Smartsheet is a cloud storage service where I store all the project files. I also use the tool to create project schedules, automate approval flows, and create dashboards.
President at Oti
Used to create project schedules, automate approval flows, and create dashboards
Pros and Cons
- "I like that Smartsheet integrates Excel with a cloud-based project management software."
- "The solution should include integrations with other platforms or software."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I like that Smartsheet integrates Excel with a cloud-based project management software. Since everybody's really familiar with Excel, you can use Excel-type formulas in the Smartsheet to calculate certain things.
What needs improvement?
The solution should include integrations with other platforms or software. Smartsheet can look to integrate with financial software like QuickBooks, project management software, construction software, IT software, and SAP to pull data from different databases.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Smartsheet for three years.
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How are customer service and support?
I've onboarded Smartsheet for a company that creates databases and dashboards. It was like a meeting a week for six weeks to eight weeks, and it was really good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup is not too difficult. To set up the tool, you go to its website, get a free membership for a little bit, and then pay subscriptions for users.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution's pricing is not bad. I think it's a fair price for the amount of work you can do with it. I pay $ 120 or $ 128 a month for two to three users.
What other advice do I have?
I share Smartsheet with my team, all the stakeholders, owners, and project managers. They have access to it, and they can look at a to-do sheet or a project sheet. They can also download certain files that they need at certain times. If the files are updated, they're updated in the system. It's similar to Google Sheets or Google Docs, where you can go in and modify files. The solution's format is pretty good.
Smartsheet's real-time data tracking allows me to tell my clients that they can go to the tool and see real-time updates on what's going on with their projects.
The learning curve for Smartsheet is pretty quick because most people already know how to use Excel. Smartsheet looks exactly like Excel, where you just have to input data, but it has more capability. I would recommend the solution to other users because it simplifies running a project, storing data, and creating useful sheets for projects.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
National Sales Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Streamlines collaboration, offers stability, and saves time and energy
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Smartsheet are its collaboration tools, the ability to centralize and prioritize projects, and robust reporting capabilities."
- "Areas for improvement in Smartsheet include better integration capabilities with other technologies through APIs and addressing limitations in reporting functionalities."
What is our primary use case?
I use Smartsheet to streamline our intercompany support process. Instead of sifting through emails, requests go directly into Smartsheet, where we manage and prioritize them. It helps us efficiently estimate projects for sales reps, keeping everything organized in one place and ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.
How has it helped my organization?
The feature that has most improved my workflow efficiency is the collaboration aspect of Smartsheet. It reduces reliance on emails and facilitates teamwork, which serves as the foundation for utilizing other features like storage and reporting.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Smartsheet are its collaboration tools, the ability to centralize and prioritize projects, and robust reporting capabilities.
What needs improvement?
Areas for improvement in Smartsheet include better integration capabilities with other technologies through APIs and addressing limitations in reporting functionalities. Specifically, the ability to automate and customize reports more efficiently, as well as ensuring that exported reports display properly, especially when printing to PDF, would enhance user experience.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Smartsheet for a year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Smartsheet is excellent. While there have been occasional short connection issues or downtime, they have been minimal, totaling only a few hours over a year or more.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability of Smartsheet around an eight out of ten. It is highly scalable with the right personnel and computer literacy in place, but adoption and implementation are key factors. Smartsheet's scalability benefits our organization by accommodating multiple teams with similar functions but different operating styles. It enhances collaboration and organization while providing visibility and reporting features that help gauge productivity and track progress transparently.
Overall, there are over 100 users in our organization, including both licensed users and those with limited access to submitting requests.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is quite good. I would rate it as an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
I would rate the initial setup experience with Smartsheet around a five or six out of ten. It is not the most intuitive process, and the use of unfamiliar terminology can be confusing. While it is not overly difficult, there is room for improvement in making the setup smoother and more user-friendly.
The deployment of Smartsheet took several months, with a team of around eight to ten department managers involved in the rollout process. Maintaining the Smartsheet solution mainly involves updating reporting and other features annually, typically requiring the assistance of the Smartsheet team.
What was our ROI?
We haven't quantified the ROI percentage-wise yet, but based on the time saved, I would say Smartsheet more than doubles productivity.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would say the pricing for Smartsheet is not cheap, but it is a good value considering what you get. Basic licenses start around $500 per person, and costs increase for additional premium features.
What other advice do I have?
Smartsheet streamlines collaboration by reducing email clutter and providing a centralized platform for managing requests. It saves time and energy by storing data efficiently and facilitating communication with sales reps. Additionally, it enables tracking and reporting, allowing us to gauge productivity and have a clear snapshot of progress over time.
My experience with the Smartsheet mobile app is generally positive. While it is not as robust as the web-based version, it is convenient for quick checks and accessing essential information on the go.
Overall, I would rate Smartsheet as an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Implementer
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Marketing Operations practice leader at Calibrate Legal, inc.
Helps to create project plans and reporting dashboards
Pros and Cons
- "The tool creates shareable dashboards. These dashboards allow us to display project deliverables' status, their position in the queue, expected delivery timelines, and more. The best part is that these dashboards can be shared with our clients without a license."
- "Asana has a modern look and feel, particularly its agile project management interface featuring movable cards between columns."
What is our primary use case?
We use the tool as the default software for managing all client projects. Our team of six uses it to create project plans and reporting dashboards for our clients.
What is most valuable?
The tool creates shareable dashboards. These dashboards allow us to display project deliverables' status, their position in the queue, expected delivery timelines, and more. The best part is that these dashboards can be shared with our clients without a license.
What needs improvement?
Asana has a modern look and feel, particularly its agile project management interface featuring movable cards between columns.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with the product for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't had issues with the tool's stability. I rate it an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My company has eight users for the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The tool's support is responsive. They are easy to work.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
I rate the tool's ease of deployment a ten out of ten. It was instant, and there was no real deployment. The solution doesn't require any maintenance.
What about the implementation team?
I did the deployment myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The tool's monthly fee is 25 dollars, which is within the range of most cloud-based project management tools. I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
The tool is a good product; I am glad we have it. The main pros of Smartsheet include its familiar interface, especially for those accustomed to Excel, making the transition smoother for teams used to managing projects in spreadsheets. I recommend the tool to others since it is scalable and easy to set up. I rate it a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Global IT PMO at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Customizable, easy to use and cheap; needs more integrations
Pros and Cons
- "Their support is awesome. We are on an enterprise plan and there is a customer success at Smartsheet and anyone from our licensed users can just send an email to them and they respond as soon as possible."
- "I think it is all going to be about APIs in the future and I don't think Smartsheet is doing a lot in that regard. They have some integrations with Jira, but you have to pay for them."
What is our primary use case?
The most common use case for Smartsheet is collecting approvals because of the documented repository that can be shown to the auditors. Smartsheet has automated attachments. Users can easily and quickly make sure that certain mandatory approvals are collected efficiently. In addition, they will have an entire traceable archive of who did what and when.
With Smartsheet, you can export that as well. It also enables you to do analysis and develop dashboards. For example, you can track the average order processing time. It has all the capabilities of Excel but it enables you easy workflows. It's very intuitive in that regard and very customizable.
How has it helped my organization?
Smartsheet has helped me improve my organization by helping me further optimize. For example, if I had a legal department of 50 people, I can have just one license. Each of those people do not need a license for their work, but we just need to build and own all of their sheets with workflows. To build, all you need is one license, but many people can take advantage of it.
What is most valuable?
The feature I found most valuable is Smartsheet's collaboration capabilities. You can easily share your sheet with someone and communicate with them. Everyone can have their own milestones. Smartsheet can also be used for project management since it's really customizable, much like an Excel sheet. To create workflows, you can use a template or build your own from scratch.
What needs improvement?
Smartsheet could be improved with an integration with Outlook and Notion. I would also like to see other general integrations. I would most like to see an integration with my Outlook calendar so I can see the tasks that I have and action workflows from my inbox and those notification emails I get.
I think it is all going to be about APIs in the future and I don't think Smartsheet is doing a lot in that regard. They have some integrations with Jira, but you have to pay for them.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Smartsheet for a year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have not run into issues with Smartsheet's stability. For example, we had an internal issue and I could not use any company systems to communicate things that I need to, but then Smartsheet was there because it is cloud-based and independent and always working. It's always there. No hiccups; no bugs; no sorry, we got confused. Everything works nonstop.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Smartsheet's scalability has a high cost-benefit ration. We have 90 licenses and because they have the option to share with a lot of free users, we have about 2,000 users on top of the licenses that we are not paying for, but they are our employees, clients, and vendors even. They can have access to everything even with a free license.
How are customer service and support?
Their support is awesome. We are on an enterprise plan and there is a customer success at Smartsheet and anyone from our licensed users can just send an email to them and they respond as soon as possible. They reply within 24 hours. They look at their knowledge base for you and send you back all the links that will be helpful in explaining and resolving the issue. They are really exceptional and stable.
How was the initial setup?
Smartsheet's initial setup is straightforward. There is not much to it. It's very simple from the user's perspective. We already have accounts, licenses, and users, and I assign license ownerships. They set everything up up for you. They give you the template page where you set up your landing page. Before assigning licenses, I send a form where they have to justify why they need a license because there is also a free version user account that they can use. I can have an unlimited number of people as users of Smartsheet, but I don't have to give them a license, which I think is a great advantage.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Smartsheet has free user options with limited capabilities and the option to request a license or business plan. They have all the details available on their website.
I would say that Smartsheet's price is good. It is not cheap but it comes with good value, especially considering their free user options. We have 90 licenses and 2,000 users. Anybody from our organization can ask for a license and use the tool for their own purposes. If you're smart you can go a long way with just five licenses. We have an enterprise plan, and it costs us about $500 per year.
What other advice do I have?
It is really easy to use and understand. It makes it simple to collaborate with other people. Smartsheet is very similar to WordPress in that it is very easy to work in when you are creating blogs and web pages. It's very intuitive.
Smartsheet is a cloud-based SaaS tool. The tool itself is sheet-based and really customizable, so it can look like Excel on steroids. It has a tailored set of templates that you can use for project management and keeping inventory. It has a workflow to collect approval and send notifications, so you don't have to manually write 50 emails, instead, it's automatized. They also have enterprise plans.
It's a very cute, convenient, and user-friendly online Excel with workflows. Everyone wants to use Excel, SharePoint lists, or Power Automate, but it's really hard to set everything up with Microsoft tools, so I think that Smartsheet has its own advantages for a certain types of task management needs and collaboration.
In corporate, we should all be using the same tool. This is a great tool and as long as you give everyone the freedom of choosing, it still works. But, it is not really for corporate.
You can organize all of your business processes in Smartsheet, which is also an advantage. I can include any email account in the workflow, whether it's from my company or not. That's great because sometimes we cannot collect approvals from people who are outside of our organization and that is a problem. It is hard to work with clients when you are only dealing with Microsoft in that regard.
Using Smartsheet does not require any coding skills. I can do everything in it myself and I do not need additional IT experts to help me out.
I would rate Smartsheet a strong seven.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Lead Information Technology Analyst at Applied Materials
Has good scalability and helps us keep a tab on multiple projects at once
Pros and Cons
- "It is a stable and scalable solution."
- "They should improve the solution's integration with API."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution to manage and track operational tasks. We can create dashboards for services, design and distribute survey forms, and keep a check on project status using it.
What is most valuable?
The solution's most valuable feature is the ability to create dashboards for services. It helps in keeping a tab on multiple projects at once.
What needs improvement?
They should improve the solution's integration with API. It has certain limitations. The solution would work best integrated with multiple tools.
Also, they should add free templates compatible with multiple domains. It will be convenient for us to pick up the templates without worrying about the back-end process.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. We have come across downtime issues only once or twice. I rate its stability as a nine.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution has good scalability. We have purchased around 500 licenses. I rate its scalability as an eight.
How are customer service and support?
I have contacted the solution's tech support team for some issues. They resolve the problems immediately.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup has medium complexity. I rate the setup as an eight, as its license is expensive. The deployment process takes around seven business days. Initially, we request a quotation from the vendor for the number of licenses we want to purchase. Then, we procure the PO after receiving the quote. Upon the release of the PO, they issue the software licenses.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the solution's pricing as a six. It is expensive, but there are no additional costs involved.
What other advice do I have?
I advise others to use Smartsheet for its in-built automation features. It helps create dashboards and maintain the data in one place. Also, we can put a message with a heading and description, attach snapshots, and track running issues as well, unlike Excel. I rate the solution as a nine.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
CX Specialist at Great Lakes Institute of Management
Tracks progress of projects but lacks an auto-save feature
Pros and Cons
- "The deployment is very easy. All you need to do is log in."
- "Smartsheet is a cloud-based tool similar to Google Sheets in that multiple stakeholders can work on a document simultaneously. However, unlike Google Sheets, which saves changes in real time, Smartsheet requires users to manually save their changes."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution to track the progress of the project. We have created a bank chart or a milestone chart and follow the events on that Smartsheet point.
What needs improvement?
Smartsheet is a cloud-based tool similar to Google Sheets in that multiple stakeholders can work on a document simultaneously. However, unlike Google Sheets, which saves changes in real time, Smartsheet requires users to manually save their changes. Only after saving will the changes be visible to other stakeholders. For example, if two or three people are working on a Smartsheet and one person makes changes, those changes will not be visible to the others until the person saves their work. This contrasts with Google Sheets, where changes are immediately visible to all users in real time.
If any changes are made in Smartsheet, they should be saved automatically and reflected to all stakeholders in real time. Currently, if I make even a small change to a cell, I need to save it manually. This adds a significant amount of effort, as I have to save every small change each time. Automatic saving, as seen in Google Sheets, would greatly enhance efficiency by ensuring all changes are visible to everyone immediately.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Smartsheet for a month and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Smartsheet is stable, but initially, setting it up was a significant effort. This was a major issue and caused problems. I rate the the solution’s stability a seven out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Five people are using this solution. It is not widely used within the organization. We would resort to another product because Smartsheet is not free, and most of its features are not free of cost. Additionally, from a licensing perspective, our company already uses Microsoft products, including Excel, which offers more features.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Excel and Google Sheets are much more reliable compared to Smartsheet. Even though Smartsheet is a relatively new product, it was not very impressive. Google Sheets stands out as one of the better options compared to Smartsheet. However, nothing currently beats Excel.
I've used Excel more often, and for the projects for which we are using Smartsheet, we are not actually leveraging the AI features of Smartsheet. Instead, we are incorporating it into our process in other ways.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment is very easy. All you need to do is log in.
I rate it a seven out of ten where ten is easiest.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have using the free version with limited features.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Google Sheets or Excel instead of Smartsheet. Smartsheet doesn't offer any smart features. In fact, it took some effort to set up Smartsheet to track the progress of a project, which was really disappointing. Moreover, Smartsheet doesn't provide any features that its competitors do not offer. Excel is much more efficient and will continue using it.
Overall, I rate the solution a five out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Easy Collaboration, customizable, but there is a bit of a learning curve
Pros and Cons
- "This solution provides easy collaboration and allows non-building users to use the system without requiring a license."
- "The system can become more challenging to use in more complex scenarios, requiring additional add-ons that can be quite costly."
What is most valuable?
This solution provides easy collaboration and allows non-building users to use the system without requiring a license.
Only licensed users who can create sheets and collaborative spaces are charged for their usage.
What needs improvement?
The system can become more challenging to use in more complex scenarios, requiring additional add-ons that can be quite costly.
However, since we don't use those add-ons, this is not an issue for us.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Smartsheet for three years.
Since it's a software as a service, we are always working on the latest version of the platform.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Smartsheet a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten.
Currently, we have around 15 to 20 users who have a valid license, but we plan to increase that number substantially. It's hard to determine the exact number of non-licensed users, but I would estimate it to be at least a few dozen, around 30 to 40 users.
How are customer service and support?
We did not have many occasions where we had to contact technical support.
How was the initial setup?
I was indeed involved in the initial setup, and let's say that for standard use, it's a very interesting tool. It's not that difficult.
But for more complex use cases, there is a higher learning curve.
What about the implementation team?
The application is hosted on the cloud, but I wouldn't describe it as completely public since users have their own private space. Access to the system requires a user account that is created by an administrator within our company.
The deployment process took one or two months to complete.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I believe a licensed user costs between 300 to 400 euros.
This solution does not have any additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees.
What other advice do I have?
It's important to do thorough research and analysis to determine if the application fits your needs, as with any software. While we are satisfied with its use cases in some areas, we might have needed to do more research to determine if it would also meet our needs in other areas.
I would rate Smartsheet a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Project Manager at USCCG
It's cloud-based, so it's more accessible, so we don't need to worry about saving versions of the file when someone makes changes.
Pros and Cons
- "Smartsheet offers more than Project because it's similar to a table-based, database-type system. It's like a hybrid between Excel and project software. We were able to enter the formulas and do much of the automation. We added budgets to it and linked them to a vendor page. Smartsheet let us integrate the budget into the project seamlessly. With Project, we needed to open up Excel."
- "Smartsheet should continue to expand the spreadsheet-type functionality because it's limited currently. Most business users are familiar with Excel and Office, so Smartsheet should adopt a similar way of navigating the program."
What is our primary use case?
We're using Smartsheet at the enterprise level throughout the organization. We did a test at the corporate office before moving forward. In the beginning, we were only using Smartsheet to help our corporate users open new facilities and convert warehouse management systems. Also, we used it in implementation at sites with new customers. Eventually, we began using Smartsheet for entire projects. We transitioned from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet for all of our projects.
What is most valuable?
I'm consulting with a company that uses Microsoft Project, which isn't cloud-based. Smartsheet is cloud-based, so it's more accessible. We need not worry about saving versions of the file when someone makes changes. For example, Microsoft Project locked up while someone was saving a file, and we couldn't access the original file properly.
Smartsheet offers more than Project because it's similar to a table-based, database-type system. It's like a hybrid between Excel and project software. We were able to enter the formulas and do much of the automation. We added budgets to it and linked them to a vendor page. Smartsheet let us integrate the budget into the project seamlessly. With Project, we needed to open up Excel.
What needs improvement?
Smartsheet should continue to expand the spreadsheet-type functionality because it's limited currently. Most business users are familiar with Excel and Office, so Smartsheet should adopt a similar way of navigating the program.
When you're moving through cells or fields, you can't move with your arrows flipping back between things. If you hit enter, it doesn't do the same thing it does in Excel.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Smartsheet for about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is excellent.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Smartsheet is scalable. We deployed it in 47 large distribution centers across the United States, and we had six projects running on it. The corporate office could view all of the projects at once because the program management option is terrific.
How are customer service and support?
Smartsheet support is fantastic. It's better than any I've ever dealt with before. They could answer any question I had about the functionality in a given use case. They were serious superusers. It wasn't just like, "Well, let me check." They actually knew the answer. We'd have a resolution in minutes because of how they had it set up for our organization.
How was the initial setup?
Overall, setting up Smartsheet is pretty straightforward, but sometimes the project settings and the Office-style functionality limit people from getting the information as quickly as possible.
I don't know that that's a Smartsheet issue as much as it is a user issue. They have to understand that when somebody requests to open a project, they need to accept it, activate it, and move forward quickly.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost varies based on the number of users and the commitment that we gave them. I think it was reasonable. I can't remember the exact cost, but it's less than Microsoft Project.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Smartsheet nine out of 10. Smartsheet has room for improvement, but they're moving in the right direction. If you're planning to implement Smartsheet, you need to take the time to prepare upfront. Depending on the organization's size, you need to gain experience and train some superusers.
You need a few people to learn the ins and outs and get in-depth training in the specific features they will utilize. Learn as much as possible about the system and do a lot of hands-on training right out of the gate.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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