Best Productivity Tools for Small Business & Remote Teams

Introduction

Productivity plays a significant in defining the success of any organization.

According to a recent HubSpot study, low productivity costs employers approximately USD 1.8 trillion each year.

Poor productivity leads to critical issues, such as:

• Missed deadlines
• Financial losses
• Ineffective scheduling
• Employee burnout
• Low customer satisfaction

Is there a way out of the productivity slump?

Yes. Productivity Tracking Software is the answer.

With the help of productivity tools, you can quickly achieve the following milestones:

• Streamlined operations
• Better ROI
• Optimized time management

Various firms have recorded better project completion rates of 23% with the use of productivity tracking software.

Read this blog post to explore the best productivity tools specifically tailored for small businesses and remote teams, empowering them to work smarter, stay organized, and achieve their goals efficiently.

Let’s dive in-

Top 11 Productivity Tools For Small Businesses & Remote Teams

Here is a list of some best productivity tools for you:

1. Workstatus

Workstatus empowers small businesses and remote teams by providing a centralized platform that fosters transparency, accountability, and strong work culture.

Here’s a comprehensive list of its most advanced features for remote team management.

Remote Employee Monitoring

Real-time Activity Monitoring:

Get a comprehensive solution for remote employee monitoring by tracking the activities and productivity of your remote teams.

Managers can monitor the time spent on various tasks, websites visited, and applications used, ensuring transparency and accountability.

Active Screenshots:

Managers can capture screenshots at regular intervals, to get visual evidence of employee work progress and eliminate concerns about unproductive activities. Additionally, it lets remote workers receive guidance in real-time.

Productivity Analytics:

Companies gain access to detailed productivity analytics to identify bottlenecks, assess employee efficiency, and make informed decisions.

Get insights into time utilization, project completion rates, and overall team performance, enabling managers to optimize workflows and improve productivity.

Attendance Tracking

Automated Time Tracking:

Automatically record the time remote teams spend on work-related activities. It eliminates the need for manual timesheets, reducing administrative burden and ensuring accurate attendance records.

Idle Time Monitoring:

Monitor idle time and provide alerts when teams remain inactive for extended periods. It helps identify and address potential productivity issues, ensuring remote teams are engaged and focused.

Overtime and Leave Management:

Track and approve time-off requests, monitor overtime hours and calculate payroll accurately based on attendance data. It streamlines the process and ensures fair compensation for employees.

Schedule Management

Centralized Scheduling:

A centralized platform for creating and managing employee schedules. Managers can easily assign tasks, set deadlines, and distribute workload among remote team members to avoid conflicts.

Real-time Updates and Notifications:

Get real-time updates and notifications regarding any schedule changes or updates, ensuring that employees are informed promptly.

Availability and Shift Swapping:

Workstatus lets employees update their availability and request shift swaps, simplifying managing schedules for remote teams.

Geofencing

Location-based Monitoring:

Geofencing capabilities enable companies to define specific geographic boundaries for remote employees. It ensures that employees work from authorized locations and helps prevent time theft or unauthorized access to confidential information.

Automatic clock in and out:

Workstatus enables automatic attendance tracking based on employees’ entry and exit from predefined geofenced areas. It eliminates the need for manual clock-ins or logins, improving accuracy and reducing administrative overhead.

Enhanced Security:

Add an extra layer of security to remote work arrangements. If an employee attempts to access work-related resources from outside the defined geofence, the system can send alerts or block access, preventing potential security breaches.

Timezone Support

Global Team Coordination:

Timezone support feature is invaluable for remote teams operating across different time zones. It automatically adjusts schedules and deadlines based on each employee’s local time, ensuring that work is effectively distributed.

Enhanced Productivity:

By accounting for time zone differences, Workstatus enables remote teams to work more efficiently, avoiding delays and optimizing workflow.

Task Management

Task Assignment and Tracking:

Managers can assign tasks to remote employees, set priorities, and track progress. It ensures clarity of responsibilities and enables efficient collaboration within remote teams.

Task Prioritization and Reminders:

Remote teams can prioritize their tasks, set deadlines, and receive reminders for upcoming or overdue assignments.

Mobile App

Remote Work on the Go:

Mobile app extends its functionality to smartphones and tablets, allowing employees to work remotely from anywhere. Also, access to essential features, such as time tracking, task management, and communication tools, enables productivity even while moving.

Location Independence:

The mobile app empowers employees to work from anywhere. It is particularly beneficial for remote teams and small businesses that rely on a distributed workforce.

By promoting clear communication, effective collaboration, and streamlined workflows, Workstatus helps businesses maximize productivity and achieve their goals with confidence.

Pricing:

• Free Forever Package: ₹0 forever
• Premium: ₹199/user/month
• Enterprise Package: Contact for pricing

2. Workfront

It is a collaboration and project management tool for remote teams. Workfront helps in planning, tracking, and managing projects and tasks.

• Provides features like task assignment, time tracking, document sharing, and progress monitoring
• Enables team members to communicate, collaborate, and stay organized

Pricing:

Contact for pricing

3. ClickUp

An all-in-one productivity platform for managing tasks, projects, and workflows. ClickUp allows teams to create tasks, set priorities, assign responsibilities, and track progress.

• Provides features like goal tracking, time tracking, and document management
• Supports customization and flexible views, including boards, lists, and timelines
• Offers integrations with popular tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Trello

Pricing:

• Free Forever:$0
• Unlimited:$5/member/month
• Business: $12/member/month
• Business Plus:$19/member/month
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

4. Smartsheet

Collaborative work execution platform that combines spreadsheets and project management. Smartsheet nables teams to create and manage tasks, projects, and workflows.

• Provides features like task scheduling, Gantt charts, and resource management
• Supports collaboration and communication through discussions and file sharing
• Offers integration with tools like Microsoft Office 365 and Salesforce

Pricing:

• Free:$0
• Pro:$7 Per user/month, billed yearly
• Business:$25 Per user/month, billed yearly
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

Let’s give you a short break from the tools.

And invest yourself in learning about productivity tips for small businesses

Read the infographics below:

Now, let’s cover the remaining productivity tracking tools.

5. Wrike

A cloud-based project management and collaboration tool, Wrike helps teams plan, track, and manage projects and tasks.

• Offers features like task assignment, time tracking, and real-time collaboration
• Provides customizable dashboards, Gantt charts, and reporting capabilities
• Integrates with various tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Drive

Pricing:

• Free: $0/user/month
• Team:$9.80 /user/month
• Business:$24.80//user/month
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing
• Pinnacle: Contact for pricing

6. Jira

It is a popular project management and issue tracking tool, widely used by software development teams.

• Allows teams to create and track tasks, bugs, and issues through workflows
• Offers features like Agile boards, scrum boards, and Kanban boards
• Provides integration with development tools like GitHub and Bitbucket
• Enables collaboration, reporting, and customization options

Pricing:

• Free:$0/user/month
• Standard:$7.75/user/month
• Premium:$15.25/user/month
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

7. Monday

A project management and team collaboration tool, Monday enables teams to create and manage tasks, projects, and workflows.

• Provides visual boards, timelines, and customizable templates
• Supports team communication and file sharing
• Offers integration with popular tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Trello

Pricing:

• Free:$0
• Basic:$8 seat/month
• Standard:$10 seat/month
• Pro:$16 seat/month
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

8. ProofHub

ProofHub is an all-in-one project management and team collaboration tool that helps manage projects, collaborate on tasks, and communicate – all in a centralized place.

• Provides robust features like task management, team communication and collaboration, time management and tracking, custom reporting, and online proofing.
• Offers 4 task views – Kanban, Table, Gantt chart, and Calendar to stay on top of task status and progress.
• Allows users to streamline workflow by creating, managing, and delegating tasks and subtasks to one or multiple assignees.

Pricing: Offers flat fee pricing with no per-user fee.

• 14-day free trial 
• Essential: $45 per month billed annually
• Ultimate Control: $89 per month billed annually

9. Timely

It is a time tracking and productivity tool for individuals and teams. Timely helps in tracking time spent on tasks and projects.

• Provides detailed reports and analytics on time usage
• Supports automatic time tracking and integration with various tools like Google Calendar and Trello
• Enables better time management and productivity monitoring

Pricing:

• Starter:$9/user/mo billed yearly
• Premium:$16/user/mo billed yearly
• Unlimited:$22/user/mo billed yearly
• Unlimited+: Contact

10. DeskTime

Another employee time tracking and productivity software, DeskTime provides productivity reports and analytics also.

• Monitors employees’ computer usage and tracks time spent on various applications and websites
• Offers features like automatic time tracking, project tracking, and attendance management
• Helps businesses understand and improve productivity levels

Pricing:

• DeskTime Lite: Free
• DeskTime Pro: $7.00

11. Clariti

Clariti brings together emails, chats, documents, and calendar events into unified, subject-specific threads, ensuring that all information is organized and easy to follow.

• AI-powered Clariti’s context-based threads automatically link related emails and chats, keeping everything organized.
• Clariti also allows users to embed emails directly into chat conversations, providing seamless context and making follow-ups more efficient.
• Clariti’s built-in event management and to-dos keep everyone aligned, ensuring clear communication around tasks and deadlines.

Pricing

• Free:$0/user/month
• Premium:$9/user/month
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

Questions to Ask Before Investing in Productivity Tools

Consider these questions before purchasing any productivity software tool for your organization:

• What specific productivity challenges does my small business or remote team currently face?
• How scalable is the productivity tool to accommodate the growth of my business or team?
• What level of technical expertise is required to implement and use the tool effectively?
• Does the productivity tool offer customizable features and workflows to align with my business processes?
• What is the pricing structure of the tool, and does it fit within my budget?
• Does the tool integrate with other existing software and platforms that my business relies on?
• How user-friendly is the interface, and what kind of support or training is available?
• Does the tool provide analytics and reporting features to track productivity and measure performance?
• What level of data security and privacy measures does the tool offer to protect sensitive information?
• Are there any limitations or potential drawbacks associated with using the productivity tool?
• Have other businesses or teams in similar industries or situations successfully implemented and benefited from this tool?
• What kind of customer support and ongoing updates does the tool provider offer to ensure a smooth experience?

These questions help you in making the right decision for your business.

Closing Thoughts

Equipping small businesses and remote teams with the right productivity tools is paramount for success.

We have shared the top 11 productivity tools that support streamlining operations, enhancing collaboration, and driving efficiency.

By harnessing the power of these tools, you can unlock your full potential, boost productivity, and confidently achieve your goals.

Dominate Your To-Do List.

Level up Your Productivity with Workstatus.