12 Best Resource Planning Tools of 2022
An essential part of delivering successful projects is connecting work with the right people. Resource planning includes a lot of variables. Fortunately, there are multiple resource planning tools available to simplify and streamline the process and make project scheduling a breeze.
Here are our picks of the top resource planning tools available.
But first, let’s learn a little more about resource planning, and just how resource planning tools can help you.
What is Resource Planning?
Resource planning is an important part of project management.
Project Management Body of Knowledge ( PMBOK ) defines resource planning as:
“Determining what resources (people, equipment, materials, etc.) and what quantities of each should be used to perform project activities.”
In other words, resource planning deals with gathering and making use of resources that are needed to deliver a project to completion.
Resources can include anything from people, technical equipment, materials, and facilities.
Resource planning also includes managing talent that is already available. As a project manager, you need to ensure that any particular talent is not overworked and is assigned to one project at any given time.
You also need to ensure that you match skill levels to the tasks that need doing. Thus, making sure that people are equipped to do the work at hand but also that they are challenged and thus stay motivated.
What does a Resource Planner do?
Resource planning tools, or resource management software are a type of project management tool that aids in planning and scheduling.
Such a tool allows you to plan and allocate resources. You can also track which resource is working on what project when they are doing so, and for how long.
Thus, resource management software helps you get an overview of resource availability as well as the capacity of the organization.
You will also know the available skills, and thus be able to schedule and provide reporting to highlight previous and forecasted resource utilization , all with the help of the tool.
Important Features to Look out for When you Choose a Resource Planning Tool
Whenever you look to invest in a software solution for your organization, there are certain features and criteria that you need to consider to make sure the software is the right choice for you.
This is also true when you choose resource management software.
Here are the features that you need to keep in mind when looking to pick software that will meet your needs.
These are also the criteria we based our top picks on.
How is the software designed? Will the software be easy to learn and use, not just for you as a project manager but also for other individuals that will need to use it?
Tutorial videos and other such materials are a bonus.
Moreover, how is the user interface? The software needs intuitive navigation.
What are the possible integrations that are offered in the software?
Make sure that the software integrates with other tools that your company is already using to help streamline your workflow .
With so many available tools in the market to choose from, the price of the software is often a deciding factor.
We have tried to incorporate tools of varying price points for your consideration.
Does the software offer the ability to customize according to you and your team’s needs, especially concerning the project you are working on?
Lastly, but most importantly, what features does the software offer?
Some functionalities to look out for include:
Best Resource Planning Tools
Now that you know everything about resource planning, it is time to tell you our top picks for the best resource planning tools available.
1. UDN Task Manager
UDN Task Manager is a project management tool that provides a flexible platform to help teams collaborate and communicate, get an overview of project progress, and scheduled timelines .
UDN Task Manager offers various views such as Gantt charts , calendar views , and grid views to give you a representation of the project data according to your needs.
These overviews can easily show you which tasks have been assigned to which resource making it easy to view everyone’s workload.
The friendly user interface lets you start planning projects and assigning resources easily, and thus allows you to manage your projects in minutes.
The platform is all-encompassing and offers everything you need to manage your resources and your projects with ease.
Easily create, assign, and track the progress of tasks for each team member while simultaneously tracking the progress of your project.
Get notifications of approaching deadlines and overdue tasks right to your inbox so nothing goes unnoticed.
UDN Task Manager integrates with different apps to streamline your workflow.
Pricing
2. Hub Planner
Hub Planner provides an array of business functionalities. The tool is used by small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses alike.
Hub Planner provides features like skills matrices and location tags that help you easily identify the right resources for the project that you are working on.
You can also gain from vacation management and resource requesting to be aware of which resources are available for the project and which are not.
Pricing :
3. Float
Float is a resource planning and management software trusted by over 3000 teams globally.
With Float’s people view you can see which team member is assigned which tasks and thus know who is overworked and which team member can take on more responsibilities.
Changes appear in real-time allowing you to schedule your team with accuracy and confidence.
You can view and reflect on your team’s capacity in a shared view. With such features, you can set individual work hours, add public holidays, and schedule time off.
You can also use unassigned roles to plan for new hires or contractors, while also being able to store tasks that are yet to be confirmed.
Pricing :
4. Saviom
Saviom is a resource planning and workforce planning tool.
With Saviom you can take advantage of a high-level Gantt scheduler which can sync your business-wide resource activities to the project schedule.
Saviom’s leave management portal lets you correct resource overlaps and manage absences as well as schedule imbalances.
With the software’s analytics suite you can access complex data, this will allow you to identify and resolve resource crunches, project disruptions, surpluses, as well as delays.
Moreover, with real-time business intelligence dashboards, you can predict in-demand skills, shifts in the work pipeline, and resource demands.
Saviom also can be integrated with different tools. These include email, MS Project, and Excel.
Pricing :
5. Resource Guru
Resource Guru is a platform that provides a simple way to schedule people, equipment, and other resources.
The software has a calendar style interface allowing you to get a clear overview of what each resource is working on and availability; this lets you maximize resource utilization.
With individual resource dashboards, there is transparency as to responsibilities.
The software also lets you monitor business performance, allow for capacity planning, and reports monitor utilization of your team.
Pricing :
6. eResource Scheduler
Established in 2011, eResource Planner is an enterprise resource management software.
With multiple views, such as resources, projects, and roles views your resource scheduling becomes a breeze.
You can set filters to identify qualified resources as per your project’s requirements.
eResource Planner also lets you schedule at both project and task level making your project organized, and responsibilities transparent for your whole team.
With timesheets features and financial modules that include cost and billing rates, and a forecasting report, eResource Planner provides a complete resource management package.
Pricing :
7. ActiveCollab Workload
ActiveCollab Workload is a visual workload management software.
The software is aimed at improving team performance and project planning .
With ActiveCollab Workload you can get a real-time overview of what your resources are working on, thus, allowing your scheduling to be more efficient.
The software helps in resource management by giving you an overview of your team across projects and tasks. You can track how long it takes resources to complete tasks, as well as issue invoices for billable hours.
ActiveCollab Workload allows you to see each resource’s capacity and provide a workload schedule that fits their individual strengths and in light of their availability.
Pricing :
8. Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Planner is Microsoft Project’s resource planning function, which is used by over 20 million people.
The tool is aimed to provide a simple, visual way to organize teamwork.
Microsoft Planner offers AI-powered resource analytics as well as built-in resource request tickets. These features provide you greater executive oversight across your project lifecycle.
Pricing :
Microsoft Planner vs Trello: Which One is Better?
9. Mavenlink
Mavenlink has modules for project management, resource management, accounting, team collaboration, and business intelligence.
Some of the key features offered in Mavenlink’s resource management module include
Mavenlink also offers integrations with what they call M-Bridge. This integration platform is aimed at simplifying integrations between Mavenlink and other apps.
You also have certain in-built integrations to choose from which include Hubspot, Slack, Quickbooks, Jira, Expensify, G-suite, Salesforce, Xero, Concur, Dynamics 365, Netsuite, Qualtics, and Sage Intacct.
Pricing :
More apps like Mavenlink:
Top Mavenlink Alternatives for Project Managers
10. Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a dynamic work and collaboration software that allows scheduling for teams.
With Smartsheet you can simplify your project planning, make decisions about team capacity and team utilization, as well as create budget forecasting, and determine hiring needs in real-time.
Moreover, with the Smartsheet’s time tracking and expense tracking, you can create detailed project reports.
Smartsheet also offers a variety of integrations of internal software suites and workflows.
Pricing :
11. LiquidPlanner
Up next we have LiquidPlanner . LiquidPlanner is a project management tool that uses predictive scheduling as a means to build your project plans. This predictive scheduling allows your plans to be more reliable and gives you better control over your project and resource planning.
The tool is a popular choice for many teams due to its versatility in the functionality it provides. Teams from different industries use LiquidPlanner as their project management and resource planner tool of choice. Manufacturing, technology, and development are some of the teams the solution caters to.
The tool takes a resource-based approach to scheduling and when prioritizing. This allows it to be a great asset in times of unpredictable scenarios.
Pricing :
12. Binocs
Binocs is a resource planning and scheduling software that provides a cloud-based solution for you to be able to align the work you need to get done with the available resources and resource capacity both in terms of team members and equipment.
The tool uses updated demand data and capacity knowledge to streamline your resource utilization to optimize work to help you and your team reach their full potential.
The tool stands apart because of the way the Binocs team works. They are constantly adjusting and readjusting their software to provide their clients with exactly what they need.
Pricing:
Honorary Mentions
Apart from the tools mentioned above, there are certain other resource planning tools that we came across in our research that we had to mention before we ended our post.
Conclusion
There you have it!
Our top picks for the best resource planning tools available right now on the internet. We hope this post made the decision process easier for you. If it didn’t, share your thoughts in the comments section below!