Teamwork is a popular project management tool that offers a wide range of features, including task management, time tracking, file sharing, and communication tools. 

However, there are some disadvantages and difficult aspects of using Teamwork that you should be aware of before you decide to use it. And, you might be surprised to learn that I actually do not recommend Teamwork. Read on to understand why.

Teamwork App & Desktop Review

There are already hundreds of project and task management apps out there that get the job done. At the end of the day, it all comes down to which one works best for you. 

I have not found the perfect app for work yet, and I’ve only used a few. But what I’ve noticed is that each has its pros and cons, its quirks, and its benefits.

Pros and Cons of Teamwork

Here are some of the key features of Teamwork:

• Project management: Teamwork provides a comprehensive set of project management features, including task management, time tracking, file sharing, and communication tools.
• Collaboration: Teamwork makes it easy for team members to collaborate on projects, tasks, and files. You can use Teamwork’s chat, video conferencing, and file sharing features to stay connected with your team members and work together effectively.
• Reporting: Teamwork provides a variety of reporting tools that help you to track the progress of your projects, identify areas where improvement is needed, and measure the success of your team.
• Customization: Teamwork is highly customizable, so you can tailor it to the specific needs of your team. You can create custom fields, workflows, and reports, and you can also add your own branding to Teamwork.

User Performance Reviews: Disadvantages of Teamwork

I’m going to break down the bullet points for Teamwork’s downsides and negative aspects since I’ve personally used Teamwork in a job contract with a small to medium sized business (about 10 staff members).

• The interface can be complex and difficult to use. Teamwork has a lot of features, and the interface can be overwhelming for users who are not familiar with it.

This was my main issue with Teamwork. Teamwork, unlike Asana, allows time tracking within the app for each project, job, or task. The main problem here is, from a user standpoint, finding a way to log in and start the timer and begin work can take several minutes. 

This is because there is no visible “start timer” button anywhere on the main dashboard for you. You will have to first navigate to a task that allows you to start tracking time. Once there, you will also have to find a button that allows you to start the timer. This button often differs from screen to screen depending on whether it’s a task, a sub-task, or in the project folder. 

Sometimes, you might have to click on an icon that looks nothing like a clock at all just to reveal the option to track time.

Why this is bad: I was working remotely for a digital marketing agency that handled many separate clients. They wanted contractors to clock time for various projects in a way that time tracking, work, and time spent could be invoiced to the client. All of that is understandable. 

But the fact that it’s so hard for your contractor or staff to clock in quickly and start work when they have an idea, or to put down notes in the task comment section, or navigate a maze of varying project, task, subtask, schedule, and notification views before they can ever do one productive thing is unacceptable.

I can’t tell you how many ideas I forgot trying to navigate to a task and start the timer, then begin work.

• The mobile app is not as feature-rich as the web app. The Teamwork mobile app is not as full-featured as the web app, and it can be difficult to use for complex tasks.

This is another reality that made my life difficult at work using Teamwork. I remember once when I could not create a deadline for a task that I had made originally on the desktop software version of Teamwork. I had to email my manager from my mobile phone asking that he do it, and of course, he didn’t like it.

But not only did he not like it, he send me some generalized tutorial about how to use Teamwork which did not address the fact you can’t add a date to a task without a deadline after the fact in the mobile app. 

Why this is bad: Not all of your staff’s best work will happen at their computer. Some of the most brilliant and detailed planning occurs away from a computer screen in a place where someone can use their minds rather than their screens to visualize the work that needs to be done.

If you can’t add deadlines to your tasks, outsourced, 3rd world workers may not even get to the task or start it. Don’t ask me how I know, though. Let’s just say some modern day marketing agencies like Elivate in Phoenix, AZ love their foreign labor components and actual results are farther down the list of priorities, as long as they save a dime on wages.

• The pricing can be expensive. Teamwork offers a variety of pricing plans, but the most popular plans can be expensive for small businesses.
• The customer support can be slow to respond. Teamwork has a good customer support team, but they can be slow to respond to requests.

Additional Drawbacks of Teamwork App/Desktop

• It can be difficult to get started with Teamwork. The learning curve for Teamwork can be steep, and it can be difficult to get started with the tool.

I just want to say that, after a month of using Teamwork, the interface never really once felt intuitive. I never felt like I knew where I could find something the first time I tried, and I find it strange considering that I’ve gone to college for software programs in much more difficult concepts like studio music production. I should be able to find a task in Teamwork the first time.

• It can be difficult to manage large projects with Teamwork. Teamwork is designed for small to medium-sized businesses, and it can be difficult to manage large projects with the tool.

Truthfully speaking, it can be difficult to manage anything in Teamwork. I found myself taking notes the old school way in Gmail rather than putting them down as comments, simply because I could find the email much faster and start typing this way.

Additionally, I found myself losing track of deadlines and due dates because of the way Teamwork presents tasks that are due, upcoming, and past due. To be fair, this is a weak point of many project management and task workflow apps, so be aware of that now.

• It can be difficult to integrate Teamwork with other tools. Teamwork does not integrate all that well with other tools, and it can be difficult to get data from Teamwork into other systems.

Overall, Teamwork is a powerful project management tool that can be a useful choice for small to medium-sized businesses. However, there are some disadvantages and difficult aspects of using Teamwork that you should be aware of before you decide to use it.

Teamwork Pricing, Free and Paid Plans

Fortunately, Teamwork offers a free plan for you to get started. However, many project management software programs also offer a free version, so it should not be the determining factor in your decision, considering you’ll practically be married to it for years to come, once you start integrating all your business and operational processes with it.

Pricing Plan	Users	Storage	Features and Cost Per Month
Free	Up to 5	100 MB	Task management, file sharing, chat, Gantt charts, time tracking, basic reporting
Starter	Up to 10	100 GB	All features of the free plan, plus custom fields, reporting, time tracking, custom workflows, two-factor authentication for $5.99/mo per user
Deliver	Up to 20	250 GB	All features of the Starter plan, plus custom branding, integrations with other tools, priority support for $9.99/mo per user
Grow	Up to 50	500 GB	All features of the Pro plan, plus custom pricing, dedicated account manager, security features for $19.99/mo per user
Scale	Custom	Custom	All features of the Premium plan, plus additional features for large organizations, call for pricing

Please note that these are the base prices for Teamwork. There may be additional charges for add-on features, such as custom integrations or priority support.

Alternatives to Teamwork Desktop/App

There are plenty of other project and task management options out there:

• Asana: Asana is another popular project management tool that offers a similar set of features to Teamwork. Asana is a bit more user-friendly than Teamwork, but it does not offer as many customization options. Read our Asana review.
• Trello: Trello is a kanban-style project management tool that is easy to use and visually appealing. Trello is a good option for teams that are looking for a simple project management tool.
• Jira: Jira is a project management tool that is designed for software development teams. Jira is a bit more complex than Teamwork, but it offers a wider range of features for software development teams.
• Connecteam: Connecteam consolidates scheduling, time tracking, feedback, and recurring tasks, forms, and training into one place. It’s perfect for service-based businesses with geo-location time clock-in and clock-out. Read our Connecteam review.
• Wrike: Wrike is a project management tool that is designed for large teams. Wrike offers a wide range of features and customization options, but it can be a bit complex to use.

Teamwork Integration with Other Programs Like Slack and Google Apps

Teamwork integrates with a variety of other programs, including:

• Slack: Teamwork integrates with Slack so that you can stay connected with your team members and collaborate on projects directly from Slack.
• Google Drive: Teamwork integrates with Google Drive so that you can easily access and share files from Google Drive with your team members.
• Microsoft Office 365: Teamwork integrates with Microsoft Office 365 so that you can easily access and share files from Microsoft Office 365 with your team members.
• Zapier: Zapier is an automation tool that can be used to connect Teamwork with other web apps. For example, you can use Zapier to automatically create tasks in Teamwork when new leads are generated in your CRM system.
• Harvest: Harvest is a time tracking tool that can be integrated with Teamwork to track the time that your team members spend on projects.
• Freshbooks: Freshbooks is an invoicing and accounting tool that can be integrated with Teamwork to track your project expenses and create invoices for your clients. Read our Freshbooks review.

These are just a few of the many programs that Teamwork integrates with. By integrating Teamwork with the other tools you use, you can save time, improve your productivity, and collaborate more effectively with your team.

Conclusion: Why Teamwork is Just Not for Me

Teamwork is a project management and time tracking software/app that offers a wide range of features, including task management, file sharing, chat, time tracking, and reporting. 

However, it can be difficult to use, even for people with intermediate understanding of the desktop software or app. The interface is cluttered and the user experience is not intuitive. Additionally, the mobile app is not as feature-rich as the web app.

There’s No “I” in Teamwork

For these reasons, I do not recommend Teamwork for its difficulty of use. There are other project management and time tracking software/apps on the market that are easier to use and offer a better user experience.