Your team has the skills to take on a new project. The harder question is whether the right people have time when the work needs to happen. One specialist may be booked across three clients, while another person has availability but lacks the experience required for a particular phase.
Resource allocation software helps teams make those assignments with a clearer view of availability, existing commitments and upcoming demand. We compared seven tools that approach the problem in different ways, from focused scheduling to wider project and capacity planning.
Resource allocation software at a glance
| Tool | Consider it if you need… | Its main planning focus | Question to ask in a demo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teambook | To assign people across several projects and plan future capacity | Project bookings, availability, skills and medium-term capacity | Can we see the right people and their available time quickly enough for our staffing meetings? |
| Float | A visual schedule for allocating work and adjusting bookings | Resource scheduling, capacity and project staffing | Does the schedule support the level of project and financial planning we need? |
| Runn | To forecast how upcoming projects will affect staffing | Capacity forecasting, tentative work and scenarios | Can we represent our sales pipeline and compare likely staffing gaps? |
| Resource Guru | To manage booking conflicts and day-to-day availability | Scheduling, clash management and a waiting list | How would we handle a request when the person we need is already booked? |
| Teamwork.com | Resource planning within a broader client project system | Project delivery and resource scheduling | Do we want our project work and people planning in the same platform? |
| Smartsheet | Resource planning connected to established Smartsheet workflows | Project sheets, assignments and team capacity | Which resource management capabilities are included in the setup we would buy? |
| Forecast | Allocations alongside detailed project operations | People schedules, project allocations and capacity planning | Does its wider workflow fit how our teams scope and deliver projects? |
These are different kinds of products. A team choosing its first shared resource schedule may value speed and clarity. A larger organisation may need to model demand before a project is confirmed or connect staffing decisions to its existing project system.
1. Teambook: for assigning people across client projects
Teambook is designed around project resources: who is assigned, when they are working and how much capacity remains. Teams can plan bookings, account for time off and use tags to find people with relevant skills. Its capacity planning view also helps managers look beyond the coming week when deciding whether they can staff future work.
It is worth considering for agencies, consultancies and other service teams that manage people across multiple projects. If your main requirement is detailed task management, check how you would use Teambook alongside the project tools your team already has.
See how Teambook’s resource allocation software handles project assignments, availability and capacity planning.
2. Float: for a visual resource schedule
Float centres resource planning on a visual schedule. Managers can allocate work, see time off and check capacity as plans change. It also offers project planning features for teams that want staffing decisions connected to project context.
Float is a strong candidate if planners spend much of their day moving assignments and need the effect on team capacity to be easy to see. During a demo, use a real project change, such as a delayed start or a specialist who becomes unavailable, and see how quickly the team can revise the plan.
3. Runn: for forecasting demand before work is confirmed
Runn combines resource scheduling with capacity forecasting. Teams can represent tentative projects and future staffing needs before assigning a named person. That makes it useful when sales and delivery need to discuss what would happen if several opportunities start around the same time.
Consider Runn if the difficult question is often “Can we take on this work next quarter?” Test it with both confirmed projects and likely pipeline work. The result should help you see which roles could become scarce, not simply add another forecast to maintain.
4. Resource Guru: for booking conflicts and availability
Resource Guru focuses on scheduling resources and making clashes visible. Its booking workflow includes clash management and a waiting list for work that cannot yet be placed in the schedule.
It may suit teams where several managers regularly request the same people. In a demo, try booking an already committed specialist. Check who can see the conflict, what happens to the unplaced request and how the final decision reaches everyone affected.
5. Teamwork.com: for resourcing inside project delivery
Teamwork.com combines project management with a resource schedule. Teams can create allocations, review workload across projects and use role-based placeholders before deciding exactly who will do the work.
It is worth assessing if your team wants project delivery and resource planning in the same system. If you already have a project management tool that people use consistently, compare the value of moving that work with the option of adding a dedicated resource planning tool.
6. Smartsheet: for teams with existing Smartsheet workflows
Resource Management by Smartsheet provides a schedule for reviewing project staffing and team capacity. It can also connect resource information with projects managed in Smartsheet.
This is a relevant option if project teams already rely on Smartsheet and want to extend their current workflows. Be precise when comparing it with other tools: ask which product and plan provide the resource views you need, and who will maintain the assignments across teams.
7. Forecast: for resource planning within broader project operations
Forecast supports people schedules, project allocations, placeholders and capacity planning. Teams can use those views to connect staffing decisions with how projects are scoped and managed.
It deserves a look if resource allocation is one part of a wider project operations process you want to manage together. Use a real project in the demo, from an initial staffing estimate through to a change in workload, to judge whether that breadth helps your team or adds steps to routine planning.
How to choose between these tools
Start with the decision your team struggles to make today:
- “Who can take this project next week?” Test how each tool shows skills, bookings, time off and remaining availability.
- “What happens when two projects need the same person?” Create a booking conflict and follow it through to a revised assignment.
- “Can we take on the projects in our pipeline?” Add tentative demand and check whether you can see gaps by role or skill.
- “Will people keep the plan current?” Ask a project manager to change a booking during the demo. The plan is only useful when updates happen as the work changes.
Bring the same example projects and team schedules to every demo. You will learn more from watching each tool handle a difficult staffing week than from comparing long feature lists.
