Project management in an SME with no project manager
Updated: 2026-09
In many SMEs nobody runs projects full time; they happen on the side through email, spreadsheets and word of mouth. What holds is not a process but a shared overview — method comes afterwards, if at all.
A small company rarely has a project manager. Projects run on the side: the managing director holds the overview in their head, tasks go out by email, dates sit in a calendar, and status emerges from asking around.
That works surprisingly well up to a certain size. It breaks when several projects run in parallel, when somebody is away, or when a client asks where something stands — and nobody can answer without asking first.
The usual reflex, introducing a full project management tool, then often fails on the opposite of the problem: too much process for a team that had none means the tool sits empty after three weeks and everyone writes emails again.
How it works
- 01
Start with a single shared overview
All running projects in one place, without depth. That view alone solves most of the problem.
- 02
Name a responsible person per project
Not a project manager in the methodological sense, simply: who answers when somebody asks about status?
- 03
Introduce only two status states
Running or blocked. Finer gradations do not get maintained in small teams and create false confidence.
- 04
Pick the view that fits the team
Some think in lists, some in cards, some in dates. One data set with several views avoids the argument about it.
- 05
Track time only when you bill for it
Time tracking without a billing purpose does not get maintained. Where work is billed by effort, it is the basis.
- 06
Introduce method only when it is missing
A process model pays off once projects become large or risky. Before that it is effort without return.
Why it fits here
Four views on one data set — list, kanban, timeline, calendar — mean nobody has to change how they think in order to see the same data.
The FlenioAI assistant knows the whole workspace and answers the status question that otherwise gets settled by asking around. Isolated per workspace.
Integrated PSA with time tracking and Swiss QR invoicing covers the case where projects are also billed — without a second tool.
FAQ
Do we need a method like HERMES?
For internal projects, rarely. It becomes relevant when clients require it — particularly in public-sector and regulated settings.
What is the most common implementation mistake?
Too much at once. Confronting a team without a process with a complete process reliably results in neither being used.
How do we get the team to use it?
By making the overview more useful than asking. Once the status question is answered faster in the tool than by email, the system maintains itself.
Is it worth it with two projects?
Probably not. The value starts when several projects run in parallel or several people are involved.
What about time tracking?
It pays off where work is billed by effort. Without a billing purpose, experience says it does not get maintained.
Flenio
Four views on one data set — list, kanban, timeline, calendar — mean nobody has to change how they think in order to see the same data.
The FlenioAI assistant knows the whole workspace and answers the status question that otherwise gets settled by asking around. Isolated per workspace.
Integrated PSA with time tracking and Swiss QR invoicing covers the case where projects are also billed — without a second tool.