The 10 Most Optimized SaaS Tools for Remote Workers – MUO – MakeUseOf
There are a lot of great SaaS tools out there for remote workers, but here are some of the best ones for productivity and effectiveness.
It's easy to get overwhelmed with work as a remote worker, especially when you don't employ optimized SaaS tools to manage your workload. These tools increase your efficiency and can alleviate pressure from work.
The good news is that many of these SaaS tools are free to use, and while there are paid versions for some, they're relatively affordable. With these tools, you become more flexible with work, spend less, and optimize your data's security. Let's get into it.
Software as a Service, often called SaaS, is a cloud-based software delivery model whereby cloud providers host applications provided to users over the internet on a pay-as-you-go basis. SaaS is one of the three main categories of cloud computing. Unlike Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS), the other two categories, SaaS is often employed by IT users, business owners, and personal users.
This article will guide you through ten of the best SaaS tools you will find useful as a remote worker. Utilizing them will lead to efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness.
Google Meet is a fantastic tool connecting you with your colleagues working from different locations and time zones. As a video conferencing tool, it's a great way to collaborate and maintain in-person relationships. Using Google Meet is easy; the user interface is straightforward. You can share your screen with other participants in a meeting, allowing everyone to receive first-hand reports from employees or colleagues.
Hosting your meetings on Google Meet makes it more qualitative. Furthermore, its optimized work environment makes it easy to find solutions to potential bottlenecks and problems that threaten your work's progress and that of your employers.
As a remote worker, communication is important. While you may already know a few tips on managing remote teams, communicating changes, problems, and progress is essential to the team's success.
Asana eradicates any guesswork as it actively encourages team communication and collaboration. If you want to stay up to date on contributions, get necessary stakeholder approvals, be accountable and efficient in hitting deadlines, and manage your teamwork and progress, then you should explore Asana.
Bit.ai is a document collaboration platform for team members, irrespective of where they do. It's integrative, collaborative, and effective in internal and external communications. You can create documents containing text, images, videos, cloud files, and music files embedded in them using this tool.
Additionally, Bit.ai can be integrated with other apps such as Google Drive and Spotify, giving you various opportunities to live chat, collaborate, and discuss projects. These features are invaluable to remote workers, and you should probably add this tool to your work arsenal ASAP.
Proofhub is project management software that enables you to access the tools your team needs easily. If you are a remote worker who works in teams more often than not, then Proofhub is one of the perfect SaaS tools for your workflow.
You can use this software application to work collectively on projects, deliver project results on time, and ensure team accountability. You can explore Proofhub in a way that allows you to work on projects collectively, thereby gaining from the expertise of your colleagues.
Trello's boards, lists, and cards help professionals transform creative ideas into concrete actions. Similar to Proofhub, Trello brings projects to life and keeps them going.
It's a software application that improves team bonding by encouraging team members to brainstorm on project planning collectively. If you work remotely but enjoy the feel of an in-person office environment/workspace, you should try out Trello.
Slack is a tool built to manage remote workers' pressure since the sudden shift to remote work for many organizations. It's a channel-based messaging platform that organizes your work in specific, custom-built patterns, improving remote work efficiency.
You can use Slack to create specific channels for various topics, and these channels can have a consistent naming convention, which makes them easy to find and utilize. For instance, you can create a "Help" channel, a "Team" channel, a "Project" channel, and others, depending on your virtual workspace needs. You can also integrate Slack with Gmail and Google Drive, further optimizing your workflow process.
Microsoft Teams enables remote workers to actively work with other team members, stakeholders, and clients. This tool is a fantastic blend of features that allows you to use chat rooms, videos, and audio for efficient communication and collaboration.
This tool enables you to speed up your assessment through its project collaboration features. Additionally, you can create and share reports seamlessly through the Microsoft report template, schedule meetings in Microsoft Teams, and add personal notes on the app.
Mockplus is a design tool that enables designers to meet and graphically convey their ideas to one another. If you're a designer who works remotely and frequently collaborates with other designers and team members, you probably should be using Mockplus already.
It's not enough to speak about your design; you must display them. So, with Mockplus, you can discuss ideas with your team members and visualize them. This way, you can make necessary adjustments promptly and work efficiently.
Zoom is the biggest video-conferencing tool most organizations and businesses use today, as it's an excellent hosting platform for small and large meetings. Optimizing your workday with a few meetings, chats with colleagues, and training can be productive as a remote worker.
On Zoom, you can easily share your screen during meetings, break into smaller rooms and accommodate as many team members as possible. Even though it has so many useful features, it's also free and can accommodate most of your needs.
Loom is a great remote working app that brings the digital workspace to life. With it, you can see and hear team members giving presentations.
Conversely, you can use Loom to give or get optimized feedback. The software application can capture an individual's mood, facial expression, and body language, useful tips that can help you improve your verbal communication skills.
You must be familiar with tools to ease your work processes as a remote worker. The tools discussed above will help you stay organized, hit targets, and stay on track to meet work deadlines.
As such, your productivity and work-life balance will improve. All you have to do is perfect your way around these SaaS tools and watch how much progress you will make within a short time.
Raji Oluwaniyi is a multifaceted content writer with a penchant for research, writing, and editing a wide range of content with minimal oversight. As a Top Rated Freelancer, he has three years of experience writing tech-related and career-focused content for companies like Career Karma and Test Gorilla. Currently, he is a Work and Career section writer at MakeUseOf. As such, he looks forward to impacting a wide audience through his value-oriented and engaging approach to content writing.
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Kashoo Review 2022: Pricing, Pros & Cons – Forbes Advisor – Forbes
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Updated: Aug 29, 2022, 7:31pm
Kashoo is a cloud-based accounting system for small businesses that want to manage their accounts on their own. You can thus, create professional invoices, manage expenses, track transactions, process payroll, generate reports and perform other accounting tasks on any device. Kashoo has different plans that can grow with your business.
Read our Kashoo Review to find out if it’s the best accounting software for your business.
For more than 10 years, Kashoo has helped small businesses manage their accounts. The software is easy to use as it focuses on simplifying accounting for small business owners so they won’t require professional assistance.
Kashoo offers three plans:
Trulysmall.invoices is an invoicing tool for small businesses that want to send invoices and track and receive payments. At zero cost, you can request payments and see who hasn’t paid.
Next up is Kashoo’s Trulysmall.accounting for automated income and expenses tracking. When you pay the required $20 per month, you’ll get a double-entry accounting solution for downloading bank transactions, tracking income and expenses, sending invoices, accepting payments and running essential accounting reports.
For advanced accounting, which includes detailed reporting, project cost tracking, customization options and the opportunity to collaborate with an accountant or bookkeeper, you’ll need Kashoo, which costs $30 per month. Connecting Kashoo to your accounts means you’ll access all benefits of Trulysmall.invoices and Trulysmall.accounting and additional features, such as payroll processing, bank reconciliation, advance reporting and connection with multiple accounts and feeds.
Kashoo is fully encrypted and thus, protects you from financial fraud. It allows unlimited users without extra costs, and you can connect with more than 5,000 banks and credit unions to make several transactions using multiple currencies. You can send payment links with invoices, automate bank transactions and access up to 90 days’ worth of data on the automatic bank feed tool.
Below are a few perks of choosing Kashoo accounting software:
Kashoo is quite limited in its functionality There are no advanced features, such as time tracking, workflow management, document management and inventory tools, that its competitors offer. Plus, it only integrates with a handful of third-party apps. Also, Kashoo boasts accommodating multiple currencies, but the functionality isn’t compatible with its mobile accounting app.![]()
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Regarding pricing, Kashoo and Wave are your go-to options, with Kashoo offering a free invoicing plan and Wave being entirely free. However, their features are limited. For example, QuickBooks Online offers features, such as time-tracking and document management, and opens up a customer portal, but Kashoo and Wave offer none of those to their users.
However, if you’re still in doubt about which of these three providers is right for your business, Kashoo and QuickBooks Online offer trial periods, and Wave comes free of charge, so you can check them out for yourself.
Kashoo was designed for startups and freelancers who want simple accounting software. While Kashoo has tiers that consider your business growth, its features remain limited, and it integrates with only a handful of third-party tools. So, if you’re looking for a more detailed accounting solution, you should explore other options.
The best accounting software programs all provide similar features, so when considering which one is best for your business, you need to consider which features are the most important to your situation. This will help you decide which accounting software meets your needs best. Certain software is best for actions like accounts payable (A/P) and banking and cash management while others are geared more for retail companies, offering cost tracking, inventory management and collecting and submitting sales tax. Other features you may want to consider include whether the software has a mobile app, how good its customer service is and how well it does with accounts receivable (A/R) and financial reporting.
Kashoo has a free invoicing plan. However, you’ll need to subscribe to any of its two paid plans to enjoy other accounting features.
Yes, you can have as many users as you want, without extra charge. For additional businesses, you’ll need to add to your subscription. Kashoo requests that you reach out to its service agents if you want to add more than five businesses.
Kashoo is pretty secure, so there’s no need to worry about losing or exposing your financial information. Kashoo uses 256-bit secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption to back up your data and protect against unauthorized user access.
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15 Best Project Management Apps in September 2022 – Cheap Deals – Business 2 Community
15 Best Project Management Apps in September 2022 – Cheap Deals Business 2 Community
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Best Free Document Management Software 2022 [Simple & Free] – Cloudwards
If you want to save cash, but need a reliable space to store and manage documents, join us as we share some of the best free options available in the world of document management systems.
If you need a digital home for all your documents but don’t want to splash the cash, we’re going to share with you the best free document management software around. Just because they’re free doesn’t mean they’re not up to par. We would happily use all the services we recommend ourselves.
Of course, any service that’s free comes with limitations. If you’re a medium-to-large-sized business looking for an all-singing, all-dancing document management software, the options below may not be enough.
However, if you’re a personal user or a small company looking to effectively manage your digital “paperwork,” the selection below will help you keep your documents in order.
For ease of use, features and versatility, OpenDocMan is the best free DMS.
Yes. OpenDocMan offers a free version. However, paid plans are also available.
We believe Egnyte is the best overall document control software. Read our full Egnyte review.
Open source software is free-to-use source code that gives users the ability to modify and redistribute the code, often to improve the software.
The best free document management software offers as many quality features as possible, without asking for your money. Despite being free, we still expect to see an industry standard level of security, a well-designed platform and basic document management features like search and organization functionality.
These products offer many key features one would want to manage documents. The open source options outdo private companies offering free plans, but even they have features that are ideal for certain users. Read our document management best practices to learn how to make the most of each feature.
All the options below offer a full, long-lasting free plan. While many services offer free trials, they typically only last up to one month. With the selections below, you can trust you’ll have a free account for as long as the service is active.
More details about OpenDocMan:
Pros:
Cons:
OpenDocMan is one of the few open-source document management solutions available, and is a popular choice within the open-source community.
You can add custom metadata-like tags to categorize documents, making it easier to search for a particular document. It’s also possible to create temporary documents that will be deleted on the expiration date of your choice.
The user interface looks better placed on Web 1.0 due to its outdated design. However, if you prioritize functionality over form, you won’t be too concerned with how the platform looks as it works well.
File versioning is available, and users can access any and all revisions made on a specific document. You can also add decision makers who are authorized to review and accept new or edited documents.
Users can set up automated emails each time a document is created, viewed or edited. Moreover, users can set automatic file expirations. Such automations put OpenDocMan on par with paid services.
In the free market space, OpenDocMan is certainly the leading option for those working with digital documents. It comes with many of the key features we look for in a leading DMS, and despite the dated design, it functions extremely well and will give you most of what you need.
More details about OpenKM:
Pros:
Cons:
The OpenKM document management software is fantastic for managing documents. It comes with automations that make life easier. Automations include but aren’t limited to automated file transformations (to change Word documents to PDFs), automatic file security and automated file movement based on the file description and metadata.
Other features include digital signatures, file versioning, reporting and a built-in task manager. These features make OpenKM more of a workstation with a DMS built into it, something that helps users manage all areas of their business.
Optical character recognition (OCR) allows you to edit and search data from paper documents, PDF documents and images. Users need to take a photo of the document and upload it to OpenKM. OCR technology scans the document and makes it possible to edit and search for it inside the DMS.
OpenKM is one of the best free document management systems available. It may take a little time to grasp, and the training tools could be better, but once you get used to it, it will function as a highly reliable document management system.
More details about OnlyOffice:
Pros:
Cons:
Developed by Ascensio System SIA, OnlyOffice is a free-to-use service that can serve as a DMS and workstation. The platform is an open solution, which often leads to a better product, more flexibility and improved security. You also don’t have to worry about a private company having the ability to snoop around your documents (we see you, OneDrive and Google.)
In terms of functionality, OnlyOffice has a built-in document creator that lets you create Word documents, forms and spreadsheets, as well as audio and video files. It’s extremely basic, and personal users on the free plan don’t have access to document templates like those on a paid subscription.
OnlyOffice is only free for personal use. If you work in a team, you’ll need to look elsewhere or try one of the paid plans. The free version is a bare-bones document management system, so it may not be enough for users with a specific set of needs.
OnlyOffice lets you integrate an external cloud storage solution like Dropbox (read our full Dropbox review) with the platform, letting you access documents and other file types without taking up any of your free 2GB storage space.
We feel OnlyOffice could offer a little more than the bare bones of a space to store and create documents. It’s a good option for anyone who doesn’t want to use mainstream services; however, with only 2GB of space, you may need to use them anyway.
More details about Hightail:
Pros:
Cons:
Like OnlyOffice, Hightail is limited as to what it can do when compared to a paid service. The free Lite plan offers only 2GB of storage and 100MB file-upload sizes. However, we like its usability and some of its unique features.
With regard to DMS features, Hightail enables you to create documents, file them in unique projects and share files with others. While the platform does have more intelligent features to organize documents, most of them are only available on the paid plans, which lets the free service down.
Although this article is predominantly targeting users looking for a space for documents, we would be remiss not to mention some of Hightail’s better features that pertain to video and images.
In addition to documents, you can upload videos and photos to your space, and the impressive part is that you can highlight specific sections of a video or image and leave real-time comments for another team member.
Those looking for a standard document management system that offers templates galore and helps you track your critical business documents should go with a different option. However, for those who want a little bit of everything, Hightail is worth your consideration.
More details about Confluence:
Pros:
Cons:
Confluence is a document management software that provides a space for small teams to create and store documents that pertain to specific projects.
There’s a basic word processor where you can create original documents, or if you’re looking for something specific — like a performance chart — you can select from the many templates available inside the platform. There’s also a search bar that allows you to easily locate specific documents.
The free Confluence plan allows for up to 10 members, all of whom can contribute documents to the space you create. As a group you share the 2GB of cloud storage, so this service is only suitable for light use.
Confluence has made it possible to integrate third-party apps into the service. Users can integrate Google Drive (read our full Google Drive review). This allows users to embed Google Docs and Drive files directly into content created within Confluence.
Confluence lacks many of the smart and organizational features you’d get with a premium document management system, but remember, it’s free.
With that in mind, we believe the platform has created something that has enough character to entice those on a low (or no) existing budget. With the addition of the app integrations, what we have is a more than capable document management system.
Finding the best free electronic document management system isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. Just because you’re not handing over your cash doesn’t mean you have to settle for less in terms of the features available — and we believe the selection above proves that.
For us, OpenDocMan and OpenKM are the perfect free options. They both offer intelligent automations, and they have fantastic search and categorization functionality. If they were to update their UI designs, they’d be close to offering the perfect DMS.
The other options, although a little thin on features, will also help you keep your documents in order, while offering some cool features to give you a better user experience. Either way, whichever service you choose, we’re confident none of them will let you down.
While still at it, read our document management vs content management guide to learn how they differ.
Which free DMS do you use? What do you think is the best option out of the selection above? Is there a DMS you would like us to review? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading.
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Canopy Enhances Accounting Practice Management Suite with New Workflow Automation – Business Wire
Canopy Workflow introduces new industry-leading automation to streamline and simplify workflow processes for accounting firms
DRAPER, Utah–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Canopy, the leading cloud-based practice management platform for accounting professionals, today announced the availability of new automation enhancements to its Workflow software. Canopy’s Workflow automation helps firms streamline the delivery of accounting services by reducing manual, repetitive processes leading to increased efficiency and accuracy.
By incorporating automation across accounting firms’ workflows, professionals have better visibility of their processes, optimize their time to get more done, and are able to use the time saved to focus on higher-value and more profitable efforts. The robust capabilities of Workflow automation are also extremely effective as a holistic practice management solution, working across the firm to ensure information is retained and the user experience is simplified.
“As accounting firms grow, they experience more complex workflows due to more clients, more internal staff, more projects, and ever-changing regulations. Managing these complexities can be time-consuming, but these new features make that experience significantly easier for firms,” said Larry Furr, Chief Product Officer, Canopy. “These updates are part of our continuous endeavor to make accounting processes as easy as possible for professionals in the industry. Workflow automation will drastically reduce time spent on a myriad of tasks and is built directly within the Canopy Practice Management suite.”
Automation
These new enhancements improve the experience of Canopy’s Workflow by allowing professionals to set automated rules for tasks based on conditions and the desired action. For example, workflow users can choose to assign a team member a specific task directly after a previous subtask has been marked as complete, helping ensure staff only see tasks they are able to work on.
Additionally, these updates will:
About Canopy
Canopy is an award-winning, cloud-based accounting practice management software suite designed to increase efficiency and boost revenue for accounting firms. It offers tools for client management, document management, workflow, and time & billing, as well as specialty compliance solutions that help accountants obtain IRS transcripts and resolve notices quickly. Canopy was ranked by Capterra as the #1 Top Performing Accounting Practice Management Software in 2022 and included in The Women’s Tech Council’s 2022 Shatter list, highlighting Canopy’s inclusive and diverse culture of innovation and well-being. Canopy’s solutions are SOC2 certified and data encrypted to ensure personal information is secure. Connect with us @CanopyTax and https://www.getcanopy.com/.
Jenny Olson
mPR, Inc. for Canopy
310-773-2568
jenny@mpublicrelations.com
Jenny Olson
mPR, Inc. for Canopy
310-773-2568
jenny@mpublicrelations.com
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M-Files Earns 2022 Top Rated Distinction for Enterprise Content Management Software & Document Management Software by TrustRadius – Business Wire
Metadata-Driven Document Management Platform Praised by Customers for ROI, Ease of Use & Workflow Automation
AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–M-Files, a global leader in information management, today announced that the company has earned 2022 Top Rated awards for Enterprise Content Management Software and Document Management Software by TrustRadius. M-Files’ metadata-driven document management platform was praised by customers for its ability to simplify document-intensive tasks, minimize human error, and streamline processes. TrustRadius reviewers rated M-Files highest for product scalability (10), availability (9.1) and performance (9.1).
“As a global leader in information management, we are proud to once again be recognized by TrustRadius for our metadata-driven document management platform,” said Julian Cook, chief customer officer, M-Files. “Our mission is to help global enterprises manage and secure the ever-increasing amount of data brought on by digital transformation. Being recognized as a top-rated enterprise across content management and document management further signifies our commitment to delivering a best-in-class customer experience.”
M-Files seamlessly connects people with the content that they need, when they need it, regardless of where it is stored. The platform enables knowledge workers to quickly and easily find information, automate business processes, and enforce information control. With M-Files, businesses gain a leading edge by delivering better customer experiences and higher-quality work, with lower risk.
“M-Files has won two Top Rated awards in the Enterprise Content Management and Document Management software categories,” said Megan Headley, VP of research, TrustRadius. “These awards are based entirely on feedback from M-Files’ customers. Reviews on TrustRadius highlight improved data security, excellent availability and the ability to access their documents quickly.”
Since 2016, the TrustRadius Top Rated awards have become the B2B’s industry standard for unbiased recognition of technology products. As of May 11, 2022, M-Files reviews on TrustRadius include the below testimonials:
“M-Files delivers unmatched search and access management capabilities. M-Files is in my experience the absolute best document management system currently in existence. It allows for extreme flexibility to suit the needs of any organization, especially in access management. I have never seen a system other than M-Files that delivers the same functionality in document search and access management.” — Information & Technology Services Company [read the full review].
“M-Files as a metadata machine and efficiency producer. In our business, it is important to manage document access. In M-Files we may rather easily build processes around the engagement…and then store all the necessary documents under the engagement, and have the access and rights to be a heritage from the engagement level automatically.” — Management Consulting Company [read the full review].
“Measurable time savings enabled by document and information management with M-Files. MPS has been working with M-Files since 2012 and has realized significant improvements in information and document management. M-Files’ best-in-class document management functionalities have enabled more efficient work, freed up employees’ time to serve customers, and increased data security.” — MPS Enterprises [read the full review].
To learn more about the M-Files metadata-driven document management platform, visit www.m-files.com.
About M-Files
M-Files is a global leader in information management. The M-Files metadata-driven document management platform enables knowledge workers to instantly find the right information in any context, automate business processes, and enforce information control. This provides businesses with a competitive advantage and substantial ROI as they deliver better customer experiences and higher-quality work with lower risk. For more information, visit www.m-files.com.
Media:
Debra Dekelbaum, M-Files
debra.dekelbaum@m-files.com
+1 (972) 516-4210, ext. 272
Maryellen Sartori, fama PR
M-Files@famapr.com
Media:
Debra Dekelbaum, M-Files
debra.dekelbaum@m-files.com
+1 (972) 516-4210, ext. 272
Maryellen Sartori, fama PR
M-Files@famapr.com
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Best Construction Project Management Software 2022 – Forbes Advisor – Forbes
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What is the benefit of a cloud-based document management system? – Wolters Kluwer
About Wolters Kluwer
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Consider the following scenarios:
In each of these situations, a cloud-based document management system can prove to be an essential part of your firm’s tech stack. The anywhere, anytime access such a system provides doesn’t just allow your staff more flexibility; it creates a more accurate, consistent product and facilitates a better client experience.
Whether your goal is to grow by adding new services, retaining 100% of your current clients, or simply finding ways to help yourself and your staff practice better work-life balance, the right document management system is a valuable tool to help you get there.
Many firms are moving to CCH iFirm Document Vault and Client Portal with digital signatures. Feedback from our clients who have undertaken their own research of many offerings on the market is that CCH iFirm is the preferred choice when it came to functionality, efficiency gains, productivity, and cost.
CCH iFirm Document Vault is a dynamic, integrated, cloud-based document management solution, built for the CCH iFirm eco-system, enabling integration with Contacts, Jobs, Client Portal, Intranet and MS Office apps. Enabling seamless digital document flows with your colleagues and clients, CCH iFirm Document Vault improves efficiency and promotes collaboration between colleagues and clients.
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Access Announces Four New Acquisitions in Canada: Extends its Coast-to-Coast Presence to More than 60 Markets – GlobeNewswire
January 29, 2020 09:00 ET | Source: Access Corp. Access Corp.
Woburn, Massachusetts, UNITED STATES
TORONTO, Jan. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Access, the world’s largest privately-held records and information management (RIM) services provider, today announced its continued push to serve Canada from coast to coast with the latest acquisitions of Command Records Management (London, Ontario), Shredder’s, Inc. (Halifax, Nova Scotia), Access Records & Media Management (Victoria, British Columbia) and Butler Box & Storage, Inc. (Vancouver, British Columbia). In 2019, Access acquired a total of six companies in Canada.
With these new acquisitions, Access now offers a deep and broad portfolio of information governance and information management solutions in more than 60 Canadian markets. Operating coast-to-coast in Canada, Access serves most major cities and surrounding areas including Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, Halifax, and St. John’s.
“The need for information governance, data protection, and records management has never been greater, as digital data grows exponentially and most companies still operate using paper documents,” said Chad Bevington, Access’ Executive Vice President for Canada. “For those doing business in Canada, we’ve got you covered. Our complete information lifecycle solution includes safe, secure, and efficient offsite storage, document management software, secure destruction, and IG (information governance) consulting capabilities. We help clients reduce their risk and operate more efficiently.”
Bevington continued, “Access’ mission is to advance how the world manages information with the very best service. As we roll out our brand and solutions across Canada, we are excited to share our partnership approach and innovative thinking with our Canadian clients and with prospective clients. Our website, www.accesscorp.com is a great resource for those looking to learn more about information management and Access’ full suite of services, expertise, and technologies.”
Access now has more than 300 team members across Canada, operates more than 30 records centres and has more than 120 vehicles with the Access logo. All told, Access has acquired and integrated 14 separate companies in Canada in the past two years, establishing a strong foundation for its continued growth and investment.
About Access
Access is the largest privately-held records and information management services provider world wide, with operations across the United States, Canada, Central America and South America. Access provides transformative services, expertise, and technologies to make organizations more efficient and more compliant. Access helps companies manage and activate their critical business information through offsite storage and information governance services, scanning and digital transformation solutions, document management software including CartaHR, CartaDC, and CartaDC Essentials, and secure destruction services. For 11 consecutive years, Access has been named to the Inc. 5000, the ranking of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. For more information visit https://www.accesscorp.com.
For more media information, contact:
Lisa Hendrickson/LCH Communications for Access
516-767-8390
lisa@lchcommunications.com
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A Beginner's Guide to Project Integration Management – The Motley Fool
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by Maricel Rivera | Updated Aug. 5, 2022 – First published on May 18, 2022
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Project management involves many moving parts, and project managers must apply an assortment of knowledge, project management tools, techniques, and skills to deliver projects according to specifications.
So that new project managers don’t get overwhelmed by the extent of the knowledge they must have to fully understand their many responsibilities, the Project Management Institute (PMI), through the PMBOK Guide (A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge) — a collection of standardized project management guidelines, best practices, and terminology — has divided project management into 10 knowledge areas, specifically:
In this guide, we’ll talk about project integration management, which is a key project management basics component, the phases or processes involved, and some of the best project management software options to consider for your integration management plan.
Project integration management brings together all of the different aspects of a project into one cohesive whole. It’s a necessary success factor in project management, particularly when different business areas or departments have to work together on a project.
Every department has its own way of doing things, which is a double-edged sword.
On the positive side, they don’t have to learn new methods and techniques to get things done; they can stick to what they know delivers results. On the other side, different departments implementing different tools and processes can make project collaboration extremely difficult.
Then, there are large projects with numerous parts and pieces. To successfully complete a project, each piece must function like a jigsaw puzzle piece that aligns with all of the other pieces. Otherwise, the project will have trouble meeting deadlines or quality and budget requirements.
In some cases, projects will have to be shelved so organizations don’t suffer further losses.
Project integration management coordinates all of the different processes that a project has to undergo to create consistency from beginning to end. It follows six processes.
A project charter, also known as a project definition document, contains the project’s preliminary objectives, goals, and scope. It establishes the authority of the project manager, identifies who the key stakeholders are, the teams involved, and their responsibilities.
The project charter is used throughout the project life cycle as a reference document.
The project management plan outlines the different project management steps and processes necessary to efficiently bring the project to completion.
It also defines the project’s budget, scope, and schedule, individual team members’ roles and responsibilities, how risks will be managed, how scope change requests will be handled, and so on.
Essentially, the project plan details what needs to be done and how it should be done.
This is the process of managing and executing the various work components, methods, and standards defined in the project plan, including implementing approved changes.
The goal of this process is to provide overall management of the project so that it ultimately meets agreed-upon requirements.
Alongside facilitating project execution is monitoring and control. This is important because if you’re not tracking actual project performance versus objectives, quality may suffer, or the project may exceed its allotted budget or time.
Requests that will affect established baselines should be carefully reviewed, and preventive actions, such as training certain members on certain tasks so they can take over in case someone gets sick or is transferred to another project, must be undertaken to prevent delays.
This is where all changes — hence the word “integrated” — are assessed, analyzed, and decided upon. Depending on the organization, a change management board may be needed to review change requests.
Typically, once a change is requested, a preliminary impact analysis is carried out, the result of which is then relayed to the client or project sponsor.
If the client is willing to pay more, push back the deadline, or make quality compromises, whichever is applicable, a more detailed analysis is done before the change is approved or rejected.
Once complete, the project must be closed. All deliverables and final documentation are submitted. The goal is to ensure that all contractual obligations are fulfilled.
The closing stage also includes reviewing or looking back at all of the processes the project undertook from start to finish, and then determining whether these have been successful.
Every change or detail must be documented for future projects to reference.
Imagine this scenario: A project is due a week from now. The person in charge of quality evaluation got sick and is on medical leave. What does the project manager do? That person must do a series of things:
In this hypothetical scenario, the project manager is integrating several different project aspects, making the project integration management process crucial to project management success.
While project cost management only deals with managing the financial aspects of a project, and project human resource management only deals with the team members involved in a project, they don’t operate independently. Any change in one area can affect another.
For example, adding more people affects the timeline, budget, or both. The project manager, through project integration management, communicates all changes to the concerned parties — in this case, that could be the client, department head, staff or employees, and the budget coordinator.
When different teams use varying project management techniques and tools to complete tasks, consistency, which we all know is the key to productivity, can be difficult to achieve.
Project integration management coordinates and directs all activities toward the project’s ultimate goal.
Project management deals with multiple processes and involves various elements. Project integration management unifies and consolidates them all to successfully achieve the project’s overall objectives. It’s the thread that binds them all together, so to speak.
Project managers are like jugglers who must keep several objects in the air, a feat that requires specialized training, skills, and mastery of different tools.
In project management, such tools include a feasibility study for gauging the viability of a project, work breakdown structure charts to visually decompose the work to be executed, and the critical path method for estimating the project’s completion date.
There’s also project management software to facilitate work, monitor budgets, and ensure seamless collaboration between departments and teams. The following are some software options.
Projects run on schedules, and tasks are scheduled to achieve maximum productivity. monday.com allows users to create task lists. Each task can be assigned to multiple columns if you want it more detailed and to better track its progress.
Customizable task templates are available so you don’t have to start from scratch.
Visualize your team’s workload with monday.com. Image source: Author
monday.com also provides visibility into the workload of each team member, a necessary feature so that work is distributed evenly and no one gets overloaded.
Effective financial management is essential for projects to stay within budget. Tracking expenses, generating accurate reports, and providing timely updates are just some of the tasks that the right project management software can do for you.
ActiveCollab is a feature-packed collaboration tool that has the financial features your project may need, including budgeting, invoicing, and generating work estimates.
ActiveCollab’s invoicing tool automates invoice creation. Image source: Author
ActiveCollab is easy to use, which means teams and departments don’t have to spend much time learning its functionality.
For midsize to large project teams with very specific needs, Podio is a great choice. It’s extremely customizable and comes with all of the features inherent in project management platforms, such as time tracking, task scheduling, and project templates.
Podio’s standout feature is social collaboration. Work notifications are delivered via a Facebook-like activity stream. Team members can ask questions, post updates, and share images, documents, and links.
Podio’s activity stream allows team members to post updates, share files, and ask questions. Image source: Author
Podio Chat supports video calling and instant messaging. Plus, Podio natively integrates with GoToMeeting for when you need to schedule and organize online meetings.
A project involves many complex parts, numerous processes, and different stakeholders.
Project managers need to manage people, risks, schedules, timeline, quality, and so many other things. In large organizations, the different departments’ techniques may have nothing in common.
Project integration management is the system and framework that provides order and direction for all of these constituent parts.
Maricel Rivera is a software and small business expert writing for The Ascent at The Motley Fool.
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