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Resource Planning For Your Business Plan

Identifying the resources you need to grow your business

Why Is Resource Planning Important

How to start resource planning, the bottom line, frequently asked questions (faqs).

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A business plan helps you organize your goals and growth plans for your business. Identifying business resources you'll be starting your business with already, and accounting for the resources you'll need to acquire after launching the business, is a crucial step in business planning.

Key Takeaways

  • A business plan helps you organize your goals and growth plans for your business.
  • Resource planning help you account for resources you have, plan for resources you need and ways to optimize their use
  • You can plan for physical, people and technical resources in your business plan

Resource planning help you account for resources you have, plan for resources you need and ways to optimize their use. Among other things, even the most simple business plans are designed to walk you through the activity of describing every source and the exact dollar amount of your initial equity capital, as well as account for the equipment necessary to produce your products or services.

It can be difficult to accurately estimate your future resource needs, which is why this startup mistake is one of the most frequent contributors to young businesses running out of cash early on.

A very important section in your business plan is about the finances of your business, and that includes how much you hope to spend on resources you need to acquire and maintenance expenses on assets you own. Your plans for obtaining the necessary personnel, equipment, and cash to meet your capital expenses will need to be detailed throughout your business plan.

You may need financing from a bank or investors or will invest your personal savings in the business, and resource planning will come in handy for that too.

Resource allocation plans are what your potential investors and business partners are going to need to see before jumping on board with your new company.

There are different types of resources and you need to budget and plan for them accordingly. In describing each of the resources that you have and need for your business to reach profitability, position each of them in terms of the value it will bring to the company, both in the near term and down the road.

To figure out exactly which resources your business is going to need, and account for those in your business planning process, ask yourself these two crucial questions:

  • Does starting and growing your business require having staff on hand? If your business relies upon output from people other than yourself and your business partners, you're going to need to allocate resources for hiring staff at fair market rates. 
  • What type of equipment or fixed assets will your business need to get going? If your business is dependent upon purchasing or leasing equipment or other fixed assets like retail and office space, these are major considerations as you plan out your resource allocation.

Physical Assets

Depending on the nature of your business, you may have varying need for physical assets. However, in all likelihood you'd need some sort of office furniture and definitely some computers. Physical assets could also include office space, storefronts, manufacturing facilities and equipment necessary for your business. For example, if you own a baked good business, baking equipment like mixers and ovens would be physical assets you'd need to plan for.

Personnel and People

There are different types of people that can be a part of your business. People you hire, for example, can be employees or independent contractors and there are different cost implications for your business depending on whether you hire the former or the latter.

Investing in skills and capacities for people in your business is also an important part of resource planning.

How about mentors, key advisors, supplier connections, and other intangible resources for your business? These types of relationships whose value to your business can be immense, also need to be accounted for within your business plan as they'll have a very large impact on the future growth of your company.

Think of the massively positive effect your company would experience if you had a friend or family member that was a decision-maker at a large company who'd be your perfect first customer. It would undoubtedly be one of your key strategies for driving the early growth of your company. So, as you're planning your resource allocation, you'd naturally be spending in areas that make your young business more appealing to the target customers you want to serve.

Technical Resources

It is a good time to evaluate your technical resources and requirements as well. Some businesses rely more heavily on technology or intellectual property than others. Technology-dependent companies will need a strong IT network to get started. If building your own website won't be any trouble, then that's one major cost you'll be able to avoid as you get started with your company. Otherwise, you may need to allocate for web design, development, and other website-related expenses.

Regardless of your situation, don't be intimidated by the upfront costs of starting a business. Instead, keep in mind that in today's age, your product or service will only be as good as the technology that supports it, and if you buy or build low-grade gear, you’ll probably have to replace it in a few years anyway.

Clearly, there are a lot of different expenses to take into account as you allocate the resources for your new business. However, forcing yourself to go through this activity in extreme detail while building your business plan will save you a lot of headaches and potential failures in the future.

What are assets and resources in a business plan?

Resources can be anything that helps you operate or run your business. Assets are a type of resources that help you achieve you business. Assets can be cash, or physical assets such as equipment or intangible assets such as the brand of your business. In a business plan, you talk about the resources you have and the resources you need to acquire to help your business grow. You also account for your assets on your balance sheet. A strong balance sheet presented in your business plan can be appealing to potential investors.

Which components of a business plan are most useful to attract investors?

Each section of a business plan is important to potential investors. An executive summary gives your investors an elevator pitch to your business. Company description explains to them how your business is solving a market need, while market analysis shows investors you understand your industry and competition. Sections on organization, product details and marketing plans dig deeper into your vision for your business and how its organized. And the financial information component helps them see if you idea is worth putting their money into.

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Ultimate Guide to Resource Planning

By Joe Weller | June 7, 2018

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Focusing on how to best use people to achieve essential activities helps organizations drive themselves forward in the information economy. Without a realistic view of who makes up your workforce, how much time your people have to spend on project tasks, and what they need to get the job done, your project and business plans won’t succeed. This article features an overview of resource planning and explains why it is essential to project management. Plus, you’ll find a variety of free resource chart tools and learn more about expert resource planning techniques to start planning how you will maximize your most important — and most limited — resources.

Why Is Resource Planning Important in Project Management?

Resource management is an essential project management process and a core activity of human resource management — from large enterprise to small startups. Managing projects requires managing resources. Whether the project is developing a new software feature or the construction of a new building, resource planning directly contributes to the project’s end result. An over-resourced project wastes time, those with too few resources risk missing critical milestones, and those that use the wrong resources won’t meet expectations. Project managers need to understand what resources a project needs and what resources the project already has before developing accurate project plans.

The topic of resource planning, allocation, and management is often associated with people planning activities common to human resource management (HRM) and planning. Human resource management is an approach to acquiring, training, controlling, managing, and measuring people resources, and human resource planning is a strategy to add value to a business or organization by supporting people activities like training, compensation, safety, and communication. Resource planning is associated with different industries and approaches as well, including the following:

  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): ERP refers to the combination of business processes and information that joins disparate functions of companies (like accounting and HR) with the manufacturing or product development and service-side functions of a business or organization. ERP software (like Microsoft Project) supports resource planning activity at Fortune 500 corporations and large companies that scale operations for thousands of projects including manufacturing.
  • Material Requirements Planning (MRP): A planning and control system for inventory, production, and scheduling. MRP is an approach to handling material resources that involves converting a master production schedule into a detailed breakdown of the raw materials used in civil engineering, commercial real estate, and fabrication industries. Manufacturing and resource planning (MRP II) replaced MRP as the standard, and ERP expanded the reference to accommodate HR and financial activity.
  • Utility Resource Planning: This activity involves estimating the demand to be met by the utility resource (for example, natural gas, the reliability of the resource, the costs of available resources, and government policies and regulations to consider).
  • Integrated Resource Planning (IRP): A type of roadmap tool used for utility resource planning developed in collaboration with government agencies, industry advocacy groups, developers, and other project stakeholders.
  • Natural Resource Planning: This refers to the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals. By contrast, distribution resource planning (DRP) refers to a method for planning orders within a supply chain

Agile Resource Planning Template

Agile Resource Planning Template

This resource capacity planning template includes a Gantt chart feature to visualize and plan resources for Agile software project sprints . Use this template to chart software development resources by quantity and skill type (for example, PMs, analysts, developers, designers, product managers, administrators, etc.). Modify the template to view the distribution of your team’s time and activities across your Agile sprint calendar (expressed in two week intervals in this template).  

‌   Download Excel Template Try Smartsheet Template   ‌

Looking for a better way to manage your resources? Look no further.

Resource Management Demo Video

Resource Management by Smartsheet empowers your people to more effectively manage teams across projects, track time accurately, and forecast with confidence so you can make better, more informed decisions with a clear view of every project.

Watch the demo

Optimize the Resource Planning Process

Project resource planning involves the allocation and utilization of different types of resources, including people, materials, equipment, and financial capital. The term “resources” generally implies all of the things that a project manager or business depends on to deliver products and services. In the context of this example, the term means human resources. People planning is different from physical resource planning.

First, identify the resource requirements for your project schedule: What type of skilled people do you need to complete project tasks? Will you use internal employees or contract resources from external vendors? Do you have the materials, software, and equipment to supply team members with to empower their work? This step involves documenting project roles and responsibilities, organizing project teams based on competencies, and creating resource control plans for managing change and relationships.

Next, determine the cost and duration of the needed resources across the entire project schedule. Use resource forecast techniques and tools, including project management software, to assist with creating an optimized resource plan. Decide on the range of competencies needed (by project task) and determine if you need to change project scope, plan additional training, or provide subject matter experts. This step is both quantitative (in that you use information such as previous project schedules, budgets and reports, and data analysis) and qualitative (due to the people planning component).  

Finally, create a resource schedule and calendar and determine if you have the resource requirements to complete the entire project schedule on time. Anticipate what-if scenarios to determine worst-case resource management scenarios. List individual project resource activity and make sure all tasks are assigned to a specific resource.

Using spreadsheet software to create resource plans has its limitations. Managing data manually increases the chance of forecasting errors. Project resource plans are living project documents, meaning real-time analysis of the data is critical to success. The risk of overwriting or deleting spreadsheet resource plans, or of creating multiple versions across a distributed project team, is high. Consider investing in project management software to stay on schedule and optimize your resource planning and management.

Project Resource Plan Template

Project Resource Planning Template

Use this project resource planning template for multiple types of project and portfolio management scenarios. Schedule human resources and non-human resources (like material and equipment) in separate sections for easy analysis based on each project phase, from project origination to execution. Plan and estimate the cost for full-time employees, freelance consultants, contingent staffing, software, hardware, and more.

Resource Planning Tools and Techniques

Resource management software tools can automate tasks and track work hours against budgets, provide color-coded visualization charts to help monitor scarce resources in real-time, and share big picture data for portfolio managers to track what-if scenarios across multiple projects and teams. Resource management strategy includes various processes for organizing and managing project teams.

Resource planning involves the strategic use of human and non-human resources to develop products and services under deadline and budget restraints. Software tools help simplify resource planning, but the human element to project resource management requires more than technology to manage. Different techniques exist to assist resource planning and manage project teams, including the following:

  • Resource Meetings: Short, frequent, action-oriented meetings give project managers a forum for discussing roles and responsibilities related to resource planning. The meeting focuses on sharing fact-based information and short-term planning for critical project activities and tasks. These meetings help create project culture and provide leadership with a frequent control for corrective action and clarification.
  • Resource Leveling: This is a technique to optimize resource allocation by adjusting the project schedule over time to resolve conflicts caused by the over-allocation of resources. According to the PMBOK guide, these project schedule adjustments may affect critical path .
  • Resource Smoothing: A technique to optimize resource allocation using free float (or total float) without affecting the critical path. The PMBOK defines free float as the “amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint.”
  • Resource Availability and Utilization: A resource planning technique to ensure that the project’s allocated resources are actually available. This is done by calculating the cost to use them, monitoring planned versus actual use of resources, and taking corrective action.
  • Resource Capacity Planning: A planning technique used by portfolio managers that oversee resource planning and manage multiple projects. Capacity planning involves determining if the allocated resources are sufficient enough to complete new projects and determine if the amount of resources, or the level of skilled people, is sufficient on existing project teams.

What Is a Resource Planning Chart?

Resource planning software includes features to create resource planning charts like Gantt and RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed) charts to help project managers visualize, plan, and manage resources for the project schedule. Project managers use resource planning charts like Gantt charts to find the critical path, a color-coded network diagram that displays a sequence of activities through the project schedule, the duration of each task, and the longest path from the start of the first project activity to the end of the last activity. The PMBOK guide recommends using the critical path method (CPM) to determine the shortest possible duration of a project schedule.

Staff Resources Planning Template

Staff Resource Planning Template

Resource management involves assigning tasks, roles, and responsibilities to your project teams to clarify process and participation. This resource planning template combines a RACI matrix and a histogram feature. Use these tools to visualize and plan project activity and create an optimized project schedule based on staff resources.

‌ Download Staff Resources Planning Template – Excel

What to Cover in Your Resource Management Plan

Resource plans guide how to allocate, control, and use resources. In addition to this practical function, resource management plans can help earn stakeholder buy-in and get project budgets approved. A physical resource management plan advises project managers on the use of materials and equipment. Human resource plans specify the type of skilled people needed to complete a project, and the quantity, cost, and scheduled duration of their given activities. Before implementing your project plan, modify and organize the resource plan to assign every individual project task to the appropriate person. A sound resource plan includes the following information:

  • Resource Identification: The type of people or material resource needed, name, title, source (if contracted), and the assigned project team.  
  • Resource Cost: The direct or estimated resource cost.
  • Resource Requirements: The information about the resources available, including when they’re available, any conditions, and the duration of their availability.
  • Roles and Responsibilities: The specific function(s) that people resources perform for the project. This information might list the resource authority, including decision-making and approval authority.
  • Resource Quantity: The amount of this type of resource (for example the amount of labor hours, equipment, or materials).
  • Resource States: The current state of the resource (planned, requested, approved, denied, allocated, confirmed).
  • Resource Locations: Where is the resource located, including virtual resources and co-located teams.
  • Resource Organization: A graphic display of the project team and their relationship to other project team resources.
  • Resource Calendar: The scheduled working days, shift hours, start and end dates for different project milestones, and scheduled holidays. Resource calendars identify the duration of work for specific resources.
  • Resource Issue Log: The information on resource planning challenges, for example in acquiring skilled resources, and problem-solving steps that worked to keep project resource plans on track.

What Is a Resource Forecast?

A resource forecast is a quantitative assessment of conditions and events used to estimate the amount of resources, and the cost of a project’s planned, allocated, and actual resources. This forecast is based on information available when the resource plan is developed. Activity duration estimates forecast how long each project activity will take. This is a useful technique to determine cost and quantity of people resources required, expressed in hours, weeks, days, or months. PMI lists various forecasting tools and techniques in the PMBOK guide, including the following:

  • Bottom-Up Estimating: Evaluate the small details, like individual project activity duration by resource, from an aggregate breakdown of the total scope of work. Use this technique to forecast the duration of individual assignments, or cost of skilled resources, by adding up all of the lower-level estimates of resource cost and consumption to determine a total estimate. This process is accurate but time consuming.
  • Reference Published Data: Leverage published reports, articles from industry journals, and public data from organizations like PMI to create resource forecasts using this data to create estimates. This is a type of analogous estimating, which is defined in the PMBOK as “a technique for estimating the duration or cost of an activity or a project using historical data from a similar activity or project.”
  • Parametric Estimating: Project management software features an algorithm function to perform parametric estimating. Use this tool to forecast resource cost or estimate resource duration based on the project resource parameters and historical data.
  • Three-Point Estimating: Use a realistic estimate, an optimistic estimate, and a worst-case scenario estimate of project labor to forecast resource costs by applying the average of the three estimates.

Team Resource Planning Template

Team resource Planning Template

Use this template to forecast your project team’s bandwidth (expressed as work hours) using a heatmap visualization. Customize the template to reflect your team’s availability based on resource allocation of work hours. This is a resource utilization tool designed to help you plan and manage your team’s demand and quickly populate data based on project hours allocated and utilized.

‌ Download Team Resource Planning Template – Excel

Improve Resource Planning Efforts with Smartsheet

Resource Management by Smartsheet is a powerful resource management software that helps to effectively manage the who, the what, and the when behind projects.

With Resource Management by Smartsheet, you can more easily build the best team for a project, keep project schedules and budgets on track, and confidently forecast business needs.

When teams have clarity into the work getting done and by whom, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Watch a free demo to learn more about Resource Management by Smartsheet.

Make better operational decisions with a powerful resource management tool.

How To Create A Resource Plan In 7 Steps

Jitesh Patil

As an agency project manager, you’ve probably experienced the agony of a project going over budget or missing deadlines because of poor project resource planning.

But let’s face it—creating a resource management plan while balancing a project’s requirements, budget, and schedule can be a real pain. Even the thought of identifying all the required resources, assigning them, and creating a detailed schedule is enough to give you a headache.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

This article will show you how to create a resource plan that addresses these pain points and sets your project team up for success. You’ll learn about the steps involved, the tools needed, and the best practices to document a resource management plan.

Ready to get started?

Let’s start by understanding what a resource plan is.

What is a resource plan?

A resource plan is a document that outlines the resources (people, tools, and materials) needed to complete a project. For an agency project, this document focuses primarily on human resources and their capacity, availability, and workload.

This plan helps a project manager manage resources and adjust the schedule.

Project managers create it in the early planning stages of project management. It’s a deliverable of an effective resource planning process.

Elements of a project resource plan

A comprehensive resource plan includes:

  • Resource requirements: A list of all the resources needed to complete the project, including their number, roles, and responsibilities
  • Project schedule: A detailed schedule including task start and end dates as well as critical milestones
  • Resource gaps and risks: An analysis of the resource needs that cannot be met internally and a plan to deal with resource risks
  • Resource management: A plan about how to monitor resource utilization and workload
  • Monitoring and control plan: A plan to share resource planning and management updates with stakeholders, team members, and management.

How to create a resource plan?

Project managers plan resource management during the project’s planning phase. This upfront project management work ensures that you have the right resources available at the right time in your project.

Let’s look at the steps involved in creating one.

Grab a copy of our free project resource plan template to follow along.

#1. Document project scope

The first step in project management is to define the project’s scope.

The scope document not only helps you plan a project’s schedule, but it’s also critical for understanding the resource requirements of a project.

You don’t need to redo the entire scope document. However, it helps to include the following:

  • Key project deliverables
  • Major activities needed to deliver them
  • And things that are out of scope

Creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) based on project requirements helps you identify the deliverables and tasks.

Sample project scope for a content marketing campaign

Include a brief project scope outlining the deliverables and activities needed to complete the project.

#2. Identify resource requirements

At this stage, you know the activities needed to deliver a project. Next, you can quickly identify the resources required to complete each activity.

For example, here’s how you can document the resource requirements for a content marketing project.

sample resource requirements for a content marketing project

For every resource type, note down the following:

  • Responsibilities (you’ll need these later to identify resource gaps)
  • And the number of resources required

#3. Include the project timeline

At the end of step #2, you’ve identified the “who,” i.e., the project resources.

Next, you need the “when.”

You only need some of the resources at all times in your project’s lifecycle. It makes sense to allocate and release a valuable resource as required so they can work on multiple projects.

That’s where a project timeline helps.

At this stage, the timeline represents the baseline schedule of the project’s activities. This could change resource assignments depending on resource availability.

Toggl Plan’s drag-and-drop Project timelines make it easy to create project schedules and adjust them just as quickly when things change.

Sample project timeline in Toggl Plan

Include a link to your project timeline in this section.

#4. Allocate resources to project tasks

Resource allocation is the process of assigning and managing the available resources.

It is an essential step of the resource management process as it helps balance a project’s resource needs with an organization’s total resource capacity.

Managers need to compete for resources when an agency works on multiple projects. As a result, a manager often needs to work with other project managers to book resources for a project.

Toggl Plan’s Team timelines make it easy to see your entire team’s schedule. See who’s on vacation and who’s busy with other projects in one place. Thus making it simple to schedule resources based on their availability and capacity.

Sample team timeline in Toggl Plan

Once you’re happy with the allocation plan, add the project resource schedule to the plan document. This involves adding the name of the person, their role, allocation start and end dates, and their estimated workload in hours.

Sample resource allocation plan for a content marketing project

Once you’ve allocated resources, you may find some project activities without any assignees. These are called resource gaps.

You may find other project activities without room to add a buffer resulting in the risk of a project lag. This risk can occur within a project or across projects in your agency.

Once you’ve identified the gaps and risks, include them in the plan.

#5. Make a risk management plan

Agency project managers mostly need to manage human resources. As a result, the project resource planning process is full of uncertainties. All an agency manager can do is prepare for roadblocks to complete projects on time and within budget.

You’ve already identified the resource gaps and risks in the last step.

Next, make a plan to manage these risks.

Here are some common project resource risks and their solutions:

The solutions you choose depend on the client and other project priorities.

Once you’ve identified the potential solutions, include them in your plan.

#6. Monitor and control project resources

There’s one final step before you can send the plan for approval.

You need a plan for when and how you’ll track resource availability and utilization.

A regular review meeting schedule helps you:

  • Stay on top of your project’s resource requirements.
  • Revisit specific resource assignment decisions.
  • Manage resource risks better.

Include the resource review meeting date, topic, and attendee information in the resource management plan.

Tracking utilization

Utilization indicates how effectively resources are utilized in a project compared to their estimated allocation. It clearly shows you if your project is suffering from under or over-utilization of resources.

Allocation can be estimated from previous successful lookalike projects. Using a time-tracking tool to track time is the best way to measure your project team’s utilization accurately.

You can also use a simple spreadsheet or use Toggl Track’s reports to track your team utilization rate.

#7. Get the plan approved

You are now all set to send the plan for approval.

You must get the plan approved by all the stakeholders involved in the project. This way, they understand the plan and risks in managing resources.

Critical stakeholders in an agency project include:

  • Client (or the project owner)
  • Account manager
  • People ops team (if you plan to hire additional resources or train existing resources)
  • Finance/budget team

In large agencies, these are separate teams. On the other hand, in small agencies, the agency owner is often the only one you’ll need approval from.

Do you really need a documented plan?

Some of the steps outlined above seem apparent. In fact, so evident that agencies rarely make resource plans—less than 40% of project teams invest in resource planning and management ( Wellingtone , 2021).

Is it worth then investing in planning your project’s resources?

Absolutely. Here’s why:

  • Reduce project failure rate : According to the same Wellingtone report, poor resource planning is the third-most common cause of project failure.
  • Better manage resource constraints: With a clear picture of resource availability and allocation, you can make better decisions to utilize resources efficiently.
  • Effective project portfolio management : Juggling multiple client projects is never easy. A documented plan gives you a clear picture of who’s doing what and when. Thus ensuring that all projects get a fair shot at available resources.
  • Clear project communication: A documented plan means all stakeholders (including clients) know the resource needs, risks, review schedule, and mitigation plans.
  • Resource commitments: Getting signed approvals to ensure everyone has budgeted for the resource requirements—including other PMs, HR, and finance teams.

Tools for effective resource planning

Creating and documenting a plan to manage resources may feel daunting. However, templates and resource management software make it easy.

Free resource planning templates

Free resource plan template (Google Docs and MS Word)

Make a copy of this free Google Docs (or MS Word) template to document your resource plan.

Free resource management template

Also, grab our free resource planning and management templates (Google sheets and Excel versions)

Resource planning software

The free templates can help you get started quickly. But if you’re serious about resource management, it pays to invest in resource management tools.

Read our detailed comparison of the top resource planning tools . Or check out our top picks below.

Create an effective resource management plan with Toggl Plan

For agency projects, you need a simple tool to plan your projects and resources.

Project managers are hands-on and often have little time to learn and tinker with a complex project management tool.

That’s where Toggl Plan can help. It’s a simple, visual, drag-and-drop project planning tool.

Its colorful timelines make it easy to see who’s doing what and when. As a result, you can quickly make and adjust project and resource plans.

Toggl Plan's drag-and-drop timelines make it easy to create and adjust resource plans

The time-off planning feature is handy for staying on top of your team’s vacation plans and avoiding scheduling conflicts with off time and other projects.

Toggl Plan helps you plan and manage your team's time off

It also has a two-way integration with Toggl Track, a time-tracking tool. Using both tools, you and your team can stay on top of your team’s allocation, utilization, and workload.

Toggl Track Summary Report Pie Chart

Start your free Toggl Plan trial now .

Jitesh Patil

Jitesh is an SEO and content specialist. He manages content projects at Toggl and loves sharing actionable tips to deliver projects profitably.

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Project Management | Buyer's Guide

6 Best Free Resource Planning Software

Published September 13, 2023

Published Sep 13, 2023

Corey McCraw

REVIEWED BY: Corey McCraw

Silvana Peters

WRITTEN BY: Silvana Peters

This article is part of a larger series on Project Management .

  • 1 Best Free Resource Planning Software at a Glance
  • 2 monday.com: Best Overall Resource Planning Software
  • 3 Wrike: Best for Usability & Artificial Intelligence
  • 4 ClickUp: Best for Remote Team Collaboration
  • 5 Asana: Best for Multi-project Workflow Management
  • 6 Smartsheet: Best for Project Organization Spreadsheets
  • 7 Airtable: Best for Data Tracking
  • 8 How We Evaluated the Best Free Resource Planning Software
  • 9 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • 10 Bottom Line

The best free resource planning software gives businesses a clear understanding of available resources, such as employees, equipment, and time. These providers offer key features like document management, task reminders, and data viewing options. Using the right resource planning tool increases efficiency, improves collaboration, and offers real-time data insights. In our guide, we evaluate several platforms based on use cases, pricing, and features.

  • monday.com : Best Overall Resource Planning Software
  • Wrike : Best for Usability & Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • ClickUp : Best for Remote Team Collaboration
  • Asana : Best for Multi-project Workflow Management
  • Smartsheet : Best for Project Organization Spreadsheets
  • Airtable : Best for Data Tracking

Best Free Resource Planning Software at a Glance

Monday.com: best overall free resource planning software.

The monday.com logo.

What We Liked

  • Offers multi-level permissions
  • Includes dashboard email notifications
  • Shows work performance insights

Where It Falls Behind

  • Free plan file storage is limited to 500MB
  • Premium integrations only unlock under the Enterprise plan
  • Free and basic plans don’t have calendar viewing

monday.com Monthly Pricing Choose annual billing and save up to 18% (per Seat)

  • Free: Free for two seats, three boards, unlimited documents, 200-plus templates, and eight column types
  • Basic: $10 for unlimited seats and items, 5GB file storage, one week activity logs, unlimited boards, and unlimited free viewers
  • Standard: $12 for 20GB file storage, six months activity log, Zoom integration, 250 integration and automation actions, and up to five combined dashboards
  • Pro: $24 for 100GB file storage, one year activity log, private boards and docs, time tracking, and up to 10 combined dashboards
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for advanced reporting and analytics, up to 5 years file storage, 1TB of file storage, and up to 50 combined dashboards

monday.com is our top free resource planning tool because it’s an all-around project management software customizable to suit business operations. As an open platform, you can select modules and integrations for workflow automation and choose widgets for creating a fully functional dashboard. It’s also one of the few project management tools with built-in time-tracking capabilities at no extra charge.

The time-tracking feature lets you see your team’s time spent on each task. Make smarter decisions about your pricing, project timelines, and team schedule based on time-tracking information. While monday.com is excellent for collaboration, its paid plans don’t allow single-user accounts or two-user subscriptions. All monday.com paid plans have a three-seat minimum. Try Airtable because it has no minimum user requirement, and all period plans allow unlimited users. Read our Airtable vs monday.com article for a detailed comparison.

monday.com Features

Monday.com's project interface with priority labels per task and the add view drop down.

Break projects down into tasks, assign team leads, and add board views easily. (Source monday.com )

  • Multiple board views: Visualize your information differently by choosing from monday.com’s various board views. Add a board view by clicking the “+” icon below the board title.
  • Workload widgets: Use widgets to visualize the amount of work each team member has and their upcoming deadlines.
  • Advanced board filters: This feature lets users filter information on boards to narrow down project details and statuses. Use filters to find specifics, such as late deadlines and over-budget items.

Wrike: Best for Usability & Artificial Intelligence

The Wrike logo.

  • The free plan comes with unlimited users
  • All plans support eight languages
  • Extensive work intelligence features like smart replies and quick reactions
  • Advanced analytics and data visualizations are only available on the highest enterprise plan
  • Free plan’s workflow automation is limited to use case project templates
  • Lacks a built-in chat option and relies on third-party integrations like Slack

Wrike Monthly Pricing (per User)

  • Free: Free for unlimited users, eight language support, 2GB storage, task and subtask management, and email notifications and integrations
  • Team: $9.80 for two to 25 users, 50 automations, personal work schedules, custom fields, workflows and statuses, and dynamic Gantt chart
  • Business: $24.80 for five to 200 users, 200 automations, 5GB storage, branded workspace, project portfolio management, and real-time reports
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for five to unlimited users, 10GB storage, 1,000 automations, tableau integration, business intelligence application programming interface (API), and advanced user access controls
  • Pinnacle: Custom pricing for 15GB storage, 1,500 automations, advanced analytics and data visualizations, performance dashboard, job roles, and advanced proofing

Compared to other free resource planning tools, Wrike is our top pick when it comes to user-friendliness and design interface. All documents and communications related to a project are linked within the project portfolio, making it simple for members to locate files and conversations and get up to speed on updates. Wrike’s Work Intelligence uses machine learning and recommends activities, accelerating routine tasks and streamlining workflows.

Wrike’s machine learning features identify historical patterns and transform your rough notes into task lists for higher operational productivity. Despite its ease of use and AI capabilities, Wrike lacks a built-in chat option. While it allows task comments for coordination, users use third-party integrations like Wrike for Hangouts Chat to communicate efficiently. For internal messaging capabilities, try Asana. You can send messages directly to other users within the Asana app.

Wrike Features

Wrike interface showing AI recommended tasks with dates and statuses.

Wrike’s automated task prioritization recommends and reorders your workflow based on urgency. (Source: Wrike )

  • Role assignment: Gain control over who has access to your tasks and assign custom roles to team members on your account. Keep everyone accountable and track who is handling each assignment.
  • Budgeting tools: Track expenses, set fund limits, and monitor budget utilization using monday.com’s ready-to-use budget tracker template. Customize templates based on your needs and easily spot the difference between your budget and actual expenditure.
  • Gantt charts: Get an overview of your project and quickly identify the status of each task. Plan using customizable templates and compare plans versus the actual progress of tasks over time.

ClickUp: Best for Remote Team Collaboration

The ClickUp logo.

  • Offers white labeling
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) compatibility
  • 50-plus native integrations
  • Interface can be complex for new users
  • Limited storage in the free plan
  • Short message service (SMS) for two-factor authentication (2FA) is only available in Business and Enterprise plans

ClickUp Monthly Pricing Choose annual billing and save up to 37% (per User)

  • Free: Free for 100MB of storage, unlimited tasks, real-time chat, and native time tracking
  • Unlimited: $10 for unlimited storage, guests with permissions, and agile reporting
  • Business: $19 for unlimited teams, advanced dashboard features, and workload management
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for white labeling, team sharing for spaces, and live onboarding training

ClickUp is a popular project management tool featuring several collaboration tools, such as task assignment and reporting statuses. Streamline hybrid and remote team communication by using it to send and receive emails and chats or edit documents with colleagues. ClickUp’s customizable reports make it easy to generate tailored insights about your team’s performance. See each team member’s schedule and task, and use custom dashboards to track progress.

Give users access to essential updates, assign tasks, and update colleagues on the go using ClickUp’s comprehensive mobile app. Unfortunately, users on the free plan are limited to 100MB of storage. If you need more storage, check out Wrike. Its free plan includes 2GB of storage, unlimited users, and task and subtask management.

ClickUp Features

ClickUp's dashboard featuring development sprints, tasks, and weekly priorities.

Visualize, track, plan, and view goals using ClickUp’s dashboard. (Source: ClickUp )

  • Customizable tasks: Build a task management system by choosing from 35-plus ClickApps. Managers can create views in Space, Folder, or List to see tasks in the location. This is great for overseeing team and individual progress.
  • Templates: Templates in the Template Center are available on all plans. The Center is a library with pre-made templates you’ve saved. Use templates for automation, statuses, and emails.
  • Milestones: Visualize the significant milestones of a project and understand your team’s progress instantly. Milestones are available on all ClickUp plans, and the Free Forever plan comes with 10 uses. If you’ve opted for a paid plan, these have unlimited uses.

Asana: Best for Multi-project Workflow Management

The Asana logo.

  • Base plan comes with time tracking with integrations
  • Includes reporting across unlimited projects
  • Free plan comes with unlimited file storage
  • The free version is available for teams of up to 15 people
  • Priority support is only available in the Enterprise plan
  • There is no internally-hosted version of Asana

Asana Monthly Pricing (per User) Save up to $5.50 per user, monthly when you opt for the family plan

  • Free: Free for unlimited tasks, projects, messages, activity logs, and file storage (1GB per file)
  • Premium: $13.49 for timeline, workflow building, unlimited dashboards, advanced search, and custom fields
  • Business: $30.49 for portfolios, custom rules builder, advanced reporting, time tracking, and lock custom fields
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for user provisioning and deprovisioning, data export and deletion, custom branding, and priority support

Use Asana if you’re looking for free resource planning software for efficiently managing multiple projects. Asana Portfolios allows users to monitor all initiatives in a single place. Set team priorities and track different projects using a single view. Easily update your team by sharing your portfolios with stakeholders and relevant parties and monitor the progress and status of critical initiatives.

Unfortunately, even with Asana’s robust project management tools for cross-functional teams, you can only assign one person to each task. If having one task owner will not suffice for shared tasks, give monday.com a try. It allows users to assign multiple team members as a task or item owner. You can continue adding as many people as necessary and assign an entire team to inputs under the People column.

Asana Features

Asana Portfolio interface showing different folders.

Organize multiple projects in a team portfolio for easy monitoring. (Source: Asana )

  • Multi-language support: Teams worldwide use Asana to manage their work because it allows teams and clients to communicate using the most comfortable language. Asana currently supports English, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Dutch, Polish, Italian, Swedish, Korean, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese.
  • Teams and collaborators: Organize and monitor projects by creating teams with shared conversations and group chats. Adjust privacy settings as needed and add team members as collaborators. This ensures everyone’s looped in and receives notifications on project-related updates.
  • Teammate view: See what people have on their plate by viewing their assigned tasks. Easily switch between different teammates and see their dashboard and project reports.

Smartsheet: Best for Project Organization Spreadsheets

The Smartsheet logo.

  • Offers custom email domains
  • DocuSign integration
  • All plans feature cross-sheet formulas
  • Only the highest plan has work insights
  • Not all paid plans have unlimited editors
  • Interface requires some familiarity with spreadsheets

Smartsheet Monthly Pricing Annual billing for paid plans start at $7 per user, monthly (per User)

  • Free: Free for one user and up to two editors, two sheets, 100 automations, dashboards, and 50MB attachment storage
  • Pro: $9 for up to 10 users and unlimited viewers, 250 automations, and 20GB attachment storage
  • Business: $32 for at least three users and unlimited editors, document building, unlimited automations, and 1TB attachment storage
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for directory integration and account discovery, work insights, unlimited attachment storage, and domain validation

Smartsheet is the best free resource planning software focusing on spreadsheets, allowing efficient project organization and resource allocation. It features an extensive library of templates and customization tools that lets you apply your company color scheme and logo to your smartsheets. Its template gallery features 284 templates and template sets, including quantity-based earned value and individual task management templates.

Smartsheet uses a Kanban board—a visual board showing task status in columns marked as to-do, in progress, and done. When it comes to project management, while the system is robust and highly customizable, there’s a bit of a learning curve for first-timers and non-tech users. For a simple resource planning software, you’re better off with Wrike. It’s user-friendly and has an interactive Gantt chart with different views.

Smartsheet Features

Smartsheet's dashboard showing an overview of totals, budget, and performance insights

Smartsheet lets you quickly access program-related documents and links. (Source: Smartsheet )

  • Analytics page: Visualize your team’s production and project status using Smartsheet’s robust analytics page. It pulls and displays data from team members, budget allocation, and time. Users can filter and group data into insightful reports.
  • Conversations: Provide open channels for project communication using the conversations section. Use mentions, attach files, and send reminders to communicate efficiently and customize access levels per user.
  • Document generation with e-signatures: Generate custom PDFs and send documents for signature within the Smartsheet platform. You can track signing statuses automatically within the sheets.

Airtable: Best for Data Tracking

The Airtable logo.

  • Up to 100,000 records per table
  • Includes real-time collaboration and commenting
  • Free plan comes with unlimited commenters and read-only users
  • Only offers long-term annual billing
  • Limited mobile functionality with a challenging interface
  • Limited third-party integrations

Airtable Monthly Pricing (per User)

  • Free: Free for unlimited bases, up to five creators or editors, unlimited commenters and readers, 1GB attachment space per base, and one sync integration
  • Team: $24 for 50,000 records per base, 25,000 automation runs, unlimited editors per workspace, and 10GB attachment space
  • Business: $54 for 125,000 records per base, 100,000 automation runs, 100GB attachments per base, and pure sync integrations
  • Enterprise scale: Custom pricing for 500,000 records per base and automation runs, 1TB attachments per base, and enhanced security and admin controls

When it comes to connecting data and workflows, Airtable is the top choice because it gives users a unified platform to store company data. Give each user-specific data access, allowing them to perform their tasks while only accessing relevant information. Make better decisions by minimizing data silos and working with synced information across multiple systems in real time. Get unlimited workspaces with Airtable and store up to 250,000 records per database.

Unfortunately, Airtable isn’t suited for businesses seeking a resource planning tool with free and robust third-party integrations. Compared to other providers on this list offering hundreds of app integrations, Airtable only integrates with 34 applications . Consider Wrike because it offers 400-plus integrations. Connect Wrike with popular apps like Miro, Salesforce, and Microsoft OneDrive and give your team access to data and collated information across your business.

Airtable Features

Airtable interface showing color coded remarks and criteria.

Use the group records feature to create Airtable reports. (Source Airtable )

  • Reporting: Use native extensions to create custom reports and generate charts tailored to your team’s reporting needs. Turn data into a visual report using Airtable Extensions and highlight the most important information for different stakeholders and audiences.
  • Custom branded forms: Collect information using custom forms that plug directly into your workflow. Choose which fields are visible, how they look, and the order they will be displayed.
  • Read-only fields: Display and share an uneditable field on forms and give collaborators specific permissions that determine what they can and cannot edit in a base or workspace.

How We Evaluated the Best Free Resource Planning Software

We compiled a list of the top free resource planning tools offering essential features, ideal for small businesses on a budget. We created a rubric using relevant criteria, such as pricing, general and niche features, ease of use, customer support, and our expert rating. From there, we ranked the top platforms and chose the top five providers featured in this guide.

Learn how we evaluated the best free resource planning solution by clicking on the tabs below:

  • General Features
  • Advanced Features
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Expert Score

15% of Overall Score

To determine overall affordability for small to medium-sized businesses, we compared the pricing details of each resource planning software offering free plans. We gave higher points to providers charging less than $15 for the entry-level plan. We looked at feature inclusions and favored platforms with multiple plans, free trials, annual pricing, and volume-based discounts.

25% of Overall Score

We examined each provider’s general features, such as document management and task reminders. Since mobility and security are crucial to business operations, we prioritized solutions with two-factor authentication and available mobile applications.

20% of Overall Score

For niche features, we looked for providers with advanced view options like calendar and Gantt chart options and milestone tracking. Similarly, we awarded additional points if the platform supports expense management and integrations.

10% of Overall Score

Our assessment of each provider’s user-friendliness was determined through platform testing and checking user reviews from reliable websites. The evaluation also considered whether there is a learning curve to completing the setup and configuration process.

The variety of available customer care communication channels formed part of our evaluation. We gave higher points to providers with phone, live chat, email, helpdesk, and community forums. Additional points are given if all support channels are available 24/7.

We assessed each provider’s performance and overall quality by reviewing their standout features, value for money, and ease of use. We checked user ratings in third-party review sites to gauge the platform’s popularity.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the three types of enterprise resource planning (erp) software.

There are three common deployment options for ERP systems: cloud-based, on-premise, and hybrid ERP. Cloud-based ERP systems are remotely accessible on internet-connected devices, while on-premise ERP is software maintained within office premises. The third type, hybrid software, combines on-premise and cloud-based ERP system solutions, offering hosting and deployment services.

What industries benefit from free resource planning software?

Resource planning software can be utilized in any industry for greater business efficiency and effective communications. These software systems are diverse and widely used across many industries, including manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, hospitality, retail, and food and beverage. Resource planning software supports day-to-day business functions, such as human resources, financial accounting, and task management.

Resource planning software vs customer relationship management (CRM): What is the difference?

Resource planning software allows businesses to synchronize human capital and organizational schedules into a single platform for better project management. On the other hand, CRM automates customer interactions and insights. Both are business applications used to store and analyze data.

Bottom Line

Resource planning software is crucial to determining resource capacity and utilization and forecasting future availability. Small businesses benefit from resource planning solutions because it enables managers to plan time, money, and assets efficiently. The best platforms have scheduling, time entry, and real-time reporting capabilities.

Upon review of the most popular resource planning software, monday.com is the best option because of its versatile, scalable, and task-tracking capabilities. This platform offers multiple board views, customizable reporting, and real-time communication, including mentions and notifications. Sign up for monday.com’s 14-day free trial to see if it fits your business well.

Visit monday.com

About the Author

Silvana Peters

Find Silvana On LinkedIn

Silvana Peters

Silvana is an office technology writer at Fit Small Business, focusing on unified communications, virtual phone systems, and voice-over-internet protocol. She’s passionate about giving small business owners the information they need to succeed. Silvana’s been engaged by various businesses and organizations to produce technical reports and content ranging from current events, business, technology, lifestyle, and development.

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Resource Planning

This guide to resource plans is brought to you by projectmanager, the project management software trusted by 35,000+ users. build a resource plan in minutes.

ProjectManager's workload management dashboard, ideal for resource planning

What Is Resource Planning?

Resource plan key terms, stages of a resource plan, what is resource management software, desktop vs. online resource management software, benefits of online resource management software, must-have features of resource management software.

  • Execute a Resource Plan in ProjectManager
  • Creating a Resource Management Plan

Resource Management Best Practices

Resource planning organizes, identifies and lists the resources required to complete a project successfully. Resources are assets that are required to execute a project; a resource is a broad category and includes equipment, tools, supplies, materials, time and people.

A proper resource plan will map out the exact quantities of the necessary storable resources (such as cash) and non-storable resources (like machinery or labor). Considerations made during resource planning factor greatly into the scheduling and budgeting of projects.

Related: 25 Free Project Management Templates for Excel

Because it’s so important to align your resources with your budget and your project schedule, it’s best to use a project planning software to get everything organized in one tool. ProjectManager makes it easy to manage resources, budgets and project schedules in one online platform.

ProjectManager's resource planning dashboard

What Are The Components of a Resource Plan?

A resource plan aims to use resources in the most efficient manner possible, thus contributing to the overall productivity of the project. This is furthered by properly allocating your project team where their skill set will take the project the farthest. The best bet is to have a constant flow of resources and make sure you’re using them wisely and productively.

When resource planning, you should ask yourself the following questions about the most key components:

  • What are the roles of the project team?
  • What are the procurement needs of the project?
  • What types of contracts are required?
  • Are there any pre-qualification methods needed?
  • What criteria will be used to select contractors or vendors?
  • How much of the budget is allocated to resources?
  • How will performance be measured in the project?
  • What policies and procedures will be used?

To better understand how to manage your resources in projects, we should first break down different key terms that are often associated with resource management .

Remember, resources are more than just your team—they’re also your equipment, assets and office space. They’re everything, in fact, that has a cost required to complete the project.

  • Resource Plan: A detailed list of resources and the ways you will manage them throughout the project. The more detailed, the better.
  • Resources Breakdown Structure (RBS): A resources breakdown structure creates hierarchies of resources, according to the hiring organization (like a reporting structure or team hierarchy) or by geography (such as all the teams or equipment required in Asia or Africa). Include all resources on which the project funds will be spent, but it’s up to you to define which type of hierarchies are relevant to your project. Its execution is similar to a WBS.
  • Responsibility Assignment Matrix: A responsibility assignment matrix defines resources according to various levels of responsibility for completing project tasks or for the overall project. Clarify the roles and responsibilities of the entire project.
  • Resource Overallocation: Overallocation simply means when a person is given too much work, which can impact the budget and even derail a project. It’s crucial that resources are balanced, so you’re going to need a way to stay on top of your team’s workload throughout the life cycle of the project.
  • Resources Histogram: This provides a visual of the resources for anyone in the project who needs to stay in the loop. It’s a quick and easy way to view the allocation of your resources and note whether any are over- or under-allocated.
  • Resource Dependency: This refers to a theory that an organization should guard against having all their eggs in one team basket. That is, over-reliance on one team to accomplish core work (especially if it’s an external team) can lead to workload blocks and resource shortages.
  • Resource Leveling: Leveling resources is a juggling act, whereby you manage resource availability across a project or across multiple projects. It can be accomplished by extending the duration you had planned for certain tasks to be accomplished by adjusting the start and end dates, depending on whether you have the resources to complete them now or not.

Related: Free Resource Plan Template

There are four main stages to resource planning one should follow to ensure your bottom line stays firm and you are able to get the available resources when you need them. This is also called the resource management life cycle .

Before the project starts, begin to figure out the resources you’ll need to execute it. This includes the budget for those resources to make sure your project is profitable, and getting sign off from stakeholders. To start this process, the project requirements must first be decided upon. Then, you can think of filling the types and amount of roles that will be required.

1. Ascertain Resources

After you’ve evaluated the situation and determined what the objectives of the project are, you have to select the right strategy and estimate the resources that you’ll need to reach that goal. Resource forecasting must be thought through as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. These resources include labor, materials, equipment, facilities and others, such as admin, subcontractors, etc.

2. Procure Resources

You need to start to assemble your team according to the skills and experience the project requires. Equipment must be sourced, and contractors secured. Some of the aspects of this stage of resource planning include developing team roles, procurement needs, contracts, budgets, measurements to judge performance and any policies and resource optimization procedures.

3. Manage Resources

At this point, you need to define the roles and responsibilities of your team, who is doing what. Subcontractors’ roles also need to be defined. If you’re using tools and equipment that is being rented for the project, then you must make sure they’re returned in a condition that meets the requirements of the contract. Any facilities must be maintained, too.

There will be issues, of course, and when they occur you have to identify, define, investigate and analyze, solve and then review.

4. Control Resources

Somewhat different from managing resources is controlling your resources, which means monitoring the resources during execution to make sure they’re delivering the results that are expected of them. What this boils down to is something called the resource utilization rate, which measures how efficiently you use the resources.

If the utilization rate is too low, action must be taken, such as a cost-benefit analysis . You should always be evaluating outcomes to make sure you stay on track.

Resource management software is a tool that assists in the planning and scheduling of projects. It’s used to manage your team, tools, equipment, materials and so forth—all of which are crucial to your success.

Project management training video (j0c2p3ibzq)

Your resources all have costs associated with them, and are often used for a limited period. These expenses and timeframes must be managed to align with the schedule. Resource management software lets you plan with these resources in mind, then allows you to allocate them and track who’s working on what and when.

A resource management tool will help you track costs and time related to your resources in order to make sure you use them as planned and are sticking to the project budget. Microsoft Project is one of the most commonly used project management software, but it has major drawbacks that make ProjectManager better for resource management.

Desktop and online resource management software share many features. This can make it difficult to choose which is the right solution for your project. They both allow managers a high-level view of the project resources. This makes it easier to quickly view the resources needed and provide just the right amount.

You can also generate reports with both a desktop and online application. For example, project status reports are critical to make sure you’re not overspending. They’re also a communication vehicle to present to project stakeholders and keep them updated on progress.

Pros of Desktop Resource Management Software

There are big differences between the two, however, and if you’re looking for security and speed, the desktop model might be best. Desktop applications can be more secure if they don’t require an internet connection. Of course, neither desktop or online software are guaranteed to offer impenetrable security, but the desktop probably does have an edge there.

Speed is also a factor. Desktops are not at the mercy of the strength of your online connection. Of course, if your internet connection is severed, then your online tool will not function at all.

Pros of Online Resource Management Software

While desktop software might have advantages in security and speed, those gaps are rapidly closing. Advancements in two-factor authentication and Single Sign On can provide an incredibly secure experience.

Online has other advantages that desktops can never achieve. The major difference is that an online resource management tool is going to have real-time data, which is crucial when managing resources to keep the project running smoothly.

Real-time data means better decision making, but it also creates a platform on which your team can collaborate. This leads to greater productivity, meaning your resources will go further. Having features that connect teams to work through their tasks together helps with efficiency and building better teams.

Finally, an online resource management software can be accessed anywhere and at any time, if there’s online connectivity. That means teams that are distributed across the globe have access to the tool and can even work together. It also means that all your project documentation is centrally located and also available when and where you need it.

Managing resources requires real-time data to keep track of your costs and the time spent in order to maintain your budget and stay on schedule.

Online resource management software gives relevant and timely information because you don’t have the luxury of waiting when the success of your project hangs in the balance. But that’s not all you get, the following are more advantages related to using an online resource management tool:

  • Track resource costs
  • View availability of team
  • Balance team’s workload
  • Integrate resources into project plan
  • Automatic calculation of actual vs. planned costs
  • Keep updated on team’s hours with automatic timesheets

There are lots of resource management software options on the market. To choose the one that is best for your project, make sure it has these features:

Gantt Charts icon

Assign Teams & Track Resources

When building your project plan, schedules must include team assignments and the related resources they’ll need to execute their tasks. Interactive Gantt charts do all this online, giving you a tool to assign and track project resources that stay on budget and deliver on time.

Gantt Charts image

Track Your Team’s Work

Timesheets have become more than a tool for payroll. Resource management tools can have timesheets that automatically reflect your team’s status updates. This not only streamlines the process, but gives managers an invaluable view into their team’s progress.

Timesheets image

Know Who’s Working on What

To keep teams working productively, you need to know how many tasks they’ve been assigned. Having a view into their workload can help you re-allocate as needed to make sure they’re not overburdened. Balancing workload also makes sure your resources are being used efficiently.

Workload Management image

Keep Updated With Live Information

An online resource management tool collects live data to help managers make better decisions. But you also need a system in place to keep managers and their teams aware of any updates. A tool that triggers email alerts is a must, one that has in-app notifications is essential.

Alerts & Real-Time Data image

Get Easy, Flexible & Detailed Data

Reporting features collect data on the progress and performance of your project and give you insights into how to best manage your resources. Having a report that can be easily shared with stakeholders and filtered to focus in on specifics is ideal.

Reports image

See Resources Across Many Projects

Managers are often responsible for more than one project, such as a program or portfolio, and want a tool that can assign, track and report on all their projects. This allows you to find synergy between projects and have them all work together for greater efficiency.

Portfolio Management image

How to Execute a Resource Plan in ProjectManager

Resource management software assists project managers with planning and scheduling their project resources. It’s usually included as part of a suite of project management features that are designed to manage every aspect of your project.

ProjectManager is an award-winning software that’s designed to identify, organize and monitor your resources with robust online Gantt charts, real-time dashboards and one-click reporting that let you stay on top of everything. Here’s how it works:

1. List All Your Tasks

Gathering all the necessary tasks and determining the level of effort for a project is the first step needed to define your resources. You need to know what you’re doing before you can determine what you’ll need to do it!

Collect all your tasks on the task list view or Gantt chart view in our software. Add estimated start and end dates to populate the project timeline on the right side of the Gantt chart.

ProjectManager's task list view is critical for resourcemanagement

2. Add Your Resources to the Tool

Resources are your teams and the things they’ll need to execute their tasks. All of those resources must input into the software in order to manage and track their progress .

Onboard your team by inviting them to the project with the global add button in the top right corner. They will receive an email with a link. Once they follow that, they’re in and ready to start tracking their work.

3. Define Resource Costs

Calculating the cost of your resources is how you manage your budget. Keeping track of those costs is how you maintain your budget.

Add the labor rate for your resources, and set the cost by hours assigned. Our software automatically does the cost calculations for you as your team logs their hours and progresses through their tasks.

4. Schedule Resources on the Gantt

Resources (that aren’t people) need to be attached to tasks and added to your schedule to keep track of their costs throughout their life cycle in the project.

With ProjectManager’s Gantt chart you can create a resource calendar . Add your nonhuman resources the same way you onboarded your team. You can set their costs, then track them later in the project to keep on budget.

assign resources on a gantt

5. Track Time

Monitoring the hours logged by your resources is how you make sure they’re adhering to the project plan, schedule and budget.

Use timesheets to track the hours your team logs as they work. Their time updates are automatically reflected throughout the software.

Timesheet view in ProjectManager

6. Balance Resources

Once the project is executed, it’s crucial to keep your resources matched with your production capacity , making sure you have just what you need, when you need it.

Keep your resources level by checking the workload page. Here, you’ll see a color-coded chart that shows if team members have too many or too few tasks. You can then reallocate their tasks from this page.

7. Report to Stakeholders

Stakeholders are the people who are invested in the project. They will want to stay up-to-date on progress and performance.

Generate reports on workload with a single click. Filter to show the data you want, then easily print or save as a PDF to share with your stakeholders.

ProjectManager's workload features are perfect for resource management

Ready to start managing your projects, tasks and resources in one tool? Take a free trial of ProjectManager.

Creating a Resource Management Plan: An In-Depth Look

So, those are the basic terms and processes. But how can you use them to create a process, schedule your resources throughout the project cycle , and monitor those resources within the boundaries of your budget, without overburdening them and risking team burnout? Lucky for you, we’ve covered the basics of resource planning before, and it can be distilled into a super basic three-step process.

First, note all your resources, including people, equipment and materials. Next, figure out how many of those resources are needed to get the project done. Finally, make a schedule for the resources. Drilling down, however, it’s important to make sure you have all the components of a good resource plan. It should include the following.

  • All the Resources Necessary to Complete the Project: That’s everything from people to machines and even any office space you’ll need. Spend a good amount of time with this list, the more complete it is, the more accurate your schedule will be.
  • Timeframes For the Planned Effort of Each Resource: By noting the duration of time needed for each resource, you have a clearer picture of how it will fit into your overall schedule.
  • The Number of Each Resource You’ll Need Per Day/Week/Month: Again, you want to break your resource needs out on a daily, weekly and monthly rotation to better grasp what you’ll need and when.You can use a resource histogram to help you with this process.
  • Quantity of Resource Hours Required Per Day/Week/Month: You’ve figured out what you need, but how many hours for each of those resources are you going to allocate over time?
  • Assumptions and Constraints: An assumption is what you think might be true, while the constraints are the schedule, cost and scope of your project. So, you want to know what they are and how they’ll potentially impact your plan.
  • Resource Constraints: In addition to the traditional project management constraints that affect how you manage resources, there are specific resource constraints that you’ll need to be aware of.

Think strategically. Are you assuming a team will be available in three months? Do you know for a fact they won’t get assigned by another group leader for a separate project? Have you taken into account holidays and scheduling shifts?

Identifying all your assumptions is a critical component of planning your resources wisely.

That’s the makings of a solid resource management plan. Now you need to know how to actively manage your resources as your project progresses.

You can do this when you have visibility into resource availability and workload. Because work shifts from person to person, as people collaborate back and forth, work can easily end up on the shoulders of only a few key team members. This can mean others are sitting idle waiting for them to reply or toss the work back. You need to be able to monitor those workflow trends and be able to quickly reallocate idle resources.

So how do you do this? There are four ways you can keep on top of the resources workload.

1. Manage Work Schedule Calendars Actively

You need to be able to track the hourly and daily availability of individual resources, as well as track their planned holidays and vacations. Be sure to take into account global or regional time differences, as well as different global holidays that might differ from your home office holiday calendar.

2. Monitor Progress on Gantt and Dashboard

You can also consult the planned versus actual progress of your overall project to get a head’s up if there’s a problem with resources. A Gantt progress bar should tell you how much progress is being made on a specific task according to the planned effort. You should also be able to see whether progress is made on individual tasks with shading on the larger task bars.

ProjectManager’s dashboard view, which shows six key metrics on a project

You should also be able to get a view of the whole project’s progress both by looking at a rolled-up view of the Gantt tasks or on a dashboard report. If you’re falling behind, usually moving around resources is a way to get back on track.

3. Review Workload Allocation

The team’s workload is another metric you’re going to need to keep close. If all the work is being laid on the shoulders of only a few team members, while the others are idle, then you’re going to need to reallocate your resources.

Another way of looking at this is leveling your resources by ensuring that they are equally distributed across your team. Checking on workload is a daily part of keeping your resources well-allocated.

4. Get Resource Reports to Monitor Productivity

When you’re watching your resources in real-time, and the project’s success is on the line, then you’re going to need to make decisions swiftly. Use the reporting feature of your project management tool to produce reports on resource allocation, as well as task progress by an individual. It’s important to monitor resources regularly with deep dives into data to measure productivity KPIs like output and actual effort.

Remember, resource management is heavily linked to your scheduling and management of your project management schedule . These are different but complementary disciplines, and the more holistically you approach managing your resources, the more you’ll be able to act in a timely manner to keep your project moving towards success, on time and within budget.

Therefore, you want to have the right resource management tools to keep you informed of your resources while the project is in progress, whether that’s collecting data in an Excel spreadsheet or a more robust online PM tool. Using an online Gantt chart gives you a visual view of the project’s tasks, their durations, and whatever dependencies are linking one task to another, so you’re able to note bottlenecks and easily reallocated resources to get the project back on track. Try ProjectManager today to take advantage of the best resource management tools on the market.

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Resource Plan Resources

  • Resource Management Software
  • Best Resource Management Software Rankings
  • Scheduling Software
  • Gantt Chart Software
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  • Resource Plan Template
  • Gantt Chart Template
  • Capacity Planning Template
  • Project Management Dashboard Template
  • Project Budget Template
  • Timesheet/Time Tracking Template
  • How to Make a Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)
  • 12 Resource Allocation Tips for Managers
  • How to Calculate Resource Utilization for a Project
  • What Is Resource Loading and Why Does It Matter in Project Management?
  • 5 Tips for Better Resource Scheduling
  • Resource Leveling 101: Master this PM Technique
  • Organizational Resources Basics: Managing Company Resources
  • Resource Smoothing Steps, Templates and Tools

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8 Resource Planning Tips for Small Businesses

In today's fast-paced and result-oriented world, modern companies are under increasing pressure in the current business climate to produce cutting-edge, creative products and services while managing budget cuts. As a result, resources must always be used efficiently and directed toward the top priorities. So naturally, the term "resources" may describe various things. This includes inventory, products, raw materials or even your employees.

If these resources are not appropriately managed, it could lead to poor productivity, delays in meeting deadlines, decreased quality, increased expenses, missed opportunities, and low morale. All of these eventually hamper your business's outcome, revenues and profits. That is why it is so essential for any company to plan their resources properly.

This is especially true in the cases of small businesses. Even though it might seem that a small business might not have to worry about a lot, it is not valid. As a small business owner, you want your business to grow and expand to newer avenues. And this is precisely why resource planning becomes so crucial for small businesses. Indeed, you can always hire professionals or even use software to carry out resource planning processes . But all of them require you to shed capital. That is why it is also beneficial to know about some resource planning tips to help your small business grow.

Resource planning tips to help your small business

Understanding your resource competence and value.

To maximize the use of your company's resources, you must first understand how to value them in the first place. You require a solution that can concentrate on your project resources, offering your project leaders more visibility over the distribution of your help and enabling them to comprehend the impact that particular resource decisions would have on the results of your projects. Understanding the value and competencies of your resources will help you plan for the future more effectively and develop appropriate strategies.

Enhancing collaboration

Your team is an essential part of your business. Please make sure they can collaborate and cooperate effectively. Your team members can stay on task by implementing innovative resource management business technologies. Ensure that your project teams can share information better and execute tasks more quickly. The ability to access cloud-based resource management software from both your workstation and a mobile device, like Tempus Resource, increases cooperation by allowing you to access crucial information whenever you need it, no matter where you are.

Focusing on a budget

Small enterprises frequently face financial constraints. You must have a reasonable budget for this reason. Budgeting for projects is challenging, especially if you lack the tools to anticipate future expenses. You can more accurately gauge project progress and expected results with the correct business resource management solutions, which facilitates more innovative budgeting. Budgeting will help you envision the future of the resources and how they can be optimally utilized.

Creating process uniformity

Project management is a tool used by both small and large enterprises to enhance service delivery. They can speed up delivery and reduce development by offering an intelligence-based management strategy. To avoid having a significant impact in the future, recognize prospective issues and concentrate on resolving them before they arise or at the earliest possible stage. Managing shortened cycles can be done more intelligently with continuous delivery. This eventually paves the way for customer satisfaction. Therefore, efficient resource management for small businesses can be just as beneficial as a company-wide strategy to improve customer satisfaction.

Set goals for every resource

Since small enterprises typically have few resources, expecting them to be appropriately used and directed accurately every time is unrealistic. That is why set realistic goals first. Every resource used in the early phases of a firm must have a clear purpose and objective. To advance the business strategy, a business leader must clearly understand when to be resourceful and when to use resources.

Exercise Resource Mapping

A resource mapping exercise can be a great way to plan your resource. With your team, brainstorm all your essential resources, going over each to ensure you are leveraging it to the fullest extent possible. Describe what makes each resource unique and competitive and what can be done to increase its value. It can be shown as a graphical schematic map or bullet list. This will help your team to visualize the information surrounding the resources better.

Keep in mind your company's capital.

Having a thorough understanding of your company's "4C's," or the four intangible capitals (human, structural, customer, and social) that increase earnings and value. They propel the entire enterprise ahead and, if used correctly, can help your business to grow. In addition, a good business owner can determine what resources are required to make them cross-functional or successful and efficient by having a thorough awareness of them.

  • Human Capital
  • Structural Capital
  • Customer Capital
  • Social Capital

Build for the future

Be mindful that all of the hard work you put in to create a sound resource planning system should be sustainable in the long run. It should be efficient and user-friendly. Even though many small businesses depend on specific tools to plan their resources, they might become redundant if these methods and tools are not effective and constantly updated. That is why you cultivate the proper habits and incorporate the right tools or methods in resource planning.

Resource Planning is a must

Resource planning is an essential component of every business, whether small or more significant. However, when it comes to small companies and even startups, it takes a while to get the hang of the entire process as they are still developing ways to deal with the issue. Hopefully, this article could provide some helpful tips to keep in mind when planning resources for your enterprise.

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SCORE can help you start, grow or successfully exit a business. Small business owners who receive three or more hours of mentoring report higher revenues and increased growth. Enter your ZIP code to find a free SCORE business mentor today.

"SCORE was recommended by a colleague who experienced the vast amount of resources offered by industry-experienced mentors at no cost to his company.  It's almost like having a board of advisors from day one of your business." - Christopher Gauthier

"Jim's background as an accountant and a business owner was essential to revamping our business plan and improving our communication with investors and banks. He introduced us to  SCORE mentor  Deborah Newkerk, who worked with us to give our client presentation a well-deserved upgrade and clear message. 

Don't hesitate to reach out for a SCORE mentor!" -Christopher Gauthier

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The Startup Roadmap outlines each step in starting a business with detailed information and resources. And with SCORE, you don’t have to do it alone.

In celebration of Black History Month, SCORE reaffirms its dedication to empowering Black entrepreneurs. Understanding the unique challenges faced by Black small business owners, SCORE is actively working to bridge the opportunity gap. With a commitment to action and providing essential tools, SCORE's Black Entrepreneurs resource hub is tailored to support and guide you from start to success. Join us in this journey of growth and achievement. 

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Small Business Resource Toolkit

This Small Business Resource Toolkit serves as a reference source for small business owners throughout Massachusetts, who may not have the ability or time to access resources to create or maintain their business. The purpose of this toolkit is to provide important information related to business planning, maintenance, and growth.

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Which phase of business development are you in right now?

Find resources below for every step of your journey.

Planning Your Business

Whether you are starting a small business or exploring ways to expand an existing one, a business plan is an important tool to help guide your decisions.Think of it as a roadmap to success, providing greater clarity on all aspects of your business, from marketing and finance to operations and product/service details.

Managing Your Business

It's important to assess how you will manage your business moving forward – will your focus be on maintenance or growth? Having a strong sense of how your business is operating in regard to finance, people management, and sales can be useful in determining where your business is and your capability for development.

Funding Your Business

Be mindful that each loan, grant, and venture capital program is different. It is important to make sure you conduct research on all available options to find the one that is right for your business. Factors such as funding type, industry type, business type and more can further determine the kinds of financial support available.

Small Business Accounting

Small business accounting is done by recording all the income and expenses your company generates and using that information to make forecasts, generate invoices, complete payroll, and file taxes. While accounting may not be your favorite part of the job, it is vital for business success.  

  • Is enterprise resource planning right for your small business?

small business resource planning

Managing your debts demands a thorough knowledge of your company's current assets. Your liquidity ratio is the most basic way to measure your ability to pay your debt obligations and maintain your business.

In 2021, Forbes magazine said that ERP solutions should be on every business owner's list of New Year's resolutions . This article explores everything you need to know about enterprise resource planning software.

What is enterprise resource planning?

What does ERP mean? ERP is a broad term that refers to specific electronic systems that a business uses to manage its day-to-day activities. You can use enterprise resource planning systems for important activities like:

Supply chain management

  • Manufacturing
  • Resource planning
  • Financial reporting
  • Procurement
  • Project management
  • Human resources management

Customer relationship management

  • Risk management
  • Regulatory compliance

An enterprise resource planning system can streamline and simplify multiple processes, bringing them together into a centralized platform. This effectively bundles the functions of your existing business software solutions and helps you manage your business functions all in one place.

The goal is simple: to integrate your major business processes, making your organization more efficient and reducing human error. Additionally, the right ERP system can minimize your need for personnel, further reducing your overall operating costs and maximizing the efficiency of your existing team.

What is enterprise resource planning software?

Most ERP systems use a centralized software platform to integrate multiple business processes into one convenient hub. Authorized users can access these functions through a dashboard and even use the software system to automate certain business activities.

Generally speaking, you can expect enterprise resource planning systems to offer the following core features:

  • Integration options with a centralized dashboard
  • A central business database 
  • Real-time data from multiple sources
  • Support for various applications and other software components
  • A shared user interface for authorized users

Additional features are also available through certain customizable ERP modules, which expand the functionality of the program's core features. The best ERP systems can integrate with your existing business management software or accounting software, providing an all-in-one solution for your organization.

However, the implementation of an ERP system can vary by provider. The following are the three most common types of ERP systems available to business owners today:

On-premises ERP systems

On-premises ERP solutions rely on physical office space and the company's own computers. The software is installed on the company's computers or servers, and the company retains full control over the entire ERP software system once it's been installed and activated.

Cloud-based ERP software

Many software providers offer cloud ERP systems that you can implement without needing the physical infrastructure required for on-premise solutions. For example, many ERP systems are available through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.

A SaaS ERP software system will require you to purchase a regular subscription, but the advantage is that the software provider would be responsible for tech support. Additionally, authorized users can access company data from anywhere using a smartphone or other mobile devices.

Hybrid ERP solutions

Depending on your provider, you may be able to implement a cloud-based ERP in conjunction with an on-premise system. This setup gives you the best of both worlds: the flexibility of a cloud-based system with the control that comes from overseeing your own ERP implementation.

How can enterprise resource planning help your business?

Regardless of the technical infrastructure, the best ERP systems connect multiple functions within your company, helping you refine your business strategy and keep track of your organization's financial health and performance.

Here are just a few of the key benefits that come from ERP implementation:

Greater productivity

By using ERP software to automate your core business functions, you'll reduce the demand placed on individual workers or departments. This approach means that you and your employees will likely spend less time on administrative details and more time on revenue-generating activities that move the business forward.

Access to accurate data

The enterprise resource planning dashboard typically gives you instant access to your company data, and cloud-based ERP systems provide you with access to this data from anywhere in the world. Not only does this enable you to monitor multiple areas of your company from one common interface, but it also means that you can view this information in real-time.

Reduced risk

The best ERP systems give you a comprehensive picture of your company's overall performance. This will help you manage your finances and cash flow. You’ll also be empowered to stay on top of regulatory issues and remain in compliance with legal or industry standards.

Simplified technical implementation

Many companies rely on disparate systems to handle their key business functions, leading to a "silo" effect where departments are unaware of what's happening company-wide.

That can change with an ERP. Enterprise resource planning systems can provide your various teams with a bird's-eye view of the company and make it easier to integrate software solutions into one convenient hub.

Faster response to new opportunities

Perhaps most importantly, ERP technology doesn't just help you manage your company's past data or current activities. Small business ERP systems can also give you access to real-time data, ensuring you're equipped to respond to business opportunities as they arise.

Too often, business owners are unable to seize new opportunities because they're unaware of the details of their company's performance, such as cash flow or projected growth. But an ERP system puts this information in the palm of your hand, helping you make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition.

Common ERP modules

As mentioned, many of the important features of an ERP platform come from modules that you can use to customize your overall platform. The following are just a sampling of some of the best ERP modules that benefit today's small business community:

The financial reporting module is often the foundation of the entire ERP system. This module ensures that company leadership has access to the data they need to monitor their cash flow, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and other financial data.

You may already be using a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. These software systems can help you communicate with your customers and also perform some surprisingly-advanced marketing functions.

But a new ERP system can accomplish these features and integrate them into a core platform. You'll never have to worry about missing communication with your clients, and you can also use these solutions to manage customer reviews.

These days, business owners have to work hard to overcome supply chain issues. But supply chain management can be easier with an ERP system, highlighting patterns in customer behavior and helping you anticipate needs in advance. ERP software can assist you in avoiding the stress of last-minute ordering.

Inventory management

Enterprise resource planning systems can also keep track of your existing inventory. The inventory management features allow you to monitor the current levels of various product SKUs, providing better inventory forecasting based on prior sales data.

Workforce management and human resources management

Workforce management (WFM) and human resources management (HRM) modules are also available in many ERPs. The WFM module keeps track of hours worked, attendance, and employee productivity. It's also possible to use an HRM module to maintain employee records, track performance trends, and monitor productivity at every level of the organization.

Modern ERP solutions support online retail, allowing you to integrate your company's sales channels into your central ERP solution. Businesses can integrate both eCommerce and financial reporting tools, so you’ll have a faster picture of how sales are contributing to your bottom line.

Marketing automation

Many enterprise resource planning solutions offer marketing modules that let you manage your content across multiple digital channels, helping you coordinate your social media calendar with the broader life cycle of your business.

Additionally, you can use automation tools to communicate seamlessly with your customers and clients. This software works in tandem with the customer relationship management software you may already have. Depending on your provider, you may also have access to marketing templates that you can use for social media or email marketing campaigns.

How to choose the right ERP system

With so many ERP applications available, how can small business owners choose the right platform? Here are just a few things to consider when evaluating ERP vendors:

Make a list of features you want

Start by listing all the digital or manual processes that go into your business at the day-to-day level. Be as thorough as you can. Your goal is to find an ERP solution that integrates with or automates these core business processes.

Additionally, don't be afraid to dream big. Include some features you'd love to have in a perfect world and search for ERP software that offers these advantages.

Focus on ERP implementation

It's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of on-premise and cloud ERP options that are available. But your main goal should be to find ERP software that's easy to install, learn, and use.

Ease of use is critical for your busy employees, so don't forget to evaluate the implementation timeline. Migrating data from your legacy systems to the new ERP platform may take some time and cause some headaches.

Admittedly, this may not always be avoidable, but you can at least strategize the best time to implement a new ERP system to prevent a dip in your business performance.

Consider scalability

Just because your business is small doesn’t mean it couldn’t benefit from an ERP solution. Consider an enterprise resource planning platform that can help you manage and grow your business, providing seamless integration.

Ensure compatibility

What business software are you currently relying on? Implementing a new ERP system will require you to integrate this software into your new platform. Make sure that the ERP software is compatible with your current software, or you may need to be willing to upgrade your other business software to better match the performance of your ERP system.

Decide on a cloud-based, on-premises, or hybrid ERP system

Many business owners will be content with a cloud-based ERP system that can be operated right from the phones in their pockets. Others may need to consider whether they also want to have control from an on-premises ERP software solution. If you can't decide, consider a hybrid approach to start, then reevaluate this model after the first year.

Ask about customer support

If something should go wrong with your ERP software, you don't want to have to wait until the next business day to address the issue. Make sure to investigate the customer support and IT options the ERP provider can bring to the table.

Some ERP systems come with online chat features, 24-hour tech support, and other important features that will help keep your business up and running.

How BILL can help with enterprise resource planning 

BILL can help balance core business processes by automating your accounts payable and accounts receivable processes. Learn more about how BILL can save you time and help you build your business .

Continue learning with BILL

  • What is supplier onboarding?
  • What is a risk management plan?
  • Benefits of business finance software
  • Defining and managing requisition numbers
  • What is a business model? Types and examples
  • Improving operational efficiency: Examples and KPIs

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Run » finance, 4 simple steps to smart financial planning for small businesses.

Financial planning often involves looking for funding to help take your business performance to the next level. Here are some strategies to explore.

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Financial planning is an iterative, ongoing process that helps your business reach its long-term goals. Financial planning strategies assess your business’s current financial position and allow you to adapt to market changes, forecast business growth, and achieve higher returns.

A typical financial strategy combines two key elements to help you reach your short- and long-term financial benchmarks. These elements are debt and investments. As you think about your financial strategy for the next year and beyond, here’s how to evaluate these options for fueling growth.

Start with goal-setting

Before you can determine whether to take on debt or pitch to investors, you must know the result toward which you are working. Set a SMART goal — one that’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound — that you can break down into smaller financial targets.

For instance, most business owners aim to increase profit. However, there are more manageable goals that you can set along the way to earning more profit, such as:

  • Increase revenue.
  • Streamline operating expenses.
  • Improve customer retention.
  • Optimize pricing.

Set numerical targets and deadlines for these smaller benchmarks to get a clear picture of the resources and financial strategy that will help you make progress toward your larger objective.

[Read more: CO— Roadmap for Rebuilding: Planning Your Financial Future ]

How to use debt as a financial strategy

Loans are the most common form of debt that a company can use in its financial planning strategy. Loans from financial institutions, credit card companies, or even friends and family can be a good way to get the cash you need for short-term investments.

As a financial planning strategy, the appeal of using debt is that it’s relatively flexible. “Banks offer a range of different business loan products, including term loans, business lines of credit, equipment financing and commercial real estate loans, among other options,” wrote NerdWallet . “Unless you opt for a product that has a specific use case, like a business auto loan, for example, you can generally use a bank loan in a variety of ways to grow and expand your business.”

However, loans have strict eligibility requirements and can be slow to fund, involving a lot of paperwork and a strong credit score. New businesses may struggle to use debt in their financial planning strategy.

Loans are the most common form of debt that a company can use in its financial planning strategy.

How to use equity or investments in financial planning

Issuing equity (stock) is another way to fund your financial plan. Startups in particular can sell shares of ownership to investors to raise capital for growth, expansion, or acquisitions. This allows you to avoid taking on debt and can bring on partners with mentorship and advice to offer.

“With equity financing, there is no loan to repay. The business doesn’t have to make a monthly loan payment which can be particularly important if the business doesn’t initially generate a profit. This in turn, gives you the freedom to channel more money into your growing business,” wrote The Hartford .

The downside of equity financing is that you will need to share a part of your profit with your equity partners. Equity is best suited for financial strategies that require significant capital quickly.

[Read more: 4 Financial Forecasting Models for Small Businesses ]

Final tips for financial planning

Debt and equity are the key ways to ensure you have the cash flow to reach your financial goals, but there are other elements to consider in your strategy. Make sure you plan a safety net for unforeseen risks; build an emergency fund and get insurance to protect your business. In addition, review your financial results quarterly and annually to ensure your projections are realistic.

“As you look over your annual income reports, you can gain insight into the activities that led to improved revenue and double down on them to raise profits as part of your financial plan,” wrote FundKite , a business funding platform.

Revisit your financial plan frequently to make sure the funding options you explore are still serving your business goals. There are plenty of alternative funding sources — such as grants and crowdfunding — that can help you reach short-term benchmarks along the way.

CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.

CO—is committed to helping you start, run and grow your small business. Learn more about the benefits of small business membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, here .

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Get even more small business news from defense.gov., osbp and nist partner for small businesses.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on small business matters, and  U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP) signed a memorandum of agreement on May 02, 2021 to collaborate on strengthening the national security of the small business industrial base.

The new partnership links two DOD organizations with a common mission to assist small businesses and  to achieve shared objectives:

  • Provide training and technical support to small-and-medium U.S. manufacturers engaged or planning to engage with the defense sector.
  • Promote and co-sponsor joint training events beneficial to national security, with an emphasis on cybersecurity for defense manufacturing.
  • Establish direct and consistent relationships at multiple organizational levels within both Parties to document and share complementary assistance best practices.  
  • Develop clear objectives, benchmarks and goals to measure success, added value, and synergy of collaborations between NIST MEP and OUSD(A&S) OSBP.

The OSBP and NIST partnership enables more DOD collaboration and support of small and medium manufacturers (SMMs). They will Collaborate to support the ongoing development and security of the Defense and Industrial Base.

This partnership will combine OSBP’s expertise in leveraging small businesses to close capability gaps for our armed forces with the MEP National Network.  The MEP operational base provides an opportunity for OUSD(A&S) OSBP to serve as a resource for the MEP Program of MEP Centers engages defense sector and defense-relevant manufacturing clients to promote and provide technologies, prototypes and products for National Security missions.

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Advancing social justice, promoting decent work

Ilo is a specialized agency of the united nations, employers’ organizations: ready to defend small business interests and to support women entrepreneurship.

On 28 – 31 October, employers’ organizations representatives from eight countries - Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, LAO PDR, Mongolia, Vietnam (SRO Bangkok); and Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Uzbekistan (SRO Moscow) met for an interregional workshop in Singapore. The theme of the workshop was very topical: “Enhancing Competitiveness and Decent Work in Small Enterprises in Transition Economies”.

Business Analysis Techniques

Introduction.

There are many techniques that Business Analyst's employ to do their job. With different techniques being available for different purposes in different situations.  The goal of this section of the wiki is to eventually provide:

  • A fairly comprehensive list of techniques of use to Business Analysts
  • A brief description for each of those techniques (the more info the better, but starting small)
  • Tips for when, how, and why to use each technique
  • Links to other resources on the web (blog posts, articles, papers, etc) where you can find out more about the technique

The amount of content for different entries may vary significantly, depending on whether users add to the wiki entry for that technique, and whether it is a commonly used technique.

What do I mean by Technique ?

For purposes of this wiki, I am defining a Technique as a specific action or set of actions that is used by a Business Analyst to help deal with issues of scope, elicitation, documentation, analysis, and verification.

I want to try and separate Techniques from Skills which I see as more general capabilities or knowledge sets of the Business Analyst.  As an example, I would say that facilitation is a Skill, while Brainstorming or running Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions are specific Techniques that supplement the Skill.  Because Skills are more generic to BA's in general, I have them in the Career section of the wiki.

Technique Categories and List

Each technique has it's own page, but I have attempted to group them below by usage. Any technique that is not a link below is a placeholder for a future page.

General Analysis Techniques

  • Class Modelling
  • Mind Mapping

Data Analysis Techniques

  • Data Dictionary
  • Data Flow Diagrams

Decision and Rules Techniques

  • Business Rule Analysis
  • Decision Models
  • Decision Tables
  • Decision Trees

Elicitation Techniques

  • Concept Map
  • Document Analysis
  • Feature Tree
  • Focus Groups
  • Interface Analysis
  • JAD Sessions
  • Observation
  • Problem Statements
  • Prototyping
  • Requirements Workshops
  • Storyboarding
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Use Case Diagrams
  • User Stories

Enterprise Analysis Techniques

  • Benchmarking
  • Context Diagrams
  • Feasibility Analysis
  • Force Field Analysis
  • Futures Wheel
  • Organizational Modeling
  • PEST Analysis
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Value Stream Mapping
  • VMOST Analysis

Features and Functional Analysis Techniques

  • Decomposition - Functional and Otherwise

Prioritization Techniques

  • Category Assignment Prioritization
  • Cumulative Voting Prioritization
  • Hierarchical Cumulative Voting Prioritization
  • Hierarchical MoSCoW Prioritization
  • Kano Model Prioritization
  • Matrix Prioritization
  • MoSCoW Prioritization

Problem Solving and Ideation Techniques

  • Affinity Diagram
  • Brainstorming

Process Analysis Techniques

  • Activity Diagram
  • Business Process Modeling
  • Sequence Diagram

Project Analysis and Scoping Techniques

  • In/Out List
  • Investment Logic Mapping
  • Scope Analysis

Root Cause Analysis

  • Fishbone Diagram

Stakeholder Management Techniques

  • Responsibility Matrices: RACI, RASCI, and More
  • Stakeholder Communications Matrix
  • Stakeholder Maps
  • Stakeholder Onion Diagram
  • Stakeholder Radar Diagram
  • Stakeholder Role Matrix
  • Stakeholder Salience Diagram

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Tax Time Guide 2024: What to know before completing a tax return

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IR-2024-45, Feb. 21, 2024

WASHINGTON — During the busiest time of the tax filing season, the Internal Revenue Service kicked off its 2024 Tax Time Guide series to help remind taxpayers of key items they’ll need to file a 2023 tax return.

As part of its four-part, weekly Tax Time Guide series, the IRS continues to provide new and updated resources to help taxpayers file an accurate tax return. Taxpayers can count on IRS.gov for updated resources and tools along with a special free help page available around the clock. Taxpayers are also encouraged to read Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals) for additional guidance.

Essentials to filing an accurate tax return

The deadline this tax season for filing Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return , or 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors , is April 15, 2024. However, those who live in Maine or Massachusetts will have until April 17, 2024, to file due to official holidays observed in those states.

Taxpayers are advised to wait until they receive all their proper tax documents before filing their tax returns. Filing without all the necessary documents could lead to mistakes and potential delays.

It’s important for taxpayers to carefully review their documents for any inaccuracies or missing information. If any issues are found, taxpayers should contact the payer immediately to request a correction or confirm that the payer has their current mailing or email address on file.

Creating an IRS Online Account can provide taxpayers with secure access to information about their federal tax account, including payment history, tax records and other important information.

Having organized tax records can make the process of preparing a complete and accurate tax return easier and may also help taxpayers identify any overlooked deductions or credits .

Taxpayers who have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or ITIN may need to renew it if it has expired and is required for a U.S. federal tax return. If an expiring or expired ITIN is not renewed, the IRS can still accept the tax return, but it may result in processing delays or delays in credits owed.

Changes to credits and deductions for tax year 2023

Standard deduction amount increased. For 2023, the standard deduction amount has been increased for all filers. The amounts are:

  • Single or married filing separately — $13,850.
  • Head of household — $20,800.
  • Married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse — $27,700.

Additional child tax credit amount increased. The maximum additional child tax credit amount has increased to $1,600 for each qualifying child.

Child tax credit enhancements. Many changes to the Child tax credit (CTC) that had been implemented by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 have expired.

However, the IRS continues to closely monitor legislation being considered by Congress affecting the Child Tax Credit. The IRS reminds taxpayers eligible for the Child Tax Credit that they should not wait to file their 2023 tax return this filing season. If Congress changes the CTC guidelines, the IRS will automatically make adjustments for those who have already filed so no additional action will be needed by those eligible taxpayers.

Under current law, for tax year 2023, the following currently apply:

  • The enhanced credit allowed for qualifying children under age 6 and children under age 18 has expired. For 2023, the initial amount of the CTC is $2,000 for each qualifying child. The credit amount begins to phase out where AGI income exceeds $200,000 ($400,000 in the case of a joint return). The amount of the CTC that can be claimed as a refundable credit is limited as it was in 2020 except that the maximum ACTC amount for each qualifying child increased to $1,500.
  • The increased age allowance for a qualifying child has expired. A child must be under age 17 at the end of 2023 to be a qualifying child.

Changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The enhancements for taxpayers without a qualifying child implemented by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will not apply for tax year 2023. To claim the EITC without a qualifying child in 2023, taxpayers must be at least age 25 but under age 65 at the end of 2023. If a taxpayer is married filing a joint return, one spouse must be at least age 25 but under age 65 at the end of 2023.

Taxpayers may find more information on Child tax credits in the Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) .

New Clean Vehicle Credit. The credit for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles has changed. This credit is now known as the Clean Vehicle Credit. The maximum amount of the credit and some of the requirements to claim the credit have changed. The credit is reported on Form 8936, Qualified Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit , and on Form 1040, Schedule 3.

More information on these and other credit and deduction changes for tax year 2023 may be found in the Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals) , taxpayer guide.

1099-K reporting requirements have not changed for tax year 2023

Following feedback from taxpayers, tax professionals and payment processors, and to reduce taxpayer confusion, the IRS recently released Notice 2023-74 announcing a delay of the new $600 reporting threshold for tax year 2023 on Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third-Party Network Transactions . The previous reporting thresholds will remain in place for 2023.

The IRS has published a fact sheet with further information to assist taxpayers concerning changes to 1099-K reporting requirements for tax year 2023.

Form 1099-K reporting requirements

Taxpayers who take direct payment by credit, debit or gift cards for selling goods or providing services by customers or clients should get a Form 1099-K from their payment processor or payment settlement entity no matter how many payments they got or how much they were for.

If they used a payment app or online marketplace and received over $20,000 from over 200 transactions,

the payment app or online marketplace is required to send a Form 1099-K. However, they can send a Form 1099-K with lower amounts. Whether or not the taxpayer receives a Form 1099-K, they must still report any income on their tax return.

What’s taxable? It’s the profit from these activities that’s taxable income. The Form 1099-K shows the gross or total amount of payments received. Taxpayers can use it and other records to figure out the actual taxes they owe on any profits. Remember that all income, no matter the amount, is taxable unless the tax law says it isn’t – even if taxpayers don’t get a Form 1099-K.

What’s not taxable? Taxpayers shouldn’t receive a Form 1099-K for personal payments, including money received as a gift and for repayment of shared expenses. That money isn’t taxable. To prevent getting an inaccurate Form 1099-K, note those payments as “personal,” if possible.

Good recordkeeping is key. Be sure to keep good records because it helps when it’s time to file a tax return. It’s a good idea to keep business and personal transactions separate to make it easier to figure out what a taxpayer owes.

For details on what to do if a taxpayer gets a Form 1099-K in error or the information on their form is incorrect, visit IRS.gov/1099k  or find frequently asked questions at Form 1099-K FAQs .

Direct File pilot program provides a new option this year for some

The IRS launched the Direct File pilot program during the 2024 tax season. The pilot will give eligible taxpayers an option to prepare and electronically file their 2023 tax returns, for free, directly with the IRS.

The Direct File pilot program will be offered to eligible taxpayers in 12 pilot states who have relatively simple tax returns reporting only certain types of income and claiming limited credits and deductions. The 12 states currently participating in the Direct File pilot program are Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington state and Wyoming. Taxpayers can check their eligibility at directfile.irs.gov .

The Direct File pilot is currently in the internal testing phase and will be more widely available in mid-March. Taxpayers can get the latest news about the pilot at Direct File pilot news and sign up to be notified when Direct File is open to new users.

Finally, for comprehensive information on all these and other changes for tax year 2023, taxpayers and tax professionals are encouraged to read the Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals) , taxpayer guide, as well as visit other topics of taxpayer interest on IRS.gov.

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Employment growth slows but wages set to rise in 2024, say HR professionals

A Sushi Hub store in central Sydney advertises for staff.

Employment intentions are at their lowest levels in at least a year, but businesses are not yet planning mass lay-offs and are expecting to pay workers more in a bid to retain the staff they do have.

The findings come from a survey of more than 600 human resources professionals from the Australian HR Institute (AHRI), representing a mix of small, medium and large employers, from both the private and public sectors. 

The report has only been running for a year, with the latest March quarter survey taken between January 9 and 18.

It found net employment intentions have fallen from +41 in the December 2023 quarter to +33 in the March 2024 quarter.

This figure measures the difference between the proportion of employers that expect to increase staff levels and those expecting to decrease overall headcount.

It indicates overall employment is expected to rise over the coming months, but not by as much as it had been.

The number is based on 36 per cent of organisations planning to increase their staff levels in the March 2024 quarter, with just 3 per cent planning to cut the overall size of their workforce.

A blonde woman with glasses and a pattern shirt smiles

"This is the lowest figure for net employment intentions recorded by our four Work Outlook surveys published to date," observed Sarah McCann-Bartlett, AHRI's CEO.

Economists at the Commonwealth Bank estimate that Australia currently needs to generate about 33,000 additional jobs every month to keep up with the rapid growth in the working-age population.

Fewer employers contemplating redundancies

However, while few employers are planning to reduce their overall headcounts, that does not mean that workers are immune from lay-offs.

More than one in five HR professionals surveyed expected to implement redundancies, although this was down from nearly a third in the run-up to Christmas.

"This may be because the labour market remains tight by historical standards," noted Ms McCann-Bartlett.

"It may also be partly explained by the extent to which Australian employers are adopting alternatives to redundancies.

"This could be because they wish to preserve the skills and knowledge of the existing workforce, or because they are waiting for further information about the Australian economic outlook."

For now at least, 70 per cent of employers reported adopting tactics to avoid or reduce redundancies, such as raising prices (27 per cent), exercising greater control over non-staff operation costs (23 per cent) and reducing the use of non-permanent staff in their organisation (21 per cent).

Among those employers that are planning redundancies, the job losses threaten to be fairly significant — an average of 6 per cent of their workforce.

Wages set to rise as employers seek to retain staff

Even though fewer employers are experiencing recruitment difficulties (38 per cent, down from 48 per cent in December), the institute sees recruitment activity as now being more about replacing staff than adding to the workforce.

Despite this, the drive to retain existing workers appears strong, with many employers seemingly burnt by the experience of acute labour shortages during the pandemic.

"A lack of quality in the labour supply and the high training and recruitment costs associated with replacing staff may still be putting upward pressure on wages in many Australian workplaces," Ms McCann-Bartlett suggested.

"The mean basic pay increase in organisations (excluding bonuses) is expected to be 3.7 per cent in the 12 months to January 2025, significantly up from 2.6 per cent in the 12 months to October 2024.

However, more than a third of employers surveyed said that they did not yet know the extent of wage changes in their organisation for the 12 months to January 2025.

For young people starting out, the survey sheds some light on what HR staff are looking for during recruitment.

The top three skills or attributes desired are communication skills (38 per cent), teamwork ability (36 per cent) and work ethic (36 per cent).

That is if a human ever looks at your application, with more than half of employers using artificial intelligence to filter applications in some way.

HR professionals are most likely to use AI to create online application forms (56 per cent), review CVs (54 per cent), source (53 per cent), and screen candidates (53 per cent).

Certain groups screened out by many employers

Whether by humans or AI, the survey also reveals the high barriers some jobseekers face in searching for work.

Nearly two-thirds of employers actively excluded candidates with certain characteristics during the hiring process.

The most likely to be excluded were people with a criminal record (33 per cent), those with a history of drug or alcohol problems (29 per cent), people with a history of long-term sickness (19 per cent) or mental illness (18 per cent) and the long-term unemployed (16 per cent).

Close to one in seven employers also reported screening out people who identify as neurodiverse or having a disability during recruitment.

The report noted this "represents a loss of potential labour, especially given employers' persistent claims that labour shortages have been one of their biggest challenges".

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IMAGES

  1. Mastering Resource Planning in 2023: Your Ultimate Guide

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  3. Why Enterprise Resource Planning Is Important For Your Business

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  4. Free Resource Planning Templates

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  5. Resource Planning

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    Resource Planning is a must. Resource planning is an essential component of every business, whether small or more significant. However, when it comes to small companies and even startups, it takes a while to get the hang of the entire process as they are still developing ways to deal with the issue. Hopefully, this article could provide some ...

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  17. Is enterprise resource planning right for your small business?

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    On 28 - 31 October, employers' organizations representatives from eight countries - Cambodia, People's Republic of China, LAO PDR, Mongolia, Vietnam (SRO Bangkok); and Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Uzbekistan (SRO Moscow) met for an interregional workshop in Singapore. The theme of the workshop was very topical: "Enhancing Competitiveness and Decent Work in Small Enterprises in ...

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  23. Techniques

    A fairly comprehensive list of techniques of use to Business Analysts; A brief description for each of those techniques (the more info the better, but starting small) Tips for when, how, and why to use each technique; Links to other resources on the web (blog posts, articles, papers, etc) where you can find out more about the technique

  24. Tax Time Guide 2024: What to know before completing a tax return

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