- Resource management tools at a glance
- Eleven resource management tools to look at
- Resource management versus project management
- Watch for weeks that run too long
- Questions to ask a resource management vendor
- Signs your resourcing has outgrown the spreadsheet
- My plain advice on choosing resource management software
- Frequently asked questions
The best resource management software shows who's available, who's overbooked and what's coming next, so you can put the right people on the right work without endless spreadsheets: agencies and consultancies often want visual scheduling, while larger professional services firms want resourcing tied to forecasts and financials. Eleven tools follow in no particular order.
Every project business hits the same wall. Sales has signed three new clients, two people are on holiday, your best designer is booked on four projects at once and the only plan is a spreadsheet that one manager understands.
Resource management software turns that spreadsheet into a live picture of your team's time. The eleven tools below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and every description comes from the vendor's own site, read this week. If projects themselves are the struggle, my piece on why project management is hard for small teams is a useful read.
Resource management tools at a glance
In the free plan column, Yes means the tool's own site names a free plan, a free version or an open source edition. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the pages I read named neither, even where there's a button inviting you to try it or book a demo.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| EG Silverbucket | Resource planning for project business | Project-driven organisations watching margins | Trial only |
| Float | Resource management and scheduling | Agencies watching who's working on what | Not stated |
| Kantata | Professional services automation | Professional services firms at scale | Not stated |
| Milient | Resource management software | Matching skills and availability to projects | Not stated |
| Mosaic | AI resource planning and forecasting | Capacity planning with AI help | Not stated |
| Productive | Agency management and PSA | Agencies running everything in one tool | Trial only |
| Resource Guru | Resource management and scheduling | Simple scheduling for people and equipment | Trial only |
| Runn | Resource and capacity planning | Technical project teams forecasting capacity | Trial only |
| Saviom | Workforce and resource management platform | Medium and large organisations | Not stated |
| Smartsheet Resource Management | Resource management add-on | Teams already using Smartsheet | Trial only |
| Teamdeck | Lightweight team and resource planning | Creative and technical teams | Trial only |
Eleven resource management tools to look at
EG Silverbucket
Best for: Project-driven organisations that want insight into their people and margins, with a 30-day free trial.
Float
Best for: Agencies and consultancies that want a full picture of who's working on what and whether utilisation is slipping.
Kantata
Best for: Professional services firms that want resourcing, forecasting, delivery and financials together in one PSA platform.
Milient
Best for: Teams that want one clear view of availability, workload and project demand, from the company behind Hub Planner.
Mosaic
Best for: Firms that want resource planning, capacity planning and resource forecasting with an AI assistant built in.
Productive
Best for: Agencies that want resourcing, projects, time and reporting in one agency management tool, with a 14-day free trial.
Resource Guru
Best for: Consultants, agencies and engineering teams that want capacity made obvious and flexible plans they can change quickly.
Runn
Best for: Teams planning people across technical projects that want capacity forecasts, with a 30-day free trial to test them.
Saviom
Best for: Medium and large organisations that want workforce planning, PSA and portfolio management on a deeply configurable platform.
Smartsheet Resource Management
Best for: Smartsheet users who want workloads balanced and resources allocated in the same place they already plan their work.
Teamdeck
Best for: Creative and technical teams that want quick, lightweight resource planning with a 14-day free trial.
Resource management versus project management
Project management tools track tasks and deadlines inside each project. Resource management looks across all projects at once, at people's capacity, skills, leave and bookings, so you can see clashes and gaps before they hurt delivery.
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Some tools in this list are focused schedulers. Others are professional services automation platforms that add time tracking, forecasting and project financials, which suits firms that bill by the hour or day.
Watch for weeks that run too long
GOV.UK says you can't work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally averaged over 17 weeks, unless you choose to opt out of the 48-hour week.
A resource plan is the easiest place to spot trouble early. If someone is booked well past a normal week for weeks in a row, that's a burnout risk, a quality risk and possibly a legal one. Use the utilisation view to move work before it becomes a problem.
Trades businesses should read how Jobber compares with Housecall Pro.
Questions to ask a resource management vendor
- Can we see capacity across every project and person on one screen?
- How do you handle skills, roles and tentative bookings?
- Do leave and public holidays reduce capacity automatically?
- Can we forecast demand from deals that haven't been signed yet?
- Does it connect to our project management and time tracking tools?
- How easy is it for team members to see their own schedule?
Demand forecasts drive staffing, as sales forecasting software explains.
Signs your resourcing has outgrown the spreadsheet
- People are double-booked. You find out on the day.
- Sales can't see capacity. New work is promised blind.
- Leave catches you out. Holidays aren't in the plan.
- Only one person understands the file. And they're busy.
Do you make resource management software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on choosing resource management software
Pick the person who'll own the schedule and let them choose between the final two. If they find the tool fiddly, the plan will drift back into a spreadsheet within a month, however clever the forecasting looks in a demo.
Start with names, availability and bookings for the next six weeks. Once that's trusted, add skills, forecasting and financials. For the wider processes around it, see my guide to the key project management processes.
Frequently asked questions
What is resource management software?
It's software that shows people's capacity, bookings and availability across all projects, so you can plan who works on what and when.
What's the difference between resource management and project management software?
Project management tracks tasks within a project. Resource management looks across projects at people's time and skills.
Do small agencies need resource management software?
Once you have more than a handful of people on several projects at once, a shared schedule usually saves time and clashes.
What is resource utilisation?
It's the share of someone's available time that's booked on work, often split into billable and non-billable time.
Can resource management software forecast demand?
Many tools let you add tentative bookings for likely projects, so you can see future gaps before deals are signed.
Is there free resource management software?
Most tools offer free trials rather than free plans. Check each vendor's site for current options.
