What Is Smartsheet?
Smartsheet is a cloud-based project management and collaboration tool that helps teams plan, track, automate and report on their work. Smartsheet is designed to be highly flexible and customizable. It has a wide range of templates for use cases, such as information technology (IT), human resources (HR) and product development.
You can use these templates so that you don’t need to start from scratch and customize them as you go for a wide range of purposes, from managing simple to-do lists to complex enterprise-level projects.
Smartsheet Inc. has many work management products in its ecosystem, which integrate well with the project management app to make work faster, efficient and more secure. Some of these products include:
- Bridge for building intelligent workflows
- Brandfolder for digital asset management
- Content collaboration for organizing, managing and reviewing content production
- WorkApps for streamlining work and simplifying collaboration
- Dynamic View for secure request management
- Calendar App to build shareable calendars with custom details
- Pivot App to summarize and analyze large datasets
- DataMesh to prevent duplicated data entry and map data between large sheets and reports
- Resource management for project tracking, budgeting and resource allocation
All Smartsheet Inc. tools integrate seamlessly for a unified experience. Some of these tools are inbuilt into the project management platform for different subscription plans whereas some are premium add-ons for which you need to pay extra.
Pros
Smartsheet is a powerful project management and collaboration tool with a clean and simple spreadsheet-like interface. It offers advanced automation and collaborative features that help streamline processes and save time. It has a wide range of highly customizable templates that can be a good starting point for any team in any industry.
Features such as critical path analysis, predecessor and successor, real-time commenting, real-time reporting and advanced automated workflows help managers track projects and take proactive steps to ensure timely completion.
Cons
Some users who do not have experience using spreadsheets may find the interface complex and difficult to understand initially. The Smartsheet free plan is very basic and can be limiting for small teams looking for free solutions.
When users cancel a Pro or Business plan, the unused part of their subscription is not refunded. For canceling an Enterprise plan, businesses need to consult their sales representative.
Featured Partners
1
monday.com
Yes
From $8 monthly per user
Zoom, LinkedIn, Adobe, Salesforce and more
2
HubSpot
Yes
Available
Google Contacts, Mailchimp, Xero, Aircall, Airtable and more
3
Smartsheet
Yes, for one user and two editors
$7 per user per month
Google Drive, Slack, Tableau, Miro, Zapier and more
4
ClickUp
Yes, for unlimited members
$7 per month
Slack, Microsoft Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, Timely, Google Drive and more
Smartsheet Core Features
Smartsheet is a powerful cloud-based project management and collaboration tool that has a wide range of features to enable teams to plan, track, automate and report on project progress. Here we discuss some of its core features.
Role Assignment Features
Smartsheet has four predefined user roles—admin, owner, editor and viewer—with a specific set of permissions and access levels that can also be customized according to project or team requirements. As a user, you can share sheets with individuals, groups or the entire organization and set access levels (view, edit, comment, etc.) for each separately.
You can also share sheets with external collaborators such as clients or vendors by defining roles and permissions and setting access expiration dates or passwords for added security.
Timelines
Smartsheet’s timeline view displays tasks, milestones and events in a timeline format, making it easier to track project progress. Users can customize their timeline view to show additional details such as start and end dates, duration, task dependencies, milestones, etc. Timeline view can also be filtered to view only specific tasks or milestones.
Gantt Charts
Gantt chart is a powerful visual tool in Smartsheet, which allows project managers to track tasks, milestones and project timelines. It uses a timeline format, where additional details such as start and end dates, duration, time milestones and task dependencies can also be displayed.
With its drag-and-drop interface, users can create task dependencies and complex project schedules in just a few clicks.
Smartsheet’s Gantt chart automatically adjusts timelines based on changes to other task dates and dependencies, such as delayed predecessor tasks. It calculates project critical path automatically, making it easier for project managers to identify critical tasks and prioritize them accordingly.
Software Integrations
Integrations can help streamline workflows and ensure that data is consistent across apps used by your organization. Smartsheet integrates with a range of third-party tools such as Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Slack and Salesforce. Smartsheet Business and Enterprise plans also provide integrations with Brandfolder, Adobe Creative Cloud, Tableau and Power BI.
Dependencies
Smartsheet has several features to manage project dependencies and create dynamic schedules automatically for paid plans:
- Dynamic Gantt Chart: Smartsheet’s Gantt chart automatically adjusts based on changes to task dates and dependencies. In case a task is delayed or moved, the Gantt chart will automatically update to show the impact on other tasks and the project schedule.
- Critical Path: Smartsheet automatically calculates the critical path of a project—a sequence of tasks that ensures the shortest possible project duration. This enables project managers to identify tasks most crucial to project success and prioritize them accordingly.
- Predecessors and Successors: Smartsheet allows users to create task dependencies by setting predecessors and successors. This ensures a task cannot begin until all previous tasks marked predecessor have been completed.
- Dependency Reports: Smartsheet offers dependency reports that show all tasks that are dependent on other tasks, as well as any tasks that have no dependencies. This helps project managers identify any missing dependencies and ensure that the project schedule is accurate.
Budgeting
Smartsheet budgeting templates can get you started with budgeting quickly and easily. Smartsheet also allows you to track costs associated with tasks and projects and stay within budget. Resource management features further enable managers to optimize resource allocation, using them efficiently and effectively taking into account budget constraints.
Smartsheet Pricing and Plans
Smartsheet has a forever-free plan for one user and up to two sheets. To test drive additional features there is a free 30-day. However, it does not grant complete access to all of its features and functions. Paid plans start at $7 per user per month, which includes unlimited sheets and dashboards as well as extra features such as additional automations and editors.
Free
The Free plan is a great way to get started with Smartsheet, familiarize its basic features and test if it suits your needs. The Free plan allows unlimited dashboards for one user and two editors. The user can create up to two sheets with unlimited dashboards and reports. The Free plan has limited integrations—Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Slack.
You can create basic web forms to collect data and automate up to 100 repetitive tasks using the built-in rules and alerts features. You also get support from the online community and Smartsheet’s exhaustive online knowledge base.
Pro
The Pro plan is the first paid plan and offers additional features and capabilities for small teams that have complex projects to handle. The Pro plan includes critical path analysis, portfolio management and resource management. You can also use conditional logic and cross-sheet workflows to set up some advanced automation. You also have access to a wider range of integrations and better storage and sharing capabilities.
Business
The Business plan has advanced governance and administrative features such as single sign-on, audit logging in and user provisioning. Hence this plan is excellent for large teams that need to ensure security and compliance. You also get better automation features such as data routing and data visualization.
The Business plan allows for enhanced collaboration and reporting capabilities as well as even more integrations such as Tableau, Power BI and Okta. You have access to a dedicated account manager and on-demand onboarding and training services.
Enterprise
Smartsheet’s Enterprise plan is a custom plan designed for organizations with complex and large-scale deployment needs for very large teams.
In addition to the Business plan features, when you upgrade to an Enterprise plan you become eligible for Smartsheet Advance, which has premium capabilities for project, program and process management at scale.
Smartsheet Advance possesses enterprise-grade governance and administrative capabilities, intelligent workflows, CRM and software development integration and tighter security. There are three levels available―Silver, Gold and Platinum―each with its own unique set of features.
Smartsheet Setup and Customization
Signing up for a Smartsheet free trial (30 days) is as simple as filling out a sign-up form with these details: name, email address, company name, roll and number of employees in the company. You receive a confirmation email in the email address provided. Click on it and you will be taken to Smartsheet.
When you log in to Smartsheet for the first time, you will be asked to set personal details but you can skip this step. You can also invite team members using just their email IDs.
The default view of Smartsheet is the spreadsheet-like grid view but it can be changed easily. To get you started, Smartsheet has a wide range of templates for different use cases, which can be fully customized according to your specific needs.
Smartsheet Ease of Use
Every project or work that you start in Smartsheet begins with a sheet. This is quite different from other project management apps that start with a list or board view. But if you have used a spreadsheet in the past, it can feel very intuitive. You simply add everything in the sheet rows, starting from a blank sheet or a template.
However, for someone not used to spreadsheets, the interface can look difficult initially.
Smartsheet Security
Smartsheet boasts enterprise-grade security standards for your data. It has multiple security features, such as two-factor authentication (2FA), single sign-on (SSO), AES 256-bit addressed encryption and secure data centers. Smartsheet is also compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), System and Organization Controls (SOC), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
However, these are available only for Business and Enterprise plans.
Smartsheet Customer Service and Support
Smartsheet has a self-serve learning center and community for all plans. The learning center has in-depth tutorials and articles on every aspect of the app. If you are hands-on in your approach, you can teach yourself Smartsheet’s nuanced high-level features quickly.
Besides, online web support, global 24/7 phone support and Smartsheet University are available for Enterprise users. Technical support managers, packaged solutions and other professional support options are available as premium add-ons.
Smartsheet Additional Features
In addition to the core features discussed above, Smartsheet has these additional features that make it a powerful project management tool.
Customizable Templates
There are templates for different project categories, such as clients and customers, finance and accounting, general management, human resources (HR), marketing, product development and information technology (IT). For each category, you get multiple use cases. For instance, if you choose the projects category, you get use case templates for use cases, such as project budget, Agile projects with Gantt charts, project tracking and roll up and Lean Six Sigma. For each project category, Smartsheet also suggests useful add-ons.
Even if you start with a blank sheet, some basic formatting is already in place. For instance, columns such as task name, due date, done, assigned to, status and comments are already named to get you started immediately. For each row, you can attach a file, add a comment, add a proofread version or set a reminder. These options make it very easy for team members to collaborate on any task. Although, proofing is available only for Business and Enterprise plans.
Milestone Tracking
Milestones are used in Smartsheet to mark important events and tasks. The duration of a milestone is 0 in the Gantt view. If you want a milestone to be a day long, put ~0 in the Duration column. The sheet must be in Gantt view and dependencies enabled in settings to set a milestone.
Once a milestone has been created, you can assign tasks, track progress and allocate resources like any task. You can also use reporting and analytics tools to generate reports on milestone progress and communicate updates to stakeholders.
Expense Tracking
Any non-labor project costs are termed expenses in Smartsheet. You can use expense tracking features to capture expense submissions, create and receive expense approval workflows, track project expenses, share expense approval status and get real-time insights into overall project expenses.
Team members can submit project expenses for approval through simple forms on desktop or app interface.
Kanban Board
Although by default Smartsheet opens in Grid View, it also has a Kanban board-style view called Card View. You can view existing sheets in Card View or create new ones from scratch. The old sheets can be filtered on the various column names in the Grid View. Once you have your board set up, simply add new tasks as cards and details such as start and end dates, assignees, priority, etc.
Billing and Invoicing
Smartsheet does not have a built-in billing and invoicing feature. However, it integrates with several third-party invoicing tools, such as QuickBooks, Xero and Invoice2go, that allow you to create invoices and manage billing.
Guest/Client Access
You can use Smartsheet’s Viewer role to give access to clients, vendors or other stakeholders for transparent communication. Besides the permissions, you can also set an expiration date to their access.
How Smartsheet Stacks Up
Smartsheet vs. Asana
Both Smartsheet and Asana are powerful project management and collaboration tools but there are some key differences in their features and capabilities. Smartsheet focuses on legacy project management techniques such as Gantt charts whereas Asana offers a more modern approach with boards, calendars, lists and timelines.
Both Smartsheet and Asana provide robust task management features but Smartsheet has more templates for different use cases. However, Asana offers more advanced collaboration features such as direct messages, team pages and team conversations. Smartsheet has better reporting and analytics capabilities; Asana’s reporting is pretty basic.
Both Smartsheet and Asana have a forever free plan. When it comes to paid plans, Smartsheet is cheaper for smaller teams but as the team size grows, it can become more expensive than Asana.
Smartsheet vs. monday.com
With a clean and modern interface, monday.com is intuitive and easy to understand, even for simple first-time users. The grid-style default interface of Smartsheet can prove challenging for users not familiar or comfortable with spreadsheets.
Smartsheet emphasizes the use of Gantt charts and timelines for project management whereas monday.com allows you to manage projects in a more visually appealing way through boards, lists and calendars. Both Smartsheet and monday.com have robust collaboration features such as commenting, file sharing, task assignment, automated workflows, custom notifications and team conversations.
With a simpler pricing structure, monday.com can be less expensive than Smartsheet, especially for larger teams. It is more suited for teams looking for flexibility and better collaboration tools. But if a wide range of customizable templates and powerful reporting and analytics are more important to you, Smartsheet is the tool for you.
Smartsheet vs. Notion
Both Smartsheet and Notion are popular project management and collaboration tools with a range of features to help teams work more efficiently and effectively. They offer robust task management features, automated workflows, integrations, Gantt charts and calendar views.
But Notion is more focused on note-taking and knowledge management and hence more suitable for writers and other creatives. Notion provides additional features such as databases, wikis and document collaboration.
Featured Partners
1
monday.com
Yes
From $8 monthly per user
Zoom, LinkedIn, Adobe, Salesforce and more
2
HubSpot
Yes
Available
Google Contacts, Mailchimp, Xero, Aircall, Airtable and more
3
Smartsheet
Yes, for one user and two editors
$7 per user per month
Google Drive, Slack, Tableau, Miro, Zapier and more
4
ClickUp
Yes, for unlimited members
$7 per month
Slack, Microsoft Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, Timely, Google Drive and more
Who Is Smartsheet Best For?
Are you looking for a project management and collaboration tool with a wide range of customizable templates for multiple use cases? Do you value powerful analytics and reporting over ease of use? If you answer these two questions in the affirmative and are comfortable using spreadsheets, Smartsheet is perfect for you.
By investing a bit of time and resources in learning Smartsheet customizations and buying some add-ons, you can convert Smartsheet into the perfect project and work management tool.
If you have been using spreadsheets to manage your projects until now, you can even import them directly into Smartsheet so that you don’t have to start from the beginning.
Our Experience/Expert Take
We found that while Smartsheet is not the most intuitive, it is still relatively easy to set up and get started with. The clean and simple spreadsheet-like interface laid out everything clearly and the row and column headings were intuitive as well. If you do not want to start from scratch, Smartsheet has a large library of customizable templates that should be sufficient for most teams.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Smartsheet worth the money?
If you are comfortable with spreadsheets or have been using spreadsheets to manage your projects till now, Smartsheet is the ideal choice for you. A powerful and highly customizable tool, you can import your business spreadsheets into Smartsheet so that you don’t need to start from scratch.
Which is better―Smartsheet or Excel?
Smartsheet has all the capabilities that you wish Excel had. Smartsheet is better than Excel in project management, building workflows, intelligent automations, integration and collaboration.
Is Smartsheet owned by Microsoft?
No, Smartsheet is not owned by Microsoft. It is owned by Smartsheet Inc., a company launched in 2006.
What can Smartsheet do that Excel cannot?
Excel sheets can be viewed only in grid view, which is not very helpful for planning and tracking projects. Smartsheet offers multiple views―grid, calendar, Gantt and card―which helps a team to work and collaborate with speed and agility.
