Discover effective Silverbucket alternatives for resource management. Find the best tools to optimize your workflow and enhance productivity.
Silverbucket is relatively fresh news on the resource management ground.
It caters to many user needs and offers a rich feature set. But there is also a number of use cases where Silverbucket won't be your best pick.
And as always when you're considering new software to develop and enhance your resource management processes, you've got to be sure you're making a choice that works for you and your context.
Before you commit to a solution, it's important to get familiar with all the options available on the market - and to demo and trial a few of them to make sure you picked your best match.
Testing out the best Silverbucket alternatives can, therefore, help you make a confident choice that will set you up for success in the long term. So, let's get into it.
A frank look at the resource management solution market will show you that it's a pretty crowded landscape. There's probably a solution out there to fit every single need and business type.
So, to make sure you find your match made in heaven, keep this checklist on your table.
You don't want to pay for features you never use, but tools are rarely able to offer that "pick and choose" option on the features you want on your invoice.
To get around this with your resource planning software, take some time to analyze your use-cases. For example, are you a law firm looking to manage resources or an HR business interested in making smarter hiring decisions?
Based on this, narrow down your software options to the ones that come closest to your use-case so you don't have to pay for anything that will turn into tech clutter for your teams.
Having a list of dealbreakers you can't compromise on saves lots of time when you're trying to find the best long-term solution for your teams.
Your list will depend on your own situation and context. But, for example, you might include things like granular project planning on resource allocation on the list.
Budget forecasting, capacity management, seamless integration with other tools, and billable time tracking might also end up on your list if you charge your clients per hour instead of per unit of work and want to do informed decision making.
How is the tool you're considering actually going to look in a years' time? Three years' time? Switching tools every year or so is a huge waste of time and money for your team. You want the tool you choose to stand the test of time with you - which means you'll want to see a product roadmap.
This means that any solution you're considering should be willing to share that document with you.
Indeed, depending on the size of your contract and your usage of tool, some companies could get flexible with their features and might even give you influence over their product roadmap (this is sometimes even included in your plan).
In cases like that, you could expect to have some features developed specifically to meet the demands of your business.
Customer service is often a prominent factor in resource management tools. Or any tool for that matter. Check how responsive the team is before settling for a tool so you don't have to feel like you're talking to the wall after you sign the contract.
Resource planning can be complex and time-consuming, especially when you need to manage change when introducing a new solution, so having that ongoing support will be very impactful in your project management.
Before you go into the how, check how much. More often than not, initial onboarding and product training is available but comes with extra costs, which might blow up your budget or add unexpected expenses.
If the price works for you, get clear on what kind of support and onboarding you can count on and how it will help you set your teams up for success.
➡️ For a deeper look into ways to shortlist resource management solutions check out The Buyers’ Guide to Resource Management Software for 2024.
Silverbucket is a resource planning solution for project-focused businesses. It helps you get a quick resourcing overview, plan resources, follow people's skills, track time, and do forecasting and reporting.
It's a great place to start, but there a some scenarios when you may want to go looking for a more advanced Silverbucket alternative:
Once you've got an idea of your use-case, it gets much easier from here. Now for the fun part: demoing and trialling some new techy toys 🤖
If you do advanced resource planning for professional services like consulting or IT services, there's nothing better than Runn for you. This is the all-in-one solution that has everything you'd need for advanced resource planning and developing your organization's resource management maturity.
Runn makes a powerful Silverbucket alternative if you need help with resource scheduling, project planning, capacity management, project forecasting, timesheets, reporting, and more. Unlike many other alternatives, Runn thrives both on the strategic and operational levels of resource management.
With it, you can get as granular or high-level as you want. Want to look into a specific team member, their hours worked or billable time? No problem! Want to generate a quick report to update your stakeholders on progress made? Hop on!
On Capterra, people give it a rating of 4.8 out of 5.0 and speak out about all the benefits of resource planning they have been able to enjoy with the tool.
On top of Runn's advanced features, many users point out that the team is really helpful, speedy, and friendly, so you can be sure to always get great support here. 'I can't say enough about how customer support is very responsive to questions, issues, and feature requests,' says one user on Capterra.
Teamdeck positions itself as a 'lightweight' management solution for creative and technical teams. And there's good reason for that: it gives you basic resource planning functionality with features like resource scheduling, time tracking, leave management, and custom reporting.
On Capterra, people give it a rating or 4.3 out of 5.0, and happy users highlight that the tool is notoriously easy to use. As one reviewer said, 'It's easy to use and has a very nice interface. Works perfectly for recording my timesheets'.
If you are a small creative agency and want a simple tool to get started with resource planning, this might be your stop.
Monday.com is that 'something for everyone' solution. It's simple in use, easy to get started with, and works for different types of businesses.
It's been around for a while and is more of a generalist, which could mean two things:
On Capterra, users give it a rating of 4.6 out of 5.0 and many of them mention ease of use, just like this reviewer did: 'It is really easy for me to track the progress of every project I am working on.'
Saviom is a great option for resource management and project portfolio management at accounting and law firms. It helps you maximize organizational efficiency and do more projects with less resources.
The feature pack spans from resource scheduling and capacity planning to resource forecasting and talent management. This tool will give you a great resource planning guide and help you optimize the use of your workforce with its team utilization analysis feature.
One user of Capterra notes that the tool is highly customizable, saying 'I like that there is so much you can change to make it more suitable to your needs' and people give it a 4.3.
If you are a firm believer in Gantt charts, everything about Ganttic will speak for itself.
Here you can plan your resources for maximum efficiency and get all the resource management basics like capacity planning and resource scheduling.
A great thing about Ganttic is that it's not only about human resources — you can also schedule your project equipment!
Users give it a 4.3 and one happy user mentioned that Ganttic is 'Easy to get started with and amazing for tracking asset (either physical assets or employees) to manage allocation'.
In the end, what matters most is that you are happy with the tool you choose. The last thing you want is a platform that causes more problems than it solves!
But if you make the right choice, it can become the foundation for effective resource management that saves your business time, money - and keeps your teams feeling motivated and bought-in to the resource management process.
