We live in times when many professions require requires an Internet connection to perform our duties effectively. Being online all the time can be frustrating of course, but it also gives us many opportunities. And one of them is remote work – regardless of time zone and place we’re in, we can still deliver the highest results of our work. Although, distributed teams often require the unique treatment, because of the lack of face-to-face contact (I’m aware we’re missing it especially in times of COVID-19 lockdown!). But they’re also master the mediated communication, using the wide range of tools available on the market. One of the apps for effective project management is Basecamp and today let us suggest some of the best Basecamp plugins for remote work to make the workflow even easier!
What is Basecamp?
Founded in 1999, Basecamp is one of the oldest project management tools. As they state at their website, it’s a better way to work and it’s hard to not agree with it, because of its clear and user-friendly interface. Everything project-related is in the one place – all the details, people assigned to it, each document, discussions, start and end date. Organizing chaos is a way smarter when you work with the right app, so be sure you and your team are going to test it (or enjoy using it if you’ve signed up before you lucky one!).
Basecamp offers a wide range of possibilities that will help you organize your whole work. It keeps everything in one place. In Basecamp you can list all the tasks, invite people to join the project and do your job together, online, at the same time.
Best Basecamp plugins for remote teams!
Time tracking: TimeCamp
View in Basecamp’s apps marketplace: Extras for Basecamp
The work management software will definitely go hand in hand with the right project time tracking software. Therefore, we could not suggest anything else, but TimeCamp – the best time tracking software on the market. It offers a smooth TimeCamp integration with Basecamp that would boost both your productivity and engagement in no time. Try it out!
The integration adds the ability to log hours for a to-do item, to-do list, and project created in Basecamp. All of the tasks will be synchronized with TimeCamp. It will categorize them the same way as BaseCamp does.
To set up our integration follow the steps below:
1. Log in to TimeCamp. 2. Go to Settings – Integrations 3. Select the Basecamp option from the menu on the left and click on the “Enable the integration” button. 4. After that you will be redirected to Basecamp and asked for a confirmation. Click on the “Yes, I allow access” button. 5. It will automatically synchronize your tasks with your projects in TimeCamp and you will be able to track the time for each task easily.
Enjoy using time tracking Basecamp and do not hesitate to give us any feedback.
Automation: Zapier
View in Basecamp’s apps marketplace: Zapier for Basecamp
For many, Zapier is a life savior. It’s an automation tool that connects your favorite apps and creates actions between them, so instead of using many other tools, you can simply use just this one. It provides its users with Zaps working on the principle “if this, then that” so that whenever the trigger event happens, Zapier makes the action event happen in the chosen tools. In Basecamp’s case, e.g. whether the message in Basecamp is created, it turns out into an event in Google Calendar. It just saves your time which, in case of remote teams, is often demanded. Smart!
Apps for Basecamp: Mr. To.Do
View in Basecamp’s apps marketplace: Mr. To.Do for Basecamp
Designed especially for Basecamp, it’s a smart and simple tool that creates repeated tasks in this tool. It’s super helpful for remote teams that often work on the same things – especially for copywriters, designers, and other marketing-related professions. It simply reminds you and your team about the assignments every hour, day, and week. Knowing that you don’t have to create a new entry in Basecamp for each new tasks, because the tool does it for us, keeps us focused and we’re less vulnerable for distractions.
Reporting: Ganttify
View in Basecamp’s apps marketplace: Ganttify for Basecamp
The project’s view in Basecamp is clear and intuitive, but it can be not enough if you need to provide your remote team with deep, rich data. Here, feel free to connect your Basecamp with Ganttify that allows you to create Gantt charts of your Basecamp projects with a single click. Set the dependencies between tasks, share the progress using the read-only Gantt chart (whether it’s for clients or team meeting purposes). You can also save the charts as PDF files and then send them as emails or attach to the project view in Basecamp. Clever!
Software development: TestLodge
View in Basecamp’s apps marketplace: TestLodge for Basecamp
Calling all the remote software development teams! If you’re using Basecamp for project management, try integrating it with TestLodge. This simple Basecamp add-on informs you each time the test fails, so you can react almost instantly and fix the problems in real-time. What is more, everything is perfectly organized, collaborative and each team member stays up to date with the status and results of testing. It’s especially important for remote software development teams because not seeing each other face to face can create misunderstandings so that keeping the members informed is crucial.
Do you know any other Basecamp plugins for remote teams? Maybe as a distributed team, you created your own to enhance every day’s work? Don’t be afraid and share your insights in the comments!