Smartsheet Workflow Management Software: A Review

Last Updated on November 20, 2023

Smartsheet Workflow Management Software: Overview

Smartsheet is a spreadsheet-style project management solution for enterprises with several projects and dozens of moving pieces. It assists businesses of all sizes in managing workflows and improving communication.

These workflow management tools are more complex to use than we’d like and lack the familiar Kanban view of project management that we’ve all grown to appreciate. However, there is more possibility of it being a suitable fit for you and your team.

Smartsheet workflow management system is, at its core, one of the best workflow management software you’ve ever seen.

Smartsheet is a smart workflow management software. Smartsheet workflow management tool is great for those with prior experience using spreadsheets to organize projects, but I believe standard solutions like Excel and Google Sheets should be more flexible for your business processes.

This tool is used by businesses as their workflow management solution. This helps businesses to create smooth automated workflows.

You can save time on recurring tasks and repetitive tasks with this workflow automation. You can also create custom workflows using workflow automation tools.

Smartsheet Project Management Key Features 

Smartsheet makes it easier to manage resources, information, documents, feedback, approvals, and reviews, among other things. This web-based program helps manage projects with many moving elements for users from more than 190 countries.

Utilizing this software will require extensive instruction as a newbie. However, if you go through the following fundamental features, you’ll be one step closer to being a boss user.

Smartsheet makes it easier to manage resources, information, documents, feedback, approvals, and reviews, among other things. This web-based program helps manage projects with many moving elements for users from more than 190 countries.

Utilizing this software will require extensive instruction as a newbie. However, if you go through the following fundamental features, you’ll be one step closer to being a boss user.

• Content Administration

Smartsheet offers value to all of your content management duties. This tool can help you organize your content if you’re a blogger, YouTuber, designer, or photographer. You don’t need to hire a second person to handle the range on this app because it’s a simple tool.

You can use Smartsheet to perform the following content management tasks:

1. Notifications and reminders that are simple to set up and keep your designers on track.

2. Team members and concerned clients can review content proofs.

3. Approvers can assess the content in real time, reducing the producers’ idle time.

4. Numerous feedback mechanisms exist, such as chats, pinned annotations, and individual approvals.

• Project Resource Management

The resource management function allows you to visualize team members’ capacity usage, identify a talented person for jobs, save project costs, and, most importantly, continue to expand.

• How To Start With Resource Management?

1. Import a roster of employees or collaborators from any spreadsheet file.

2. Clients and projects in an organized manner.

3. Create detailed timetables for project tasks by assigning resources from the roster. You may set hours, time frames, and other parameters with a simple slider.

4. Team members can monitor their time in various methods, including itemized hours, minutes, and 1/2 days.

5. A powerful Analytics Page that collects data from people, budgets, and time and allows you to filter and group it into meaningful reports.

• Seamless Team Collaboration

Smartsheet enables 360-degree collaboration and communication with collaborators, clients, team members, and others. Because of its versatility, you can share a single object, many items, or a complete workspace. You can also collect anonymous feedback and comments using forms that require fewer steps to build.

The Conversations component maintains project communication channels using various media such as @Mention, attachments, proofs, and reminders. The program allows you to record talks at several levels, such as sheets, rows, and workspaces. You can also change users’ access permissions to enable or deny comment modification rights.

• Process Management

Do you often work on or supervise various projects as part of your job? Smartsheet is the perfect platform for you. The program includes various features to let you manage multiple projects from a single control center, including:

1. Project blueprints make it simple to plan and set up projects on Smartsheet.

2. These are project-specific reusable reports, sheets, and dashboards.

3. A strategic dashboard that gives you a birds-eye perspective of your portfolio projects.

4. A central console from which you can approve material, tasks, proofs, assignees, etc.

5. The global updates module lets you modify project boards created from a single blueprint.

• IT Requests And Ticketing

The IT Requests and Ticketing functionality is a template collection accessible through the Solution Center.

The template is to simplify the following tasks:

1. Capture and record IT requests using a simple form that anybody on mobile or desktop can access.

2. A simple dashboard allows you to manage open, stuck or resolved IT issues.

• Powerful Integrations And Add-Ons

Smartsheet makes it simple to share your work with clients or external collaborators who may be using different project management platforms and communication apps.

Smartsheet can easily integrate third-party tools such as DocuSign, Zapier, Quip, Slack, Outlook, Google Docs, and others into your sheets. Access external updates immediately from Smartsheet whenever they become available.

Smartsheet gives you access to simple apps designed just for your project sheets. Some apps that help with project management include Pivot App, Dynamic View, Calendar App, DataMesh, and others.

• Streamlined Solution Center

Smartsheet Solution Center is a sophisticated library with a massive collection of project blueprints and apps. As a result, you can save time on designing and establishing a project. Select a template, tweak it slightly, and perform tasks with agility.

You’ll find all of the Solution Center’s content arranged into three sections:

1. Templates

You may use single-sheet boards to manage your tasks, resources, and time.

2. Template Sets

Get ready-made dashboards, reports, and sheets to help you manage large projects.

3. Add-Ons

These are integrations, connectors, and apps you can use to input or export project data from your sheets.

• Task Automation

Adopting Smartsheet workflow automation may replace repetitive or manual processes with automated workflows and save your team members from unproductive labor or boredom. A visual tool is a computerized workflow module. As a result, users do not require coding knowledge to build task automation.

• Three Components Of Automatic Workflows:

1. Actions

2. Triggers

3. Conditions

The following tasks are automated:

1. Notify the task assignee of any significant modifications or deadlines.

2. Request permission or check the status of the content.

3. Rows can be moved to various sheets or locked and unlocked.

4. Keep track of milestone dates.

• Digital Assets Management

Any creative designer or developer must manage digital assets on a safe internet platform. Because you need to focus on developing content, clients may need help accessing your work at times, or someone may be replicating your material without your knowledge.

Smartsheet grants you access to Brandfolder, which eliminates the difficulties outlined above.

This tool allows you to securely and efficiently distribute or display digital content.

It also allows you to:

1. Customize the platform to reflect your brand’s personality.

2. Easily search various asset metadata by filtering, sorting, and so on.

Pros Of Smartsheet Workflow Software

Smartsheet workflow system is one of the most popular workflow management software. The following are the Pros of using Smartsheet Workflow management software.

1. Team Collaboration Tools

Smartsheet workflow management software calls itself a “dynamic work and collaboration software” in addition to project management. Teams may collaborate using file sharing, notes, and team tasks, all while staying within a single source of truth.

Smartsheet workflow management software allows everyone on a team to stay up to date on the status of a particular project.

Multiple team members can collaborate on content simultaneously by sharing presentations, photos, and PDFs, with notifications, version control, and a configurable approval procedure.

The entire Smartsheet solution is entirely customizable, allowing you to add the collaboration capabilities you require while removing those you do not.

2. Powerful Analytics And Reporting

Smartsheet workflow system includes process quality analytics. Smartsheet’s powerful analytics and reporting tools are well-liked by administrators, managers, and users. You can easily combine the most critical information from numerous sheets into a single report with a few clicks or taps.

Smartsheet workflow automation allows you to detect patterns and potential bottlenecks to improve continuously. You can also publish and distribute your information to team members, departments, stakeholders, and anybody else who needs to know.

You can even use Smartsheet’s activity log to check who is viewing reports and when, so you know who has seen what.

When someone edits the attached sheets, the words update in real-time. As a result, you’ll never have to worry about out-of-date information again.

3. Data Security

Smartsheet workflow management systems, being an enterprise-grade solution, employs cutting-edge data protection standards to keep your team, data, and business secure with Fort Knox-like zeal.

To prevent unauthorized access, it includes hundreds of security features such as two-factor authentication, single sign-on (SSO), granular user access controls, secure data centers, AES 256-bit at-rest encryption, and more.

Smartsheet is also HIPAA, GDPR, ISO, SOC, ITAR, and FERPA certified, so you can relax knowing you’re in good hands regarding privacy and security.

4. Robust Automation Software

While most project management tools have basic automation features, Smartsheet outperforms the competition with an extraordinarily complete set of connections, connectors, intelligent workflows, and automation tools.

Despite its strength, Smartsheet’s drag-and-drop automation builder makes putting up basic automation a breeze.

It employs basic logic, conditional pathways, and triggers to enable you to design even the most complex workflows.

5. Additional Functionality

In addition to essential project management, you may add resource management, digital asset management, and portfolio management capabilities, resulting in project budgeting, time tracking, advanced reports and analytics, and forecasting tools, among other things.

These capabilities, however, are not included in Smartsheet’s plans and must be purchased separately.

However, it’s comforting to know that the platform expands to meet your demands rather than forcing you to buy another tool to help your business grow.

6. Customization And Flexibility

One of SmartSheet’s main selling points is its adaptability. You may alter your sheets the same way you would a spreadsheet, from project management and inventory management to budget tracking, spending classification, campaign tracking, and more.

It is used in hundreds of ways, making it a viable replacement for other business tools you may use for different functions or departments. You receive an unlimited number of custom workflows, views, and sheets.

As a result, there are no limitations to how SmartSheet can be used—compared to other project-management-only products; it is refreshingly broad.

Cons Of Smartsheet Workflow Software

1. Spreadsheets Can Be Perplexing For Newcomers

Spreadsheets are something that the vast majority of us are familiar with. Smartsheet, in theory, should not have a steep learning curve. That, unfortunately, is not the case.

The UI isn’t user-friendly, making charting and analyzing data difficult. There’s no easy way to assess the sheets at a look unless you’re making reports.

You’ll have to go through rows and columns by hand, which is difficult to perform at scale.

2. Limited Activity Log

Smartsheet’s activity log allows users and administrators to track typical actions, such as who has viewed what, what has been shared, and more.

However, this log is somewhat limited compared to other project management software on the market today.

You can’t just take a quick look at what’s happened since your last log-in. Obtaining an answer can be time-consuming at times.

To examine the whole history of a cell, for example, travel to that cell, right-click, and then discover the history from there.

3. Not Suitable For Certain Project Management Methodologies

Smartsheet workflow automation software will cause problems for agile teams that seek to employ Kanban boards and other hybrid project management approaches.

That type of functionality is simply not available in the software.

4. Higher Prices

Plans begin at $7 per user per month. When you compare these packages, you’ll notice that Smartsheet is slightly more expensive than other project management tools today.

Furthermore, every package requires a minimum of three users, so you’ll be paying more than you need if you simply need a platform for one or two individuals.

5. Strange Autosave Feature

For some reason, Smartsheet does not autosave your changes or update the page in real-time to reflect adjustments. This issue, perhaps, will not bother everyone, but we find it extremely irritating.

Because most cloud-based software products preserve your changes in real-time, it’s a feature we’ve learned to expect. After making changes, Smartsheet needs you to click the Save and Refresh buttons.

You can work around the problem by configuring Smartsheet’s Settings window to save once every minute or when you leave a sheet.

Pricing And Options For Smartsheet

Smartsheet’s price is relatively straightforward. There are only three simple tiers, with each plan giving more features than the previous one. 

Smartsheet Advance is a separate bundle that includes everything on the Enterprise plan and all the extra add-ons you’d have to pay for on the Enterprise or Business levels.

1. Pro Plan

$9 per month

At first sight, they are comparable, with only the Pro plan limiting the number of pages and widgets you can use. 

However, if you delve deeper into complex features like conditional form logic, custom branding, integrations, and security features, you’ll understand why Business and Enterprise plans are so expensive.

2. Business Plan 

$32 per month

Smaller firms and basic projects can benefit from the Standard Business Plan. It includes all of Smartsheet’s essential features at a reasonable price. A minimum of three licenses for business plans.

When you reach the Business level, you’ll have access to an unlimited number of free users. As a result, only some team members require a license. 

However, free users cannot create sheets, reports, or dashboards. They can only read or change items licensed users to share with them.

The Business bundle is strong overall. In terms of value, it falls short of competing for project management solutions at a similar price. However, it has the functionality, and we can confidently suggest it to firms who prefer spreadsheet-style project management.

Everything in the Business plan is in the Business subscription, limitless sheets, single sign-on, enterprise access controls, directory integrations, chargeback reports, user merging, and the ability to send emails from your domain addresses.

3. Enterprise Plan

Individual pricing.

The Enterprise plan is unquestionably superior to the Standard Business bundle. However, the program needs to include some of the tools required to take business project management to the next level.

Some critical power features, such as specific encryption keys and automation bridges, are only accessible as expensive add-ons to the Business or Enterprise plans. The only way to receive them is to purchase the Smartsheet Advanced bundle.

4. Smartsheet Advance 

Contact sales for pricing on Smartsheet Advance.

It is important to note that you can only upgrade to Smartsheet Advanced if you have an Enterprise plan. Even though we have not determined the exact rates, the procedures may be costly.

Smartsheet is a little pricey because most Enterprise solutions from other project management software suppliers include a similar feature set for free. You’ll need the most expensive package to get the most out of the software.

To be clear, Smartsheet’s 10,000ft is not a project management tool. However, we strongly recommend it for firms looking to fill gaps with capabilities not available in a standard Smartsheet plan.

Smartsheet’s 10,000ft is a resource management platform. It’s worth thinking about because resource and project management work hand in hand.

The software eases resource allocation and improves project planning accuracy. It also includes capabilities for time tracking, budgeting, forecasting, dynamic reporting, and other tasks.

10,000ft by Smartsheet is a must-have for firms managing large-scale projects with Smartsheet.

It’s a shame that none of the other Smartsheet bundles contain these features. However, competing project management software on the market only sometimes provides these. So, regardless of your project management software, you should expect to pay more for resource management solutions.

Overall, if you’re utilizing one of Smartsheet’s project management products, we recommend 10,000ft by Smartsheet—especially for firms on the Enterprise and Advanced plans.

• One Important Note For Bargain Hunters

Smartsheet requires a minimum of three users on every plan. So keep that in mind if you’re considering the Pro or Business tiers, especially if you’re on a tight budget.

Thus, the beginning price for Pro is $21 per month and $75 for Business.

Frequently Asked Questions

Best Alternative Software for Smartsheet

Conclusion

Smartsheet is one of the most powerful spreadsheet-style project management solutions available today. Smartsheet is designed for teams of various sizes and has many features. It will assist you in determining whether Smartsheet is appropriate for your requirements.

The Smartsheet features listed above will assist you in getting started with this program as quickly as possible. It’s not just another tool in your IT stack that you continue to pay for without knowing how the app repays you.

It’s a robust tool that can save you and your team time in any project by reducing non-productive effort. Furthermore, the app may integrate with various third-party productivity applications used by coworkers or clients.