manage the workflows of our business, we used a number of tools before we began using Flowlu. It combines CRM, project & task management, team communication, invoicing, and account management into a single tool. We are able to save a lot of time and effort by using this all-in-one solution.

Smartsheet shines for collaboration. When you have multiple people involved with planning events Smartsheet makes it easy to share and collaborate. For instance, multiple people can be in Smartsheet working at the same time. Also setting permissions for exactly those who need to know is quite easy with Smartsheet. For data analytics and general spreadsheet purposes Excel is better but for project management and event planning Smartsheet is superior

Incentivized

• The system of adding only the features you need by installing as separated modules makes it easy to learn without being overwhelmed by the lots of features.
• I really like its structure and clear interface. Not wasting much time by searching for the right buttons and settings. Looks like the developers use their own tool for everyday work
• Flowlu offers a custom domain option to fully integrate fully it into our company toolbox. This helps offering a seamless experience for our clients.
• The elaborated invoice module was the final argument for us to switch to Flowlu.

• Its hard to overstate the value of familiarity. Being able to use a tool that has some familiarity takes away the time needed to train and orient employees on a new tool and allows an organization to hit the ground running.
• Smartsheet covers most of the basics of a project management tool, the usual tasks, milestones and project viewing options.
• For data viewing, you get multiple data viewing options including a calendar view (good for marketing teams and those who work around scheduling), Kanban, Gaant etc

Incentivized

• Flowlu should allow user to import their own invoice into app
• Fellow should have their own email marketing system
• It should integrate woo-commerce, a big e-commerce platform on WordPress. This will support users will in managing and sending emails to their customers.

• Smartsheet set up is similar to Excel, yet when you upload an Excel file, things like conditional formatting are lost. Smartsheet has its own conditional formatting, and you have to reinstate the rules. It would be great if those would apply automatically once a file is uploaded
• Some Smartsheet management and access rules can take some tweaking to work properly. This may be a case of offering more info to admins so they can apply these better and with more efficiency

Incentivized

I have found Flowlu while searching [for] a collaborative tool for a friend's non-profit organization. As I read the description and made a trial test, I fell in love with the tool. So we are definitely going to renew. Not only because the delivered solutions are great but also because Flowlu's roadmap seems very [promising].

It definitely meets our needs as far as organizing and archiving our tasks and files. As we train more staff to view it, I see opportunities for more improvement, which I am sure this program can handle. I look forward to seeing continued improvement from Smartsheet on their capabilities and functionality.

Incentivized

They have a great onboarding checklist and if you follow it you will be able to use the software. That is easy to use in my book. Flowlu has also the ability to turn on and off apps that you use or not which makes it tailored to the business needs.

Smartsheet is very easy to learn. However, while I have been able to pick it easily, Microsoft Excel and Project super users that I have trained on Smartsheet get bogged down in the differences and can find it frustrating. Explaining the differences ahead of time and why Smartsheet is being chosen instead of a different software seems to counteract those reactions

Incentivized

Great Support normally they respond in a few hours, which is very good, the knowledge base is good and the facebook groups are also very responsive. We are finding many videos online which are explaining Flowlu more and more daily.

Incentivized

I give this rating because it fills a niche in the market. MS Project scares many away from proper task management but there are limited tools our there, especially cloud-based that are mobile-friendly. Smartsheet fills this market gap, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. IT is not fair to compare it to MS Project, but fairer to see what gaps it fills.

Incentivized

It's absolutely paramount to take a few minutes to actually play with the software. It's nearly impossible to do anything wrong or make a mistake which cannot be fixed easily. Under the help menu is Live Training option. After you familiarize yourself with the commands, watch the live training for some in depth understanding of how to make the software fit your needs perfectly.

Flowlu is easier to use and has more features, with more coming. ClickUp feels like it's more 'open' for any type of business with a lot of customization, whereas Flowlu feels like it was created for niches like my own, yet it can easily and quickly be customized for any type of business

Jira and Redmine are much more robust and technologically advanced project management solutions. I enjoy using either when managing a very large project. However, I prefer to use Smartsheet for my smaller to medium sized projects. As for Google Drive - I would say that Google sheets and Smartsheet are almost identical in my opinion when it comes to functionality. Personally I prefer to manage smaller projects via Google Drive, but it is a personal preference!

Incentivized

• Time invested in learning the app was huge, there's no go-to resource center and currently their knowledge is scattered (YouTube videos, Knowledge Base, API docs etc)
• We are able to cancel subscriptions of some of the other CRM and project management apps as the needs are covered by Flowlu
• There's a significant productivity boost after learning the app but this is not quite measurable just yet

• This has really opened up collaboration across teams. A lot less working in silos.
• It hasn't fully replaced any one tool so it means having to go to another place. Hopefully, we can eliminate a tool or two in the next six months.

Incentivized