Image source: niftypm.com
What is Nifty?
Nifty is a project management application. It allows users to import projects, teams, tasks, and files into one central workspace. It organizes all your content while providing the opportunity to collaborate across teams and assign specific tasks.
So, how does it all work?
Let’s break down the basics of using Nifty to understand what it offers more thoroughly.
Tasks
Tasks are the apple to your pie.
You can create tasks, give them descriptions, assign them to either one or multiple team members, give them due dates, and mark them as completed.
You can also organize tasks under lists. Whether you want to create a ‘To-do’ list, an ‘In-progress’ list, or something else, your tasks appear on both the general project page and your tasks page.
They sort by the due date and can be broken down into sub-tasks.
Task lists are customizable, depending on your team’s workflow.
Milestones
Milestones are useful for tracking project progress based on task completion. Creating milestones is one way to give context to your project’s tasks and clarify your current progress.
Tying tasks to milestones allow milestone progress to automate tasks as they are completed.
Once a milestone is assigned a date, it appears in your calendar. Milestones are automatically color-coded based on progress and due date. Green tasks have been completed ahead of schedule, orange signals partial completion, and red refers to an overdue task.
Like tasks, milestones are customizable and can be edited to fit your team’s needs and workflow.
Members
The users that you add to a project are the project members. Members can be comprised of team members, guests, or clients. It’s entirely up to you!
Every time you add a new member to a project, you can decide their level of access― owner, admin, member, or guest.
Owners can manage all projects, team members, and billing. If you are the one who created your team’s account, you are an owner by default. It is possible to have more than one owner at a time.
Admins are project managers. They can create and delete projects along with manage other team members.
Members are added to a specific project and have full collaboration-access within the project. They can view other team members but are restricted from managing them. Members are also unable to create and delete projects.
Guests are not a direct part of your team, so they do not have access to your subscription rights or messaging. They can take part in project discussions and oversee progress but don’t have managing permissions. An example of a guest user may be a client or contractor.
Projects
Keeping up with our apple pie metaphor, if tasks are your apples, then milestones, task lists, and users are the rest of your filling. The project is your fully baked apple pie.
Projects are your final goal and what your team is ultimately trying to achieve to meet your business goals.
Portfolios
Portfolios are a collection of both past and present projects. The purpose of portfolios is to organize projects based on clients.
You can create multiple portfolios, one for each client, comprised of various projects, milestones, and tasks.
Image source: youtube.com
Using Nifty
Now that we understand the fundamental organizational structure of Nifty, it’s time to start using it.
Once you create a new workspace, Nifty allows data imports from other tools, such as:
- Asana
- Basecamp
- ClickUp
- Jira
- Trello
- Wrike
If you are currently using a data platform that is not listed above, don’t get too worried. You can also start new projects within the workspace and import files into the project.
After setting up a new workspace, you can directly add team members or share a link that provides access.
Image source: niftypm.com
Creating a New Project
When creating a new project, you have the option to choose from either a blank template to customize yourself or a pre-made template. Some of the templates available to choose from include:
- Client collaboration
- Design
- Development
- Getting Things Done
- Legal
- Marketing
- Product
- Sales
If you use a particular template more often than others, you can also save them for easy access later.
Projects can be public or private. You can choose whether all general portfolio members can access the project, or just members invited manually.
Some of the configurations to choose from when setting up a blank project include:
- Setting up a home page
- Creating milestones to help automate your project progress
- Creating tasks to designate smaller steps
- Organizing discussions for collaboration
- Adding docs and files for organization
After choosing between the above configurations, your workspace will appear with the option to add new tasks.
Image source: niftypm.com
You can also monitor team members’ workloads and assign new tasks for different members.
Uploading Docs
By uploading documents to Nifty, you can share them between team members and collaborate online.
Under your project page’s docs tab, press the “Create Document” button to begin uploading documents. From there, you have the option to create 1 of 4 document types― a nifty doc, google doc, google spreadsheet, or google presentation.
Depending on which document type you choose, you may have to install Google Drive and connect to your account.
If you choose to create a new Nifty document, you can designate it as either public, for collaboration, or private. Nifty documents have most, if not all, of the same features as Google docs. You can import photos, add headings, create links, and even add custom code.
Uploading Files
Uploading files is a similar process to uploading docs. You can upload files from your computer, Google Drive, or Dropbox.
Once a file has been uploaded, it can be shared amongst group members, generate comments, and be downloaded.
Files also generate their own URLs that can be copied and shared.
Discussions
Discussions are Nifty’s version of iMessages. They are a real-time chat feature that can be formed between members or within a group. Having a chat function associated with projects is convenient because it negates the need for a third-party communication app.
When discussions are created on a specific project, the messages will be centralized and available for all project members.
Discussions can even be attached to tasks and will appear as comments.
Image source: niftypm.com
Other Features
Time tracking
The time tracking element of Nifty is convenient to keep track of who’s working on what and for how long.
This feature can be utilized on both a personal level and a management level. Personally, time tracking allows you to set time management goals and organize daily goals. In terms of overseeing a team, time tracking can help you keep tabs on team members.
Calendar
The calendar option allows you to organize tasks for your entire team and create tasks specifically for yourself.
It can be integrated with Google calendars to centralize your work and be filtered by portfolio or project.
Reporting
The reporting tool is comprised of project overviews, detailed views, and team overviews.
The project overview feature generates a bird’s eye view across all projects within your portfolio or organization. It is useful for keeping track of your company’s overall performance.
Detailed views provide a more in-depth view of projects and milestones to track progress.
Team overviews are the most detailed reporting tools, giving insight on team tasks, time logs, and progress. This feature is valuable because it can help balance workloads and determine what tasks still need completion.
Apps
There are a variety of applications you can install within Nifty to increase usability and functionality.
Some popular app installations include:
- GitHub
- Google Drive
- Google Calendar
- Slack
- Zoom
While installing these apps is completely up to you and a personal preference, doing so is typically preferable. Apps, such as Google Calendar, are convenient for centralizing all of your tasks in one location.
Image source: niftypm.com
Nifty Pricing
Currently, Nifty offers 4 convenient plans that can be purchased either monthly or annually:
- Starter
- Pro
- Business
- Enterprise
Before purchasing a plan, it is advisable to try the 7-day free trial as it does not require credit card information and gives you access to most features.
The starter plan supports up to 10 team members, 100GB of storage, 10 active projects, and unlimited guests. You can add some advanced features, such as cross-project overviews and time tracking, for $20/month.
The pro plan supports up to 20 team members, 500GB of storage, and unlimited active projects and guests. Unlike the starter plan, cross-project overviews are included.
The business plan supports up to 30 team members, 1TB of storage, and unlimited active projects and guests. It includes access to all advanced features, along with priority support and open API hosting.
The enterprise plan supports unlimited team members, custom storage space, and unlimited active projects and guests. Although it is the most expensive option, the enterprise plan provides the most access to advanced features, account hosting options, and customer support.
Depending on your team’s size, the business plan is probably the best bang for your buck. It offers access to all advanced features while not maxing out on price.
Image source: freepik.com
Review
Overall, Nifty is a great resource for project management due to its versatility and ease. Because it supports project and task creation, opportunities for collaboration, and reporting tools, Nifty is a jack-of-all-trades in project management.
Another unique quality that is admirable about Nifty is the ability to customize all tasks and set deadlines that align with its time tracking capability.
After comparing Nifty’s features to other project management platforms, we conclude that Nifty is the tool to use if you are looking for one centralized project hub.
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Conclusion
Essentially, Nifty is a convenient application that all teams should be utilizing for project management. If we haven’t convinced you yet, your best bet is to get a free demo directly through Nifty.
Nifty offers access to a 30-minute web conference where you can explore Nifty’s interface and receive a full walkthrough of the platform. Just select a date and time through their pop-up calendar, and you are on your way to getting a free demo.
Alternatively, you can start the 7-day free trial to test out the interface yourself.
If you are looking for more tool reviews, feel free to check out our Pearl Lemon blog to learn more about what tools are the best choice for your business!
