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10 Best Agency Management System Tools Of 2023

The Best Agency Management System List

Here’s a shortlist of the best agency management tools:

  1. 1. Wrike — Best agency management software for customizable views
  2. 2. monday.com — Best customizable advertising agency software
  3. 3. Parallax — Best agency management software for resource tracking & forecasting
  4. 4. Height App — Best for collaborating with clients on projects
  5. 5. ClickUp — Best free plan with unlimited tasks and users
  6. 6. Productive — Best all-in-one agency management system with sales and invoicing tools
  7. 7. VOGSY — Best agency management system for Google Workspace users
  8. 8. Kantata — Best for professional services businesses
  9. 9. Hub Planner — Best for scheduling agency resources
  10. 10. Forecast — Best advertising agency software for intelligent automation

Below you’ll find an overview of these tools with screenshots, features, and pricing.

This article will help you quickly compare and evaluate the best agency management system for your use case. Here, I’ve highlighted a few of the best agency software options available today. I’ve evaluated 10 agency management systems and examined the pros and cons in a simple, streamlined review so that you can choose the best software for your team or business.

We’ll begin with a focus on general tools for agencies, but I also included a few tools that cover a range of specialties. Most agencies may even find themselves settling on two or more items from this list in order to get the complete picture for their business.

If you are looking for a drill down on specifics, be sure to check out the lists I have written specifically on:

And you can also check out these tools often used in agency settings:

Comparison Criteria

What am I looking for when I perform agency platform reviews? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria:

  • User Interface (UI): Is the interface intuitive to navigate and does it have aesthetic appeal?
  • Usability: How steep is the software learning curve and does the company offer adequate training resources, like tutorial videos and FAQs/forums?
  • Integrations: Does the software connect with other first- and third-party apps for additional feature sets?
  • Value for $: Is the price fair, transparent, and flexible? Does the tool offer a free demo or trial so that users can try before they buy?

Key Features

These are a few of the must-have features when shopping around for this kind of tool.

  • Job/Project Costing – Can the tool capture hours and costs, estimate and do budgeting, and handle purchasing with mark-ups and purchase orders?
  • Online Timesheets – Does the software have a web browser-based timesheet and expense entry system? Is it easy to enter, approve, and pay expense claims?
  • Pipeline Management – Can the software help with the automation of attracting new leads and potential customers and report on and review the process of converting them into paying customers?
  • Review and Feedback – Does the software allow clients to adequately engage with and provide feedback across the project pipeline process? Is the feedback loop easy to navigate and does it offer actionable insights?
agency management system tool logos list

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Overviews Of The Top 10 Agency Management Systems

Here’s a brief description of each of the agency management systems that are featured on this top 10 list.

1

Wrike

Best agency management software for customizable views

Wrike is an easy-to-use advertising agency software that is suitable for teams with five or more members. It’s highly configurable, allowing users to customize processes, workflows, dashboards, reports, and request forms to suit their exact needs. Break down costly silos between teams, centralize communication, and automate time-consuming admin tasks.

Wrike enables users to switch between customizable Kanban boards, one-click Gantt charts, and classic workload views, so teams can choose how to visualize their campaign deliverables. Wrike also features task lists, subtasks, shared calendars, custom workflows, file sharing, and real-time collaboration. Users can get advanced performance insights across 50 marketing platforms, assess resource management and allocation, and track time.

Wrike has an easy-to-use, intuitive interface and navigation with distinct spaces, folders, and tasks. Toggle between the home screen and timesheets, dashboards, calendars, reports, and the activity stream. Wrike has a dedicated help center with interactive training, videos, a ‘Getting Started’ guide, and a thriving community. The tool also offers a specific solution for marketing teams, as well as a variety of templates for common organizational processes.

Wrike offers 400+ pre-built native integrations, including integrations with Adobe Creative Cloud; file management software from Microsoft, Google, and Dropbox; and over 50 marketing-specific tools.

Pricing starts at $9.80 per user per month. There are four different price points, including a free version and plans which offer the ability to invite free external collaborators to a paid account.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 2544

Free plan available

From $9.80/user/month

2

monday.com

Best customizable advertising agency software

monday.com is a great advertising agency software because of the way the tool has done away with a lot of the trimmings of typical management tools and focused on simple, visually intuitive layouts that help clarify the sequence of work.

monday.com features for managing advertising projects include resource and project management modules, as well as some great collaboration tools. For example, users can upload and attach files to cards, make comments, mention teammates, and more. It also offers a great project reporting dashboard that can collect data from multiple boards, allowing better tracking abilities of progress. And while monday.com doesn't offer a complete set of tools for project accounting and invoicing solutions, you can use monday.com to track hours, timelines, and invoices.

Overall, it's a highly customizable tool that lets you work in whatever methodology—kanban or otherwise—that fits your project and team. You'll also find some useful workflow tools for automating parts of your process.

monday.com's integrations include project management apps like Slack, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Jira, GitHub, Trello, Dropbox, Typeform, and many more, accessible via Zapier.

monday.com costs from $6/user/month and comes with a free 14-day trial. They offer a free plan for up to 2 users.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 8065

14-day free trial + freemium plan available

From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)

3

Parallax

Best agency management software for resource tracking & forecasting

Parallax is a resource and capacity planning software great for agency management. It offers a robust suite of tools for resource planning and forecasting, sales collaboration and forecasting, project financials, and business intelligence. 

Parallax connects with operational tools for time tracking, CRM, and project management to build detailed visualizations around resource utilization information. With Parallax, you'll have access to project health tracking, auto-generated resource plans, customized real-time alerts (on unallocated time, projects over budget, unassigned roles, past start dates, and past end dates), and plan-vs-actual reports. 

Overall, Parallax makes for a great agency management solution because you can connect to whatever tools you and your clients are using and create comprehensive charts, dashboards, and visualizations for data-driven decision-making. 

Parallax integrates with Asana, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Tempo, Salesforce, Oracle Netsuite, Harvest, Hubspot, Jira Software, and others.

Parallax offers pricing upon request and a free demo. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 2

Free demo

Pricing upon request

4

Height App

Best for collaborating with clients on projects

Height App is a project management system that supports agency operations. The software includes project management, time and expense tracking, resource management, and financial management capabilities. A client portal allows users to log client data like contact information, project history, and project notes. Clients can be given guest access, and all client communications can be stored in the software so employees can keep track of progress and client requests.

Users can create project briefs, assign tasks to team members, and monitor progress. Tasks can be assigned with drag-and-drop scheduling, and users can keep track of everyone's workload in one place. Built-in time tracking allows users to track how much time is spent on each project and track billable hours.

Users can use timesheets to log time entries which provide detailed reports for each project they work on for better project management and analysis. The software's reporting and analytics features uses its data to analyze an agency's performance metrics, and provides reports on things like time, expenses, and revenue.

Integrations include Figma, Github, Notion, Slack, and other workplace tools. Paid plans start from $8.50/user/month and a 30-day free trial is available.

Upon sign-up, interested parties can get a 30-day free trial of Height App's Team plan.

Height App's premium plan for teams costs $6.99 per member monthly.

5

ClickUp

Best free plan with unlimited tasks and users

ClickUp is a work management software tool with project management, team collaboration, goal-setting, and document management functionality. Users can plan projects and assign tasks to manage team members' workloads and time. The task management features include subtasks, checklists, prioritization, reminders, and templates. Users can filter and sort tasks and reorder them to meet their preferences.

Gantt charts, Kanban boards, calendars, and timelines are all available for visualizing team workloads. Time tracking can be done directly in the platform or through a third-party integration. Files can be shared through the platform and users can collaborate on work through live chat, whiteboards, comments, and work proofing features. Users can set measurable goals right in the platform and connect them with specific tasks, helping keep team members aligned on shared objectives.

Reporting dashboards are available in the software to monitor team productivity, project progress, KPIS, and other team metrics. This includes goal tracking, workload tracking, milestone tracking, and even automatic pulse checks from the software's machine learning capabilities.

Clickup has native integrations for other SaaS apps like Dropbox, Figma, GitHub, Google Drive, Harvest, HubSpot, Intercom, Loom, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, Outlook, Slack, Toggl Track, Webhooks, Zoom, and more. Zapier can also unlock additional integrations.

A freemium plan is available with unlimited tasks and users, and paid plans start from $9/user/month.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 4135

Freemium plan available

From $9/user/month

6

Productive

Best all-in-one agency management system with sales and invoicing tools

Productive is a well-rounded agency management software with a stack of powerful functionality that gives you the tools and data you need to keep an agency running smoothly. The tool was built by a team with a decade of experience in founding, managing, and scaling a software development shop, so it's especially well-suited to digital agencies.

The tool's features fully satisfy my criteria for agency management tools. You'll find client and prospect management in the Sales Pipeline (manage deal flow, get sales organized). The Resource Planning feature, time tracker, and task collaboration tools fit the criteria for resource and project management that I look for in an agency tool or platform.

Billing and invoicing can also be managed straight from the tool, along with useful reports on profitability and costs to help with finance management. The reporting feature actually goes quite a bit beyond that, with real-time reports on margins, utilization, and a whole lot more—including reports on individual employees' or contractors' history with the company, salary report, etc.

Productive's integrations include Zapier as well as Jira, Open API, QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Exact.

Productive costs $17/user/month. They also offer a fully-featured, free 14-day trial.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 28

14-day free trial

From $20/user/month

7

VOGSY

Best agency management system for Google Workspace users

VOGSY is a comprehensive agency management tool built on Google Workspace. The tool includes features for real-time collaboration between teams, a CRM and opportunity management, project and resource planning, tasks, time and expense tracking, billing, and reporting.

VOGSY integrates Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Sheets to allow you to set up complete workflows and assign tasks from your inbox; easily design, edit, and track version history on quote and invoice templates; and perform reporting with customizable Sheets reports.

The tool’s project cards are visually appealing and facilitate tracking for schedules, completion, and estimated vs. actual budgets and margins. Documents, tasks, notes, project planning, communications, and emails are all organized in one place.

VOGSY’s Gantt chart timelines make workload management intuitive and provide an overview of all projects, resources, and tasks. The tool also offers Kanban views for tasks. Teams can communicate and assign tasks throughout the quote-to-cash project life cycle.

VOGSY automates workflows like resource skill matching on projects, time tracking, project budgets, and quote and invoice creation. Users can also automate financial reporting for metrics like sales pipeline, client profitability, revenue forecasting, and billability. Another great feature is the ability to duplicate projects or individual deliverables with activities and calculated costs when planning projects.

In addition to Google Workspace, VOGSY integrates with software tools like QuickBooks, Copper, Salesforce, Xero, Zapier, HubSpot, and Jira.

VOGSY starts at $9/user/month and offers a 30-day free trial. It also offers a free version limited to one user.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6 31

Freemium plan

$13/user/month

8

Kantata

Best for professional services businesses

Kantata is an agency management system that can be used to manage everything from client relationships to workflows and project tracking. This highly customizable tool allows agencies of all sizes to streamline their operations and increase profits. In this article, we'll explain how you can use Kantata for successful agency management. 

Kantata has a range of features designed specifically for agencies, including tools for client onboarding, project planning, time and resource tracking, invoicing, contracts, communication management, and more. With these features in place, you can easily monitor your team’s progress against deadlines or budgets and track the status of clients or projects at any given time. You’ll also have access to key performance data such as team utilization rates or revenue forecasts.

Kantata's core function is to provide users with comprehensive data management solutions. It allows you to store customer information, generate reports, manage tasks and projects, track expenses, collaborate with colleagues or partners remotely, and share information in an organized way. Additionally, it offers real-time insights into customer trends and market conditions so that you can make informed decisions quickly. This makes Kantata a great solution for businesses that need to stay ahead of the competition by utilizing data-driven insights. 

Features include analytics, billing/invoicing, customer management, data import, data export, file transfer, Google apps integration, third-party plugins/add-ons, resource management, software integration, API, budgeting, dashboard, data visualization, expense tracking, forecasting, multi-user, project management, timesheets, time management, collaboration support, workflow management, batch permissions & access, calendar management, CRM integration, Gantt charts, notifications, scheduling, task scheduling/tracking, report & compliance, and campaign management

Integrations include other business apps like CRM, HCM, and financial software. On top of the M-Bridge platform, Mavenlink provides several pre-built integrations with these tools: Expensify, G Suite, Xero, Salesforce, Netsuite, Jira, Hubspot, Slack, Concur, Dynamics 365, Qualtrics, Quickbooks, and Sage Intacct.

Kantata offers pricing upon request and a free demo.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.1 715

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

9

Hub Planner

Best for scheduling agency resources

Hub Planner is a web-based project management tool that allows you to schedule tasks and resources for projects.

Why I picked Hub Planner: It offers a range of features that make resource management easier for agencies. The tool provides real-time insights into team utilization, capacity, and availability, allowing you to efficiently allocate resources and prevent overbooking. Additionally, the tool offers customizable reporting features that allow you to quickly identify and address any resource-related issues.

The thing I like the most is that you can schedule unassigned work, which is perfect for all those projects where you are unsure of the mix of external contributors and employees that you will use.

Hub Planner Standout Features & Integrations

Features include resource scheduling, time tracking, customizable reporting, project budgeting, resource management, PTO planning, reporting, skills matching, task management, templates, drag-and-drop scheduler, project budgets, approval flow, and smart scheduler.

Integrations include DIY options via the Hub Planner API and webhooks. Additionally, you can access thousands of apps using a Zapier account.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 16

30-day free trial

From $7/user/month (billed annually)

10

Forecast

Best advertising agency software for intelligent automation

Forecast is a platform for advertising agencies to manage resources and projects used in 40+ countries worldwide. The tool includes capabilities for managing the project life cycle from quote to invoice, as well as intelligent automation for predicting project delivery dates and forecasting capacity needs.

Users can create project plans with Forecast’s auto-schedule. The powerful AI automatically estimates tasks, assigns and optimizes workload across resources, and sets a project delivery date. The tool also provides dashboards with overviews of the organization to allow for informed adjustments to time and resource allocation.

Forecast also introduced a unique feature for managing projects in a retainer setup. A dashboard with retainer periods and totals lets you track the financials of ongoing projects in addition to staff workloads and time spent on delivery.

Forecast integrates natively with Slack, Google Drive, QuickBooks Online, Salesforce, and Xero. Other integrations are available through Zapier.

Forecast has Lite, Pro, and Enterprise options that cost from $29/user/month (14-day free trial).

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 225

14-day free trial

From $29/user/month

Need expert help selecting the right Project Management Software?

We’ve joined up with Crozdesk.com to give all our readers (yes, you!) access to Crozdesk’s software advisors. Just use the form below to share your needs, and they will contact you at no cost or commitment. You will then be matched and connected to a shortlist of vendors that best fit your company, and you can access exclusive software discounts!

The Best Agency Management System Tools Summary Chart

Tool Free Option Price
1
Wrike

Best agency management software for customizable views

Free plan available

From $9.80/user/month Visit Website
2
monday.com

Best customizable advertising agency software

14-day free trial + freemium plan available

From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats) Visit Website
3
Parallax

Best agency management software for resource tracking & forecasting

Free demo

Pricing upon request Visit Website
4
Height App

Best for collaborating with clients on projects

Upon sign-up, interested parties can get a 30-day free trial of Height App's Team plan.

Height App's premium plan for teams costs $6.99 per member monthly. Visit Website
5
ClickUp

Best free plan with unlimited tasks and users

Freemium plan available

From $9/user/month Visit Website
6
Productive

Best all-in-one agency management system with sales and invoicing tools

14-day free trial

From $20/user/month Visit Website
7
VOGSY

Best agency management system for Google Workspace users

Freemium plan

$13/user/month Visit Website
8
Kantata

Best for professional services businesses

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
9
Hub Planner

Best for scheduling agency resources

30-day free trial

From $7/user/month (billed annually) Visit Website
10
Forecast

Best advertising agency software for intelligent automation

14-day free trial

From $29/user/month Visit Website

Other Agency Management Options

Digital advertising agencies may struggle to find the right complete software solution, so here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list. If you need additional suggestions for handy agency systems, check these out.

  1. Hive

    Best agency management system for multiple project views

  2. FunctionFox

    Best software for creative teams and agencies

  3. nutcache

    Best agency management system for invoicing and managing expenses

  4. Yanado

    Best agency management tool for Gmail users

  5. Workamajig Platinum

    Best for marketing & creative teams

  6. Punchlist

    The best free tool for client feedback management

  7. TeamGantt

    Best visual agency management software for simple timelines and charts

  8. Gain

    Best social media agency management system

  9. Service Provider Pro

    Best software for client portals & billing

  10. Synergist

    best agency operations management software

Agency System FAQ

What is an agency management system?

More comprehensive than the types of tools above, agency management software is any workflow solution that covers the general needs of an agency or similar business, including intake forms for new clients and projects, intra-team collaboration and communication tools, and value-reporting for your clients.

Agency professionals across many different industries—ad agencies, marketing agencies, PR agencies, etc.—need a way to organize the production of client work, from the planning stages to the review stages.

An agency management system is designed to cover a variety of things, like:

  • Organizing onboarding and intake of clients
  • Internal and external communication around tasks and projects
  • Collaborative mark-ups of in-progress items
  • Real-time analysis and reporting of deliverables
  • Flexible and comprehensive task lists
  • Proposal templates
  • Customer relations management (CRM)
  • Time-tracking and billing

What are the benefits of using an agency management software?

Agencies across the board may be drawn to management systems because they increase control and organization while also saving time and allow them to improve internal and external customer relationships. For example, it can be very time-consuming to go back and forth with a new client or potential customers on a new project to get all the necessary information before the work can truly begin.

In fact, 67% of agency respondents noted this initial information-gathering phase to be difficult or very difficult. Mandatory forms, the automation of onboarding, and quick proposal building are a few ways agency management systems can simplify and quicken this process, boost productivity, and improve the customer experience.

Join The Conversation

As an agency owner, have you tried out any agency software listed above? Are there any great project management tools for digital marketing agencies that you would add to this list? What do you want me to cover next (ie. business management systems, etc.)? Feel free to comment below to share with our community of digital project managers.

You can also get more support for managing a successful agency in both The DPM School online course (which teaches you how to manage digital projects) and in our Membership program where members get access to mentorship from digital project management experts, project templates, workshops, and more.

By Ben Aston

I’m Ben Aston, a digital project manager and founder of thedpm.com. I've been in the industry for more than 20 years working in the UK at London’s top digital agencies including Dare, Wunderman, Lowe and DDB. I’ve delivered everything from film to CMS', games to advertising and eCRM to eCommerce sites. I’ve been fortunate enough to work across a wide range of great clients; automotive brands including Land Rover, Volkswagen and Honda; Utility brands including BT, British Gas and Exxon, FMCG brands such as Unilever, and consumer electronics brands including Sony. Ben's a Certified Scrum Master, PRINCE2 Practitioner and productivity nut.

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