General Information
Name: Celoxis
Vendor: Celoxis Technologies
Hosting options: You can either host the website hosted version or host it yourself.
Cost and plans: Web-hosted version costs $14.95 per user per monthly. On-premise licences cost $299 plus $180 per person (one-off fee). Get a 30-day free trial
Languages: English
Currency: You can add your currency symbol here
Building projects: Basic features
To create a project, click on the Projects tab and then Blank Project. (Or import, if you are importing MS Project or a.csv file). The project information window will open and you will need to fill in the basic information. It is unusual that the deadline field is required. Typically, you plan first and then work out when work will be completed. This can be changed later if necessary.
Click on New Project to choose how you want to create your project. To add tasks, simply click Add from Gantt chart view. You can edit the name of the task, which will default be ‘New Task’. From this view, new tasks are always added at bottom. You can move them up or down, but if there are many tasks and you have forgotten something, it would be difficult to move your new task up one at a time.
It is much easier to add tasks using the Task Worksheet. This gives you many more options such as adding tasks to the correct place in the list, adding child task, adding predecessors, constraints, and % complete. This is a more comprehensive way to create your Gantt chart. You can also add milestones by making the task duration 0 days.
Before you can add users to a project task, you must create them. You can create “non-human”, or generic, resources without licensing (i.e. They won’t be allowed to log in, even though they can create generic resources. The list of roles available to the user must be selected. On websites like this, the list of options appears on the left. You then move your choice into a right-hand box. It works the same way, but it works in reverse.
Additional features: reports and other
There are many built-in reports, including unusual ones such as a cross-project Gantt diagram that shows you the overall sum of all projects in progress. This would be great for program managers. You can also access time and expense reports, as well as those that link to workflows. These will show you what you have requested of other people and what you are waiting for.
Celoxis will also send email reminders to team members. Individuals can select the exact information they wish to receive via a highly customizable notification menu. The dashboard also shows all open projects and other useful information.
The dashboard shows events and task status. However, the biggest problem I found was the help function. It was a joke. It didn’t help me figure out how to add a milestone. Searching for “Resource” did not yield any results. The Gantt chart view offers options to add a resource or replace a resource. This means that the search didn’t work. I discovered that although the search failed, clicking Tips opens up the full help menu so you can navigate from there.
Timesheets can be completed by team members, but only for tasks in the plan, meetings, and vacation. It also includes a task timer. You can also add day rates to users. It appears that users can upload expenses and bill them, but I couldn’t figure out how (and the help wasn’t helpful).
What about collaboration features?
A project discussion forum is available. Although you can upload documents, being part of a project does not automatically mean that you can upload them to that project. You must still choose the project to which you wish to attach the document. This is up to human error. I have seen project team members attach documents to the wrong projects. You can share the document with t
