Overview Presentation
Paymo is essentially a time tracker that offers lots more than typical time management systems. The software is very Web 2.0, highly graphical and powerful at many levels.
Look and Feel
Interface-wise, Paymo reminds us of Basecamp, and for the record, Paymo actually syncs with it. Navigating within the application is a breeze and the design's slickness gives Paymo a competitive edge. The dashboard is loaded with statistics, a global RSS and a global iCalendar, which are just a few Web 2.0 features Paymo has to offer. For those who would like to use Paymo on their desktop, they offer a downloadable widget that runs on the system tray. The tabs in the header are intuitive. You may even add custom tabs to create your own shortcuts.
Time Tracking and Financials
Timesheet management is Paymo's main attraction. Time can be entered from a week list or a calendar, which comes in handy for bulk entries. For those who prefer using a timer for time entry, Paymo has a solid one within the application as well as in the desktop widget. Strong reporting options are available for efficient time tracking. Time tracking reports are printable and exportable as PDF and CSV.
The financials part of Paymo is solid and offers a surprising number of things. At first glance, one might think that the "Invoicing" tab is for invoicing only. Actually, the "Invoicing" term is misleading since there is more than that under the hood. Paymo lets you create invoices (recurring as well), estimates and expenses.One drawback here: QuickBooks integration is missing. They integrate with an accounting tool named KashFlow however.
Project and Task Tracking
Although Paymo doesn't play in the project management elite league, they allow basic project and task tracking that is sufficient for many small businesses. Basic fields in a tiny form and voilà, you have a project. You can add files to a project, set milestones and create discussions, but if you are looking for dependencies, KPIs and PERT charts, you'll have to look elsewhere.
Task tracking is rather basic too (to-do list type), but again, it works well for small businesses. What stands out here is the Facebook-like comment display. Every comment shows the user's picture and name, the comment date/time and the comment itself on the second line. Hence, the comment thread on a task looks like a Facebook wall, which is far from being the worst interface ever made.
Reporting
Reports are highly graphical and focus on time tracking, financials and due tasks mainly. Do not expect to create custom reports from scratch. They provide useful data but remain limited at various levels. Presets can be saved, but the lack of export options may irritate a few users.
The Bottom Line
Paymo is a charm to work with if you are looking for an easy-to-use and powerful time tracking system. Anyone can start using the product in a matter of minutes. The financials features might lead you to get rid of your current invoicing or expense tracking software. Project and task management features can help you collaborate better, especially if you don't use a project management software already. Paymo is definitely worth a try.