I got a call the other day from a representative from a company marketing a software product for virtual assistants. The product is completely online and would be used as a task based software tool for a VAs, VA teams, and clients to have a collaborative tool to manage projects.

The web site is www.virtualassistantmanager.com. Has anyone heard of this or used it? It looks pretty interesting at first glance...

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Doreen R. Patrick, MVA, ACS, CIVA
www.virtualbusinesspartners.net

Yes it does look interesting and love the concept, but It may need some more work I found a typo, I don't know I would research the company a little more before buying.

Hi Doreen,
Thanks for sharing the link and info - it does look interesting. I spent some time playing around with their demo.

I don't know if I'm old fashioned when it comes to these things but I *still* don't use a time tracker for invoicing and I just can't imagine using a program like this to track projects. It's literally all in my head - I know what needs to be done and for which client(s) for the next three months and then some...while I think it looks like a nice concept I'm admittedly resistant to this kind of thing.

I'm curious to hear from someone who's actually using it.

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I use a service called Basecamp to manage my projects. It's AMAZING... You can setup individual projects and add your clients to their own projects so they can interact with the service as well. You can learn more here: http://basecamphq.com/?referrer=businessservicesetc.

I then use MyHours.com to track my time. I love the Company functionality of MyHours (if my assistants do work, they too can track their time and it comes up in my report) and Basecamp helps me delegate work to my assistants.

Hope that's helpful!

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Sincerely,

Erin Blaskie of Business Services, ETC

Thanks everyone for the input! At some point I may have a need for something like that. I have heard good reviews with Basecamp and I am glad to hear that it works so well!

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Doreen R. Patrick, MVA, ACS, CIVA
www.virtualbusinesspartners.net

I use VAM and really like them. I can keep track of all my projects and put files in a file cabinet for each project. It is very simple to use and I also like the fact that I can send projects to one VA or a "team" of VAs, keep files all together for the project and keep notes for the project all in one area.

They're still adding new things to the site. Right now, you don't "start / stop" your time. You can use MyHours, TimeStamp or something else for that. You just enter your total time for each project. You also have the option of uploading the information into an excel spreadsheet or pdf.

It's definitely worth the 15-day free trial to have a look around.

I was researching Basecamp and came across one called OnStage. It has the option of free or upgrading to paid usage. On the free one you can have up to 20 projects running, whereas the free version of Basecamp you can only have one. It works much the same as Basecamp and, although I've only just starting using it, I've found it so much easier for myself and my client. He was dropping off a disc with large audio files to transcribe - this saves him doing that. He can just upload from his office. As I'm only starting out I'm looking for everything that is free or cheap that will assist me in looking good to my clients. Don't want to spend a lot of money and then not recover it (well until I'm rich and can claim it as a loss on my tax!) lol

There's lots of software like this popping up right now. I lik basecamp - it's a great tool, but since it doesn't have everything I need in a PM solution, I keep trying new ones. Right now, I'm playing around with http://myquire.com/ - which is free.

I've also install ActiveCollab on my server, but it can be a pain to use. The nice thing about ActiveCollab is it's free, so if you have a developer on your team, they can add modules and such.

~E

I have been researching onstage in comparison to other programs and you do get a lot more under their free subscription than most other programs. I think this may be a great alternative, and who can beat free?