How is it possible to register for anything? Severa doesn’t require you to complete the ‘State section’ when you sign up. Except that it would prevent me from registering. It is mandatory. It is invalid, but I just typed “State”, and it was accepted.
Severa’s sign-up process is more complicated than other products. Severa’s account is not temporary and you cannot use it for any other purpose. It is an unlimited service that you can use at your leisure. This is much better than a temporary account you can only use when you want. Severa is well worth the effort of signing up (and it’s just one page). You see what you get and can choose your date format and time.
Severa projects are known as “cases”. Once you have created your case you can add tasks. I was confused when trying to add a task. The ‘activities and phases’ box opens with the information that you last entered. It is not empty. You must type the last activity. I didn’t type the date as it was already filled with outdated data. Some tasks had incorrect dates that needed to be changed. The calendar automatically adds dates so you can see if there is a deadline.
Although it took me a while to get used to the invoicing module, it’s actually quite simple and the invoices generated automatically look great. It was simple to set the UK tax bands accurately, but it was also possible to manually set new levels. This is important because VAT will rise again in January. To invoice for projects due to be completed by 2010, you can enter the data right away.
Severa is a targeted program for small and medium-sized companies that have been overlooked by larger players due to their software requirements. Severa would be a benefit to professional services firms that bill for time and goods. Severa has been on the market since 2004 and more than 500 customers have implemented it. It manages more than 130,000 projects. Jari Karkkainen, Severa’s Chief Technology Officer, says that Severa 3 was created with one goal: to manage the entire process from project sales to billing in a single system. “We did this by allowing existing customers to assist with the R&D process.”
Severa looks and feels like a full-service tool for project management and customer management. It is easy to use, but not too simple. It is not too complex but it is not too difficult. It is able to bill and track time well, which is something many project management tools don’t have. The features are available for a fee. The first user is free, but additional users will cost $40 per month.
It’s not great for project management task tracking because it uses the calendar view rather than the traditional Gantt charts view. Severa is a great tool if you manage customer projects or track high-level milestones. I might even update the garbage I registered and make it work properly.