Zoho Projects Review 2024: Transforming Your Project Success

In this Zoho Projects Review 2024, we explore how this project management software is revolutionizing the way teams achieve success.

Zoho Projects has long been a reliable tool for businesses of all sizes, and its latest updates promise even greater efficiency and ease of use.

From task management to team collaboration, Zoho Projects offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to streamline workflows and enhance productivity.

Join us as we delve into the specifics of what makes Zoho Projects a standout choice for your project management needs in 2024.

What is Zoho Projects?

Zoho Projects is a project management tool made by Zoho Corporation.

It helps teams plan, track, and work together on projects.

With Zoho Projects, you can manage tasks, keep track of time, use Gantt charts to visualize project timelines and communicate with your team.

History of Zoho Projects

Zoho Corporation started in 1996, originally named AdventNet Inc., and was founded by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas.

The company initially offered network management solutions. In 2009, it changed its name to Zoho Corporation and started focusing on business software.

Zoho Projects was introduced in 2006 as part of Zoho’s suite of online tools.

Over the years, it has been improved with new features and updates based on user feedback.

Key Milestones

1. 2006: Launch of Zoho Projects with basic project management features.
2. 2008: Addition of Gantt charts for project planning.
3. 2010: Time tracking and timesheet features added.
4. 2012: Better collaboration tools, like discussion forums and document sharing.
5. 2014: Integration with other Zoho apps and third-party applications.
6. 2016: Release of the mobile app for managing projects on the go.
7. 2018: Introduction of advanced reporting and analytics tools.
8. 2020: AI-powered features for smarter project management.
9. 2022: Improved user interface based on customer feedback.
10. 2024: Ongoing updates focusing on new technologies and better functionality.

Zoho Projects has become a popular choice for businesses of all sizes because it is easy to use and continuously updated with new features. It helps organizations manage their projects more efficiently.

Zoho Projects Features

Zoho Projects Task Management Features

Work breakdown structure

Zoho Projects’ Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a helpful tool for organizing complex projects into simpler parts.

It lets you divide your project into smaller work items like milestones, task lists, tasks, and subtasks.

Milestones are major goals that mark important points in the project, helping you track overall progress.

Task lists group related tasks together, making it easier to manage different parts of the project.

Tasks are specific actions that need to be completed to reach the milestones. Subtasks break these tasks down further into smaller, more manageable steps.

This clear structure not only makes it easy to see what needs to be done but also improves teamwork, tracking, and resource management.

Using WBS in Zoho Projects helps teams stay organized and efficiently manage their work, leading to successful project completion.

Issue Management in Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects offers robust issue management capabilities, allowing you to list and track any problems or bugs encountered during your projects.

With this feature, you can easily document issues, assign them to specific team members, and closely monitor their progress until they are resolved.

By assigning issues promptly and tracking them closely, you ensure that they are addressed quickly and efficiently, minimizing their impact on the project’s timeline and quality.

Zoho Projects’ issue management functionality streamlines the process of identifying and resolving issues, contributing to smoother project execution and successful outcomes.

Universal Add in Zoho Projects

When time is of the essence and you need to swiftly add a new work item, Zoho Projects’ Universal Add tab comes to the rescue.

This feature allows you to expediently add various types of items, such as users, tasks, issues, events, or documents, with ease.

Whether you’re on the go or working under tight deadlines, the Universal Add tab provides a convenient and efficient way to input essential project elements without navigating through multiple screens.

Simplifying the process of adding work items, this feature ensures that you can keep your project organized and moving forward smoothly, even when time is limited.

Different task views

Zoho Projects offers multiple task views to suit different preferences and needs. The Classic view provides a detailed task list, presenting all pertinent task information in one comprehensive display.

On the other hand, the Plain view offers a simplified list of tasks, perfect for users who prefer a more streamlined view without additional details.

The Kanban board view presents tasks as cards grouped into columns based on their statuses, providing a visual representation of task progression and workflow.

Whether you prefer a comprehensive overview, a minimalist approach, or a visual representation of task statuses, Zoho Projects offers versatile task views to accommodate your preferred working style.

Gantt chart

The Gantt chart feature in Zoho Projects is a powerful tool that helps you visualize and manage your projects effectively.

It allows you to create a timeline of your project, breaking it down into individual tasks and showing their start and end dates.

One of the key benefits of the Gantt chart is its ability to display dependencies between tasks.

This means you can set up relationships between tasks, indicating which tasks need to be completed before others can start.

This helps you understand the sequence of work and ensures that tasks are completed in the correct order.

The Gantt chart allows you to identify critical tasks, which are tasks that, if delayed, could impact the overall project timeline.

By highlighting these critical tasks, you can prioritize them and allocate resources accordingly to keep the project on track.

The Gantt chart also provides a visual representation of the project schedule, making it easy to track progress and identify any delays or bottlenecks.

Furthermore, the Gantt chart feature in Zoho Projects offers a range of customization options.

You can easily adjust task durations, add dependencies, and update task statuses directly on the chart.

This flexibility allows you to adapt your project plan as needed and ensures that everyone is working towards the same goal.

Dependencies

Dependencies in project management are the relationships between tasks that determine their order of execution.

These relationships specify how tasks are related to one another and dictate when one task can start or finish in relation to another.

There are four main types of dependencies: Finish-to-Start (where one task must finish before another can start), Start-to-Start (where two tasks must start simultaneously), Finish-to-Finish (where two tasks must finish at the same time), and Start-to-Finish (where one task must start before another can finish).

Understanding and managing dependencies is crucial for effective project scheduling and resource allocation.

By identifying dependencies, you can ensure that tasks are completed in the correct sequence, minimizing delays and optimizing project timelines.

Calendar

The calendar feature in Zoho Projects helps you keep track of your schedule and tasks easily.

You can plan your daily work by adding events, deadlines, and meetings to the calendar, ensuring you stay organized and meet important deadlines.

It also lets you see when your team members are available, so you can plan meetings and assign tasks at convenient times.

The calendar sends you reminders for events, so you never miss an important deadline or meeting.

You also can sync it with other calendars you use, like Google Calendar or Outlook, to keep all your events in one place.

Recurrence

The recurrence feature in Zoho Projects allows you to set tasks or events to repeat at regular intervals, saving you time and ensuring that important activities are not overlooked.

This means you can schedule tasks or events to occur daily, weekly, monthly, or even annually, depending on your needs.

For example, if you have a team meeting every Monday, you can set it to recur weekly without having to manually add it to your calendar each time.

Recurrence helps you streamline your scheduling process and ensures that recurring tasks are always accounted for in your planning.

It’s a handy tool for staying organized and keeping track of ongoing responsibilities without the hassle of repeatedly creating them from scratch.

Reminders

Reminders in Zoho Projects allow task owners to receive email notifications on or before the task’s due date, ensuring that important deadlines are not missed.

With this feature, you can set up reminders for tasks, ensuring that team members are notified in advance to complete their assigned tasks on time.

These reminders serve as helpful prompts, keeping everyone informed and accountable for their responsibilities.

By providing timely notifications, reminders help maintain project momentum and ensure that tasks are completed efficiently.

This feature contributes to effective task management and helps teams stay on track to achieve their project goals.

Work hours

The work hours feature in Zoho Projects allows you to define specific hours during which your team is available for work.

By setting work hours, you can establish a standard schedule for your team, ensuring that tasks and deadlines are managed within these designated timeframes.

This feature helps prevent misunderstandings regarding availability and ensures that everyone is aware of the expected work hours.

Work hours can be customized for different team members or departments, accommodating varying schedules and time zones.

By defining work hours in Zoho Projects, you can optimize productivity, improve communication, and effectively manage workloads within your team.

Task List

The task list feature in Zoho Projects organizes your project into manageable sections, making it easier to plan, track, and complete tasks efficiently.

It provides a structured overview of all the tasks associated with your project, allowing you to break down your project into smaller, more manageable components.

Each task list typically represents a phase or category of tasks within the project, such as “Planning,” “Design,” or “Development.”

Within each task list, you can create individual tasks and assign them to team members, set due dates, and track their progress.

By organizing tasks into task lists, you can prioritize work, streamline workflow, and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.

This feature is essential for effective project management, as it helps keep teams focused, organized, and on track towards achieving project objectives.

Sprints

Imagine you’re managing a software development project in Zoho Projects, where you’re using both traditional and agile methods to keep things organized.

You have a team working on different aspects of the project, from coding to testing. Now, let’s say you have a sprint—a focused period of work—coming up where you need to deliver a specific set of features.

Here’s where Zoho Sprints comes in: it’s like a dedicated space for managing your sprints, where you can plan tasks, assign them to team members, and track progress using sprint boards.

Now, when you integrate Zoho Sprints with Zoho Projects, all the tasks and details from your sprint planning automatically sync up. So, you can see your sprint tasks right alongside your other project tasks in Zoho Projects.

For example, if you’ve planned a sprint to develop a new feature, you can create tasks like “Design UI,” “Code Backend,” and “Test Functionality” in Zoho Sprints. These tasks will then show up in Zoho Projects, where your team can see them, work on them, and track their progress—all without switching between different tools.

Plus, you can log hours, assign team members, and generate sprint reports directly within Zoho Projects, making it easy to manage all aspects of your project in one place.

This integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Sprints helps you seamlessly blend traditional and agile project management approaches, making your project management experience smoother and more efficient.

Portfolio dashboard

The portfolio dashboard in Zoho Projects gives you a big picture view of all your projects, tasks, and issues in one place.

You can see how each project is progressing and check details like who’s in charge, which clients are involved, and if the project is on budget.

This dashboard helps you quickly see how things are going and decide where to focus your attention.

You can get detailed reports with even more information to help you make smart decisions.

Roll-up

Let’s say you’re managing a construction project in Zoho Projects, and you have tasks like “Foundation Work,” “Building Structure,” and “Interior Design.”

Each of these tasks has subtasks—for example, “Foundation Work” might have subtasks like “Excavation,” “Pouring Concrete,” and “Setting Footings.”

Now, with roll-up, you can see the total planned work hours for all the tasks and subtasks in your project.

Let’s say the total planned work hours for “Foundation Work” is 50 hours, “Building Structure” is 80 hours, and “Interior Design” is 60 hours. Roll-up adds these up for you, so you can see that the total planned work hours for the entire project is 190 hours.

Similarly, you can see the actual hours your team has logged for each task and subtask. Let’s say they’ve logged 40 hours for “Foundation Work,” 70 hours for “Building Structure,” and 50 hours for “Interior Design.”

Roll-up adds these up too, so you can see that the total actual hours logged for the entire project is 160 hours.

Finally, roll-up also calculates the aggregate completion percentage of tasks based on their progress. If “Foundation Work” is 80% complete, “Building Structure” is 60% complete, and “Interior Design” is 70% complete, roll-up calculates the overall completion percentage for the entire project, giving you a clear picture of how things are progressing overall.

Zoho Projects Customizations Features

Layouts

Layouts in Zoho Projects allow you to customize the appearance and arrangement of your project, task, and issue details to match your specific project needs.

With custom layouts, you can tailor the view of your project data to best suit your workflow and preferences.

For example, you can choose which fields to display, rearrange their order, and define their formatting.

Once you’ve created a layout that works for you, you can save it for future use and apply it to new projects or work items, saving you time and ensuring consistency across your projects.

Whether you need to focus on specific details or streamline your view for quick access, layouts empower you to design your workspace to perfectly fit your requirements.

Custom fields

Custom fields in Zoho Projects allow you to tailor your project, task, and issue layouts by adding fields that capture specific information relevant to your workflow.

These custom fields can be of various types, such as text lines, dropdown picklists, checkboxes, user selectors, dates, numbers, emails, phone numbers, or URLs.

For example, if you’re managing a software project, you might add custom fields like “Priority,” “Version,” or “Assigned Developer” to your task layout to track additional details.

By incorporating custom fields, you can ensure that your project data is comprehensive and aligned with your specific requirements.

Plus, you can easily adapt your layouts as your project evolves, ensuring that you capture the right information at the right time.

Custom views

Custom views in Zoho Projects empower you to better organize and prioritize your work by creating personalized views tailored to your specific needs.

With custom views, you can quickly access important information such as overdue tasks or high priority tasks with just one click.

For example, you can create a custom view to display only tasks that are overdue, helping you focus on urgent items that require immediate attention.

Alternatively, you can create a view to show tasks sorted by priority, enabling you to efficiently plan your work based on task importance.

By customizing your views, you can streamline your workflow, improve productivity, and ensure that you stay on top of your tasks effectively.

Custom status

Custom statuses in Zoho Projects allow you to define unique progress stages for your projects, tasks, or issues that align with your team’s workflow, the nature of the work, or industry-specific requirements.

By creating custom statuses, you can ensure that everyone involved in the project understands how a specific work item is progressing.

For example, you might create custom statuses like “In Review,” “Waiting for Client Feedback,” or “On Hold” to reflect different stages of task completion.

These custom statuses provide clarity and transparency, enabling team members to easily track the status of work items and collaborate more effectively.

With custom statuses, you can adapt Zoho Projects to suit your team’s specific needs and workflows, ultimately improving communication and project management efficiency.

Custom functions

Custom functions in Zoho Projects empower you to write your own code to automate processes and streamline your workflow.

With custom functions, you can automate notifications, trigger actions like calling webhooks, or enforce business rules to perform any other desired function.

For example, you could create a custom function to automatically send notifications to team members when a task is assigned to them or when a deadline is approaching.

You could set up a custom function to call a webhook and integrate with external systems, enabling seamless data exchange between Zoho Projects and other tools.

By leveraging custom functions, you can tailor Zoho Projects to your specific needs, increase productivity, and optimize your project management processes.

Templates

Templates in Zoho Projects help you save time by creating reusable frameworks for your projects, task lists, or individual tasks.

These templates are handy for projects that have similar tasks or structures. For example, if you often have projects with the same set of tasks, like planning, design, and implementation, you can create a template with these tasks.

Then, when you start a new project, you can use this template to quickly add all the necessary tasks without starting from scratch.

Templates make it easy to keep your projects organized and consistent, saving you time and effort.

Custom domain

Custom domain in Zoho Projects allows you to connect your company’s domain name to your Zoho Projects portal.

This means that instead of accessing your Projects portal through the default Zoho URL, you can use your own domain name to access it.

For example, if your company’s domain is “example.com,” you can map it to your Zoho Projects portal so that you can access it directly from “projects.example.com” or “example.com/projects”.

This makes it easier for your team members to remember and access your Projects portal, as it’s now associated with your company’s domain name.

Tags

Tags in Zoho Projects provide a simple way to organize and search for work items, forum posts, or statuses across hundreds of projects.

By adding tags to these items, you can easily categorize and filter them based on specific keywords or topics.

For example, you can add tags like “urgent,” “marketing,” or “design” to tasks or forum posts to quickly identify and prioritize them.

This makes it easier to locate relevant information and track progress on specific topics or areas of interest, ultimately improving efficiency and collaboration within your projects.

Web Tab

The Web Tab feature in Zoho Projects allows you to access external web content directly within your Projects workspace.

You can embed a URL from a third-party application, such as a project management tool or a collaboration platform, to bring that content seamlessly into Zoho Projects.

Alternatively, you can create a custom web tab within Zoho Projects to display specific web pages or web applications relevant to your project.

This integration enables you to centralize access to all your project-related information and tools in one place, streamlining your workflow and enhancing productivity.

Zoho Projects Team Collaboration Features

Feeds

Feeds in Zoho Projects serve as a dynamic hub for communication and collaboration across all your projects. It’s like a central news feed where you can get quick updates on what’s happening across your entire project portfolio.

Within the feed, you can post comments, share updates, tag team members, and attach files, making it easy to communicate and collaborate with your team in real-time.

For instance, imagine you’re working on a software development project with multiple team members.

You can use the feed to post status updates on the project’s progress, share important announcements or milestones, and discuss specific tasks or issues.

Team members can comment on these posts, ask questions, or provide feedback, fostering open communication and collaboration.

Moreover, feeds allow you to tag specific team members to bring their attention to important updates or discussions.

This ensures that relevant stakeholders are notified and can actively participate in discussions or decision-making processes.

You can attach files such as documents, images, or screenshots directly to feed posts, providing context or additional information related to the discussion.

This helps streamline communication and ensures that all relevant information is easily accessible within the feed.

Mentions

Mentions in Zoho Projects allow you to direct the attention of specific users, roles, or teams by tagging them in status updates, comments, chats, or forum posts.

This feature enables you to ensure that relevant stakeholders are notified and engaged in discussions or tasks.

For example, if you need input from a specific team member on a task, you can mention them in a comment to bring their attention to it.

Similarly, if you want to involve an entire team in a discussion, you can mention the team’s name to notify all members.

Mentions streamline communication and collaboration by ensuring that key individuals or groups are actively involved in relevant discussions or tasks, ultimately enhancing teamwork and productivity within Zoho Projects.

Chat

Chat functionality in Zoho Projects helps you collaborate better by providing personal or group chat rooms.

With this feature, you can easily converse, get quick feedback, or start a discussion without needing to switch to other communication tools.

For example, if you need to ask a quick question or discuss a project update with your team, you can simply open a chat room and start typing.

This makes communication faster and more efficient, keeping everyone on the same page and helping you work together more effectively.

Personal chat rooms allow you to have one-on-one conversations with specific team members. This is great for discussing private matters or getting quick answers without involving the whole team. On the other hand, group chat rooms are perfect for team discussions, brainstorming sessions, or coordinating on specific tasks.

Chat rooms make it easy to share files, links, and other important information instantly. Instead of waiting for email replies or setting up meetings, you can get immediate feedback and make faster decisions.

This improves overall productivity and keeps your projects moving smoothly.

Forums

Forums in Zoho Projects provide a central space for you to discuss ideas, post topics, and save important information.

These interactive forums make it easy to share knowledge and engage with your team on various subjects related to your projects.

For example, if you have a new project idea or need to gather feedback on a specific issue, you can start a discussion thread in the forum.

Team members can then join the conversation by posting their thoughts, suggestions, and feedback. This collective input helps in brainstorming and decision-making.

Forums serve as a valuable repository for important information. You can post updates, guidelines, and best practices that everyone can refer to later.

This ensures that all crucial information is easily accessible and stored in one place, reducing the need for repeated explanations and keeping everyone informed.

Documents

The Documents feature in Zoho Projects allows you to easily create, store, organize, and share project files with your team.

This ensures that all your important documents are centralized and easily accessible.

For example, if you have project plans, reports, or design files, you can upload them to Zoho Projects where they can be organized into folders and categorized for easy retrieval.

Team members can then access these files whenever needed, ensuring everyone has the information they need to work effectively.

Moreover, the version control system in Zoho Projects keeps track of changes made to documents.

This means that every time a document is updated, a new version is saved. Team members can see who made changes, when the changes were made, and can even revert to previous versions if necessary. This ensures that everyone is working with the latest version of a document, reducing confusion and ensuring consistency.

In summary, the Documents feature in Zoho Projects simplifies file management by making it easy to create, store, organize, and share files.

The version control system adds an extra layer of efficiency by ensuring that everyone has access to the most current information.

Email alias

The email alias feature in Zoho Projects allows you to manage your projects directly from your inbox.

This feature lets you perform various project-related actions without needing to log into Zoho Projects.

For example, you can add notes or attach documents to tasks by simply sending an email.

You can post comments on tasks or discussions, attach files to forum posts, and even file issues, all through your email.

Let’s say you receive an important document via email that needs to be added to a task in Zoho Projects.

Instead of logging in and uploading the file manually, you can forward the email to your project’s email alias, and the document will be attached to the relevant task.

Similarly, if you want to add a note or comment on a task, you can do this by sending an email to the task’s email alias, and your comment will be posted.

This feature streamlines your workflow by integrating your email with Zoho Projects, allowing you to manage tasks, documents, and discussions more efficiently from your inbox.

Zoho Projects Automation Features

Blueprint

Blueprint in Zoho Projects allows you to design and automate workflows to make your task processes smoother and more efficient.

With Blueprint, you can set up a sequence of steps that a task needs to go through, defining who is responsible for each step and what actions should be taken at each stage.

For example, let’s say you have a task that needs to go through several stages, such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” “In Review,” and “Completed.”

With Blueprint, you can assign specific team members to change the status of the task at each stage.

When the task moves from “To Do” to “In Progress,” the responsible team member gets a notification to start working on it.

Once the work is done, they can change the status to “In Review,” and the task will automatically be assigned to another team member for review.

Blueprint can automatically update task fields based on the status changes.

For instance, when a task moves to “Completed,” the task completion date can be automatically filled in.

You can also set up automated alerts to notify relevant team members as tasks move through different stages, ensuring everyone stays informed.

By using Blueprint, you can eliminate the need for manual updates and follow-ups, reduce the risk of errors, and ensure that tasks move through your workflow efficiently and consistently.

This automation frees up time for your team to focus on more important work, improving overall productivity.

SLAs

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in Zoho Projects help you automate and manage project commitments from start to finish.

With SLAs, you can define specific timelines and actions for tasks, ensuring they are completed on time.

They set clear and measurable targets for your team, providing definite goals to aim for. SLAs also handle escalations automatically, notifying stakeholders if a task is at risk of missing its deadline, which helps prevent delays.

By sticking to your guarantees, SLAs ensure that project tasks are completed within agreed timeframes, maintaining customer trust and satisfaction.

SLAs keep your customers informed by automatically sending progress updates, improving communication and transparency.

Business rules

Business rules in Zoho Projects allow you to create a set of predefined rules to automate certain actions within your projects.

For example, you can set a rule to automatically change the severity of an issue or assign it to a specific team member when certain conditions are met.

You define these conditions and specify when the rules should be triggered.

For instance, you might create a rule that automatically assigns a high-priority issue to a senior developer as soon as it is reported.

Another rule could change the status of a task to “Urgent” if it is nearing its deadline without completion.

By setting up these rules, you ensure that important actions are taken promptly and consistently, reducing the need for manual intervention and helping your team stay organized and efficient.

Webhooks

Webhooks in Zoho Projects allow you to configure your own HTTP URLs and link them to specific business rules, enabling automated notifications to third-party applications.

For example, if you want to notify your team on Slack whenever a high-priority task is created in Zoho Projects, you can set up a webhook to send an HTTP request to Slack’s API.

When the business rule is triggered (e.g., when a high-priority task is created), the webhook automatically sends the relevant information to Slack, creating a notification in the designated channel.

This integration capability allows you to seamlessly connect Zoho Projects with other tools and systems you use, ensuring real-time updates and streamlined workflows.

By using webhooks, you can automate the flow of information between Zoho Projects and external applications, enhancing efficiency and reducing the need for manual data entry.

Notifications

Notifications in Zoho Projects enable you to automate the delivery of alerts to the assignee, clients, or specific users whenever the status of an issue or task is modified.

This feature ensures that relevant stakeholders stay informed about changes in project status in real-time.

For instance, if a task’s status changes to “In Progress,” notifications can be automatically sent to the assignee, letting them know that their action is required.

Similarly, if an issue’s status is updated to “Resolved,” notifications can be triggered to inform the client or relevant team members about the resolution.

By automating notifications based on status changes, you ensure timely communication and keep all stakeholders up-to-date on project progress.

This helps maintain transparency, reduces the risk of misunderstandings, and fosters collaboration within your team and with clients.

Workflow Rules

Workflow Rules in Zoho Projects empower you to define automated workflows for any work item within your project.

This feature is highly flexible and customizable, allowing you to automate various actions and processes based on specific conditions or triggers.

For example, you can create a workflow rule to automatically assign tasks to team members based on their skill set or availability.

You can set up rules to escalate overdue tasks to project managers or trigger notifications to stakeholders when certain milestones are reached.

The flexibility of Workflow Rules enables you to automate virtually any aspect of your project management process, from task assignments to status updates and beyond.

By automating repetitive tasks and standardizing processes, Workflow Rules help you save time, reduce errors, and ensure consistency across your projects.

Whether you need to streamline task management, enforce project policies, or improve communication, Workflow Rules provide a powerful solution to automate and optimize your workflows in Zoho Projects.

Zoho Projects Time Management Features

Timers

Timers in Zoho Projects allow you to track the time spent on tasks efficiently.

You can start a timer as you begin working on a task and stop it when you’re done, automatically recording the task hours as a new timesheet entry.

For example, when you start working on a task, you can simply activate the timer. As you progress with your work, the timer tracks the elapsed time in real-time.

Once you complete the task or pause your work, you can stop the timer, and Zoho Projects automatically records the time spent on that task as a new entry in your timesheet.

This feature helps you accurately capture the time spent on tasks without the need for manual time tracking.

It ensures that your timesheets are up-to-date and provides valuable insights into your productivity and project progress.

By using timers, you can streamline time tracking, improve accuracy, and focus more on your tasks without worrying about recording your work hours manually.

Timesheet

A timesheet in Zoho Projects is where you log and track the time spent on tasks and issues.

You can do this manually by entering the hours worked or by using automatic timers that record your work duration as you progress through tasks.

For example, if you spend two hours working on a task, you can simply log those two hours in the timesheet manually.

Alternatively, you can start a timer when you begin working on the task, and it will automatically track the time for you.

Timesheets serve multiple purposes, including project tracking, resource management, and client billing.

Admins have the authority to approve or reject employee timesheet entries, ensuring accuracy and accountability.

They can also use timesheet data for payroll processing and client invoicing, as it provides a detailed record of work hours expended on specific tasks or projects.

Invoicing

In Zoho Projects, you can seamlessly handle invoicing by integrating with Zoho Books or Zoho Invoice.

This integration streamlines the process of invoicing for time logs and recording expenses across all your projects.

By connecting Zoho Projects with Zoho Books or Zoho Invoice, you can generate accurate invoices based on the time logs recorded in your projects.

This means that the time spent by your team members on tasks and projects can be directly converted into billable hours for clients.

You can record any project-related expenses incurred, ensuring all costs are accounted for in your invoices.

The integration allows you to create estimates and send quotes to clients effortlessly.

You can generate professional-looking estimates directly from your project data, providing clients with clear and detailed proposals for their projects.

Budgeting

Budgeting in Zoho Projects enables you to effectively plan, monitor, and manage your project budget, leading to improved cost management and reduced budget overruns.

With this feature, you can track planned versus actual costs in real-time, empowering you to make informed decisions and maintain financial control throughout your projects.

For instance, you can set up a budget for each project, outlining the estimated costs for resources, materials, and other expenses.

As the project progresses, you can monitor actual expenditures and compare them against the planned budget using detailed budget status reports.

These reports provide insights into where your project stands financially, allowing you to identify potential overruns or areas where costs can be optimized.

By having visibility into planned versus actual costs, you can proactively address any budgetary deviations and take corrective actions to keep your projects on track.

This proactive approach helps you avoid budget surprises and ensures that your projects are completed within the allocated budget constraints.

Zoho Projects Charts and Reports Features

Task reports

Task reports in Zoho Projects allow you to access both basic and advanced insights into all tasks within a project, offering a comprehensive overview based on various parameters such as status, completion percentage, owner, or priority.

Projects provides global reports that encompass data across multiple projects.

For example, with basic task reports, you can quickly assess the status of all tasks in a project, identifying those that are pending, in progress, or completed.

These reports offer a simplified view of task progress and ownership, enabling you to track project milestones effectively.

On the other hand, advanced task reports offer more detailed insights, allowing you to analyze task completion percentages, identify trends, and evaluate task performance over time.

You can filter and sort tasks based on multiple criteria, such as priority or owner, to gain deeper insights into project dynamics and resource allocation.

Moreover, global reports provide a holistic view of task-related data across all projects, facilitating portfolio-level analysis and strategic decision-making.

You can compare task metrics, track overall project progress, and identify areas for improvement or optimization across your project portfolio.

In summary, task reports in Zoho Projects offer versatile reporting capabilities, ranging from basic status updates to advanced analytics, empowering you to make informed decisions and drive project success effectively.

Whether you need to monitor individual task progress or evaluate project performance at a portfolio level, Zoho Projects provides the tools you need to gain actionable insights and achieve your project objectives.

Issue reports

Issue reports in Zoho Projects provide valuable insights into the status of bugs or issues within your projects, offering both basic and advanced reporting capabilities to help you better understand and manage them.

With basic issue reports, you can quickly assess the overall status of bugs or issues, such as the number of open, resolved, or closed issues.

These reports offer a high-level overview of issue progress, enabling you to track their status and identify any trends or patterns.

On the other hand, advanced issue reports offer more detailed insights, allowing you to analyze issue metrics in greater depth.

You can filter and sort issues based on various criteria, such as severity, priority, or assigned owner, to gain deeper insights into their status and progression over time.

Advanced reports may include metrics such as resolution time, aging, or distribution by category, providing a more comprehensive understanding of issue management dynamics.

By leveraging both basic and advanced issue reports, you can effectively track, monitor, and address bugs or issues within your projects.

These reports empower you to make informed decisions, prioritize tasks, and optimize issue resolution processes, ultimately enhancing project quality and delivery.

In summary, issue reports in Zoho Projects offer versatile reporting capabilities, ranging from high-level status updates to detailed analytics, enabling you to gain actionable insights and effectively manage bugs or issues across your projects.

Timesheet reports

Timesheet reports in Zoho Projects provide valuable insights into your team’s productivity by showing how work hours are distributed across team members and which tasks consume the most time.

These reports help you identify trends, assess workload distribution, and make informed decisions to optimize task allocation and delegation.

For example, by analyzing timesheet reports, you can identify team members who are consistently overworked or underutilized.

This allows you to redistribute tasks more evenly, ensuring that workloads are balanced and team members are not overwhelmed.

Moreover, timesheet reports help you pinpoint tasks or projects that require excessive time investment.

By identifying these time-intensive activities, you can assess their efficiency and explore ways to streamline processes or allocate additional resources as needed.

Project dashboard

A project dashboard in Zoho Projects provides a comprehensive view of your project’s progress and status by presenting multiple reports in one central location.

These reports typically include information on the project budget, task and issue status, overdue work items, and team status, among other key metrics.

For example, the project budget report gives you an overview of how your project’s actual expenses compare to the planned budget.

This helps you track spending and identify any budgetary concerns early on. The task and issue status report shows you the progress of tasks and issues, indicating which ones are on track, delayed, or completed.

This helps you stay on top of project timelines and make adjustments as needed.

The overdue work items report highlights any tasks or issues that are past their due dates, allowing you to prioritize them and ensure they are addressed promptly.

The team status report provides insights into your team’s workload and availability, helping you allocate resources effectively and avoid overloading team members.

By consolidating these reports into a single dashboard, Zoho Projects enables you to quickly assess your project’s overall health and performance.

This helps you make informed decisions, identify potential risks, and take proactive measures to keep your project on track and achieve your goals.

Budget forecasting

Budget forecasting in Zoho Projects involves predicting the total estimated cost for a project based on its current percentage completion, as well as comparing it with the planned and actual costs.

For example, let’s say a project is 50% completed, and you’ve spent $5,000 out of a planned budget of $10,000.

Using budget forecasting, you can estimate the total cost of the project once it’s finished. If the project continues at the same pace, the forecasted total cost would be $10,000 (planned budget) / 50% (current completion) * 100% = $20,000.

You can compare this forecasted total cost with the actual costs incurred so far. If the actual costs are significantly higher or lower than the forecasted amount, you can adjust your budgeting and resource allocation accordingly to ensure the project stays on track financially.

By providing insights into future project costs based on current progress, budget forecasting helps project managers make informed decisions and effectively manage project finances to achieve successful project outcomes.

Planned vs. actual cost

In Zoho Projects, you can compare planned versus actual costs to manage your project budget effectively and avoid budget overruns.

This feature enables you to calculate both the planned and actual costs of your projects based on the rate per hour for each project or specific user rates.

For instance, when planning a project, you can estimate the total cost by assigning rates per hour for each task or assigning specific rates to individual team members.

This helps you create a budget based on expected labor costs, materials, and other expenses.

As the project progresses, Zoho Projects tracks the actual time spent on tasks and calculates the corresponding costs based on the assigned rates.

This allows you to compare the actual costs incurred with the planned budget, providing insights into budget adherence and potential deviations.

By comparing planned versus actual costs, you can identify areas where costs are exceeding expectations and take corrective actions to mitigate budget overruns.

This proactive approach enables you to maintain financial control, optimize resource allocation, and ensure project profitability.

Earned Value Management

Earned Value Management (EVM) in Zoho Projects enables you to compare planned versus actual values of schedule, cost, and time to measure project performance effectively and predict important project parameters.

With EVM, you can assess the progress and performance of your project by analyzing three key metrics:

1. Planned Value (PV): The Planned Value represents the authorized budget assigned to the scheduled work to be completed by a specific time. It is also known as the Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS).
2. Earned Value (EV): The Earned Value represents the value of the work actually completed. It is also known as the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP).
3. Actual Cost (AC): The Actual Cost represents the total cost incurred in completing the work by a specific time. It is also known as the Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP).

By comparing these metrics, you can determine if your project is on track, ahead of schedule, or behind schedule, as well as if it is under budget, on budget, or over budget.

EVM in Zoho Projects helps you identify project performance trends early, allowing you to take corrective actions to keep your project on track.

It also enables you to predict future project parameters based on current performance, helping you make informed decisions and improve overall project management efficiency.

Zoho Integrations

Zoho Projects integrates with a variety of Zoho apps and third-party tools to enhance its functionality and streamline project management.

You can connect Zoho Projects with Zoho CRM for a seamless transition from leads to projects, ensuring alignment between sales and project teams.

Integration with Zoho Desk improves communication and issue tracking between support and project teams.

Zoho Analytics integration provides advanced reporting and insights into project performance, while integration with Zoho Books enables accurate billing and expense tracking.

Zoho Projects integrates with third-party tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, and GitHub, allowing you to centralize project information and collaborate more effectively.

These integrations help you optimize workflows, improve collaboration, and achieve better project outcomes with Zoho Projects.

Zoho Project’s chrome extension

With the Zoho Projects Chrome extension, you have a handy tool right in your Chrome browser to manage your projects seamlessly.

It allows you to perform various tasks like creating new tasks, updating statuses, adding comments, and uploading attachments without leaving your browsing environment.

You can also view project timelines, track progress, and receive real-time notifications, ensuring you stay productive while browsing.

The extension provides quick access to recent projects and tasks, making it easier for you to prioritize your activities.

Plus, it integrates with other Zoho apps and third-party tools, streamlining your workflow and boosting your productivity.

Mobile App

The Zoho Projects mobile app for iOS and Android offers convenient access to your projects wherever you are.

With this app, you can effortlessly manage tasks, track project progress, and collaborate with team members on the go.

From creating and assigning tasks to tracking time and updating project statuses, the mobile app provides all the essential project management features in a user-friendly interface designed for mobile devices.

You can stay informed about project activities with real-time notifications and interact with your team through comments and mentions.

Whether you’re in the office, traveling, or working remotely, the Zoho Projects mobile app ensures that you can effectively manage your projects anytime and anywhere, enhancing your productivity and efficiency on the move.

Zoho Projects Zia AI

Zoho Projects’ Zia AI is an intelligent chatbot designed to streamline your project management activities.

With a conversational interface, Zia allows you to quickly get responses to your queries regarding tasks, issues, and events in Zoho Projects.

Zia can also provide suggestions or recommendations based on your project-related activities, helping you stay organized and productive.

For instance, if you need to check your upcoming events while on a tight schedule, you can simply chat with Zia and ask, “Zia, list my upcoming events.” Zia will promptly list all your upcoming events, allowing you to stay informed and plan your schedule effectively.

Additionally, you can ask Zia about specific task or issue details, such as your active tasks, task status, due dates, unassigned tasks, overdue tasks, user details, tasks within a task list, and other relevant information, making it easier to manage your projects efficiently.

Customer Support

Zoho Projects offers comprehensive customer support to assist you with any questions, concerns, or technical issues you may encounter while using the platform.

You can access support through various channels, including email, live chat, phone support, and an extensive knowledge base.

The Zoho Projects support team is known for its prompt and helpful responses, striving to address your inquiries in a timely manner and provide effective solutions to any issues you encounter.

You can benefit from community forums and user groups where you can connect with other Zoho Projects users, share experiences, and learn from each other.

Zoho Projects Pricing

Zoho Projects Pricing Free Plan

• Cost: US$0
• User Limit: Up to 3 users
• Number of Projects: 2 Projects
• Features Included:
• Subtasks
• 5GB of storage space

This plan is ideal if you’re starting small and need basic project management features for a limited number of users and projects.

Zoho Projects Most Popular: Premium Plan

• Cost: US$4 per user/month, billed annually
• Includes All Free Plan Features Plus:
• Unlimited projects
• Project templates
• Time tracking
• Blueprints

This plan is suitable for teams needing more advanced project management capabilities, with unlimited projects and additional tools to enhance productivity and workflow automation.

Zoho Projects Enterprise Plan

• Cost: US$9 per user/month, billed annually
• Includes All Premium Plan Features Plus:
• Read-only users
• Custom fields & statuses
• Custom roles & profiles
• Single Sign-On (SSO)
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

This plan is designed for larger teams or organizations that require enhanced security, customization, and access control features, providing more flexibility and protection for your project management needs.

Zoho Projects: Pros and Cons

Pros:

1. User-Friendly Interface:
   Zoho Projects is intuitive and easy to navigate, making it accessible regardless of your experience level.
2. Comprehensive Features:
   You get a wide range of project management tools, including task management, time tracking, Gantt charts, issue tracking, and reporting.
3. Collaboration Tools:
   The platform offers effective team collaboration features like chat, forums, document sharing, and comments, helping you stay connected with your team.
4. Customizability:
   You can customize the platform with custom fields, statuses, roles, and workflows, ensuring it meets your specific project needs.
5. Integration Capabilities:
   Zoho Projects integrates seamlessly with other Zoho apps and third-party tools, enhancing its functionality and versatility for your project management.
6. Mobile Accessibility:
   With mobile apps for iOS and Android, you can manage projects on the go, ensuring you stay productive anywhere.
7. Affordable Pricing:
   The platform offers competitive pricing with a free plan for small teams and affordable premium and enterprise plans for larger teams.
8. AI Assistance:
   Zia AI provides smart suggestions and quick responses, streamlining your project management tasks.

Cons:

1. Learning Curve:
   The extensive range of features might require a learning period for you to fully utilize the platform.
2. Limited Free Plan:
   The free plan is limited in terms of the number of projects and users, which may not be sufficient if you have larger teams or more complex projects.
3. Advanced Features in Higher Plans:
   Some advanced features like custom roles, SSO, and 2FA are only available in the higher-tier plans, which might be a drawback if you have a limited budget.
4. Integration Limitations:
   While integration capabilities are strong, you might find limitations in the extent to which you can integrate with certain third-party tools.

Zoho Projects Alternatives

• Trello: Utilizes a card-based Kanban system, perfect for straightforward task management and visual project monitoring. Provides boards, lists, and cards for task organization.
• Asana: Offers task management, project timelines, custom fields, and workload management. Supports various project views like lists, boards, and timelines.
• Monday.com: Features customizable workflows, task management, timelines, and dashboards. Enables detailed project progress tracking and team collaboration. For more in-depth information on monday.com, please refer to the detailed blog post provided.
• Basecamp: Integrates task management, file sharing, real-time group chat, and project tracking in a user-friendly interface, focusing on simplicity.
• Microsoft Project: Provides advanced project management features including Gantt charts, resource management, and portfolio management, with integration options for Microsoft Office tools.
• Jira: Primarily designed for agile project management and software development. Offers detailed issue and bug tracking, as well as sprint planning functionalities.

Zoho Projects Review Conclusion

In conclusion, Zoho Projects offers a user-friendly interface and comprehensive features for effective project management.

It provides customizable workflows, collaboration tools, and integration capabilities, making it suitable for teams of all sizes.

With affordable pricing plans and AI assistance from Zia, Zoho Projects stands out as a versatile solution for organizing and executing projects efficiently.

Frequently Asked Questions About Zoho Projects