5 best team collaboration apps compared

What to look for in a team collaboration app

Finding the perfect team management and collaboration app involves a lot of trial and error and can get overwhelming. To help you narrow down your options, we’ve prepared a list of some of the crucial features you should look for in your search.

Ease of use

This is probably the most important quality to consider when considering your next team communication app. That’s because transitioning your team to a new tool is rarely as straightforward as you want it to be. So choosing a beginner-friendly, easy-to-use solution will help make that change as seamless as possible. 

Your team communication app should save you time and make your life easier right off the bat. So look for an option with no learning curve that you and your team can get started with straight away. 

Alerts and reminder notifications

When things get busy, it’s easy to forget about an upcoming company event, documents that need signing, or maintenance appointments that need scheduling. Alerts and reminders help make sure nothing falls through the cracks. 

But running a small business is a unique endeavor. So make sure your software of choice gives you the option to tailor your notification system to your particular needs.

Automations 

Business owners often have to deal with last-minute chores and sudden issues that come out of nowhere. So being responsible for the same administrative tasks over and over again isn’t a good use of their time. Automations help reduce the need for that kind of mundane work and eliminate the risk of human error so you can focus your attention where you’re needed most. 

Homebase was designed to take unnecessary work off your hands and make it easier to run your business. For example, when you hire new employees, they’ll be added to your team chat system automatically. s That means as soon as they start, your existing team members will be able to communicate with them, relay important information, and help them get started with their training. 

Integrations

Integrations give your existing application superpowers and let you easily transfer information, like documents and data, between different platforms. That means you and your team won’t have to keep switching back and forth between the different applications in your collection of software solutions.

The team collaboration tool you choose should let you easily connect the apps you already use. For example, with Homebase, you can sync your team communication solution with payroll, hiring, and point of sale (POS) software. Some of our integrations include:

1. QuickBooks 
2. Gusto 
3. Square Payroll
4. Ctuit 
5. Glassdoor 
6. Shopify

Pricing

Running a business is hard enough as it is. And small businesses still deserve big technology. So look for a team collaboration platform that offers a wide range of flexible pricing options.

And don’t forget to carefully look for any hidden costs that might be cited on the website, like those related to implementation, maintenance, and hosting expenses. When in doubt, reach out to the company’s sales department and ask them to walk you through the exact cost breakdown of the software.

Homebase’s Basic plan — which includes time clocks, scheduling, messaging, and hiring — is free with zero hidden costs. And once you’re ready to upgrade to more advanced features, the Essentials plan is only $20 per month per location.

The 5 best team collaboration apps

Let’s take a look at the five best mobile team collaboration apps and see what they can offer your team.

1. Homebase

Homebase’s team communication app integrates with cloud-based scheduling, time tracking, hiring, and onboarding tools to give you a well-rounded experience.

Source: https://joinhomebase.com/team-communication/team-communication-app/

Homebase is a team collaboration and management app built for small business owners who work with hourly teams. Our communication app keeps your team on the same page and lets you share vital information instantly. You can easily send messages to individual employees, custom groups, or your entire team. It’s also easy to share files and images, leave shift notes for specific employees, and get read receipts so you know exactly when your staff members have seen your messages.

Top features

• Messaging
• File sharing
• Time clock
• Timesheets
• Scheduling
• Time tracking
• HR and compliance
• Options for mobile payroll with Homebase payroll
• Data and analytics 

Pricing

Free! You can access messaging, timesheets and time clocks, scheduling, and hiring with Homebase’s free plan.

2. Connecteam

Connecteam lets managers organize their workspace and bring their workers together.

Source: https://connecteam.com/employee-communication-app/employee-team-chat-app/

Connecteam is an HR software solution that provides business owners and managers with team collaboration tools. Like Homebase, Connecteam lets you keep your employees informed in real time and combine management features with scheduling, time clocks, and real-time reporting. 

Top features

• Private and group chat options
• Employee directory 
• Surveys 
• Knowledge base 
• Shift scheduling 
• Timesheets
• Push notifications to alert employees of new business updates

Pricing

The Communications module, which includes a chat app, surveys, and a knowledge base is free for up to ten users. After that, the paid plans start at $35 per month.

3. Microsoft Teams

With Microsoft Teams, businesses can stay organized by creating different ‘teams,’ or separate groups, for specific projects.

Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business-premium/create-teams-for-collaboration?view=o365-worldwide

Microsoft Teams is a team communication and collaboration app that helps individuals and businesses keep in touch and easily exchange and store valuable information. Both you and your team members can have immediate conversations, make phone or video calls, and collaborate on Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files.

Top features

• Chat and online meetings (video and audio)
• Screen sharing capabilities 
• Ability to create private group chats or ‘teams’ for sensitive information
• Real-time collaboration in the Office mobile app using Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• File storage 
• File sharing 

Pricing

Microsoft Teams is free for up to 100 users. However, file attachments are limited to 2 GB per user and storage to 5 GB across all teams. Paid plans begin at $4 per user per month.  

4. Slack

Slack optimizes teamwork with real-time messaging, file sharing, and integrations with your favorite apps.

Source: https://slack.com/features

Slack is a popular communication app that helps teams stay in touch regardless of whether they’re in person, hybrid, or fully remote. This tool is straightforward and modern, and lets you create channels (central spaces for internal conversations) or collaborate with teams at other companies.

Top features

• Team messaging 
• File storage 
• Video conferencing 
• Ability to send audio and video clips for better time management
• Integrations with apps like Asana, Google Drive, Gmail, and Salesforce

Pricing

Slack’s basic productivity features are free. For better collaboration, Slack’s paid plans begin at $8 per user per month. 

5. Troop Messenger

Troop Messenger’s communication tool helps you connect your team and easily share important information.

Source: https://www.g2.com/products/troop-messenger/reviews

Troop Messenger is a messaging tool with a straightforward interface and all the key features in-person or remote teams might need to boost collaboration. This tool serves a wide variety of industries like software as a service (SaaS), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), education, and government. 

Top features

• One-on-one and group messaging 
• Screen sharing capabilities 
• Group audio calling 
• Video conferencing 
• File sharing

Pricing

Troop Messenger’s paid plans begin at $5 per user per month.

Homebase keeps vital information where it should be: front and center

Our alerts and reminder capabilities save you time, help you stay on top of your labor costs, and keep you compliant with local, state, and federal labor laws. How? Through our native mobile app, we alert your staff when:

• They have an upcoming shift. Forgetting about a work schedule can happen from time to time. Homebase sends your people regular notifications that prompt them to prepare for their shift and set themselves up for success for the day.
  
• They’ve forgotten to take a required break during their shift. It’s very important for employees to have time off every few hours, but it’s also important for you to stay compliant with local and federal break laws. If an employee continuously misses their breaks, you could find yourself falling out of compliance.
  
• They forget to clock in or clock out. This keeps your wage and hour records accurate without you having to go back and change them manually. Additionally, it reduces labor costs and eliminates any time theft activity that can sometimes occur in small businesses.
  

And if you need to remind your staff about any upcoming company events, all you need to do is add it to your schedule, we’ll automatically inform team members through the messaging app.

The verdict: our pick for the best team communication app 

Many chat apps like Microsoft Teams or Troop Messenger focus on screen sharing, video calls, and other features that cater to larger corporations. But at Homebase, we pride ourselves on having a solution that was designed specifically with small businesses and hourly teams in mind.

Our team communication platform makes it easy to run your small business by automating your workflows, streamlining processes, and increasing efficiency through integrations with your other team management tools like your scheduling, time tracking, and onboarding solutions. We help your entire team stay connected and collaborate no matter where they are.