I think Microsoft To Do is helpful for people who don't need a lot of customization in a task manager. I prefer using 3rd party task managers that allow me to create projects with tasks and subtasks. But for a team that already uses Microsoft products and doesn't want to learn or invest capital in another task manager, Microsoft To Do covers the basics and syncs with your calendar.
If you're looking for a system to help you address accounting that's not suited for marketing agency structures, this is the right tool. It is a bit cumbersome, but it has streamlined our reporting, billing, estimating, and tracking. As for project management, it's great that it integrates with the estimating and finances, but it's just not enjoyable to use. The interface is clunky. So if project management is your main criteria, I'd choose something else. We would never use it to collaborate with clients either because I'd be afraid of making them frustrated by the tool, so we use Basecamp to do that.
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 Platinum version has a particularly robust time tracking system, down to a 'timer' function that can be critical for an agency like mine where you want to be accountable for billing a client arruately
The ability to make projects available only to those who are permitted to assign their time to it has apparently been very helpful during our revenue reconciliation meetings where time incurred is reviewed against scope
The mobile app, while I still feel needs some work, is pretty handy for a quick calendar check if I'm in a client meeting and cannot utilize my browser to get information
WMJ's interface is dated. Despite an html5 driven "sheets"-based interface, it takes a lot of time and effort to manage the interface, which could be streamlined considerably. On a UX/UI scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, WMJ would earn a 6 from me.
Despite the amount of documentation available, there is a distinct lack of clarity in that documentation, and it doesn't fully cover everything you would expect. Branching thoughts, for instance, are not addressed. Additionally, because there are two editions of the software online, there are two support sites that aren't sequestered. So information from both commingles, creating confusion.
Support is available on an email and phone basis. They strongly encourage you to use email, however, and they are resistant to phone time. This is likely because the support staff is limited in number, but has a great depth of knowledge. If you want immediate phone support, however, YOU ARE OUT OF LUCK. You are placed in a queue and the odds of same-day help are low. For email, the response is usually within an hour, but when you are stuck with a configuration issue, or need to generate a report and don't know how to do something, waiting is not optimal. That said, the support team is TERRIFIC.
User friendly, easy to configure, and VERY simplistic. I particularly use heavily the phone app feature. While others in the room are on social media, I am reviewing my tasks and this triggers other tasks I know I need to get done. I like the sense of accomplishment of moving things to the completed pile as well.
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.
It's a small tool compared to bigger project management software, but we found that they work perfectly together. It helps you declutter the larger PM tools, keep your smaller tasks in-line and make sure they get completed. When you're working in a creative agency, ideas and tasks are flying around, so having a tool like this that keeps you accountable and reminds you of your tasks is a must!
Workamajig was selected over a decade ago when there were very few project management platforms that has integrations with other platforms, support for Agile, KanBan, etc etc. Most of the other offerings did not offer the type of security available with us hosting an on premises server behind a VPN although now there are plenty of cloud based solutions that have security compliance greater than what we can provide (fedRamp, etc.)
The agency switched to an hourly allocation so our clients were subject to a certain amount of hours each quarter. JIG helped us keep track of who was going over hours or who had some to spare. Once the clients went over we would use JIG to help charge the additional fees for going over. It helped keep clients accountable.
It was used to keep track of time sheets and through those time sheets, the directors were able to make a case for more employees on certain accounts. The corporate team hired 3 additional people that were truly needed and our time sheets helped reflect that.
