Imagine this: You’ve finally got your systems down and are at last feeling peace in the organization department. Then, you get a new client. This particular client is an amazing fit for you, except for one thing – the client doesn’t use your project management system and they aren’t interested in switching to yours. What can you do?

I recently saw just this happen. A friend was in love with her system, Asana, but joined a team with deep roots in Trello. She wasn’t opposed to using Trello, but her own life would be a ton easier if she could keep at least herself organized in Asana.

And she’s not the only one. I’ve seen time and time again where people are unnaturally attached and defensive of their project management system. For this reason, as a service provider, you are bound to come into contact with clients who already have an established system that’s different from yours. The great news is…

I HAVE A SOLUTION.

Follow these 3 tips and you’ll always feel comfortable using your own system, won’t lose or miss tasks in the shuffle, and have an easy way to update your client’s system so they are happy as well.

1. KEEP USING YOUR SYSTEM

Who said you need to switch? Yes, you need to accommodate your client’s system if they have one, but you can certainly keep yourself organized with your own system. If you happen to work with a lot of different clients, having all your tasks in their systems can get a little overwhelming and things can get lost in the shuffle. This is why I suggest you keep using your system along with your clients’.

2. AUTOMATE YOUR TASKS

If you haven’t already, check out IFTTT (If This, Then That) and Zapier. You can set up automations to create tasks in your project management system when your client assigns you something in theirs (or at least when new tasks are created). Microsoft Flow is another option, but the types of services it connects to are very limited.

I prefer IFTTT because it’s easy-to-use and free! Zapier and Microsoft Flow have limits on their free versions. Stay tuned below and I’ll advise you how to set this up for different systems.

3. LINK BACK TO THE ORIGINAL TASK

Make sure you keep some sort of link back to the original task in your client’s system so you can quickly jump over there to make comments, get all the details, and mark the task complete. Most project management systems have this link feature available.

IMPLEMENTATION

Okay, I know what you’re thinking.

All this sounds good, but can it really work for MY system?

Well, sure! Let’s take a look at how it can work for a variety of some of the most common systems. I’ll tackle Trello, Asana, Basecamp 3, Teamwork, and Slack.

Note #1: There may be more than one way to accomplish the workflow, but I’m going to show my first recommendation.

Note #2: I know Slack isn’t technically a project management system, but rather a communication tool. However, many businesses I know use Slack, so it makes sense to me to add ways to connect Slack as well. Plus, Zapier has a way to create tasks from messages you star in Slack, which I think is pretty handy.

Note #3: Depending on the services involved, it may not be possible to isolate only tasks assigned to you in Zapier without using more than 2 steps…which means you need the paid version. If all you can get are new tasks added to your personal system, you’ll have to add the extra step of deleting them if they aren’t assigned to you. While not every system is perfect, at least there’s an attempt at automation.

If your client uses Trello or Asana, but you use Basecamp 3 or Teamwork, you might consider a two-step in 2 systems for free.

• Step 1: Use IFTTT to create a new card in one of your personal Trello boards when a card is assigned to you from any other board
• Step 2: Use Zapier to take those new Trello cards and create to-dos in Basecamp 3 or Teamwork

You see, there are usually workarounds if you’re willing to get creative enough!

So without further ado…

IF YOU USE TRELLO

And your client uses:

Asana

• IFTTT: If new task assigned to you in a project in Asana, then create a card in Trello

Basecamp

• Zapier: Create Trello cards from new Basecamp 3 to-dos

Teamwork

• Zapier: Create Trello cards from new Teamwork tasks

Slack

• Zapier: Create Trello cards from new starred Slack messages

Trello

I know it sounds strange to include Trello to Trello here, but trust me, if you join a client that uses a ton of boards for their business, having all the cards assigned to you in one place is super handy. Plus, IFTTT automatically adds the link back to the original card. Wahoo!

• IFTTT: If card is assigned to me in Trello, then create a card in Trello

IF YOU USE ASANA

And your client uses:

Trello

• IFTTT: If a task is assigned to me in Trello, then create task in Asana

Basecamp

• Zapier: Add new Basecamp 3 to-dos to Asana as new tasks

Teamwork

• Zapier: Create a new task in Asana when you add a new task in Teamwork

Slack

• Zapier: Create Asana tasks from new starred Slack messages

IF YOU USE BASECAMP 3

And your client uses:

Trello

• Zapier: Add new Trello cards as Basecamp 3 to-dos

Asana

• Zapier: Add new Asana tasks to a Basecamp 3 to-do list

Teamwork

• Zapier: Add new Teamwork tasks to a Basecamp 3 to-do list

Slack

• Zapier: Add new starred Slack messages as Basecamp 3 to-dos

IF YOU USE TEAMWORK

And your client uses:

Trello

• Zapier: Add New Trello Cards to Teamwork as Tasks

Asana

• Zapier: New Task in Asana Project to new Teamwork Task

Basecamp

• Zapier: Add new Basecamp to-do as new Teamwork task

Slack

• Zapier: Create new Teamwork task from new starred Slack messages

IF YOU USE SLACK

And your client uses:

Trello

• IFTTT: If card is assigned to me in Trello, then post to Slack channel

Asana

• IFTTT: If new task in Asana is assigned to you in a project, then post to Slack channel

Basecamp

• IFTTT: Send gmail messages from “notifications@basecamp.com” to Slack channel
• Zapier: Post new Basecamp 3 to-dos in a Slack channel message

Teamwork

• Zapier: Send Slack messages about new Teamwork tasks

EVERNOTE & MICROSOFT ONENOTE

I wanted to give a shoutout to Evernote and Microsoft OneNote as note-taking systems you might use to keep yourself organized, even if they aren’t a project management system you would use with others. Both can be found in IFTTT and Zapier, so it is possible to keep yourself organized using these systems as well.

CONCLUSION

Well, there you have it. I understand there are a ton of different tools out there to keep your projects organized than the ones I mentioned above, but hopefully what I did include will get your creative juices flowing to figure out ways to integrate them with your clients’ systems. Just remember, the perfect system is the system that works best for you.

The perfect system is the one that works best for you.Click To Tweet

Do you have any special tips for working with clients who use a different system than you? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below!