You may not know this, but many companies still resist implementing project management tools in their business.

According to Wellingtone (2020), only 23% of organizations use project management software. The rest are still working with outdated ways of tracking their projects such as paper, Excel, or some other obsolete form of data entry. This is a devastating statistic since organizations that do not leverage or have outdated project management technology have a project failure rate of 18% (PMI, 2019).

Although project management software benefits companies in various ways (saving time, money, resources, etc.), people still tend to use spreadsheets and spend even more of the company’s valuable time. But let’s look at some more statistics. Interestingly, of the organizations that have implemented project management solutions, more than 45% have received some, most, or all the intended benefits (Wellingtone, 2019). That says a lot.

In the following chapters, we’ll give you an overview of available features within the Gauss Box Projects module and how they can help improve your business processes.

1. Tasks

What is Project management software without basic functionality like easy planning?

If we take into consideration that many people are working on a certain project, the whole process must go smoothly from beginning to end. It can take up a lot of your time if you have to begin the whole process from scratch every time.

The great thing about project management software is that it gives you the ability to easily create new projects/tasks and, in a short time, to enter all the important information needed at the time (name, category, tag, responsible person, duration…). With Project management software you can easily prioritize tasks inside every project so it’s a time saver when everyone on the team knows the importance of every step.

Automation can be very useful when it comes to project planning; it’s one of the main benefits when implementing project management software. It can help you track progress and keep all the plans up to date.

2. Commentary and tagging

You can communicate with your work colleagues through comments on each task by directly tagging the required person. That person then receives a special notification to make it clear that the comment applies to them. In a matter of seconds, you can reach out to your colleagues and inform them of further planning.

3. Stages

You can monitor the status of task performance through stages. Every stage change is recorded in the project activity and task activity logs. There are variations of available stages in Gauss Box; backlog, scheduled, ready for QA, finished, to deploy, to be discussed, etc.

For instance, the stage canceled refers to tasks that have been canceled and the stage in progress refers to tasks that are currently being actively worked on. That way, you’ll have a clear overview of each project task phase without accessing every project task itself. 

4. File sharing

During project planning, there can be a lot of different data like files or documents circling within the company. The whole process can be much simpler if you have one central database storage. It’s one of the advantages when talking about project management software – the ability of facilitated data sharing.

So what does all this mean for a certain organization? Well, it means that every employee can access, edit or upload files or documents inside that database. It’s usually divided into projects and project tasks. It’s much easier and simpler having it all in one place than sending a bunch of emails.

5. Discussions

Discussions are designed to be used for discussions and agreements on a particular topic or maybe general notices not related to a specific project task. Their main purpose is to simplify communication and agreements throughout project planning.

6. Notes

The notes have multiple uses; as the name suggests. They can be used to save short notes and data sets or you can simply use them to monitor multiple events e.g. meetings. They can be shared with your team members to improve task performance. 

7. Office suit

You probably already know that the whole idea behind Gauss Box refers to a unique cloud platform designed to manage all business processes. That is why there is no more need for a separate MS Office package. Gauss Box has a fully integrated Office suite – documents, spreadsheets, and presentations into its platform.

When we said we wanted it all in one place, we weren’t kidding! Imagine the time you will save and the increased productivity inside your team by using only one platform for every action you take.

8. Budget ad budget estimations

If you’re a project manager, you surely know that with projects come certain costs and expenses. When planning a project, it’s essential to know your budget limits and estimations. Project management software can be of great help when monitoring project costs and planning future projects.

Use previously collected data to plan future projects and processes to achieve more precise budget estimations for further business. Proper estimations can help you deliver projects on time and stay within the budget. 

9. Reports

One also very useful feature is that you can easily create reports based on gathered data. For instance, you are assigned to show your stakeholders and investors a review of the current financial situation. You can then easily collect all necessary data and create reports of your needs. It’s a time-saver when you don’t have to manually input everything. 

10. Time tracking

With the time tracking option it’s possible to gather information on project execution performance. It will help you analyze further progress within your assigned projects. Know your work pace to easily determine realistic deadlines for the future.

As a company owner or a team leader, you can have access to data on time spent on every single project, making it possible to make much more precise time estimations. Increase productivity and get results faster by prioritizing tasks and projects. It is important not to neglect time management as it is one of the most important parts of an organization.

11. Kanban and Gantt

Are you more a Kanban or a Gantt type of person? Either way, our Project management module gives you the possibility to choose between the Kanban board or Gantt chart for a precise overview. Use all the benefits Gauss Box is offering you, and we assure you, there are many!

12. Resource planning

Resource management refers to the process of planning and allocating resources for maximum efficiency. In this case, the resource is anything needed to execute a project or project task. To secure proper operation, manage your resources and save everyone’s time. It is also helpful to understand your resources upfront to plan how to use them.

Organizations should never underestimate the importance of resource planning since it enables a healthier work standard. It can also help you calculate the cost of resource usage. It’s a great feature because it ensures you only pay for them when you use them. There isn’t an easier way to track and allocate your resources.

13. Chat

The Chat feature can be used for communication between employees or with clients. It supports multiple channels as well as file and document sharing within a certain project. Direct communication via an internal chat application reduces focus loss that occurs when people use multiple different external applications.

Most importantly, all your business information remains under your control. Team members can also see the statuses of their colleagues or clients. Some of the most interesting features chat is offering you are: one-on-one correspondence, an unlimited number of chat channels and participants, the possibility of creating chat tasks, etc. 

14. E-mail

E-mails are a classic form of office communication so this module allows you to quickly and easily integrate your e-mail inbox. You have the possibility of adding files or documents, adding a signature, and turning incoming e-mails into leads or tasks to take full advantage of the advanced features of this module. Easily integrate or synchronize your e-mail account with the Gauss Box platform.

Among other options, Gauss Box E-mail enables multiple e-mail accounts, to receive and send e-mails from Gauss Box, convert e-mails into leads, tasks, or documents, send documents from the system, and replace external applications with fully integrated e-mail, and much more.

15. Streaming

The streaming module lets you organize virtual calls, meetings, and presentations. It allows you to organize audio and video calls between two or more people. You can also attend the presentation and share documents in real-time between you and your clients, partners, and other associates.

Each conference call is complemented with a chat between the participants. Participants can also share a virtual board and write on it at the same time, which gives the feeling that they are in the same room. The great thing about Streaming is also that it helps you reduce the cost of business travel with online meetings by inviting clients, associates, and business partners to conference calls. 

We hope we gave you some valuable information on available features within the Gauss Box Projects module. Stay tuned for many other features we are developing for you - check out Gauss Box Projects for more news!