Smartsheet vs WorkflowMax

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Our analysts compared Smartsheet vs WorkflowMax based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Project Management Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

WorkflowMax Software Tool

Product Basics

Smartsheet is an enterprise-level SaaS management application that helps teams streamline processes through collaboration, project planning and task management. Users can set up tasks using a grid view, similar to a spreadsheet with automations, formulas, comments and mentions. 

It provides templates for projects and automations that can be modified and saved as a template to save time. Project views include a Kanban board, Gantt chart, timeline, calendar view, card view and a custom dashboard.

Its file and sheet sharing capabilities, comment feature and conversations remove team and data silos and give stakeholders insight into project details. A user-friendly interface helps managers and team members boost adoption rates, maintain consistency and increase efficiency. 

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WorkFlowMax is a cloud-hosted job management solution designed for small to mid-sized service-based organizations. It offers capabilities like timesheets, job costing and quote creation to handle projects.

It integrates with popular third-party document management modules to execute projects faster and payroll modules to simplify payroll. Employees can work within their timesheets using the timesheet functionality. It stores all cost-related information in one place and offers a sales dashboard that displays closed, hot or cold leads.
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Product Assistance

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Product Insights

  • Use Familiar Spreadsheet Formatting: Move from regular spreadsheets to spreadsheets with versatile views and much less formula knowledge required for formatting. Make adoption and training smoother because you’re not starting from scratch with processes. We especially liked the ability to enter data using a familiar cell view and then convert it to, say, a Kanban board.
  • Create No-Code Automations: Use templates or build from scratch with a trigger, condition and action automation format. Save time on admin tasks with automations for alerts, approvals, document creation and sheet changes. Choose from four starting cell-related triggers and build from there. We thought the automation building was intuitive and straightforward. Check out our test in the “See It In Action” section below.
  • Access Multiple Views: Add dynamic views to your projects and filter and customize views to meet task requirements. For example, we added a card view organized by status and a Kanban Board sorted by task assignee. Create a customizable dashboard to pull data like task progress, workload and duration using widgets.
  • Share Proofs and Additional Information: Collaborate on team documents, provide context and add proofs and files to individual tasks or the entire sheet. We set a piece of content as a task and added extra files like logos and docs along with comments for specific client requests.
  • Train As You Go: Kick your project off with a checklist outlining best practices and research material. Use pop-ups and explainer icons with video links as you work to get a better understanding of features and capabilities. We popped over to the help center to learn how to set up baselines for our Gantt chart (you need to edit the start date and end date columns).
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  • Consolidate Work: Access all business tools from one place. Avoid unnecessary hassles by launching multiple applications from a single suite to deliver work faster and efficiently. 
  • Accessibility: Access data anytime, anywhere using mobile applications for Android and iOS. Manage jobs on-the-go and tick milestones when met. Access client information while syncing with the desktop app quickly. Send photos, videos and other documents as attachments. 
  • Collaboration: Let clients and contractors log in from anywhere to view work progress time against a job. Store all project information in one place while uploading images, documents and pictures. Restrict information action via permission settings for staff and clients. Stay updated with project progress and share details with teams. 
  • Integrations: Seamlessly integrate with Xero’s suite of modules to maximize business performance. Push sales invoices into Xero while automatically syncing corresponding payment dates. Update job profitability reporting and create bills payable. Avoid data duplicity and receive useful business profitability insights. 
  • Customization: Personalize it to suit an organization’s needs. Create branded and professional custom print templates to save time. Extract powerful and specialized data using custom fields to operate a business better. Keep pace with approaching deadlines by creating unique notifications. 
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  • Dashboards and Reports: Customize your dashboard by adding widgets like reports, project-specific charts, shortcuts, images and text. Consolidate data from multiple sheets into a summary view using system reports. Track sheet changes using bi-directional functionality. Send reports via collaborative tools and change statuses to recur.
  • Multiple Views: View your tasks using the grid view, akin to a spreadsheet, a Gantt view as an add-on to your grid view, a Kanban board where you can drag and drop tasks and group them by assignee or status, a timeline view, a card view with customizable lanes and a calendar view that displays your tasks across its duration or by start dates only.
  • Task Management: Add your tasks and subtasks into each cell and use the indent and outdent buttons to divide tasks into groups that can be minimized to provide a project overview. Create or modify custom fields with your own text, dropdown lists and symbols to show status, assignees, priority, dates and latest comment. Attach files and proofs, write comments and mention users and set reminders for tasks.
  • Automations and Workflows: Save time with custom processes and workflows you can build by modifying templates for reminders and alerts, document generation, row changes, sheet changes and updates, and approval requests. Build your own workflow automations from scratch by choosing your trigger, setting conditions and adding actions. Manage automations by deactivating, deleting, duplicating or unsubscribing.
  • Templates: Use pre-built templates ranging from event management to HR workflows and marketing to streamline project creation. View complexity, task management and process before you apply a template. Build and save your own templates by customizing pre-built templates or creating them from scratch.
  • Integrations: Drive productivity with integrations like Office 365, Dropbox, DocuSign and Google Workspace and use iCal or Google Calendar to track project statuses.
  • Team Collaboration: Communicate with team members by commenting and mentioning users in individual tasks, adding files for additional information and chatting via the conversations tool where everyone with access to the sheet can see your comments. Integrate with Slack or Microsoft Teams to receive updates about your sheet and send messages to channels.
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  • Lead Management: Track leads, sales projections and proposals from a single location. Transform leads into winning quotes, jobs, invoices and eventually into profits. Customize lead categories to forecast lead conversion correctly while projecting cash flows. Monitor team activities and overdue tasks for new business developments. 
  • Client Management: Maintain profitable and productive relationships with clients. Use custom fields to store unique customer and client information. Store unlimited contact details to client records and contact them directly. Use a global search function to search for a client’s details while using filters to locate information quickly. Build stronger relationships by adding custom information like birthdays, preferred time to contact, pet’s name and more to client data. 
  • Document Management: Use the document management tool to access all crucial project-related information. Save time by automating document storage processes and emails. Set up a unique email account to send important attachments required for a job. Sync with multiple devices and integrate with Google Drive, Dropbox and Box to access documents easily. 
  • Staff, Task and Job Management: Manage people, jobs and tasks from one place. Track resources, costs, profitability and time for every job. Delegate tasks, to-do checklists, estimated time on each task and due dates using the task manager. Create adjustable milestones, deadlines and project due dates. Automate recurring jobs and tasks to reduce time spent on repetitive tasks. 
  • Time Tracking: Enter time in eight different ways and track and report on every single minute daily. Record time within dashboards, by tasks or timesheets. Track employee time on-the-go using mobile apps. Record how time was spent and share information with clients. Optimize billable values by choosing the nearest decimal rounding option. 
  • Invoicing: Get paid faster by creating invoices just in a few clicks. Design invoices based on actual time and costs, quoted time and costs, progress amounts or percentage values. Create a simple invoice with basic project information or a detailed one by adding costs, tasks and rates. Save time by sending multi-job invoices. 
  • Reporting: Make smarter business decisions by gaining real-time insights into productivity, workflows, performance and profitability. Understand profitability across multiple client categories and improve business processes. Extract relevant information by building reports using multiple fields and criteria. Improve cash flows by getting a snapshot of billable jobs. 
  • Purchase Order Management: Streamline job cost management using purchase order management tools. Track actual orders, cost and bills payable, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Integrate with Xero to keep financial job reporting intact. Use flexible receipt processes to display full or half orders received. 
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Product Ranking

#5

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#27

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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Customizations Dashboards And Reporting Mobile Capabilities Platform Features Project Planning And Scheduling Project Tracking Task Management Team Collaboration Time Tracking And Management 83 80 88 92 78 96 85 77 56 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 22301 reviews
Great User Sentiment 417 reviews
88%
of users recommend this product

Smartsheet has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 88% when considering 22301 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

85%
of users recommend this product

WorkflowMax has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 85% when considering 417 user reviews from 6 recognized software review sites.

5.0 (20)
4.4 (8)
4.4 (17366)
3.2 (22)
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4.31 (95)
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4.3 (112)
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Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Smartsheet and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Mobile Capabilities and Project Tracking.

Mobile Capabilities Award
Project Tracking Award

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Automation: Reviewers appreciated the no-code automation and said that it helps to eliminate productivity killers and saves time.
Collaboration: Users liked the sharing option with level-based permissions that allow collaboration with non-users and help coworkers and external stakeholders stay up-to-date on projects and processes.
Ease of Use: A user-friendly interface and templates make it easy to set up, customize and access multiple views, according to reviewers.
What Users Like
Customization: “We can customize it to fit various projects, whether we’re tracking client cases, managing document revisions, or planning team tasks. For instance, I created a project tracker for a major client contract negotiation. The ability to set deadlines, assign tasks, and update statuses in real time has streamlined our communication and kept everyone on the same page.” - Russ Johnson, Founder of Linx Legal
Collaboration: “We had this one job in a high-rise condo that put Smartsheet to the test. The sliding door system was an older model with custom-sized panels that aren’t easy to source, and it needed specific adjustments due to the unique structure of the frame. Typically, coordinating the right parts, tools, and technician experience for something like this would require several phone calls and a lot of back-and-forth. With Smartsheet, we were able to set up the job details to track not only the special parts needed but also assign a technician who was experienced with that model. When the parts came in, the technician was notified directly through Smartsheet, so he knew the moment everything was ready. It saved us from potential delays and kept the customer fully updated on when the work could be done.” - Gal Cohen, Business Development Leader and Field Area Manager JDM Sliding Doors
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Client Management: WorkflowMax offers tools to manage client information, including contact details, project history, and billing information, providing a centralized location for client data.
Project Tracking: The platform allows users to track project progress, budgets, and deadlines, ensuring projects stay on track and within budget. This includes features such as Gantt charts and task management tools.
Time Tracking: WorkflowMax simplifies time tracking for both employees and contractors, with options for manual entry, timers, and timesheet approvals. This streamlines payroll and billing processes.
Reporting: The software provides various reporting options, including project reports, financial reports, and staff productivity reports, offering insights into business performance and areas for improvement.
Integrations: WorkflowMax integrates with other popular business tools, such as Xero accounting software and Google Apps, allowing for seamless data flow between systems.
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System Integration: Limited integrations and complex configurations were an issue for reviewers.
Premium Add-Ons: Reviewers noted that advanced features come with a price tag that can be prohibitive for some businesses.
Slow Loading Time: Users reported it takes time to display screens export formats occasionally.
What Users Dislike
Integration: “Despite its many benefits, integrating Smartsheet with other systems posed some challenges. Initially, we experienced issues with data syncing between Smartsheet and our CRM software, leading to discrepancies in our financial reporting. Recognizing this, I allocated specific time for thorough testing before our full implementation, allowing us to identify and resolve any integration issues early on.” - Austin Rulfs, Founder of Zanda Wealth Mortgage Brokers
Learning Curve: “While Smartsheet is powerful, it can feel a bit overwhelming at first. I found that investing time in training sessions helped bridge that gap, making it easier for everyone to adapt and use the tool effectively.” - Russ Johnson, Founder of Linx Legal
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Limited Functionality: WorkflowMax may not be suitable for larger or more complex projects due to limitations in features such as resource management and project portfolio management.
Usability Challenges: Some users find the interface to be clunky and unintuitive, leading to a steeper learning curve and potential frustration during daily use.
Reporting Limitations: Generating customized reports can be challenging, and the available reporting options may not meet the specific needs of all businesses.
Integrations: While WorkflowMax offers some integrations, it may not seamlessly connect with all the tools and software that a business uses, potentially leading to data silos and inefficiencies.
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Smartsheet is a cloud-based work management platform that helps users streamline and organize processes with a spreadsheet-esque interface, flexible templates, multiple views and team collaboration. Apart from the grid view, you can visualize projects using a Gantt chart, Kanban board, calendar view, card view or timeline view. No-code automations are another note-worthy feature, where you can build from templates or scratch.It streamlines project creation with templates suited to different industries and end goals, so you have a jumping-off point instead of going in blind. Team collaboration is another area where Smartsheet shines, with comments, conversations and file and sheet sharing (even with people outside your organization). It also offers a customizable dashboard view, although I did find some of the chart widgets a little tricky to work, without training.Highlights for me were definitely the familiarity of spreadsheet formatting (but with more views and automations), robust collaboration capabilities and guided explainers throughout the setup. However, user reviews noted limited filters and integrations, lags and expensive add-ons as downsides.Overall, Smartsheet is a great option for teams familiar with spreadsheets but are on the lookout for more visualization and collaboration, along with the budget to spend on advanced features.

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WorkflowMax, a project management software developed by a small team in New Zealand, has garnered a reputation for its innovative approach to task management. It has gained popularity among professional service businesses seeking to streamline their job and project management processes. Users frequently praise WorkflowMax for its user-friendly interface, robust features, and cost-effectiveness, making it a compelling choice for small and medium-sized businesses. The software's integration with Xero accounting software further enhances its appeal, providing a comprehensive solution for managing projects, tracking time, and invoicing clients. However, some users have expressed concerns regarding WorkflowMax's limitations. Specifically, the software's lack of integration with certain other systems and its limited support options have been points of contention. While WorkflowMax excels in core project management functionalities, its integration capabilities may not meet the needs of businesses that rely on a diverse tech stack. Additionally, users seeking extensive support resources might find the available options to be somewhat restricted. Despite these drawbacks, WorkflowMax remains a solid project management solution for businesses prioritizing ease of use, essential features, and affordability. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive project management tools make it particularly well-suited for small and medium-sized businesses that require a streamlined solution for managing their projects, tracking time, and invoicing clients, especially those already utilizing Xero's accounting software.

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