Best Workflow Management Software

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Workflow in a business is like the circulatory system in your body. If your tasks aren’t organized and managed properly, you’ll begin to see once-healthy parts of your operation start to wither and fail. We’ve found the best workflow management software for most users is ProofHub. They offer an all-in-one approach that helps you improve all facets of your project work, daily tasks, and overall trajectory.

The Best Workflow Management Software For Most

Want to improve the productivity of your entire organization? ProofHub does it. You can recognize progress while identifying delays and roadblocks. ProofHub is the quickest and easiest way to make an instant impact on your company’s efficiency.

Fast team collaboration, custom workflow management, and an allowance for unlimited users are just a few of the key features that make ProofHub rise to the top of the list. You get great value and solutions that your team can benefit from immediately. Setting you up for reliable success in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

The Best Workflow Management Software Options to Consider:

1. ProofHub – Best for most
2. Process Street – Best simple workflow management software
3. Hive – Best workflow management software for remote teams
4. Kintone – Best for custom workflows
5. Nintex – Best for advanced workflows
6. Zapier – Best for workflow automation
7. Backlog – Best for developers

When it Makes Sense to Invest Into Workflow Management Software

If you feel like your team isn’t working at maximum efficiency and people are wasting time on redundant tasks. You need a way to streamline repetitive processes.

Workflow management is a simple way to get started. When you notice a basic “to-do” list or task management software is no longer getting the job done, it’s time to upgrade to workflow management software.

Keep in mind—workflow management is not the same as project management. These two terms are often used interchangeably, but each one has its unique purpose. In most cases, project management tools are used for projects with definitive end dates. Workflow management is a component of project management, but the tasks are ongoing. 

Small teams with straightforward workflows and simple projects probably won’t need a workflow management tool just yet. But as you add complexity and scale, workflow management software will make your life much easier.

#1 – ProofHub Review — Best For Most

ProofHub is more than just a workflow management solution. It’s an all-in-one tool for boosting productivity. And they keep improving which is we recommend this provider as best for most.

The software is trusted by 85,000+ teams across the globe, including Nike, NASA, Netflix, Tripadvisor, and more.

The software combines workflow management with project management under a single roof. It comes with team communication tools like live chat, discussions, and more.

You’ll benefit from custom workflows, Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and task management. Project managers will have a complete overview of the most important information relating to their team’s workflows.

ProofHub seamlessly integrates with apps and tools that you’re already using, like Dropbox, Quickbooks, Freshbooks, and more. Use ProofHub to create workflows with clearly defined stages, automate recurring tasks, and customize automated reminders. 

Pricing is simple and straightforward, with no per-user fees. 

ProofHub starts at $45 per month for 40 projects and unlimited users. However, the entry-level plan doesn’t accommodate custom workflows. So you’ll need to upgrade to the Ultimate Control package to get the most out of ProofHub, which starts at $89 per month.

Try it free for 14 days.

#2 – Process Street Review — Best Simple Workflow Management Software

Workflow management software can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Process Street proves that you can implement a workflow management solution as a beginner without any prior experience using these tools.

The entire foundation of the software can be explained in three quick steps:

Use the software to create procedure documents, onboard clients, and run processes as collaborative workflows. Process Street even lets you set up simple conditional logic rules with “if/then” scenarios. These dynamic checklists will automatically adapt to your team’s needs as they change.

The software connects with more than 1,000 apps to automate tasks. 

Common use cases for Process Street include invoice generation, employee onboarding, new client set up, podcast publishing, candidate screening, IT help desk support, real estate sales, and more. This handful of examples shows how truly versatile the software really is. 

The Basic Process Street plan starts at $12.50 per user per month. For workflow automations (which most of you will need), plans start at $25 per user per month. 

Try it free with a 14-day trial.

#3 – Hive Review — Best Workflow Management Software for Remote Teams

With so many businesses forced to work remotely today, Hive’s popularity has skyrocketed. The software is designed to boost productivity for remote teams. 

It helps solve problems associated with team communication, inefficient processes, prioritization issues, and other challenges that come with working away from your co-workers. 

Hive integrates with 1,000+ third-party tools and platforms like Dropbox, Slack, Git, HubSpot, Zendesk, and more. These integrations will help streamline your workflows and set your team up for maximum efficiency.

Use Hive for real-time analytics with projects, resource planning, team collaboration, and file sharing. 

Individual users can manage projects based on their preferences with Kanban boards, Gantt charts, calendar views, and table views. It’s easy to switch back and forth between these options for complete flexibility.

Hive starts at $12 per user per month. You’ll have the option to add-on extras for things like timesheets, security, analytics, and more. These add-ons fall in the $4 to $6 range. 

Try Hive free for 14 days. If that’s not enough, contact their support team and just ask for an extension. 

#4 – Kintone Review — Best For Custom Workflow Management

Kintone is optimized for collaboration. The software makes it easy for teams to create, share, and automate customized processes and workflows for data-driven results.

More than 15,000+ organizations worldwide rely on Kintone for workflow management.

Using Kintone for workflow management is easy. Just map out the steps in a process, automate the redundant parts, and assign tasks to team members. Kintone makes it easy to change your automated workflows as you make adjustments for efficiencies. 

The software sends alerts and notifications to let everyone know when they have a task at hand. 

Your entire workflow process will be kept on record as well. So you can always refer back to see what happened and when it happened at a later date. All of the workflows are fully customizable and easy to automate.

Kintone also has a wide range of solutions for remote work, project management, task management, database management, claims management, rapid app development, and more. 

It’s one of the most versatile workflow management solutions that you’ll find on the market today.

Pricing starts at $24 per user per month, with a five-user minimum. Kintone offers great discounts for nonprofits, educational institutions, and government organizations as well.

Try it free for 30 days; no credit card required.

#5 – Nintex Review — The Best For Advanced Workflows

Nintex is a process management and workflow automation tool. It’s designed to simplify complex workflows.

It’s also designed for business analysts, IT teams, process professionals, and other power users. 

8,000+ organizations, including industry leaders like Amazon, Zoom, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Nationwide use Nintex.

I like Nintex because the software makes it easy to standardize your processes using automation, even for advanced workflows.

The software has a visual drag-and-drop tool that’s easy for anyone to use. This visualization makes it much easier to follow the path of sophisticated workflows. 

You can even use Nintex to automatically generate and sign documents that come through the process flow. Use the tool to collaborate across various channels and connect your team, wherever they are. 

The software can be used by HR teams, sales teams, finance departments, operations, and other teams within your organization. 

The Nintex Process Automation platform starts at $875 per month with unlimited users and 10 workflows. The enterprise plan starts at $1,350 per month. They also offer a basic plan for simple automations, starting at $85 per user per month with a five-ser minimum.

Try Nintex free for 30 days.

#6 – Zapier Review — The Best For Workflow Automation

Automation is obviously a crucial component of workflow management. And when it comes to automated features, Zapier is second to none. 

Zapier integrates with 2,000+ tools. You can use this software to set up a cross-platform automation sequence based on specific triggers. For example, let’s say you get a new email with an attachment to your Gmail account. Zapier can automatically copy that file to Dropbox, then notify you via Slack.

Building new workflows is easy; anyone can do it with just a few clicks. 

The software is versatile enough to accommodate single users and busy professionals, as well as teams and organizations. 

There’s even a free forever plan that comes with five “Zaps” (connected apps) and 100 tasks per month. But most business users will want to upgrade to a paid plan.

• Starter — Starts at $19.99 per month
• Professional — Starts at $49 per month
• Team — Starts at $299 per month
• Company — Starts at $599 per month

The plans are largely based on the number of tasks you need to use Zapier for on a monthly basis. As expected, the features get better and more advanced at each tier. But not every user will need these extras. So just take a closer look at the plan benefits before choosing the best one of your business.

Sign up and try Zapier free for 14 days.

#7 – Backlog Review — Best Workflow Management Software For Developers

Backlog is a bit unique compared to other platforms on our list. This software is actually branded as an online project management software. But it does come with built-in tools for workflow management as well.

More than 10,000 organizations across the globe rely on Backlog to manage workflows.

Another differentiator of Backlog is its user base; the platform is designed specifically for development teams.

The software comes with features like Gantt charts, wikis, task hierarchies, file sharing, Kanban-style boards, and other collaboration tools. You’ll also be able to use Backlog to build custom categories and fields to fit within your team’s workflow. 

Development teams commonly use Backlog for workflows associated with bug tracking and version controls. 

Here’s a quick overview of the plans and pricing:

• Starter — $35 per month
• Standard — $100 per month
• Premium $175 per month

Rates are based on the number of users and projects you have. The software isn’t quite as advanced in terms of automations, like other platforms on our list. But it will still get the job done for most development teams. 

Try Backlog free for 30 days. 

Methodology For Choosing The Best Workflow Management Software

To eliminate any confusion about what important with this software, we’ve identified the top features and considerations to evaluate as you’re shopping around.

This is the same methodology that we used to narrow down the platforms on our list. With this guy

Integrations

Workflow management software is kind of useless if it doesn’t integrate with the tools that you’re already using. Without these integrations, implementing certain solutions would add complexity to your workflows as opposed to reducing it. 

Many platforms will boast about the thousands of integrations that they are compatible with. But don’t let those numbers lead you on. Always verify to make sure that the software integrates with the tools you’re actually using. 

Automation

Automating tasks and processes is arguably the best part of workflow management software. 

Take advantage of the free trials offered to see how those automations work. If you set up with automated workflows correctly, you’ll be able to save countless hours on tedious tasks. This component also relates back to our previous point regarding integrations. In order for the software to automate certain processes, the platform must be compatible with third-party tools.

Collaboration

Bouncing back and forth between different apps for team communication can be a pain. So look for workflow management tools with built-in collaboration tools like live chat and message boards.

You’ll also want to make sure team members are alerted properly and notified when they have new tasks assigned in their queue. 

Project Management

As mentioned earlier, project management and workflow management are not the same things. But with that said, the two often go hand-in-hand.

Some of you might benefit from an all-in-one project management tool with built-in workflow management features. These tools will typically have Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and other standard project management features. 

Summary

What’s the best workflow management software? 

There are plenty of great options to consider. To find the best one for your business, refer to the recommended use cases on the list above. Make sure you review our methodology for narrowing down your options as well.

Regardless of your team size or industry, you can use this guide to find the best workflow management solution for your needs.