Teams inside a company
A team inside a larger company works in its own space.
Remote and distributed teams
Decisions are written down, and voice messages wait for whoever is asleep. Everyone sees the calendar in their own time zone.
A remote team works in one Magpie team. A contractor can join one document or one channel as a guest.
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This combination of six Magpie areas fits a remote team.
- Documents
- Documents holds proposals and the handbook, with comments and suggestions.
- Team chat
- Team chat keeps conversations in channels and threads.
- Walkie Talkie
- Walkie Talkie sends voice messages that wait to be heard.
- Screen Recorder
- Screen Recorder shows your work in a recording, watched when it suits.
- Kanban Boards
- Kanban Boards shows what everyone is working on.
- Calendar
- Calendar shows the team's events in each person's own time zone.
Decisions are written down, and everyone comments in their own hours.
Documents holds proposals, specs and the team handbook. You comment on a line or suggest new wording, and the writer accepts it.
Named versions keep each draft. A contractor can review one document as a guest.
Conversations stay in channels and threads, so nobody has to be online at once.
Team chat gives the team channels, threads and direct messages. A thread keeps each reply beside the message it answers.
Direct messages and groups reach people in your other teams too. Someone from outside can join one channel as a guest.
Voice messages wait for whoever is asleep, and play back faster.
Walkie Talkie sends a voice message to a person, a group or a channel. Live talk reaches whoever is listening, and everyone else hears the recording later.
Play unheard catches you up on what you missed, at the speed you choose. You can see who has heard your message.
You show your work in a recording, and teammates watch it as their day starts.
Screen Recorder records your screen, a window or a tab, with your camera beside it. You trim the mistakes before you share it.
The share page can carry a transcript from a Document. Analytics shows how many watched, and how far they got.
Everyone sees what the team is working on, without asking.
Kanban Boards holds the work as cards in columns, such as Next, In progress and Shipped. Each card has an assignee, a due date and To-dos.
Cards keep their comments and pictures, so a question about the work stays with it.
The team calendar shows every event in your own time zone.
Calendar holds the team's events, To-dos and deadlines. Times show in the time zone of the device you are using.
A team calendar never shows a member's own meetings or Google Calendar events. A private event is seen only by the person who made it.
Six more areas cover booking a call, notes, announcements, hours, private files and quick calls.
- Meetings
- Meetings gives each person a page where others book a call in their hours.
- Notes
- Notes keeps the team's shared notes, written in Markdown.
- Message Boards
- Message Boards holds announcements and ideas, with votes.
- Time Tracking
- Time Tracking records each person's hours by project.
- Secure Files
- Secure Files keeps sensitive files encrypted in your account, shared by expiring link.
- Video Chat
- Video Chat starts a short call between two people.
A proposal goes from a draft to a decision without a meeting.
The draft
Someone writes the proposal in a document.
The comments
Each person comments in their own working hours.
The demo
A short recording shows what the change looks like.
The questions
Quick questions go back and forth as voice messages.
The decision
The writer accepts the changes and names the final version.
The work
New cards go on the board, and the deadline on the calendar.
Setting up takes four steps.
Make a team
You invite everyone, wherever they are. Help: Create and manage a team.
Start the channels
You make a channel for each topic. Help: Use Team chat.
Turn on voice messages
Everyone allows the microphone once. Help: Talk with Walkie Talkie.
Write the first proposal
You share it with the team to comment on. Help: Share and review a document.
Plans
A remote team fits the Team plan, with each person a member. A contractor in one channel or one document joins as a guest. A guest takes no member place.
Recordings run up to 30 minutes on a paid plan. Prices are on the Pricing page.
Other teams have pages of their own.
Small agencies (design, marketing, development; 3 to 15 people)
A small agency wins, runs and bills client work.
Software startups and small product teams
A software startup plans, builds and ships as a small team.
Questions remote teams ask
Can we work without everyone online at once?
Yes. Documents take comments, chat keeps threads, and voice messages and recordings wait to be heard. Each person picks them up in their own hours.
Can we send voice messages from a browser?
Yes. Walkie Talkie works on the website. You hold Talk to record, and a message can be up to 60 minutes.
Can I catch up on what I missed overnight?
Yes. Play unheard plays every voice message you have not heard, oldest first. You choose the playback speed, and it applies to every message.
Does the calendar handle time zones?
Yes. Times show in the time zone of the device you are using. A teammate in another country sees the same event at their own time.
Can people book a call in my working hours?
Yes. Meetings gives you a page with your available hours, checked against your Google Calendar. A booked call can carry a Zoom or Google Meet link.
Can we hold a video call?
Yes, between two people. Video Chat calls run 2, 5 or 10 minutes on a paid plan.
Can we show work without a meeting?
Yes. Screen Recorder records your screen with your camera beside it. The share page can carry a transcript, and analytics shows how far people watched.
Can a contractor join without seeing everything?
Yes. A guest uses only what you give them, such as one document or one channel. A guest takes no member place.
Can we keep a team handbook?
Yes. The handbook is a document with headings, a table of contents and named versions. Everyone in the team can open it.
Work across time zones in Magpie.
Create a Magpie account and make a team.