Agency guide
Contents:
Managing an agency isn't an easy task. With so many plates spinning and information flying around, keeping on top of what’s happening across your agency can be difficult.
And as you grow, keeping things efficient and profitable just gets tougher.
Which is where agency management software comes in. Helping you to bring all your processes together, keep all your project and client data in one place and streamlining your systems. So you can focus on growth and profitability without the concerns of losing control.
We’ve pulled together a list of the best agency management software for creative and digital marketing agencies in 2024 to help you find the best software for your agency.
Agency management software is designed to help creative, marketing, digital, and PR agencies manage all their operations, improving efficiency, visibility, and profitability.
There are lots of different types of agency management software:
Quoting and invoicing software: estimating delivery time and costs, building client quotes, and automating billing, the software helps make your financial management more accurate and efficient.
Project management software: this can help you plan, manage, and track projects and tasks, helping you keep projects on time and make collaboration easier across your creative team and project managers.
Resource management software: this is always a challenge for agencies, so getting software in place to help can be a huge time saver. Resource management software can help you schedule and manage your work allocation so you can see who’s working on what and if there are any gaps or overloaded resources.
Time tracking software: everyone’s least favourite job but one of the most important for budget and utilisation tracking.
CRM software: managing your contact data and agency pipeline forecasts can be messy and manual, but this type of software can help you with pipeline tracking and analytics.
Reporting software: instead of spending endless hours compiling data in complicated spreadsheets, reporting software gives your management team a real-time overview of your agency's sales, capacity, performance and finances.
Where some agency software only deals with one part of the process, such as project Kanban boards, all-in-one agency management software manages everything from new business through to reconciliation and reporting.
The benefits of using all-in-one agency management software:
Read more: Multiple vs all-in-one agency software: which is better?
Usually, agency managers start looking for a new system when they realise that something’s got to give in the way they’re working. So they start their research and then get sidetracked by the fun and fluffy features that software companies use to tempt them in.
But this can be a big distraction from what you actually need.
Agency Management Consultants Agency Works offer three top tips for choosing the right agency management system. They’ve worked with agencies for over 20 years and know what good (and bad) looks like for agencies. They suggest:
Top tip #1. Finding out what’s working and what’s not
Start by analysing the systems and processes you have in place. What are they used for? What do your team like? What don’t they like? What would make their lives easier? What could be improved on or automated?
Top tip #2. Pinpointing your top ‘pains’
Next, write down what your pains are. For example, are your projects regularly over budget? Do you find you’ve got too much work for one team and not enough for another? Are you spending hours/days creating management reports? What you’re looking for will make a big difference to your everyday operations. You’re never going to solve every issue for every person. So sweep away all the debris and detail and look clearly at the big issues you want to resolve.
Top tip #3. Identifying your long-term goals
Often, agencies want to tackle the here and now. But how about two years, five years, or ten years later? If, in the next year, your agency has doubled in size, you’ll be facing completely different pains and will probably need to start the whole process again from scratch. Save yourself the time and hassle of doing it all again, and look clearly at what you need to smooth the path for the future.
Investing the time to find the best possible software for your agency can help avoid these headaches and save you money in the long run.
Read more: How to choose an agency management system
Here, we’re talking about all-in-one agency management systems designed for creative, marketing, digital, and PR agencies, not agency software tools that perform just one or two functions.
Founded in 2003 in Cheshire, UK.
Synergist is the all-in-one agency management software designed to help you grow intelligently. It unlocks agency-wide efficiency, real-time visibility, and powerful insights to drive your agency's performance and profitability.
Synergist gives you all the tools and data you need to manage your projects, clients, resources and reporting. From new business to billing and everything in between, this all-in-one highly customisable platform grows and evolves with your business. Whether you're 10 or 500 people, design or digital, Synergist can scale and shape to work exactly as you need.
It offers powerful features, including detailed forecasting and profit reporting, capacity planning, revenue recognition, two-way accounting software integration, and advanced analytics.
Ditch the spreadsheets and forecasting meetings. Synergist helps you accurately forecast your pipeline and capacity requirements and manage your P&L.
Budget, plan, and manage your projects end to end, effectively and profitably.
Manage your peaks and troughs in resourcing. Synergist makes it easy to ensure everybody is busy on billable work - but not at overcapacity.
Manage your prospects, new business opportunities and existing clients in one system.
Synergist's reporting function gives you complete visibility on what's happened, what's happening and what's going to happen across your agency.
Synergist has two-way integrations with leading software, including Microsoft 365, Xero, Quickbooks, HubSpot and many more. Plus, our API enables you to integrate with anything.
Learn more about Synergist integrations
Synergist offers more advanced functionality when you need it, including revenue recognition, multi-job quoting and quoting with options, tender management, managed sales orders, multi-company resourcing and group-level reporting.
Your monthly subscription is made up of the number of full and timesheet users you require:
Price per user is determined by the number of users you have. User pricing is the same across all tiers.
Learn more about Synergist pricing
Synergist comes with hundreds of features and gives you more advanced functionality as you grow. But there's no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to agencies. This is why Synergist is configured to work as your agency does and give you the exact business intelligence you need.
Our onboarding experts, Agency Works, will help you design your perfect Synergist set-up, configure Synergist to the way your agency needs, train your teams, and help you get the data insights you need to grow. Their vast industry experience means they know what makes an agency really work and how to help elevate your agency's performance. You'll also enjoy ongoing access to advice and support to help you get the most out of Synergist and get the best for your business.
See why thousands of design, digital, marketing and PR agencies - from 10 to 500 people - choose Synergist to manage their projects more intelligently and profitably.
Founded in 1982, in Kent, UK.
With a global user base of creative agencies and capabilities in six languages, Paprika incorporates a powerful accounting system with multi-company and multi-currency capabilities.
Their purpose is to flawlessly integrate every agency function, from client and contact management and job-costing and quoting to project and resource management, invoicing, and accounting.
Key features:
Founded in 2014, in Zagreb, Croatia.
Productive is relatively new compared to the others in this list, which means you might not find the same level of functionality as you would with a more established system.
Productive describes itself as ‘a one-stop shop for agencies of all types and sizes.’ Their tool’s main objective is to provide agencies and service providers with a complete and real-time overview of their business. They offer a number of packages, but agencies that want to use all the features will need to move to the 'premium' tier.
Key features:
Founded in 1997, in Vancouver, Canada.
Function Point started as a platform for automated pricing calculations, transforming into an all-in-one web project management solution used by over 500 small and mid-sized creative agencies.
Recent acquisition by Volaris Group means they’re looking to expand internationally and support creative agencies, internal marketing teams and professional service firms.
Key features:
Founded in 2013 in Tallin, Estonia.
Scoro is an all-in-one business management system built for consultancies, agencies, and other professional service businesses to gain visibility, boost profitability and standardize operations. It combines a range of project management features with resource and financial management.
Key features:
Founded in 1983 in Virginia, US.
Deltek Workbook provides best-practice solutions to help agencies grow. It streamlines projects, people and finance in a single cloud-based solution, giving real-time control, insights and visibility.
It offers complete project and resource management, plus additional features to support new business and finance.
Key features:
Founded in 2007 in Cork, Ireland.
Teamwork is an all-in-one team platform to manage client work – projects, budgets, teams and clients.
Key features:
Founded in 2016, Denmark
Forecast is an AI-powered resource and project management software for agencies and professional service businesses. It helps you manage your tasks, projects, programs, resources and finances in one easy-to-use platform.
Key features:
Founded in 2008 in Irvine, California.
Kantata is an agency management system which manages a full range of operations, including client relationships, workflows and project tracking. It’s customisable, so agencies can shape it to work alongside them as they grow.
Key features:
Founded in 2002 in New Zealand.
Streamtime project management software has been specially designed for the creative industry for effective planning, tracking and scheduling.
Key features:
There are hundreds if not thousands of software applications out there for agency management, encompassing everything from project management, time tracking and billing, Gantt charts and Kanbans to resource management and agency reporting - you name it, there’s an app for it. (Read more on One agency management system vs separate tools).
Other project management software creative agencies use:
CMAP — Founded in 2000 in the UK, this project management software helps professional services companies win more work, deliver it more profitably and make better business decisions.
Accelo — Founded in 2011 in Australia, Accelo is a client work management platform that provides an end-to-end solution for sales and quoting, project management, tickets, time tracking, billing, retainers and reporting.
Wrike — Founded in 2006 in California, Wrike is a project management platform for managing cross-functional work at scale. It offers a single digital workplace for departments and teams, supporting complex workflows through an intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
ClickUp — Founded in 2017 in California, this work and project management platform enables teams to manage tasks, collaborate in real-time, gain insights via reporting and more.
Monday.com — Founded in 2012 in Israel, this work management platform helps teams to manage tasks and workflows to fuel team collaboration and productivity. Everything starts with a visual board which can be tailored to fit your needs.
Screendragon — Founded in 2005 in Ireland, Screendragon is a work management platform for enterprise teams, enabling them to manage projects, people, processes and content in one place.
FunctionFox — Founded in 2000 in Canada, FunctionFox offers simple online timesheets and project management software for creative professionals who want to get control of their projects, bill more hours every month, and develop a deeper understanding of their business.
Workamajig — Founded in 1986 Arizona, project management software for creative agencies and in-house teams. Includes integrated financials and business insight.
Ravetree — Founded in 2013 North Carolina, Ravetree helps agencies manage their projects, resources, and creative workflows — all in one place.
Other software agencies use:
Time tracking tools: Track how each team member uses their time to improve utilisation using Harvest, Toggl Track, or Hubstaff.
Resource scheduling tools: Assign jobs to team members or freelancers, optimising utilisation and identifying gaps using Resource Guru, Forecast, Calendly, Float, Toggl Plan, or Teamdeck.
Task management tools: Break projects down into tasks, assign team members, and track actions using Trello, Asana, Todoist, MS Planner, Basecamp, or Jira.
Project planning tools: Plan out project timelines and track project progress using TeamGantt, Microsoft Project, GanttPro, ProofHub, or Hive.
Communications tools: Stay in regular contact with your team with updates, internal and client meetings and one-to-ones using Teams or Slack.
Client collaboration and approval tools: Keep everyone in the loop for client feedback and amends using Filestage, HolaBrief or Ziflow.
CRM tools: Manage and keep track of new business opportunities using Hubspot, Salesforce or Pipedrive.
Reporting tools: Automate agency reporting using AgencyAnalytics, Improvado or Whatagraph.
Agency management software is typically priced per user. While some have a flat fee per user, Synergist has one fee for full system users and a lower fee for timesheet-only users. Some companies reduce the user price the more people you add. Most have a minimum number of users, so there’s a minimum subscription.
It’s important to do your due diligence when you’re looking at pricing. Some systems can appear quite cheap upfront, as they offer limited-functionality packages with a low user fee. But if you need to add more features – which you very likely will – the price can suddenly rocket.
Top tip: Make sure you can add and remove user subscriptions whenever you need. Some providers offer discounts for paying a year in advance. But beware... you could end up paying for more subscriptions than you need, eroding any discount. Plus, these annual contracts usually only allow you to cancel around the annual renewal point.
Onboarding fees
Implementing agency management software isn’t about plugging it in and switching it on. The best agency management systems are perfectly configured for your agency’s needs. Your teams need to be properly trained; not only on how to use the system but how to get the most out of it. And you're continually supported as your business and the software features evolve.
Source: Successful customer onboarding never stops, Intercom.
Onboarding services range from free online articles to bespoke change management, implementation, training and ongoing support.
The general rule of thumb is that successful software onboarding will equal your subscription costs in year one. However, the price of onboarding will depend upon a number of factors:
When you understand these points, you can get the true cost of your agency's software implementation.
“Having your own consultant to lean on and shape the software step-by-step makes it feel even more bespoke. It’s also someone to run things by to make sure I’m looking at things in the right way.”
It can seem daunting with so many functions and options out there. But choosing your system can be broken down into five relatively simple steps.
Read more: How to choose an agency management system
But the big question is... what’s the best agency management software for your business?
Agencies are all unique places. It’s what makes them so great. There isn’t an off-the-shelf solution which will work across them all. What works for one agency doesn't necessarily work for another.
Choosing the best agency management software can feel like a minefield. Setting out upfront exactly what you’re looking for and what you want the outcomes to be from your system can help you stay focused.
While it can be tempting to trial each and every system that you find, a word of caution. A trial won’t really show you just how the software will work within your agency, as this is such a unique and bespoke function. Read more on Why trialling a system isn’t a good use of your time
Is Synergist the best agency management software for your agency?
Synergist is an ideal system for medium-sized agencies. The customisable features mean we can help you build a tailor-made system that works with you and for you, growing and evolving alongside your agency.
If you’d like to learn more, book a demo to see why thousands of design, digital, marketing and PR agencies - from 10 to 500 people - choose Synergist to manage their projects more intelligently and profitably.
