Key takeaways
Smartsheet offers enterprise work management tools for optimizing processes like project planning, team collaboration, and task automation. The versatile Smartsheet software houses scalable resources through a tabular user interface, making it an effective solution for leading small teams, managing large-scale processes, and everything in between.
Read on to learn more about Smartsheet’s features, integrations, limitations, pricing, as well as a quick guide on how to get started with the tool.
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What Does Smartsheet Do?
Smartsheet is a cloud-based project management software solution that provides spreadsheet-centric tools that help teams manage their workflows, automate tasks, and report on projects.
Why Use Smartsheet?
Smartsheet enables teams to apply advanced work management tools to optimize workflows and leverages data to provide valuable insights while improving team unity through its robust collaboration features.
| Key features | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Task automation | Valuable data insights | Limited features |
| Third-party integrations | Scalable features | Functionality considerations |
| Security features | Robust reporting | Limited sheet options |
| Workload tracking | Improved collaboration | Steep learning curve |
| Dashboards | Advanced security | Add-on fees |
Read our complete Smartsheet software review.
Benefits of Using Smartsheet
Smartsheet offers many unique advantages for users looking to enhance their project management and team workflow processes.
Data insights
With structured sheets and robust reporting features, you can analyze information intuitively through visual data representations. Alternatively, users can leverage the system’s formula language to transform data into meaningful insights that enhance organizational decision-making.
Scalable features
Smartsheet’s wide array of tools allows teams to utilize features to fit their unique needs. With flexible view options, you can start small with simple grid sheets or work up to more advanced data representations, like Gantt charts or calendar views, that align with your project management needs. Smartsheet’s Professional Services team can also help you create scalable solutions that improve data collection and utilization.
Robust reporting
Thanks to Smartsheet’s customizable forms, teams can collect data that flows reliably into their sheets. Once data is collected, it can be combined from multiple sheets into easily generated reports and informative, interactive dashboards. Smartsheet’s conditional formatting and filtering capabilities make it easy for you to focus on specified data subsets and generate reports highlighting significant trends and patterns.
Improved collaboration
Smartsheet users can collaborate on sheets and share them with other members within and outside the organization. The collaborative features let you comment on and review data within the same sheets simultaneously, and visibility options allow for streamlined approval processes. Team members can easily share important information with the project’s key shareholders through enhanced dashboards and robust reports.
Enhanced security
Data is protected within the Smartsheet program through its array of security capabilities, practices, and safeguards. Some examples of security measures offered by Smartsheet include 24/7 event, incident monitoring, and response services through their in-house incident response team, as well as data storage with NIST-approved ciphers, transport layer security (TLS 1.2), and AES 256 at-rest encryption.
What is Smartsheet Best Used For?
Smartsheet can be used for a variety of purposes by enterprise teams. Its tools and features are primarily utilized to enhance organizational processes through improved resource management, content management, process management, digital asset security, and task automation.
Resource management
Smartsheet enables organizations to leverage workforce resources through improved productivity and heightened performance. The system’s Workload Heatmap feature provides a centralized visual representation of team members. Through this, leaders can easily see their workers’ availability and task assignments, allowing them to balance workloads intentionally to boost efficiency and performance.
Smartsheet’s workload tracking features are also helpful for allocating resources to new projects. The Workload Schedule feature allows managers to see which members are overallocated and quickly assess team availability. By adjusting tasks between members, management can easily balance workloads and avoid potential employee burnout for optimal team performance.
Smartsheet’s time-tracking tools offer insights into enhancing future projects. By simplifying work timekeeping processes within the system and analyzing the collected data, leaders are able to reach insights that can improve their prediction of future project estimates when allocating resources. Future work processes can also be advanced through Smartsheet’s forecast hiring, which provides information for making strategic hiring decisions that meet teams’ evolving needs.
Data and content management
Smartsheet centralizes organizational data into a single source of truth, enhancing the accuracy of data shared between integrated systems. Teams can access and view large data sets within Smartsheet by combining siloed data from external sources, such as their CRMs, ERPs, and other databases. The system’s DataMesh tool simplifies the process of combining data by eliminating duplicative data entry, typos, and other unnecessary work.
Once data from the organization’s other databases are combined within Smartsheet, users can leverage them using Smartsheet’s data management tools. These tools enable you to summarize and analyze large datasets within the system and identify meaningful trends and patterns to derive valuable insights.
Organizational data and digital assets can be further leveraged using Brandfolder by Smartsheet, a tool that improves content management by optimizing asset performance. Brandfolder eliminates disjointed file storage by enabling you to store, manage, manipulate, share, and analyze assets. It can then analyze the engagement of data on file to provide insights about the impact of the organization’s assets.
Process and workflow management
Smartsheet provides features and tools to enhance business processes. Through Bridge by Smartsheet, you can easily create flexible workflows that align with organizational processes through the no-code, drag-and-drop interface. It enables users of all skill levels to create workflows without requiring advanced technical assistance.
Using Bridge workflows, organizations can eliminate unnecessary manual work by automating business processes. Through advanced workflows with custom workflow logic and established user permissions, leaders can improve the efficiency and accuracy of their data processing while maintaining control over who can access and interact with shared information. Enterprise plans even let users build no-code applications through the WorkApps tool to streamline work processes and centralize portfolio management.
The solution’s team collaboration features also contribute to Smartsheet’s enriched process management capabilities. For example, leaders are able to configure their review cycle through the system’s intuitive interface, simplifying processes related to accessing stakeholder input and centralizing feedback. Organizations can also ensure transparency over processes each step of the way by maintaining version controls, accessing feedback history, and tracking changes.
Digital asset security
In addition to the aforementioned security safeguards provided through the Smartsheet system, organizations can protect their digital assets and data using the solution’s advanced security settings. With Smartsheet’s security and enterprise controls, designated users can manage user access and apply security controls to ensure protection over sensitive company data.
Smartsheet streamlines the management of team accounts by enabling centralized control over users within the organization. You can designate access privileges to specific users and configure security settings to ensure optimal security and collaboration across the entire workforce. Furthermore, external sharing may be restricted to only trusted domains. By limiting data access and privileges to designated individuals, organizations can control how their information is shared and limit the risk of data falling into the wrong hands.
Teams can leverage advanced security by integrating Smartsheet within their tech stacks, as supported integrations with security systems include McAfee MVISION Cloud, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, and more. Another great security feature tool provided with Smartsheet’s Business and Enterprise subscriptions is its built-in audit trial, which maintains a record of changes within the system along with users’ activity logs.
Task automation
Smartsheet’s automation capabilities allow you to implement customized notifications and task processes through its simple no-code workflows. The versatile automation features can be curated to fit the team’s needs, with automation triggered by specific events and schedule-based actions to streamline workflows and keep teams on track.
Organizations can assign account permissions, enabling only specific users to create automations. Specific automations are customizable to meet the project’s needs, by programming the system to run workflows at specific times, or triggering automations based on specific actions. Through these features, leaders can establish processes to enhance team management, like automated approval and update requests.
Smartsheet’s Notification Center gives you the option to create customized alerts and requests within their team’s automated reminder workflows. Through this, you can control who receives alerts and requests. These automated notifications and alerts are sent by and received through Smartsheet, although leaders can also configure their workflows to send email notifications automatically in response to predetermined triggers.
How Does Smartsheet Integrate with Your Existing Projects?
Many of the key benefits provided by Smartsheet exist thanks to the system’s integration capabilities. Organizations can manage work across their systems by integrating Smartsheet with their third-party solutions and combine data to reach new business insights.
Connecting Smartsheet and other business systems allows organizations to perform secure, easily configurable data transfers and enhance visibility between solutions. Smartsheet has connectors and integrations with 119 third-party applications, including the following popular enterprise systems:
- Google Workspace
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- ServiceNow
- PowerBI
- Tableau
In addition to its web app, Smartsheet has a mobile app for accessing data on the go. The mobile app is available for iOS and Android and lets you view real-time data, update information, and fill out forms.
Limited features
While Smartsheet advertises a wide range of tools and features, many of these perks are limited to its higher-priced plans. For example, Smartsheet’s free plans offer a legacy capability with limited functionality, allowing only two sheets and two editors or viewers per plan. Furthermore, advanced features like AI data analysis and work insights are only available through the Enterprise or Advanced Work Management plans, which lack transparent pricing.
Functionality considerations
Smartsheet has a lot of offerings, and depending on how many features are utilized, this can lead to software lags. For example, using advanced features with large datasets can lead to slower functionality. This can also be experienced with using sheets as they approach the system’s size limits.
Limited sheet options
Smartsheet has limitations for sheets, which only support a maximum of 500,000 cells, 20,000 rows, and 400 max columns. Additionally, it supports a maximum of 500,000 inbound and outbound cell links with up to 10,000 outbound destination grids. These limitations can make the software unsuitable for users who wish to carry out complex projects in single sheets.
Steep learning curve
Smartsheet’s spreadsheet-centric user interface can present a steep learning curve for users who are unfamiliar with spreadsheet software systems.
Add-on costs
Smartsheet charges additional costs for certain advanced actions and capabilities. These fees are charged for things like training, consulting, and implementation support and may apply to the following features:
- Control Center
- Bridge
- Brandfolder
- Resource Management
- Pivot App
- AppSheet
Smartsheet also advertises Premium Apps, which are only accessible by paying additional fees. These add-on services include:
- DataTable
- DataMesh
- Calendar App
- Data Shuttle
- Dynamic View
You can access all of the features without having to pay individual add-on fees through the Smartsheet Advanced option, but this option is limited to users on Enterprise plans.
Smartsheet Plans and Pricing
Smartsheet can be accessed through several price tiers, including a free version. Additionally, new users can access the paid version of the software through a free 30-day trial.
- The Free plan is priced at $0, and is limited to one user and up to two sheets. This plan allows sharing with up to two viewers and two editors. Users are also allowed to generate one sheet per report and up to 10 widgets per dashboard, with Gantt charts, grids, cards, and a calendar view. Users can utilize up to 100 automated triggers per month, and the plan allows for a maximum 30 MB attachment size, 500 MB storage, and 106 integrations.
- The Pro plan is priced at $12 per user per month, billed monthly, or $9 per user per month, billed annually. Intended for people and teams who want a collaborative interface, this plan supports one to ten members and unlimited viewers. It includes everything provided with the Free plan, plus rich formulas, 250 automations per month, and unlimited sheets, forms, and reports.
- The Business plan is priced at $24 per user per month, billed monthly, or $19 per user per month, billed annually. This is the most popular plan, catering to businesses looking to align their teams, projects, and programs. It is capable of supporting teams of three or more members, and allows for unlimited viewers and unlimited free guests. It includes everything provided with the Pro plan, as well as admin capabilities, timeline views, and team workload tracking. This plan comes with 1 TB attachment storage and unlimited automations.
- The Enterprise plan is for organizations intending to build complex solutions, company-wide controls, and security. It can support teams of ten or more members, and quotes are available upon request. It includes everything provided with the Business plan, as well as AI formulas, work insights, SAML-based SSO, WorkApps, texts, and charts. This plan also comes with an Enterprise Plan Manager, directory integrations, and unlimited attachment storage.
- The Advanced Work Management plan offers solutions attuned to the needs of large organizations, and quotes are available upon request. It comes with everything included with the Enterprise plan, as well as premium support and features like the Data Shuttle, Dynamic View, Control Center, DataMesh, Pivot App, Calendar App, and Salesforce and Jira connectors.
Alternatives to Smartsheet
Wrike
Wrike is a project management software alternative that offers features similar to those of Smartsheet. However, it provides some different perks, especially for free users. Wrike’s free software plan supports unlimited users, making it a more ideal choice for small businesses seeking affordable project management capabilities. Unlike Smartsheet, Wrike’s base plan includes native time-tracking features and over 400 integrations, although some are only accessible through the paid Wrike Integrate add-on service.
Asana is a Smartsheet alternative that provides project management features through its free and paid plans. Asana’s free plan includes many of the core capabilities included in its paid tiers and supports up to 15 users, making it a more ideal option for small organizations than Smartsheet. The intuitive and user-friendly interface allows for unlimited projects and multiple project views, which can be viewed through board, list, or calendar views — a feature that comes handy when dealing with complex project management.
Microsoft Project is a good project management tool option for teams that already use programs within the Microsoft ecosystem. The highly advanced software integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products and provides many built-in tools for resource management and project planning. Compared to Smartsheet, Microsoft Project is more expensive but offers more plan options, including ones for on-premises deployment. And while the learning curve may be steeper, Microsoft Project provides customer support at no additional charge.
How to Get Started with Smartsheet
You can begin to utilize Smartsheet’s array of features by setting up a sheet within the program. This sheet will include data and information relevant to their project(s).
Sheets can be created from scratch or by using one of the system’s pre-built templates. They are configurable, allowing you to track various workflows through methods that can be customized for your unique needs. Information within sheets can be represented as a grid, calendar, Gantt chart, or card view. Typical uses for sheets involve collecting information such as due dates, task assignments, project status, and other related data. Teams can also use sheets to house file attachments, user comments, and other assets pertaining to the project.
Once the Smartsheet system is populated with informative sheets, you can compile data between multiple sheets to create custom reports, reach valuable insights, and gain overview representations of their project data.
FAQs
Bottom Line
Smartsheet is a collaborative interface for organizations to enhance workforce management processes and leverage business data. With its robust reporting, it can be an effective tool to leverage data and gain key insights for informed decision-making. However, Smartsheet may not be ideal for organizations looking to manage large datasets or users with less familiarity with spreadsheet software systems.
If you are looking for an enterprise management tool, consider the advantages and drawbacks of Smartsheet outlined within the resource to determine whether Smartsheet would be right for your business needs.
