Your All-In-One Web Based Project Management Tool

The SantexQ team would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and SAFE New Years Eve! Cheers.

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland

It’s the last few days before Christmas and while we always strive to keep things calm and under control during the holidays, the final stretch can be quite stressful. Shopping, planning, cooking, traveling - it really adds up! The best way to stay organized during the holidays is the tried and true method of creating a to-do list. Take it a step further and plan our these last few days with a schedule.

Much like using the SantexQ online project management tool to create tasks and allot time for each, you can plan your holiday “projects” piece by piece. This way, you can factor in how much time you have along with how much time needs to be spent buying those last few things, wrapping presents, or packing for your trip. It can be as simple as writing out a little list at the beginning of your day.

Holiday planning has some qualities that are quite similar to project management forecasting. When making your list, write down realistic time goals and remember to expect a few bumps in the road and changes to the schedule.

Keeping track of what needs to be done along with how long each task should take will make it easier to handle all the little things that you want to do on a schedule that makes sense. Staying organized during the holidays will reduce stress so that when you’re finally done, you can truly enjoy the good food, friends and family! Have a happy holiday!

Did you know? You can take SantexQ online project management tool for a test drive by taking advantage of our free basic account. Just sign up and you can have your first project up and running in less than 15 minutes. Once you’ve tried it, you can easily upgrade to a Premium Account with the full set of features for a flat fee of $9.95/month.

Premium Accounts include unlimited users and unlimited projects plus key features including file uploads, invoice generation, a punch clock and more.

See the full list of SantexQ features

If you’re still searching for that perfect project management solution, definitely try out SantexQ with a free Basic Account. You’ll be glad you did.

Online project management tools speak for themselves. Take ten minutes with one and you’ll see how easily they can help you organize, track and report on your projects, all while keeping the important information you need right at your fingertips. Still need convincing? Here are 6 Reasons Why You Should Use an Online Project Management Tool:

• Constant communication: Online project management tools keep everyone on the project team informed and updated. All team members need to do is log on and they can easily view projects and tasks they are assigned to, update project information, and see whether or not a task is billable.
• Tracking: Easily monitor time, view due dates, find out project status and see who’s doing what in a clean and organized way.
• Central Repository: Upload and share relevant files and store FTP, contact and various project information all in one, easy to access place. No more scraps of paper lying around - by using project management software, you can stay focused on the tasks at hand, rather than hunting for bits of info.
• Reporting: Project management tools like SantexQ allow you to take project data and turn it into Excel spreadsheets. This information can be very valuable for sharing with clients, looking at team performance and forecasting for future projects.
• Billing and Invoicing: For those businesses that run on billable hours, you know that keeping track of hours spent on a project is essential. The right online PM tools can help you keep track of billable hours and turn them into invoices with just a few clicks.
• Anytime Access - Online project management tools allow you to access your project information from any computer that’s connected to the Internet. Now with smart phones, you can take it further and easily share information and stay in the loop, even on the go!

Don’t take our word for it, try SantexQ yourself! Basic accounts are free, so what are you waiting for? Sign Up Here and see what all the talk is about.

Has this ever happened in your office?

Much like David Letterman’s top 10 list, I have decided to put together a top ten list of most commonly heard office phrases heard around SantexQ headquarters. Perhaps it will give you a taste of what it’s like to work here, perhaps not. The only thing I know is that our online project management tool keeps us organized amongst the chaos of office life! Without further ado, here are the top ten office phrases I will hear in a week:

10. Oh look, another ‘Space Available’ sign is up.
9. I am just going to be in here cranking away…
8. Edit Undo, Edit Undo!
7. Oh what is that on my desktop!? Oh come on you guys!
6. Dude, can you turn down the volume
5. I forgot to clock out…
4. It’s an “off” day (Monday)
3. Do you know how to fax this?
2. Where should we go for lunch?

And the number one office quote is…

1. Tell them I am in a meeting

Do you have any typical office shouts you hear every week? Share them in the comments!

When it comes to the workplace, meetings can swallow up time like a blackhole. What you think is going to be a short and concise discussion on the day’s goals can turn into a lengthy panel on the effects of small business in the corporate world.

The most important element of effective and efficient meetings is staying on track. Have a goal in mind for what you want to accomplish during your meeting and create an agenda that you can stick to. If related issues come up, jot them down and save it for later discussion.  In many cases, tangential topics need mulling over and are better suited for discussion once they have been thought out. Summarize periodically to keep things on track.

Preparation for meetings is also key. If everyone has full knowledge of the project you plan to discuss, you don’t have to waste time explaining things during the meeting. If possible, give out the meeting agenda beforehand, along with anything else that needs to be read to prepare for the meeting. Use your online project management tool to review project progress, so you know where things stand before you get to the meeting.

Remember that meetings should do one of three things: brainstorm, solve a problem or make a decision. Before you send out that event reminder think about whether a meeting is really needed, and if you can accomplish the same goal by communicating in other ways. If you simply want to convey information, perhaps sending an email or voice mail would be just as effective.

Lastly, don’t finish any discussion without deciding how the group will act on it. Meetings are about accomplishing things and making decisions, and there’s nothing more frustrating than ending a meeting in the same place you started. Have someone keep track of what was decided and who is supposed to do what as a result. Review it at the end of the meeting and follow up with an email.

Do you have any other meeting advice? Share it in the comments!

Being a project manager means taking the lead and communicating effectively with others to accomplish goals. By fully understanding your project, you will be able to better communicate with your team members and your clients. In short, make sure you know your stuff!

Simplicity is often a missing element when it comes to project management. Keep things simple and stay on track with an online project management tool!

It may not seem like it on paper (screen?), but keyboard shortcuts can save time. If you’re a project management who is on the computer all day, here are few Mac keyboard shortcuts that can make your life at least a little bit easier! PC user? Get some great tips at our post on PC Keyboard Shortcuts

The Command key has this symbol on it:

If you need more ways to increase productivity and get things done, check out our online project management tool!