Resource Allocation & Capacity Planning Software
Plan team workloads across projects, prevent overbooking, and forecast capacity with calendar + utilization views.
Trusted by small teams
Many small teams struggle with resource allocation challenges that impact delivery timelines and team morale. Without proper capacity planning tools, managers often overbook team members across multiple projects, leading to burnout and missed deadlines. The lack of visibility into team utilization makes it nearly impossible to forecast workload accurately or make informed staffing decisions.
Manual spreadsheets for team utilization tracking quickly become outdated and error-prone. When allocating resources across projects, teams waste hours reconciling conflicting schedules, discovering overbooking issues too late, and scrambling to rebalance workloads. This reactive approach to project resource planning creates stress for both managers and team members who end up with unpredictable schedules and unclear priorities.
Modern resource allocation software solves these problems by providing real-time visibility into team capacity through calendar views and utilization heatmaps. With proper resource scheduling tools, teams can prevent conflicts before they happen, maintain healthy workloads, and deliver projects on time with confidence.
What is Resource Allocation?
Resource allocation is the process of assigning team members to projects with specific time ranges and capacity percentages. For example, assigning Sarah to Project A from March 1-15 at 50% capacity means she'll dedicate half her available working time to that project during those two weeks.
Effective resource allocation matters for three critical reasons:
- Delivery predictability: When you know exactly who's working on what and for how long, you can forecast project completion dates accurately and avoid last-minute surprises.
- Healthy workload: By tracking utilization percentages across projects, you prevent overbooking team members beyond 100% capacity, reducing burnout and maintaining sustainable work pace.
- Profitability: Proper capacity planning helps you take on the right amount of work—not too much that quality suffers, not too little that resources sit idle. This optimization directly impacts your bottom line.
Key Features
Calendar View Scheduling
See team allocation in a familiar monthly calendar format where each day shows who's assigned to what projects.
- Monthly calendar view like a traditional scheduling tool
- Clear visual of "who is on what" per day/week
- Quick navigation between months and projects
Utilization Heatmap
A color-coded grid view showing percentage utilization per employee across weeks and months.
- Color thresholds: ≤ 50% (light), 51–80% (medium), 81–100% (full), 100%+ (overallocated)
- Instant visual identification of capacity issues
- Filter by team, department, or project
Fast Allocation Creation
Simple form to create resource allocations in seconds with all the essential fields.
- Select Employee and Project from dropdown
- Set Start Date and End Date
- Define Allocation % (1–100) for precise capacity planning
Over-allocation Warnings
Automatic detection when employees are allocated over 100% capacity across overlapping date ranges.
- Real-time detection of >100% conflicts
- Warning banners and heatmap highlighting
- Suggestions to reduce % or shift dates
Project-Based Planning
Allocate resources by project and get clear visibility into each project's resourcing needs.
- View all allocations by project
- Filter calendar and heatmap by specific projects
- Forecast future project capacity requirements
Audit & History
Complete change tracking for accountability and historical reference.
- Track who created or modified each allocation
- See when changes were made
- View what was changed (dates, %, employee, project)
How it works
Create employees & projects
Set up your team members and active projects in the system. This forms the foundation for all resource allocations.
Add allocations with dates + %
Assign people to projects with specific start/end dates and capacity percentages. For example: "John on Project X from June 1-15 at 75%".
Review calendar + utilization heatmap
Check the calendar view to see daily schedules, and use the heatmap to identify over or under-utilized team members at a glance.
Fix conflicts and notify the team
Adjust allocations when conflicts arise, and team members receive automatic email notifications about their assignments.
Product Preview
Calendar View
See who's assigned to what projects in a familiar monthly calendar format. Navigate between months and get a clear daily/weekly overview of team schedules.
Utilization Heatmap
Instantly identify capacity issues with color-coded utilization percentages. Spot overallocated team members (red) and available capacity (green) at a glance.
Quick Allocation Creation
Simple form to create resource allocations in seconds. Select employee, project, dates, and capacity percentage—then you're done.
Email Notifications
Keep everyone informed automatically. No more chasing people or missing updates about schedule changes.
Allocation Notifications
Team members receive automatic emails when their resource allocations change, keeping everyone aligned on project assignments.
Notification Rules:
- Email sent when allocation is created (new assignment)
- Email sent when allocation dates or percentage are updated (schedule change)
- Email sent when allocation is removed (assignment ended)
- Optional weekly summary of upcoming allocations for the next 7 days
Over-allocation Alerts
Managers and admins receive immediate alerts when team members are over 100% capacity, enabling quick rebalancing before conflicts impact delivery.
Alert Content Includes:
- Employee name who is overallocated
- Week or date range where conflict occurs
- Affected projects contributing to the overallocation
- Total percentage allocated (e.g., 150%)
Use Cases
Agencies Balancing Client Work
Allocate designers, developers, and account managers across multiple client projects. See at a glance who has capacity for new work and who's fully booked, ensuring you never overcommit your team.
Startups Planning Sprints
Plan product development sprints by allocating engineers to features and initiatives. Track utilization across multiple workstreams and adjust allocations as priorities shift mid-sprint.
Consulting Teams Scheduling Billable Work
Maximize billable utilization by scheduling consultants across client engagements. Forecast bench time, identify scheduling gaps, and optimize resource deployment for profitability.
Internal Product Teams Forecasting Capacity
Plan quarterly roadmaps by forecasting team capacity against planned initiatives. Identify resource constraints early and make data-driven decisions about scope and timelines.
Support/Ops Teams Planning Coverage
Schedule support engineers and ops team members across different coverage areas and time zones. Ensure adequate coverage without overbooking individuals, especially during holidays and vacation periods.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is resource allocation software?
Resource allocation software helps teams assign people to projects with specific time ranges and capacity percentages. It provides visibility into team workload, prevents overbooking, and enables data-driven capacity planning through calendar views and utilization heatmaps.
How does utilization % work?
Utilization percentage represents how much of an employee's available time is allocated to projects. For example, 50% means half their working hours, 100% means fully booked. The system tracks total allocation across all projects to prevent exceeding 100%.
Can I prevent overbooking?
Yes. The system automatically detects when an employee's allocations exceed 100% capacity across overlapping dates. You'll see warning banners, heatmap highlighting, and receive email alerts so you can rebalance workloads before conflicts impact delivery.
Calendar vs heatmap views?
The calendar view shows daily/weekly schedules in a traditional calendar format—great for seeing "who's on what" day-by-day. The heatmap view uses color-coding to show utilization percentages across weeks/months—ideal for quickly spotting capacity issues across your entire team.
Does it support multiple projects per employee?
Yes. Employees can be allocated to multiple projects simultaneously with different percentages. For example, Sarah can be 60% on Project A and 40% on Project B during the same time period.
Does it notify employees automatically?
Yes. Team members receive automatic email notifications when allocations are created, updated, or removed. Managers and admins also receive alerts when over-allocation conflicts are detected.
Is this suitable for small teams?
Absolutely. The system is designed for small teams (5-50 people) who need professional resource planning without enterprise complexity. Simple interface, quick setup, and no per-user pricing make it ideal for growing teams.
How is data secured?
All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Role-based access control ensures only authorized team members can view or modify allocations. Regular backups and audit logs provide additional security and accountability.
Related Features
Plan capacity with confidence
Start allocating resources effectively with calendar scheduling, utilization heatmaps, and over-allocation alerts.