The Action Method

The Action Method app is a free app based on the Action Method, a simple project management system similar to Getting Things Done (GTD).

The Action Method iPhone app is free and based off of the online Action Method application. You can get a free Action Method plan if you’re just wanting to kick the tires. (Premium plans cost $12 a month, and are well worth the coin if you’re working on a team.)

Small business owners can set their entire teams up with this productivity system for only $12 a month.. The Action Method is great for teams and multiple people working on projects. It allows you to keep tabs on what everyone else in the organization is working on and what needs to be done next. Once you download the application and link up your Action Method Online account, you can start creating projects, groups, and action steps that need to be completed within each project. If you’ve already made these using the online application, (which is what I’d recommend), then syncing is a snap. The interface is logical and beautiful, which is helpful when doing something as tedious as project management. The app loads quickly, syncs quickly, and doesn’t get in your way, which is what you want most from an iPhone app.

Things I Love About the Action Method app

• Beautiful interface. All of the action method products are beautifully designed, and the iPhone app is no exception. Sleek and elegant.
• Quick syncing. One thing I noticed right away is that the app syncs with the webserver continuously, so you’re never downloading or uploading large chunks of data at once. The process is very fast, whether you’re connected to wifi or not.
• Quick search. When you’re working on an interface like the iPhone that doesn’t have a lot of screen real-estate, sometimes it’s easier to search instead of scroll. The searching function on the Action Method app is really fast, which makes the application that much more useful.
• Add an action step anywhere. The app has a button that’s on nearly every screen that allows you to add an action step anywhere. No need to return to a designated page.
• Focus. The Focus screen allows you to designate up to 5 action steps as your “focus”. That way you can quickly prioritize what needs to get done quickly.
• Lots of functionality. Many iPhone apps that are based on web applications often have less features than their online counterparts. Not so with the Action Method app. You can add and edit projects and actions easily, which is about 90% of an iPhone users needs.
• The Advisor. The application even has an Advisor page that allows you to get a snapshot of your activity. It shows you stats on things like idle action steps (older than 30 days), overdue action steps, project bottlenecks, and other things. The Advisor is really useful for getting birds-eye view of your project management.

Things I Wish the Action Method app Had

• References and Backburner items. As of right now, the application doesn’t show you your References (project materials) and Backburner items (actions for later). It would be great to be able to view those, as well as create and edit them from the iPhone.
• Focus on the online version. Interestingly, the web version doesn’t include the Focus application, which I really find useful. It would be great if the online version synced the focus lists too.

Overall, there really isn’t much that I wish the application had. It’s very feature-rich and useful from the start. The Action Method iPhone application is a great resource for any small business owner needing to keep tabs on what’s getting done within the company. The application is also fantastic for the solo entrepreneur who’s only wanting to collect and store everything that needs to be done for a project. Any small biz can find the application and the Action Method system useful to their everyday functions. After all, what business doesn’t want to get more stuff done?

From Small Business Trends

Review of The Action Method iPhone App

The Harvest people have recently launched an iPhone app to compliment their web application. The app is simple and polished, and it allows you to do the two main things that Harvest does best: track time and track expenses.

Adding the application is simple, and if you don’t already have a Harvest plan, you can quickly create a trial account via the application. (Harvest accounts are all paid accounts, but each comes with a 30-day free trial.)

Tracking Time

Time tracking with the Harvest app is simple. You can use the stopwatch mode, which allows you to manually start and stop a timer. The timer runs even when the app is closed, and doesn’t require network connection to record the time.

Once you’ve recorded the time on the app, you can assign the time to a project and/or task, and add notes describing the type of time spent. If you’ve forgotten to start the timer or just manually want to add time to your Harvest account, you can easily do so.  There’s also a detailed calendar view, which allows you to add time based on the date, and gives you a daily overview of your time spent.

Track expenses

Tracking expenses is also simple with the Harvest app. Simply add an amount, add a description, and categorize the expense. You can even upload a picture of the receipt, which is helpful for those business write-offs come April 15th.

You can also add expenses based on the date with the helpful calendar view.

Things I Liked About the Harvest App

• Great interface. It really is a beautiful application, with nice, contrasting colors and a well-planned user interface.
• Easy registration. The fact that you don’t have to leave the application to create a Harvest account is really helpful.
• Automatic account syncing. The app constantly syncs to make sure that whatever happens on your phone is recorded to your online account.
• Doesn’t require network connection. Don’t worry about no-service areas or even putting your phone on airplane mode. The app will store the data locally and sync with the online account when it’s available.
• It’s free. Can’t hurt to at least try, right?

Things I Thought Could be Improved

• It’s not really free. While the application itself is free, it still requires a Harvest account which starts at $12/month. You get a 30-day free trial with each account, but this is only a companion application. The fact that it requires a paid account to Harvest could be a major barrier for many.
• Can’t add tasks or edit project details. As of the time of this writing, you can’t edit tasks or project details via the iPhone application. Hopefully they’ll change this in the future.
• Can’t create estimates or invoices. This may be outside of the scope of the application, but it would be helpful to have the ability to create and edit estimates or invoices via the application. It would be really handy to create estimates on the go. The application just launched a couple weeks ago, so it’s likely that they’ve left out a few features for future releases.

From Small Business Trends

Review: Harvest Time and Expense Tracker