Project management, timesheet and planning software

Question

I'm trying to find an integrated PM solution which will give my business all of the following:

1. Timesheeting so we can track time spent on tasks
2. Holiday planner (integrated with timesheet and project management
3. Project management tool, integrating the above, with milestones, gantt chart, dependancies etc.
4. Forecasting ability (nice to have, but not a requirement)
5. Reporting capability - especially time spent on projects, costs etc.

Now yeah, that's quite a lot of functionality, I appreciate that! But currently we've got 3 systems, none of which really talk to each other and it's a right headache.

So far we've looked at:

• OpenWorkbench - not enough features
• Basecamp - not enough features and too reliant on online
• MS Project - too expensive?

Can anyone throw some other hats into the ring which maybe I've not heard about? Really interested to hear how other people have approached this, it's not an unusual business requirement!

Thanks!

Answer 1

OpenProj is worth a look.

We used Planview at my last company. It should do everything you want. I found it bloated, but it may work for you.

Answer 2

It may not be exactly what you're looking for, but I like Fogbugz.

It is more geared towards keeping track of bugs, but it can be uses as a project planning tool too, if project items are entered as cases to work on.

1. Timesheeting
   people can easily mark what they are working on
2. Holiday planner
   Not included I think
3. milestones, gantt chart, dependancies
   Included
4. Forecasting ability
   Strong point: evidance based scheduling
5. Reporting capability
   Included

There's a free student/startup version for 2 persons.

Answer 3

Take a look at Intervals. It has almost every feature you have listed. Although the emphasis is more on project tracking than on planning. Anyways, check it out, as it may be a good fit for your needs.

Answer 4

Everyone has a favorite. I like LiquidPlanner online project management software. It's the best at risk management planning.

Answer 5

I recently did a little research on this very subject, as I was tasked with finding a new project management software. Most people suggested MS Project, which is what I ended up going with for our company. It is an easy to use project managing software and can do most of the things on your list. It’s been worth the price. (There is a free trial as well).

Answer 6

I prefer to use Microsoft Project, I've used it for project portfolio management. I think it meets all of your requirements.

You can download a trial version here:

http://www.microsoft.com/project/en/us/try-buy.aspx

Answer 7

Trac is great, open source, and has plugins for most of the features you need. There's a lot of hosted options around or you can roll your own server.