Best task management apps of 2018

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Regardless of your profession or industry, having to deal with multiple deadlines is commonplace in working life. It’s easy to feel under pressure and fall behind with your work when you have so much to do, but task management software can help keep things under control.

These apps allow for the planning, tracking and reporting of tasks over a certain period of time. Using these programs, individuals and teams can collaborate on complex workloads, share knowledge and ensure the delivery of work within a set deadline.

To ensure that task management procedures are effective, project managers must consider the priority, deadlines, recurrence, aims and resources of projects. Without these considerations, teams may find themselves confused and tasks could end up being delayed.

In the past, companies have had to rely on largely paper-based mechanisms to oversee the delegation and completion of projects and tasks. However, through technology, firms are able to simplify the task management process and cut through red tape and time-consuming bureaucracy.

There’s a great range of workflow and project management applications available to companies of all sizes, which share the common aim of improving productivity for managers and employees. We’ve picked out some of the very best here.

• Also take a look at the best productivity apps for mobile

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If you’ve got lots of things happening in your work and personal life at the same time, you should definitely check out Centrallo. Described as a simple and elegant organization app, its main aim is to ‘catch everything life throws at you’.

That may sound like an ambitious goal, but the software certainly has a good crack at achieving this. With Centrallo, you can create as many notes and checklists as you want, and share these private or publicly.

You can also add photos, videos links and voice notes to the lists you create and store in the app, as well as due dates so you never miss a deadline. There’s also the ability to collaborate with team members on tasks within the app. What’s more, you can edit lists from a smartphone or tablet while on-the-go. That way, you should never fall behind with your work (hopefully).

Centrallo offers a free version of the app, but it comes with restrictions: you’re limited to a maximum of 100 notes, small attachments, and only a relatively small amount of cloud storage. That said, you may find 1GB of storage is enough – at least for personal usage. However, if you plan on using this throughout your company, it’s likely you’ll need the premium option. It costs $4.99 (£3.50) monthly or $44.99 (£32) annually.

• You can sign up for Centrallo here

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Easynote is another easy-to-use task management tool which is nicely affordable. It provides you with the tools to create, assign and track tasks. Targeted at both everyday users and businesses, the app can be used to organize everything from shopping lists to multi-platform projects.

In terms of features, the software allows you to collaborate on tasks, and share files. You can also set deadlines, task dependencies, alarms and reminders, as well as providing feedback to colleagues, and asking for amendments on tasks. What’s more, if you plan on using the software in your business, you don’t need any training. It works straight out-of-the-box.

Easynote claims that the app is used by tens of thousands of people and companies across the globe, including the likes of Samsung, Yamaha, Siemens, Barclays, Unicef and Pfizer.

Just like Centrallo, there’s a free option of the app available, but you only get 1GB of storage and a limit of 10MB when it comes to file uploads. To expand both of these limits, and get better customer support, you can upgrade to the Business plan which offers 5GB of storage and 50MB of file upload for $5 (£3.50) per month, or the Extended product which gives you 10GB/100MB for $10 (£7) monthly.

• You can sign up for Easynote here

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When it comes to business productivity software, Trello is no doubt one of the most popular and widely known offerings on the market. Available on both desktop and mobile devices, the app lets you organize personal and professional tasks. The company lists homework, shopping lists and work projects as a few examples.

The user interface is very friendly and based largely on boards that you create to organize the things you’re working on. You can categorize these based on different topics and tasks, and invite co-workers, friends and family members to collaborate on tasks. Similarly to Centrallo, the app makes use of checklists and to-do cards.

Once you’ve created a board, you can create tasks and assign them to different people. From here, you can comment or receive feedback to ensure you’re on-track with everything. You also have the option to add photos, videos and files to cards, and to look at your lists in a calendar view to monitor deadlines.

Trello is a cloud-based platform that works across a range of platforms and devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. The app is free to use, and you can create as many boards and lists as you’d like with the free version. However, there are premium products with more features and the ability to attach bigger files, with a Business Class plan costing $9.99 (£7) per month and an Enterprise offering running to $20.83 (£15) monthly.

• You can sign up for Trello here

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Should you want a task management tool that’s geared more towards business teams, Monday.com is vying for your attention. It’s a more visually-oriented piece of productivity software that lets project managers delegate tasks and keep an eye on the steps their team members are taking to complete tasks successfully.

Using the app, you can generate comprehensive task and to-do lists, share files and communicate with colleagues. The software provides a great deal of insight into projects, letting you add details such as owner status, prioritization and timelines. What’s more, there’s a built-in chat function which allows you to discuss tasks and updates with individual team members and groups.

Taking design cues from Trello, this tool comes with a calendar function as well. This puts all your tasks and deadlines into one place. And to ensure crucial business information doesn’t get into the wrong hands, all data stored in the app is encrypted. Other security features include two-factor authentication, single sign-on and audit logs. For a five-member team and 5GB of storage, you’ll need to pay £22 ($31) monthly.

• You can sign up for Monday.com here

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Marketed as an automation system for businesses, Accelo is a cloud-based platform that lets you manage all your client work from one place. It combines all aspects of a business – such as sales and project management – within a single piece of software.

You can make use of drag-and-drop charts to manage projects, and there’s a project tracking feature that considers outcomes, resources and budgets. You also get a team scheduling tool to delegate tasks among appropriately skilled employees, along with mobile timers and automated timesheets.

Other goodies include an invoicing function that automatically syncs to Xero and QuickBooks, and automated notifications. Accelo offers a free trial so you can test out the service, and the base plan starts from $34 (£24) per month billed annually.

• You can sign up for Accelo here

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