Smartsheet vs FunctionFox

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Our analysts compared Smartsheet vs FunctionFox based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Project Management Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Smartsheet is an enterprise-level SaaS management application that helps teams streamline processes through collaboration, project planning and task management. Users can set up tasks using a grid view, similar to a spreadsheet with automations, formulas, comments and mentions. 

It provides templates for projects and automations that can be modified and saved as a template to save time. Project views include a Kanban board, Gantt chart, timeline, calendar view, card view and a custom dashboard.

Its file and sheet sharing capabilities, comment feature and conversations remove team and data silos and give stakeholders insight into project details. A user-friendly interface helps managers and team members boost adoption rates, maintain consistency and increase efficiency. 

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FunctionFox is a cloud-based resource management solution that tracks projects, project time and expenses. It helps creative firms transition to a paperless ecosystem and replace cumbersome spreadsheets with efficient inclusions that monitor projects and time. It also offers task assignment, timesheets, scheduling and reporting.

It supports timesheets and the billing requirements of creative teams, including graphic design, advertising, marketing, multimedia and public relations. It helps organizations take charge of their project lifecycles, understand their workflows in detail and increase their billing hours.

It supports unlimited projects and clients and can be customized according to an organization’s workflow. Users can monitor project estimates, costs, expenses, budgets and quotes. It sends automatic email alerts and can generate reports on expenses, personnel, clients and more. It also includes a stopwatch to track billable and non-billable hours. It also offers a mobile application for iOS and Android devices.
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Small
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Product Assistance

Documentation
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Email
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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Product Insights

  • Use Familiar Spreadsheet Formatting: Move from regular spreadsheets to spreadsheets with versatile views and much less formula knowledge required for formatting. Make adoption and training smoother because you’re not starting from scratch with processes. We especially liked the ability to enter data using a familiar cell view and then convert it to, say, a Kanban board.
  • Create No-Code Automations: Use templates or build from scratch with a trigger, condition and action automation format. Save time on admin tasks with automations for alerts, approvals, document creation and sheet changes. Choose from four starting cell-related triggers and build from there. We thought the automation building was intuitive and straightforward. Check out our test in the “See It In Action” section below.
  • Access Multiple Views: Add dynamic views to your projects and filter and customize views to meet task requirements. For example, we added a card view organized by status and a Kanban Board sorted by task assignee. Create a customizable dashboard to pull data like task progress, workload and duration using widgets.
  • Share Proofs and Additional Information: Collaborate on team documents, provide context and add proofs and files to individual tasks or the entire sheet. We set a piece of content as a task and added extra files like logos and docs along with comments for specific client requests.
  • Train As You Go: Kick your project off with a checklist outlining best practices and research material. Use pop-ups and explainer icons with video links as you work to get a better understanding of features and capabilities. We popped over to the help center to learn how to set up baselines for our Gantt chart (you need to edit the start date and end date columns).
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  • Enhanced Productivity: FunctionFox streamlines task management, allowing teams to focus on high-priority projects without getting bogged down by administrative tasks.
  • Accurate Time Tracking: With precise time tracking features, FunctionFox helps ensure that every billable hour is accounted for, reducing revenue leakage.
  • Improved Project Visibility: The software provides a clear overview of project timelines and milestones, making it easier to monitor progress and adjust plans as needed.
  • Resource Allocation: FunctionFox aids in optimal resource allocation by showing who is available and who is overloaded, ensuring balanced workloads across the team.
  • Client Transparency: Detailed reports and dashboards can be shared with clients, fostering trust and transparency in project management and billing.
  • Reduced Administrative Overhead: Automating routine tasks such as timesheet submissions and project updates frees up time for more strategic activities.
  • Enhanced Collaboration: Centralized communication tools within FunctionFox facilitate better collaboration among team members, reducing the need for lengthy email threads.
  • Customizable Reporting: Tailored reports provide insights into project performance, helping managers make data-driven decisions to improve efficiency.
  • Budget Management: FunctionFox helps keep projects within budget by tracking expenses and comparing them against initial estimates in real-time.
  • Scalability: The software grows with your business, accommodating an increasing number of projects and team members without compromising performance.
  • Deadline Adherence: Automated reminders and alerts ensure that deadlines are met, reducing the risk of project delays and client dissatisfaction.
  • Historical Data Analysis: Access to historical project data allows for better forecasting and planning of future projects based on past performance.
  • Enhanced Accountability: Clear assignment of tasks and responsibilities ensures that everyone knows their role, fostering a culture of accountability.
  • Cost Efficiency: By improving time management and reducing wasted effort, FunctionFox contributes to overall cost savings for the organization.
  • Remote Work Support: FunctionFox's cloud-based platform supports remote work, enabling teams to stay connected and productive from anywhere.
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  • Dashboards and Reports: Customize your dashboard by adding widgets like reports, project-specific charts, shortcuts, images and text. Consolidate data from multiple sheets into a summary view using system reports. Track sheet changes using bi-directional functionality. Send reports via collaborative tools and change statuses to recur.
  • Multiple Views: View your tasks using the grid view, akin to a spreadsheet, a Gantt view as an add-on to your grid view, a Kanban board where you can drag and drop tasks and group them by assignee or status, a timeline view, a card view with customizable lanes and a calendar view that displays your tasks across its duration or by start dates only.
  • Task Management: Add your tasks and subtasks into each cell and use the indent and outdent buttons to divide tasks into groups that can be minimized to provide a project overview. Create or modify custom fields with your own text, dropdown lists and symbols to show status, assignees, priority, dates and latest comment. Attach files and proofs, write comments and mention users and set reminders for tasks.
  • Automations and Workflows: Save time with custom processes and workflows you can build by modifying templates for reminders and alerts, document generation, row changes, sheet changes and updates, and approval requests. Build your own workflow automations from scratch by choosing your trigger, setting conditions and adding actions. Manage automations by deactivating, deleting, duplicating or unsubscribing.
  • Templates: Use pre-built templates ranging from event management to HR workflows and marketing to streamline project creation. View complexity, task management and process before you apply a template. Build and save your own templates by customizing pre-built templates or creating them from scratch.
  • Integrations: Drive productivity with integrations like Office 365, Dropbox, DocuSign and Google Workspace and use iCal or Google Calendar to track project statuses.
  • Team Collaboration: Communicate with team members by commenting and mentioning users in individual tasks, adding files for additional information and chatting via the conversations tool where everyone with access to the sheet can see your comments. Integrate with Slack or Microsoft Teams to receive updates about your sheet and send messages to channels.
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  • Project Management: FunctionFox streamlines processes to help creative firms deliver top-notch services. It comes with a set of powerful inclusions like budget estimation, expense tracking, project milestones with deadlines, project calendar and schedules. It includes pre-built templates to mirror previously successful projects along with task allocation, due dates and to-do lists. It supports exporting and sharing project schedules, retainer and estimate email alerts, resource availability calendars and project request forms that can be tailored according to user needs. 
  • Time Tracking: Its built-in timesheets and stopwatch streamline time tracking. Managers can compare actual numbers with budgets and estimates to keep projects on schedule. Its CEO Desktop dashboard provides an overview of projects, clients and employees at a glance. The CEO Desktop provides a graphical representation of estimated costs, project deadlines and estimated hours and costs compared to actual hours worked. 
  • Easy Customization: FunctionFox can be customized as per the needs of an organization. It offers flexibility, numerous custom fields and status options. It also regulates users’ access to information to avoid overwhelming them. 
  • Collaboration: With the easy exchange of information across the organization, FunctionFox fosters collaboration among team members. It offers a Flink document exchange tool that sends email alerts and announcements to staff. It lets users set access rights, provide access to contractors or freelancers and a project blog with email alerts. All included plans support any number of projects and clients and provide customized fields to track projects. 
  • Reporting: FunctionFox generates detailed reports on customers, personnel, tasks, expenses and project activities. These reports provide insight into a company’s financial health, performance, project timelines and staff productivity. 
  • Task Management: Its scheduling and task management functions help businesses take charge of their employee schedules and allocate tasks according to an individual’s capabilities. It lets managers set project milestones, goals and schedules. Companies can also track staff performance to enhance productivity and profitability. 
  • Budgeting: Budgeting is an essential element for any project. FunctionFox helps businesses plan their budget and project estimates to avoid overspending. It ensures that project expenses are kept within financial bounds by aligning production schedules with project requirements and goals. 
  • Prompt Support: It provides free onboarding and prompt customer support. Its support experts are available to solve challenges related to the product swiftly. Users are allocated account managers to respond to queries promptly and solve user issues with their expertise. 
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Product Ranking

#5

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#99

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Project Management Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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88
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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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FunctionFox
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Customizations Dashboards And Reporting Mobile Capabilities Platform Features Project Planning And Scheduling Project Tracking Task Management Team Collaboration Time Tracking And Management 83 80 88 92 78 96 85 77 56 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 22301 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 270 reviews
88%
of users recommend this product

Smartsheet has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 88% when considering 22301 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

91%
of users recommend this product

FunctionFox has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 91% when considering 270 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

5.0 (20)
4.9 (14)
4.4 (17366)
4.4 (48)
4.5 (3333)
4.5 (187)
4.7 (728)
n/a
4.3 (854)
4.8 (21)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Smartsheet and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Mobile Capabilities and Project Tracking.

Mobile Capabilities Award
Project Tracking Award

FunctionFox stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Automation: Reviewers appreciated the no-code automation and said that it helps to eliminate productivity killers and saves time.
Collaboration: Users liked the sharing option with level-based permissions that allow collaboration with non-users and help coworkers and external stakeholders stay up-to-date on projects and processes.
Ease of Use: A user-friendly interface and templates make it easy to set up, customize and access multiple views, according to reviewers.
What Users Like
Customization: “We can customize it to fit various projects, whether we’re tracking client cases, managing document revisions, or planning team tasks. For instance, I created a project tracker for a major client contract negotiation. The ability to set deadlines, assign tasks, and update statuses in real time has streamlined our communication and kept everyone on the same page.” - Russ Johnson, Founder of Linx Legal
Collaboration: “We had this one job in a high-rise condo that put Smartsheet to the test. The sliding door system was an older model with custom-sized panels that aren’t easy to source, and it needed specific adjustments due to the unique structure of the frame. Typically, coordinating the right parts, tools, and technician experience for something like this would require several phone calls and a lot of back-and-forth. With Smartsheet, we were able to set up the job details to track not only the special parts needed but also assign a technician who was experienced with that model. When the parts came in, the technician was notified directly through Smartsheet, so he knew the moment everything was ready. It saved us from potential delays and kept the customer fully updated on when the work could be done.” - Gal Cohen, Business Development Leader and Field Area Manager JDM Sliding Doors
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Easy Time Tracking: FunctionFox makes it easy for users to track time spent on projects, which is essential for billing and productivity analysis.
Detailed Reporting: The software provides in-depth reporting features, allowing teams to analyze project performance, team productivity, and financial metrics and make informed decisions.
Improved Project Scheduling: FunctionFox includes project scheduling on a project calendar and a group calendar, allowing users to stay organized and on track.
Budget Management: The software helps project teams plan their budgets and ensures spending stays within financial limits.
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System Integration: Limited integrations and complex configurations were an issue for reviewers.
Premium Add-Ons: Reviewers noted that advanced features come with a price tag that can be prohibitive for some businesses.
Slow Loading Time: Users reported it takes time to display screens export formats occasionally.
What Users Dislike
Integration: “Despite its many benefits, integrating Smartsheet with other systems posed some challenges. Initially, we experienced issues with data syncing between Smartsheet and our CRM software, leading to discrepancies in our financial reporting. Recognizing this, I allocated specific time for thorough testing before our full implementation, allowing us to identify and resolve any integration issues early on.” - Austin Rulfs, Founder of Zanda Wealth Mortgage Brokers
Learning Curve: “While Smartsheet is powerful, it can feel a bit overwhelming at first. I found that investing time in training sessions helped bridge that gap, making it easier for everyone to adapt and use the tool effectively.” - Russ Johnson, Founder of Linx Legal
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Limited Flexibility: FunctionFox doesn't offer many opportunities to customize the software beyond its basic functions, which might frustrate users who need more specialized features.
Unappealing Interface: Some users have described the software's interface as bland or visually uninspiring, which could potentially impact user experience.
Better for Time Tracking: FunctionFox may not be robust enough for managing complex projects, as its strength lies primarily in time tracking and basic project management functionalities.
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Smartsheet is a cloud-based work management platform that helps users streamline and organize processes with a spreadsheet-esque interface, flexible templates, multiple views and team collaboration. Apart from the grid view, you can visualize projects using a Gantt chart, Kanban board, calendar view, card view or timeline view. No-code automations are another note-worthy feature, where you can build from templates or scratch.It streamlines project creation with templates suited to different industries and end goals, so you have a jumping-off point instead of going in blind. Team collaboration is another area where Smartsheet shines, with comments, conversations and file and sheet sharing (even with people outside your organization). It also offers a customizable dashboard view, although I did find some of the chart widgets a little tricky to work, without training.Highlights for me were definitely the familiarity of spreadsheet formatting (but with more views and automations), robust collaboration capabilities and guided explainers throughout the setup. However, user reviews noted limited filters and integrations, lags and expensive add-ons as downsides.Overall, Smartsheet is a great option for teams familiar with spreadsheets but are on the lookout for more visualization and collaboration, along with the budget to spend on advanced features.

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Is FunctionFox sly like a fox when it comes to time tracking and project management? Users appreciate its user-friendly design, which makes clocking in and out a breeze, and its robust reporting features that provide a clear picture of project progress and billable hours. For instance, one user, a project manager at a design agency, praised the software's ability to generate detailed reports on employee time spent on different projects, which helped them optimize billing and resource allocation. However, some users have pointed out that FunctionFox's customization options are not as extensive as those offered by competitors like Asana or Monday.com. They find the inability to create custom fields or modify workflows a significant drawback, especially when dealing with projects that require a more tailored approach. FunctionFox's strength lies in its simplicity and focus on time tracking and reporting, making it a good fit for small to medium-sized businesses, particularly those in creative industries where accurate billing and project budgeting are paramount. However, its limited customization options and integrations might not suit larger teams or businesses with more complex project management needs.

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