Blog 15.05. 2025

How to Choose the Best Project Management Tool: A Guide for Businesses

Are you looking for the ideal project management tool that will streamline teamwork, simplify task planning, and help meet deadlines? In this article, you’ll learn what project management software is, why it’s essential for businesses of all sizes, and how to choose the right one based on clear criteria. You’ll also find six key steps to guide your decision.

What is Project Management?

Project management is the overall organization and planning of a project from start to finish. People involved in the process use specific skills, techniques, and tools to complete tasks and deliver a project that provides value.

Whether it's developing a new product, implementing a new IT system, or running a marketing campaign, projects are temporary activities that need to be planned and controlled.

Effective project management ensures these initiatives are completed as planned.

Within a project, you can define milestones, set goals, create a project lifecycle, create timelines, and assign tasks for the most efficient project execution. This is where project management tools come into play.

Project management tools (PM tools) are specially designed software platforms that help individuals or teams manage projects and tasks effectively. They provide a single platform for all necessary information.

Choosing the right project management tool can significantly impact a project's success.

Why Implement Project Management Software in Your Company?

Project management software offers a wide range of features that help businesses achieve their goals. These tools assess project scope, break it into manageable parts, assign tasks, and create workflows. Useful features include:

Project planning

Project managers create a roadmap to turn plans into reality.

Tracking project steps

Projects are broken into actionable steps. Managers assign tasks with deadlines and create a shared calendar, allowing for a clear overview of progress and potential issues.

Team management

Team members receive assigned tasks and deadlines. They can also collaborate using features like file sharing, commenting, and messaging.

Work documentation

Every step and process is recorded and accessible. You can track who worked on what and when it was last updated.

Goal achievement

Teams can set goals and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to measure success.

What to Watch Out for When Choosing PM Tool?

With so many project management tools on the market, it's easy to get overwhelmed by long feature lists and flashy marketing. Although all tools aim to organize workflows, their capabilities vary. Focus on what your team truly needs to avoid investing in a tool that might slow you down. Important criteria include:

User-friendliness

The tool should be intuitive and easy to use, even for those without previous experience. A simple interface promotes quicker team adoption and saves training time.

Ease of implementation

Implementing the tool shouldn’t require complex technical steps. Ideally, the software should allow for easy deployment and, if needed, offer assistance with setup or data migration.

Clear dashboard

A well-designed dashboard provides a quick overview of project statuses, tasks, and priorities. It helps teams stay oriented and allows managers to respond to potential issues more quickly.

Picture: ClickUp – dashboard

Picture: Monday.com – dashboard

Picture: Asana – dashboard

Customization options

The ability to tailor the tool to your company needs—custom fields, workflows, colors, access rights, or notifications.

Planning tools

Features like Gantt charts, timelines, or calendars help visualize the different phases of a project and plan tasks in a way that ensures they follow each other efficiently.

Picture: ClickUp – calendar

Picrture: Notion – calendar

Picture: Trello – calendar

Collaboration features

Support for file sharing, real-time communication (chats, comments), and space for team discussions. These features enhance transparency and improve collaboration.

Integration with the applications and platforms your company already uses

The tool should integrate smoothly with systems your company already uses – like Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, CRM tools, or cloud storage.

Reporting and analytics

The ability to generate clear reports on project progress, team workload, deadline fulfillment, or costs. These reports support decision-making and enhance accountability.

Suitability for your company size

Some tools work best for small teams, others can handle complex structures and hundreds of users. Choose according to your current and future team size.

Value for money

Consider what the tool offers vs. its cost, including monthly fees, training costs, add-ons, and hidden charges. The ideal tool saves you time and money in the long run.

You can find additional points to consider when choosing the right project management software in this article.

How to Choose the best Project Management Tool?

Here are six essential steps to help you choose the right project management software. Skipping this process can lead to investing in a tool that lacks scalability, doesn’t support your methodology, or becomes financially unsustainable over time.

1. Define Your Business Needs – Identify Challenges and Limitations

Before you start choosing a project management tool, it’s important to analyze the specific needs of your company. Do you need a cloud-based solution or software installed locally?

Cloud solutions are suitable for teams that work flexibly, collaborate frequently, and need to maintain constant visibility into the progress of their projects. On the other hand, certain highly regulated industries (such as healthcare or finance) may require locally installed software.

Not every project management tool addresses the same problems. That’s why the first step in selecting software should be to clarify which specific challenges you’re trying to solve.

At the same time, it’s important to identify any limitations—such as a set budget, the desired team size, or the need to integrate with other applications.

We therefore recommend clearly defining both the criteria you expect the software to meet, as well as the limitations that will play a role in your selection.

2. Compare Features and Capabilities

Evaluate each tool’s core features, including:

Project planning: timelines, goals, resource allocation
Task management: hierarchy, dependencies, priorities
Automation: notifications, assignments, workflows
Communication: chat, comments, shared boards
Resource management: workload monitoring
Time tracking: work time logs
Budgeting & invoicing: cost tracking, invoice generation
Reporting & analytics: dashboards, metrics, reports
File sharing: centralized document storage

3. Create a Shortlist

Exclude the tools that don’t meet your requirements – this will narrow down your selection to only those that truly make sense.

Once you know what you’re looking for, create a list of the tools you’ve identified as suitable. The size of your company can also be a deciding factor. Focus on tools designed for small, medium, or large businesses.

4. Try Each Application Yourself

Without trying the tool yourself, it’s nearly impossible to make the right decision. Sign up for a free trial – if the software doesn’t offer one, don’t hesitate to request it. If the company refuses to provide it, consider that a red flag.
Evaluate how easy the tool is to use – a complicated interface can actually reduce productivity.
Focus on whether the software meets your needs even in its basic version. It’s not just about add-ons – the core functionality should work flawlessly.

5. Consider Your Team’s Needs

Think about what your team truly needs. Do they value simplicity or advanced features and customization? Consider team size, number of users, and geographical distribution.

If you’re buying the tool for the whole team, get their input. Run a pilot with a small group and gather feedback.

A good tool should match your team’s capabilities and support productivity and collaboration.

6. Set Youur Budget – Justify Your Costs

Budget matters. There are free tools available for small teams, as well as robust solutions for large companies with a matching price tag. Don’t forget to consider long-term costs – some tools may be inexpensive at first but later require paid add-ons.
Implementing new software takes time and money. However, if the tool works well, it can simplify work for you and your entire team and potentially pay for itself in the long run.

Conclusion

Choosing the right project management tool isn’t just about features – it’s a strategic decision that affects your entire team. When you choose well, you’ll gain clarity, efficiency, and better collaboration. Invest the time to choose well – the right PM tool will reward you with completed projects, happy teams, and saved costs.

At Dáváme, we tested everything for you. Here’s a quick comparison of top tools:

Freelo - Ideal for very small projects
ClickUp - Our number one pick, it meets all needs from small businesses to teams of dozens.
Monday.com - Powerful, but requires careful setup
Asana - Used to be our top choice before ClickUp; still solid, but has limitations
Jira - Common project management tool in software development, mainly suitable for large companies, highly robust
Trello - A classic, but more suitable for personal task management than full-scale project management

Still unsure what to choose? No problem. Contact us—we’ll be happy to help you decide.

Interested in a custom solution?

We’ll get in touch with you, review your processes, and show you how successful companies do things. If you're interested, we'll guide you through the next steps and help you with the entire process of your digital transformation.

Tomáš Wiesner CEO | Dáváme s.r.o.