There's only one way to make sure a project pipeline exploding with tasks and deadlines can be handled successfully: planning.
This is why many successful project managers and agencies use resource management software to organize their workflows. These tools are designed to make sure your team has enough time to complete the tasks on their to-do lists.
Resource management software helps you track your team’s calendars, capacity, responsibilities, and deadlines across the agency. And it helps you stay on top of deadlines by highlighting when someone’s calendar is too full (so you can reassign their tasks).
The best tools will track other important parts of a project too, like progress and budget, to help you land the plane safely. 🙌
A simple way of thinking about resource management is that it gives agencies a 10,000-foot view of their entire project pipeline.
Why is it so critical to have that view?
Burnout.
Survey data from a 2020 Limeade report finds that 75% of employees have felt over-worked or exhausted from their day-to-day duties. What started during those early pandemic days has blossomed into a full-on hiring crisis, fueled partly by ongoing burnout.
The same report finds that a staggering 58% of Gen Z employees have switched jobs because of burnout. Improving resource management is more important than ever to ensure everyone has their fair share of work — especially in an agency setting.
Today’s leaders must provide teams with transparency in project delegation so that everyone is accountable for their work. The most powerful way to do so? Resource management software.
Say goodbye to burnout
Maximize your resources by spotting when team members are over capacity, so you can pivot workloads, prevent bottlenecks, and avoid burnout.
Must-have features in resource management software
Admittedly, resource management software is a broad category, which means figuring out which software solution is right for your agency can be challenging. Some options may be missing crucial functionalities, while others could drown you in features you’ll never use.
So, how do you find the sweet spot? 🔍 Look for these four feature sets as a starting place. Together they’ll help you solve the most common resource management problems facing today’s agencies.
Resource allocation and capacity tracking: Assign tasks to team members, track their progress, and see when spots open on their calendars for more tasks.
Built-in scheduling and time tracking: Keep an eye on what everyone is working on and how much time they spend on tasks.
Collaboration tools: Get your team to work together seamlessly with a tool that allows @mentions, in-document collaboration features, and simple document sharing and storing. Also make sure the software integrates well into your existing tech stack.
File storage and organization: Ensure all projects live in one place. As your team collaborates on projects, you need software that acts as a centralized hub where every document or asset needed is within the resource management tool.
Of course, there are so many more features to consider, and you’ll find them in dozens of tools and platforms competing for your attention (and your agency’s business).
To help you narrow down your search, we’ve done the hard work and found 12 of the best options out there for your agency.
Let's take a look!
The 12 best resource management tools
1. Teamwork
Teamwork is a cloud-based project and resource management tool that helps your team work together better.
What does it do?
Teamwork is both project management software and resource management software that’s overflowing with features perfect for agencies of all types and works well with small and large teams.
Inside the platform, team leaders can create detailed task lists, upload project briefs, set deadlines, and assign tasks to team members — all in just a few clicks. The dedicated task management tools allow you to break down projects and see every task and deadline, making it easier to pivot workflows and avoid bottlenecks once work ramps up.
Let’s say you want your team to work on a specific project, for a single client, and for no more than three hours a day. Using Teamwork, you can instantly see if anybody has a schedule conflict or has clocked in more than three hours on specific client tasks each day.
Unique features
Supports a wide range of project management methodologies and handles complex projects with ease
See all available resources so you can allocate the right resources to the right projects
Built-in time tracking and cross-project resource management enhance insights and planning
Pros
Easier to spot bottlenecks and pivot easily by tracking all your resources and capacity
Resource management templates to allow team leaders to create project plans, new client onboarding checklists, and marketing campaigns quickly
Customizable dashboards to help project managers track and reallocate tasks when needed
Tasks can be assigned to one (or multiple) team members and then given a start and end date
Integrates with other scheduling tools in your tech stack (like Google Calendar, Outlook, and Slack)
Cons
Not ideal for teams looking for a free resource management option (with most of its best resource features in paid levels)
Granular settings and subtask options might not be for everyone (could be overkill for small, simple projects)
Pricing
You can use Teamwork for free with up to five users, two projects, and 100MB of storage. Larger teams can choose from different leveled plans that’ll fit their needs. Common plans are $10 and $18 per user per month, and custom scale-based pricing is available.
Interested in learning more about what Teamwork has to offer? See why Teamwork is perfect for resource management, or if you want to take the software for a test run, sign up for a 30-day free trial here!
2. Hub Planner
Hub Planner is a resource management tool that combines resource scheduling, timesheets, and vacation requests in one place.
What does it do?
Aimed at enterprise businesses, Hub Planner is resource management software that allows you to track your team's workloads easily. Using the dashboard, teams can move and reassign tasks quickly using a drag-and-drop tool.
Hub Planner’s reporting features are also worth checking out. Thanks to a combination of real-time analytics, metric calculators, and heat maps, team leaders can see what their team is up to and spot any gaps in a workflow before bottlenecks develop.
Unique features
Powerful (though complex to learn and use) reporting features are a cut above the rest
Built-in timesheet and vacation tracking
Project budget calculator, valuable for project managers doing their own billing and budgeting
Pros
Simple and easy-to-use interface that has a drag and drop tool
Integrated timesheets for billable hour projects
Team members can make vacation requests and block out their calendars
Cons
Reporting is difficult to use.
Users can’t track the status of projects (not a full project management solution).
Most enterprise orgs already have an integrated timekeeping and time-off request system in place
Pricing
Hub Planner doesn’t offer a free software tier. Its basic plan costs $7 per user per month, while its premium plan is $18 per user per month. Custom enterprise plans are also available.
3. Paymo
Paymo is a lightweight task management app with some features that help with resource management, including Team Collaboration and Team Scheduling functions.
What does it do?
Paymo helps teams control their schedules. Using the primarily Kanban-style view or the simple calendar, people and projects can be scheduled weekly or monthly, depending on capacity.
The app breaks down each team member's schedule based on what tasks are allocated to specific projects, and the added color-coding feature makes it easy to visualize workloads. Paymo can also estimate future resource demand based on current project pipelines and automatically set up ghost bookings to help you prepare for upcoming jobs.
Unique features
Real-time task comments, allowing teams to center online communication on tasks, not teams or channels
Dedicated space for design proofing and file sharing is attractive to many agencies
Online billing, estimates, invoicing, and expense tracking
Pros
Resource capacity tracking for people, tasks, and projects
Timesheets track estimated vs. actual billable/non-billable hours
Drag-and-drop feature to quickly build schedules
Cons
No advanced task management features on the free plan
Advanced project management tools (Gantt charts, dependencies) only available in pricey premium tier
Pricing
Free and Starter ($4.95 per month) plans limited to one user; The Small Office plan, $9.95 per user per month, gets you most of Paymo’s functionality. Business plan adds in advanced features like Gantt charts and dependencies at $20.79 per user per month.
4. Float
Float is a simple resource management software used by teams like MetaLab and BuzzFeed to manage their schedules.
What does it do?
Float is one of the only tools on our list that is exclusively a resource management tool. Even better, Float integrates fully with Teamwork!
In the tool's dashboard, tasks and projects can be tied to budgets and tracked automatically based on billable and non-billable hours. Project managers can also label tasks as tentative to block space on a team member's calendar and confirm them once they know the project is going ahead.
Once a task is finished, team members can mark it as complete so project managers know exactly what work is getting done. Plus, schedules can be zoomed out and built 12 weeks ahead to help with planning.
Unique features
Specific focus on resource management, where other apps are casting a wider net
Tagging individuals according to skills and capabilities so you can always see who’s qualified for which tasks
Multi-project view to visualize competing milestones and overlap (but not in a full project management fashion — like Teamwork)
Pros
Can move tasks around using a drag-and-drop tool, or even them split in half to make scheduling easier
Time logs to track scheduled and logged hours
Can change capacity management to match individual employee circumstances
Integrates with Teamwork
Cons
Strictly a resource management tool compared to some others
Time-tracking feature is an extra cost
Pricing
Basic resource planning starts at $6 per user per month. Adding time tracking bumps the per-user monthly cost up to $10, and there’s another $6 add-on package that adds advanced management controls.
5. Saviom
Saviom is a resource management tool used by mega-corps like Fujitsu and Rabobank to organize their teams.
What does it do?
Saviom is a (slightly dated) resource management tool aimed at larger companies looking to make the jump from using spreadsheets.
Geared towards businesses in fields like accounting, law, and construction, Saviom can forecast capacity versus demand based on role, department, team, and even skill sets. This data allows project managers to predict future resource shortages and put a plan into place.
It also tracks billable and non-billable hours and the time your team spends on admin tasks and vacations to give you a realistic view of every person’s schedule.
Unique features
Extremely powerful and highly configurable (if you have the IT staff to handle it)
Real-time business intelligence capabilities go beyond most apps on this list
Pros
Drag-and-drop, split and reallocate tasks on a schedule in a couple of clicks
Customizable tool to fit into existing workflows
Individual employee profiles (e.g. full-time, part-time, skillset) for more accurate planning
Cons
UI is super old-school and not visually appealing
Clearly aimed at a less creative market of much larger companies
Pricing is not transparent (and it's expensive, according to some reviewers)
Pricing
Saviom requires users to buy a license to access its software, and quote-based prices are only available by contacting the company.
6. Teamdeck
Teamdeck helps businesses schedule resources, keep timesheets, and manage vacations all under one roof.
What does it do?
Teamdeck made our list for best resource management tools because it's responsive to a project manager's needs.
It's super easy to create project schedules and manage task deadlines, and team leaders get automatic notifications if someone's calendar is overloaded. It also tracks budgets, making it simple to compare estimates with actual costs once a project kicks off so you don't go over.
The leave management feature is also handy and saves paying for another tool as teams can view and manage vacations and sick leave. And for part-time or contracted employees, project managers can see daily and even hourly availability. This level of visibility can be a big help with future planning and estimates.
Unique features
Resource scheduling
Time tracking and timesheet management
Custom reporting with report templates
Pros
Timesheets and time tracking to log billable/non-billable hours accurately
Lets users visualize and forecast employee availability down to days and hours
Integrates with tools like Slack and Podio as well as offering open API
Cons
Can’t export reports into PDF files
Can't tag certain hours as out-of-hours if someone is working outside a normal timeframe
No Enterprise plan for larger teams
Pricing
Pricing is surprisingly affordable: $3.60 per user per month for the full experience, plus $0.90 per month per Basic Resource (for contractors and others who don’t need to personally use the system).
7. Silverbucket
Silverbucket is a resource management tool used by engineering, architecture, and IT teams to manage projects.
What does it do?
Silverbucket is a straightforward platform that gives detailed breakdowns of assigned tasks and availability.
Silverbucket uses a simple color-coded system so managers can figure out how full their team members’ schedules are. If the box is green, a person has space. If it's red, then their calendar is already full. Other features like skill set filters and project risk management allow team leaders to create project timelines with confidence that they have enough people to deliver it on schedule.
Unique features
Competency tracking with skill maps
Robust forecasting and reporting options
Pros
Color-coded charts make resource management visually simple
Simple UI means less learning curve
Multiple API and integration options
Cons
No mobile app
Lacks cost forecasting features
Pricing
Silverbucket offers its platform for 7.5 € per user per month.
8. Runn
Runn is a visually rich resource management platform that offers synced, real-time information for planning, tracking, and forecasting.
What does it do?
Runn is a powerful resource management platform that heavily emphasizes visualizing project and resource data. It’s a deep platform that offers capabilities across resource scheduling, capacity management, project planning, project forecasting, timesheets, and more. It’s also well integrated and has a full API.
Unique features
Visual dashboard is informative (and beautiful)
Tools for viewing the big picture and the fine details
Forecasting tools are a nice addition not offered by many competitors
Pros
Cloud-based scheduler keeps organizations synced regardless of location
Clean, easy-to-use interface lets you find what you need quickly
Cons
No mobile apps
Some users have had issues with getting reports and permission levels set up properly
Pricing
Runn offers a free tier for up to five people. After that, it’s $10 per person managed per month, or contact the company for enterprise pricing. Of note, Runn offers a 50% discount for nonprofits and businesses located in low-to middle-income countries.
9) Toggl Plan
Toggl Plan seeks to bring clarity to teams, workloads, and projects, helping organizations deliver on time and keep their staff sane.
What does it do?
Toggl Plan is built for consultancies, creative agencies, and implementation teams. It helps them organize and plan workloads and projects, offering a trio of functions to do so: project planning, resource planning, and task management.
The drag-and-drop interface easily supports multiple projects and gives high-level insight into how the projects progress.
Unique features
Work Timeline view to show team and team member capacity
Color-coded timelines keep projects and resources straight
Pros
Easy to understand
Estimating tools that work alongside task creation
Cons
Charges extra for the ability to export data
Built-in storage size limits may not be ideal for creatives
Pricing
Toggl Plan’s Team package is $8 per user per month. Adding guest users, project data exports, and priority support will cost you $13.35 per user per month.
10) Forecast
Forecast is a project operations platform that includes resource management in its broad umbrella of AI-powered tools.
What does it do?
Billed as an “AI-native platform,” Forecast positions itself as the most intelligent project operations platform on the market. Its AI-powered project planning tools can build a rough project schedule in seconds, leaving your project managers to tweak and refine rather than build out the entire schedule.
Forecast is extremely well integrated and offers a broad range of services and features. It’s a very powerful platform — that comes at a very steep cost.
Unique features
Lets users build out a project schedule in seconds with AI-powered project planner
AI-driven timesheet suggestions to reduce the time your team spends logging time
Pros
AI-powered project planning is deeply impressive
Gain big-picture insights, in-depth analysis, and everything in between
Cons
Extremely wide-ranging abilities usually mean a steep learning curve
Price and design mean it’s all or nothing
Pricing
Forecast isn’t for the faint of heart: it's “Lite” plan is $29 per user per month, while the Pro plan bumps up to $49.
11) Birdview PSA
Birdview PSA, an Easy Projects product, is professional services automation (PSA) for service delivery teams and includes a resource management and resource forecasting module.
What does it do?
This PSA application may not be a perfect fit for every agency, but if you’d benefit from a broader platform that includes much more than just resource management (project intake, project planning, billing, and reporting), Birdview PSA is worth a look. It serves as a single source of truth across all those functions.
As far as proper resource management, Birdview helps you forecast and avoid bottlenecks with a resource allocation dashboard that tracks people, projects, and activities.
Unique features
A full suite of professional services automation tools
Visually rich interface providing deep data insights
Pros
Integrates with over 2,000 business tools
Very strong onboarding and technical support
Cons
Resource management isn’t the core of what they do; seems almost like an afterthought
Too much software if resource management is what you’re after
Pricing
Birdview PSA costs $37.75 per user per month.
12) Celoxis
Celoxis is a complete and flexible project portfolio management software suite that combines traditional and modern agile approaches and adds a fair amount of workflow automation.
What does it do?
Celoxis is a wide-ranging project portfolio management solution designed primarily for enterprise users (though certainly functional for agencies, too). Project planning, project accounting, and portfolio management are all here in addition to a robust resource management function.
Within resource management, you can assign resources based on availability, demand level, or appropriate skills. You can set holidays and exceptions and do broader capacity planning, including across multiple locations.
Unique features
Instant overload alerts
Ability to categorize resources by skill and demand
Powerful suite of tools alongside resource management functions
Pros
Equally comfortable with classic project management approaches and modern, agile ones
Resources taggable by skills and demand
Detects resource conflicts automatically and in real time
Cons
Some users have run into limitations in flexibility of tracking or visualizations
Difficult to extract data from the platform should you choose to move on
Pricing
Celoxis offers a cloud per-user service at $22.50 per month. There’s also a one-time on-premise option that starts at $450 but requires a custom quote.
So, which resource management software will you choose?
We’ve covered 12 of the best resource management software solutions on the market, and now there’s just one question left: Which one will you choose?
For agencies like yours, Teamwork is the smart resource planning tool that understands your needs. ✅ It’s user-friendly and capable, but it’s not overwhelming to learn like some of the broader platforms on the list.
Bye-bye burnout and hello efficiency
See who has capacity to take on more work, quickly assign tasks to the right people, and ensure no one is overburdened. Get a holistic view into your team's workload with Teamwork.com.
With Teamwork as your resource management solution, you can balance out resource utilization, spot bottlenecks before they choke your workflows, and optimize profitability.
Ready to experience resource management done right for agencies? Try Teamwork today for free.
