TopLeft gives MSPs powerful visibility into team workload using Kanban principles. While it doesn't currently offer full native capacity forecasting, it helps teams make better resource decisions today
What You Can Do in TopLeft Today
TopLeft supports flow-based planning through real-time insights and team-driven decisions:
Visualize workload by team member
Boards show how many tickets each person is working on. Add time budgets to highlight potential overload. This visibility supports better conversations, not top-down control.
Spot risks using due dates and time budgets
Due dates and effort estimates help identify when work may exceed capacity. It's a signal for the team to respond, not a rigid schedule.
Use WIP limits to shape flow
Work-in-progress limits reduce overload and reveal bottlenecks. They empower teams to say no to new work when capacity is full, improving predictability.
Team-driven rebalancing, not command-control
Work can be reassigned in TopLeft, but that should happen through collaboration—not top-down allocation. Kanban systems thrive when team members pull work based on capacity and readiness, not when work is pushed by managers.
What TopLeft Doesn’t Do (Yet)
TopLeft doesn't include traditional forecasting tools based on:
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Individual schedules or PTO
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Hour-based future capacity
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Calendar or time slot planning
Those are best handled with PSA scheduling tools. But remember: when WIP is under control and work types are stable, detailed forecasting becomes less critical.
Free Excel Project Capacity Planner
We offer a free Excel tool for project capacity planning. It’s designed to help you forecast project demand against your available resources over a longer planning horizon.
Download the planner here:
www.topleft.team/capacityplanner
We explain strategies for successful capacity planning it in this podcast episode with Crafty Penguins, one of our founder's MSPs:
Watch on YouTube
What’s Coming
We’re building long-term project capacity planning into the TopLeft Gantt module. This will provide a 3+ month planning horizon. It's currently in Preview and based directly on our Excel planner.
Let us know if you'd like early access or want to shape the direction.
Summary
TopLeft helps teams manage work visually and collaboratively. You don’t need detailed forecasting to run an effective team, but if you're ready to plan ahead, we have tools now and more on the way.
If you'd like to explore how this could fit your MSP, you're welcome to book a free consultation.