[ClickUp Tutorial] How to Use ClickUp for Beginners

Do you know that approximately 12% of most startup resources are wasted simply because of poor project management? How can you avoid this? No one wants to end up on the bad side of a statistic.  

While it is obvious that all project managers are looking for 100% project completion in their work, only 2.5% actually reach that fully accomplished project. This is why effective resource management, communication, and project tracking are key for successful businesses.

So, how can you use your resources efficiently and complete your projects on time, every time? By using effective project management software for your business, like ClickUp. 

Learn more from in-depth ClickUp tutorials, like this article, to see how it can work for your business.

If this is your first time hearing about ClickUp and ClickUp tutorials, you’re probably asking, will ClickUp be easy to use? After all, with other tools on the market like Asana, Monday, and Trello, what different features does ClickUp bring to the table?

This is what you’ll learn in this blog today.

ClickUp can be a game changer to your business, but it all starts with learning how to use it effectively. That’s where this ClickUp tutorial for beginners article, coupled with a ClickUp tutorial video, will be super valuable for you.

Clickup

What is ClickUp?

ClickUp is a versatile project management software that allows you to set up tasks, schedule them for your team, collaborate and engage in different ways, and track progress. The multiple templates, project structures, and real-time reporting make ClickUp’s tool stand out.

This comprehensive product management tool helps you to streamline your business processes, irrespective of your project workload or industry.

After reading this article, take some time to watch our ClickUp tutorial video here.

The process to set up a ClickUp account and get started with the software is outlined below:

Start with Setting Up a ClickUp Account

It’s a straightforward process to sign up for an account.

Here’s how you do it:

  • Click here, and once you access the site, enter your email. 
  • ClickUp will send a code via email. Use the code to access the platform.
  • Next, upload your business photo, make relevant changes, and save it. 
  • At this point, you can also pick or customize your ClickUp color theme. There’ll be other steps to personalize your account, but for now, you’re in!

Let’s clarify one thing for those signing up for the first time: Is ClickUp free of charge? And how much does ClickUp cost per month?

Well, it depends. There is the free forever plan, which has many features you can utilize. In addition, there are unlimited, business, and business plus plans, where you’ll only spend $5, $9, and $19 per month, respectively. Those interested in the enterprise plan can contact the site directly for estimates.

ClickUp unlimited, business, and business plus plans

Paid plans have more storage space, unlimited reporting, integrations, and views. The benefits increase with the increase in ClickUp pricing, as with most tech products. 

Let’s go deeper into how to actually use ClickUp, starting with all the main features in the ClickUp Hierarchy.

Setting Up and Optimizing ClickUp Hierarchy

ClickUp hierarchy is where you organize your projects so your team members can execute their projects easily. Get to know these functions well before you start working on projects.

Workspace

This is the top-level space that represents the company. If you have various companies, you need to create different workspaces. That means each workspace represents a particular business and the team that is a part of it. 

Spaces

Spaces will best suit the overall projects or departments of your company. Simply put, it’s where the departments operate independently but still as an integrated part of that workspace. Spaces vary based on the business.

For instance, you can have marketing, finance, sales, content creation, advertising, and YouTube spaces.

Folders

Folders are space sub-sections. Use them to organize your docs or lists. For instance, if one of your spaces focuses on YouTube, you can have folders with content like video editing processes, sops, and much more.

Lists

Lists will break the space and folders further. This is where you have tasks with various specifications, like the priority, start date, and due date. Your team works on completing them as assigned.

ClickUp for Strong Business Systems: Key Benefits

We’re not only sharing with you how to use the software in your business in this Click Up tutorial but also outlining the key benefits ClickUp can offer your project management processes.

Effective Task Management

The ClickUp interface allows for easy monitoring of tasks and projects. You can assign tasks in an organized manner, communicate with the team, and track all the actions along the way.

With multiple views, you can choose the project layout that makes the most sense for you – and your team members can do the same. Some of the options are workload view, timeline view, Gantt view, Calendar view, board view, box view, and list view. You can also choose any of the many ClickUp templates or create your own.

Time Tracking

The ClickUp Time Tracker is great for organizations that use hourly billing systems or that want to look into their processes and understand where to be more efficient. Using the All Tasks and My Tasks features, as well as Task dependencies, allows for transparency in the workflow to be able to collaborate with the team and pass on work to one another. 

The analysis and reporting functions of ClickUp also give you insight into task timing, like what is ongoing, which tasks were completed late, and how long it is taking team members to complete certain projects. 

Ease of Customization

Different projects require varying approaches, and depending on the team member’s role, they will also require different functions. That means you’ll have to customize and personalize a few things to make it easy for everyone to collaborate in the way that works best for them.

ClickUp’s custom dashboards with multiple widgets, custom task statuses, and custom fields are a few features that help you customize your project and enhance workflow.

Ease in Team Collaborations

Effective team collaboration requires members to know what projects/tasks are coming and who to communicate with at every stage of the process. Custom task assignments and notification settings make it easy for teams to collaborate.

Excellent Workflow Automation

Automation is one of the best ways to coordinate your team without wasting precious time. It involves triggering an action based on the condition you’ve allowed. Thanks to features like ClickUp Multitask Toolbar and ClickUp Reminder, you don’t need to manually manage these functions.

With ClickUp automation, you can set up recurring tasks, automate email notifications, assign tasks, delete tasks, move tasks across the lists, and change the order of priority.

Integrations

You can freely incorporate as many business apps as possible (1000+), provided ClickUp supports them. The advantage of integration is that you communicate with your team, share files, and import data from other systems that your team uses.

Mobile App

With every business managing its team while on the move, a mobile app is a great addition. Unlike many project management tools, ClickUp allows you to see the work progress, respond to communication, and get work done anywhere you are through their convenient app.

Expert Facilitation

What we mean by this is that ClickUp doesn’t leave you on your own to work things out. Through their 24/7 customer service, your questions are answered swiftly, including during holidays. ClickUp University also gives users lots of support with education.

In addition to our ClickUp video tutorials, ClickUp University has extensive resources., like detailed videos, tips, and courses that will come in handy for beginners wanting to understand how to use ClickUp for project management.

Quick Tour of ClickUp

As you navigate the site, you’ll come across several features described above. Knowing how to use these features from the get-go will save you from wasting time working it out on your own. This quick navigation overview ensures you know how to use ClickUp like a pro from the start.

Here’s our brief ClickUp tour for beginners!

Home/Inbox

Your Inbox/ClickUp homepage is where you control your project. It’s the main area of the site you’ll encounter every time you work on a project. It indicates when the project is due and mainly showcases the My Work and Calendar sections.

The Calendar section shows what you and your team have on the schedule. It’s perfect for tracking and planning and ensuring that you and your team are sticking to deadlines. To schedule everything in My Work into the Calendar, drag your work list into the particular dates.

The My Work section will consist of a list of things that await completion. If there’s a task due or another one awaits you, you’ll see it here.

Tasks/Spaces/Checklist

Tasks, Spaces, and Checklist come after the Home section. This feature helps break down your vast project into small sections that are easy to handle. Most of the work happens here.

With these sections, assigning a part of a project to a different team with desired specifications, like the completion date, is easy.

Notifications

Similar to most other project management platforms, Notifications let you know what took place since you last used ClickUp.

When you create a new ClickUp account, everything is on default settings, which means you’ll be notified of everything until you personalize this to your preferences.

Dashboards

Dashboards let you know what’s happening at the company level. You’ll have an impression of what different projects the sections of your business have at a particular time.

Customize your Dashboard to have a complete overview of the workspace, both on the desktop and the ClickUp Mobile App.

Docs

ClickUp docs are available across all the plans. All workspace members can access the Doc template from the sidebar icon. They are simple to create, easy to organize and allow sharing.

What Next? Turn off Notifications!

You can configure the notifications, so you only get notified of what you want. Go through the ClickUp granular notification settings, watcher settings, and smart notifications, and make it work for you.

Delaying notifications or ensuring you get notified only when it is important will help to streamline the work and not overwhelm you with too many notifications coming your way.

Create Custom Dashboard with Widgets

Widgets are units that make up the custom dashboard. Here’s how you can add widgets to create custom dashboards for your projects:

  1. Click on Add Widget available on the Dashboard.
  2. Search and filter to get the widget you prefer.
  3. Click on your desired widget, then Add Widget.
  4. Your widget gets added instantly.

Note that widgets vary based on your ClickUp Plan. The widgets available on the free plan include:

  • Embed
  • Priorities
  • Sprints
  • Assignees
  • Tags
  • Statuses
  • Time tracking
  • Custom
  • Tables

Enable ClickApps

ClickApps helps you customize the workspace for an overall positive team experience. Here’s how you enable them:

  1. Click on the business avatar
  2. Go to ClickApps
  3. Flip any toggle you want, provided it’s a ClickApp that serves your business needs.

There are many choices to choose from. It all depends on what you want to achieve. ClickApps include:

  • Nested subtasks
  • Multiple assignees
  • Milestones
  • Lineup
  • Incomplete warning
  • Email
  • Private views
  • Custom task ids
  • Comment reactions
  • Automation
  • Screen recording

Add Integrations

ClickUp has wide recognition for its excellent integration capabilities. As a cloud-based software, it easily integrates with complimentary tools. Here are some of the best ClickUp integrations.

Zendesk

Zendesk is a customer service platform that enhances communications between customers and clients. You can leverage the platform in ClickUp to help improve communications, solve client tickets, simplify self-service, and reach clients anywhere and anytime.

Zapier

Zapier is an automation tool that links your apps and products or services, making it easier to automate a particular function. Rather than building an app from scratch, Zapier makes it easy for you. When integrated with ClickUp, you can send automated tasks, comments, updates, and reminders, enhancing workflow.

Loom

Loom is an online recording software that lets you capture your screen, microphone, and webcam, making it easy to record yourself. The recorded videos are sharable to your team members; they can feature updates, clarifications, or instructions. The integration allows you to share videos within ClickUp pretty fast.

Zoom

As a video meeting app, Zoom is known and used globally for personal use as well as for small and large enterprises. Businesses thrive in communications and collaborations, which are made a reality with zoom meetings. Add zoom to your ClickUp to make it easier to start meetings, join meetings, and view previous recordings.

Slack

Slack is a workplace tool that doubles up as a communication arena for colleagues working to achieve their targets. You can send a text or an email in a single app. That means there are no challenges in communications. ClickUp lets you have your Slack messages on Notepad, ClickUp tasks, and ClickUp comments, enhancing communications.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar’s primary purpose is to manage time by scheduling your activities. Teams in ClickUp use this Calendar to improve their productivity by syncing tasks, meetings, and deadlines automatically. Connecting it to ClickUp enhances how you view tasks and updates.

GitHub

GitHub is a code hosting platform that is an excellent addition to ClickUp, especially in companies that focus entirely on or have a department in software development. The developers can brainstorm, discuss the latest software, and share updates on ongoing projects without moving out of ClickUp.

Dropbox

Dropbox is an excellent and safe cloud-based integration if you share or store many files. Whether it’s company documents, daily files, videos, or photos, you can enhance your productivity and save time with Dropbox when it’s incorporated into ClickUp, because you’ll have it all in one account.

Pros and Cons of ClickUp

By now, you’ll understand why we recommend using ClickUp for team project management. You can connect your team members, customize project functions, integrate other apps, and track your progress.  

But is ClickUp easy to learn?

Some people find it complicated because of the excess features that can quickly get them lost. There are also a ton of site notifications in the beginning when you don’t set them to your preferences, and that’s usually one of the things people complain about at the start.

Most of the cons of ClickUp come when you aren’t familiar with using it. That’s why you can make it work to your advantage and get the most out of the software by educating yourself before bringing it into your company.

Let’s face it: ClickUp has a ton of pros that you’ll experience when following through with ClickUp project management tutorials, like this article and our YouTube video. If you simply referred to our guide, watched a Click Up demo video, and turned off unnecessary notifications; you’re going to find using ClickUp a breeze.

Necessary notifications; you’re going to find using ClickUp a breeze.

ClickUp vs Asana: The Comparison

As one of the most popular projects management tools, it makes sense to compare Asana with ClickUp. Maybe you’re using Asana already or trying to decide between the two. 

As mentioned in our click-up training video at the start of this blog, there are many similarities between the two platforms. 

This table will summarize the main points of our comparison of Asana vs ClickUp.

FeatureAsanaClickUp
Ease of useQuite simple to get startedIt has a lot of features that will take some time to learn
PricingIt has a free tier with fewer features; the Asana monthly charges are also highComprehensive free tier and lower monthly charges
AutomationOnly higher tiers have the best automationPerfect automation, even on the free plan
Customer SupportImmediate support is only available for paid users24/7 support for all users, from free to paid plans
IntegrationsIntegrates with most apps you know ofAllows for integrations of enough apps
CustomizationCustomization isn’t much unless on paid tiersUsers across the plans can enjoy adequate customization

In summary, ClickUp is more affordable than Asana, and contains more features even on the free plan, like customer support and automation.

Here Are the Biggest Mistakes to Avoid in ClickUp

It wouldn’t be wise to assume that with user guides like videos, pdfs, and even Click Up tutorial illustrations, you’ll never make a mistake using the software.

Believe it or not, people make many mistakes when first starting out, even those who have educated themselves by reading guides like this.

Knowing the common mistakes before you make them will definitely give you an advantage. Let’s look at some of the mistakes and how you can fix them to maximize your performance:

  • Diving into ClickUp without taking time to understand the platform or specific functions. Avoid this by investing a little time in “how-to” videos; simply search “clickup tutorial for beginners” and there will be many resources available. 
  • Having too many workflows. Simplicity is key to avoiding confusion. This prevents notifications and task communications from clogging your system.
  • Not taking your time to set up the workflow. If the workflow between team members and task delegation isn’t clearly organized, you’re going to hit obstacles along the way that waste your time and slow the whole project down.
  • Not updating your workflow. Don’t make initial setups, integrations, and automation, and assume that everything will flow smoothly each day. Change a few things based on how you view the progress.

Our ClickUp User Guide: Wrapping Up

There you have it; you can now confidently set up a project in ClickUp and streamline your systems. 

Now you understand how ClickUp can benefit your business, how to set up projects and tasks, and the mistakes to avoid to get the most out of it.

If you’re in the beginning phase of your business, or an established company wanting to expand your reach and land new clients, we can help. Scaling With Systems works with individuals and companies to build profitable client acquisition systems guaranteed to bring in new clients consistently. 

If you’re ready to find a winning system for your business, book a free consultation call with one of our team members today.

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