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You may know us as the Asana-obsessed bookkeepers and systems nerds (because that’s what we are), but Asana’s not the only project management system that’ll help you run your firm.

So OF COURSE we love Asana! And our signature course is taught on the free version so it’s accessible to anyone who’s just starting out or not ready to upgrade.

But honestly, it doesn’t matter what project management system you use to run your business, as long as you have solid systems in place.

When you’re choosing a project management (aka PM) system, there’s just a few things you might want to consider before going all-in.

Okay, so I guess it does matter!

In this blog, we’re talking all about:

What to look for in a project management system
Must-have and nice-to-have features
The best PM systems for bookkeepers and accountants

If you’ve been wondering which system will help you organize your work, help your team work faster, and help you avoid dropping the ball with your clients — you’re in the right place!

The Essential Components Of A Great Project Management System

Most PM systems are built for projects that have a beginning and an end. Think wedding planner, web designer, photographer, or any other project-based service provider.

Bookkeeping and accounting projects are different, because they’re often ongoing, with no real “end”. I really struggled to overcome this hurdle while I built my first bookkeeping firm years ago! Because nothing was really designed to fit my needs, I had to figure out a way to hack the system to work for me.

Once I figured out how to create recurring tasks, templated projects, and processes to make everything work together, it was SUCH a game-changer!!!

psst… I went through all the trial and error of building killer processes and workflow templates so you don’t have to. Get your hands on them right here and start reclaiming your time (and sanity)!

Choosing a project management system is kind of a serious commitment, so making an informed decision will totally pay off! Here’s what features to look for when you’re weighing the options:

Must-Have Feature #1: Recurring Tasks

Like I said before, this line of work is basically constant repetition of the same set of tasks each month. Plus a few one-off randoms sprinkled in here and there!

Having the ability to set recurring tasks will help you save TONS of time each month for a few reasons…

You won’t have to remember which order you need to do things
You won’t have to remember how often you need to do them
You won’t have to keep track of which client’s tasks are still incomplete
YOU WON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING FROM MEMORY

The last one’s my favorite!

Make sure you choose a system that lets you set a task AND choose the frequency of the recurrence. It’s a major lifesaver to have tasks pop up automatically for you on schedule, instead of putting them in a calendar yourself or storing everything in your brain.

Must-Have Feature #2: High-Level Overview

One of the things that Asana (and others) does very well is give the ability to see ALL the tasks across ALL the projects in an easily-digestible way. As the business owner, you need to be able to see the projects and tasks assigned to your each person on your team (or just you if you haven’t hired yet).

Some systems can show you all tasks in your entire organization, but you can’t necessarily filter between assignees, tags, or custom fields.

Which leads us to the next one!

Must-Have Feature #3: Reporting

The ability to sort tasks between assignee, tag, custom fields, etc. is SO helpful when you’re running a team. But you also need these features if you’re working on your solo!

Sometimes, tasks slip by without getting a due date, or assignee. So if you’re working in Asana, the My Tasks tab might not show everything that’s actually due (tip: make yourself the assignee on each task).

When you can pull custom reports, you can easily check in on your team’s progress, project statuses, group like tasks together across all clients, and wayyy more. The possibilities are endless if your project management system has robust reporting features!

Must-Have Feature #4: Ease of Use

Finally, you have to actually ENJOY using the project management system you choose! Aesthetics are great, but if it’s too complicated for you to navigate — it might be a sign to switch.

We love Asana because:

It’s easy to use (and cute!)

The free version is INCREDIBLE and robust

Duplicating workflows is a breeze

It offers integrations with tons of other apps

You can set up projects in different “views” (list, board, calendar)

And the list honestly goes on from there, but since we teach ALL the ins and outs of why Asana is our project management system of choice for running our bookkeeping and consulting firm…

You can just join us in the course and get all the deets for yourself!

The Best Project Management Systems for Bookkeepers

Now that you know what to look for in a project management system for your firm, you might as well pick one! Once I started implementing systems in my firm, the second part of my life began — and finding a solid project management systems is the first step.

There are two main options when it comes to the best project management systems for the kind of recurring work we do as firm owners:

Asana
ClickUp
(bonus option) Keeper

I’ve already listed out why Asana is my top choice, but let’s recap and chat a bit about the others as well.

Asana

You can totally set up awesome workflows on the free version of Asana and save yourself countless hours of reinventing the wheel. It’s simple without being basic, has robust features, and it’s the only project management system that shoots unicorns across the screen!

ClickUp

Sooo many people love ClickUp for its ability to “do it all”. And it checks all the boxes of features I recommend you look for in a project management system. It also offers importing, so the templates that we include in Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants will totally work in there too!

Keeper

Keeper is a great software for quality control and bookkeeping task management. It also features client portals so you can easily communicate with your clients. The one drawback we’ve found with using Keeper as a full-on project management system is that it doesn’t allow for limited views. So if you had personal tasks or management level tasks in your Keeper account, your entire team would be able to see everything.

How To Save Tons Of Valuable Time In Your Firm

This is something I definitely used to struggle with, too. I was always spinning my wheels, wondering why I felt like I was working so hard, but never getting anything done.

I realized it was because I didn’t have any systems in place, and I was constantly doing things from scratch — things that could EASILY be templated and repeated!

That’s exactly why I created Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants. I didn’t want ANY other firm owners to go through the same drama that I went through while trying to scale.

Since then, I’ve helped 1,000+ firm owners streamline and organize their firms with this self-paced course. Go join the course, introduce yourself in the Facebook community, and dive right into all the content!

JOIN KICKOFF WITH ASANA