The Best Creative Agency Project Management Software

Leading a creative agency presents unique challenges.

Thankfully, there are tons of tools out there that can simplify your life. Still, it can be challenging to determine which one is the best fit for your agency.

Software tools can facilitate collaboration among teams, simplify task management, maintain workflow continuity, and monitor productivity—as well as profitability. Many of these technology platforms offer reporting that can assist in identifying obstacles to achieving growth.

In this article, we present some of the best project management apps available for creative agencies. By covering various criteria, this blog post should help you decide which tool would suit your agency’s needs best.

If you’re wondering how to select the best creative agency project management software, begin by examining tools that have high user ratings and customer satisfaction reviews. After that, decide which criteria is most important for your creative agency.

If you have more general questions about the best creative agency project management software, skip to our FAQ. Otherwise, keep scrolling to the 23 best creative agency project software overviews.

Productive is a sophisticated agency project management software that’s designed specifically for complex workflows and the needs of creative teams. It serves as a single source of truth for agency businesses. In it, each agency can run its sales processes, project planning and budget management, resource planning, tasks, time tracking, reporting and billing. Productive integrates with your Google Calendar. Productive Docs serve as internal Google Docs. Customer service is praised by Productive users. 

The sales pipeline in Productive allows business development managers to visualize and manage upcoming projects. This feature lets you to keep track of every stage of the sales process, from leads to deal closure. With the sales pipeline feature, you can identify bottlenecks and possible sales opportunities.

Accessing information about team bookings and workload is essential for various aspects of business. Scheduling in Productive’s resource planning feature allows for simple tracking of team member availability, identifying workload distribution gaps and overbooking issues. You have an overview of all types of time off categories and you can easily schedule teams to work on projects.

In Productive, Budgeting allows for easy tracking of budgets and projection of potential overages. It allows users to track expenses and predict revenue, as well as analyze project profitability. As teammates track time, you can monitor the state of your budgets, profit margins, and amounts left for invoicing. 

From project plans to completed projects, as a project manager, you can track all of it with Productive. Complex projects can be broken down into phases and organized into different task lists or by workflows with Productive’s project management feature. You can always check project progress by seeing which tasks have been completed and which have yet to be done. You can also assign task dependencies to track task progression better. You can open unlimited projects and use flexible project boards and discuss tasks with your coworkers in the comments, so feedback is visible to everyone.

The time tracking feature in Productive is designed to be user-friendly for everyone in your agency. When tracking billable and non-billable time against services, reports will display profitability.

Most agencies need reports that give them a real-time glance of their key metrics, such as utilization, invoiced revenue by client, profitability by client, etc. Productive offers quick access to real-time reporting for informed business decision-making.

Read how creative agency Hike One got control over their data and growth with Productive.

Last, but not least, invoicing is a major module in Productive’s key features because it enables agencies to save hours and sometimes even days on generating invoices and managing cashflow.

Liquid Planner is a project management software that uses dynamic scheduling and predictive analytics to help businesses manage their projects and resources. 

Positive customer reviews for LiquidPlanner highlight its ease of use, customizable features, and effective project management capabilities. On the other hand, negative customer reviews often mention issues with customer support, limited reporting options, and difficulty with setting up the software.

Workfront is a project management software that helps businesses streamline their work processes and improve productivity. Workfront includes integrations with popular apps like Salesforce, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Jira.

Workfront has a mix of positive and negative customer reviews. Positive reviews praise Workfront for its comprehensive project management capabilities, easy-to-use interface, and robust reporting features. However, negative reviews often mention the steep learning curve and the lack of flexibility in terms of customization. Some users have reported difficulties with customer support and issues with the software’s performance. Despite this, Workfront is still a popular choice for agencies looking for a comprehensive project management tool

Wrike is a cloud-based project management software that helps businesses manage their projects, tasks, and teams. It also integrates with popular apps like Salesforce, Slack, and Google Drive.

Wrike generally gets positive customer reviews which often highlights its intuitive interface, comprehensive project management features, and the ability to collaborate with team members in real-time. On the other hand, negative reviews have criticized the software’s steep learning curve and high price point for certain plans. Some users have also reported difficulties with customer support. Still, many users continue to opt for Wrike for its robust project management capabilities.

Asana is a project management software that helps businesses with managing their projects, task scheduling and resource planning. Asana integrates with popular apps like Slack, Salesforce, and Google Drive.

 Asana is a popular choice for project managers and businesses and individuals looking for a comprehensive project management tool. Positive feedback often includes Asana’s user-friendly interface, intuitive project management capabilities, and strong collaboration features. Many users also appreciate the software’s flexibility and the ability to customize workflows to fit their specific needs. On the other hand, negative reviews have cited issues with the software’s search functionality, as well as the lack of a built-in time-tracking feature. Some users have also reported difficulties with customer support.

Trello is a visual project management software that helps businesses manage their projects, tasks, and teams. Trello integrations include apps like Slack, Google Drive, and Jira.

Positive customer reviews for Trello highlight its simple and intuitive interface, ease of use, and flexibility in managing projects of all sizes. On the other hand, negative customer reviews often mention limitations in customization options, limited reporting capabilities, and the need for third-party integrations to unlock certain features.

Workamajig is a project management software tool designed for creative teams. Workamajig has integrations with popular apps like Quickbooks, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Slack.

Positive customer reviews for Workamajig often mention its comprehensive project management capabilities, customizable features, and robust reporting options. However, several online reviews say that the interface is confusing.

Notion is an all-in-one workspace that helps businesses that helps businesses with managing their projects, task scheduling and database management. Notion integrates with apps like Slack, Google Drive, and Trello.

Notion users often praise its customizable interface, ability to organize information in various formats, and strong collaboration features. On the other hand, negative reviews mention the limited formatting options, lack of integration with certain tools, and occasional syncing issues. Since Notion lacks some key features specific to agency workflows, such as time tracking and billing functionality, the tool isn’t ideal for end-to-end agency business management.

Smartsheet is a project management software tool that helps businesses manage their projects, tasks, and teams. 

Positive customer reviews for Smartsheet often mention its ease of use, extensive collaboration features, and the ability to automate workflows. On the other hand, negative customer reviews have cited issues with limited formatting options and the complexity of the software’s reporting capabilities. Smartsheet may not be ideal for agency business management as it lacks some key features specific to agency workflows, such as resource allocation and project costing tools.

Airtable is a flexible database and project management software that helps businesses organize and collaborate on their projects, tasks, and data. Airtable offers integrations with tools such as Slack, Google Drive, and Trello.

Users of Airtable often mention its user-friendly interface, customizable templates, and the ability to integrate with a wide range of tools. Some negative customer reviews have included limitations in Airtable’s reporting capabilities and the complexity of its pricing structure. One thing agencies should take into consideration is that Airtable lacks some key features specific to agency workflows, such as financial tracking tools.

Scoro is a project management software that helps businesses manage their projects, tasks, and teams. Scoro integrates Salesforce, Slack, and Xero.

Scoro has received a mix of positive and negative customer reviews. Users appreciate the software’s ability to streamline processes and increase efficiency, making it a popular choice for small and mid-sized businesses. On the other hand, negative reviews often mention the steep learning curve and limited customization options, as well as occasional issues with customer support. Scoro still remains a popular choice for businesses looking for a comprehensive business management tool that can help streamline operations and reach business goals.

Related: 13 Best Scoro Alternatives for Growing Agencies

A project management software that helps businesses manage their projects, tasks, and teams. Key features include  integrations with popular apps like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Outlook.

ProofHub generally got positive customer reviews. Users appreciate its intuitive interface, customizable project management workflows, and collaboration features. However, some negative reviews have mentioned issues with the software’s pricing structure. Also, there seems to be an occasional lack of responsiveness from Proofhub’s customer support.

Clickup is a project management software that helps businesses manage their projects, tasks, and teams. 

ClickUp has received a mix of positive and negative customer reviews. Positive customer feedback often includes ClickUp’s flexibility, customizable workflows, and strong collaboration features. The software is praised for its ability to adapt to different types of projects and teams, making it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes. However, negative reviews have mentioned issues with the software’s complexity and occasional performance issues. ClickUp may not be ideal for end-to-end agency management because it lacks some essential features specific to agency workflows: resource allocation, financial tracking, and project costing tools. This can make it challenging for agencies to manage their projects and track their profitability effectively.

Basecamp is a web-based project management and team collaboration tool that allows teams to organize and track their work in one place. 

Basecamp has received good reviews for its simple and intuitive interface and strong collaboration features, while negative feedback has cited limitations in its project management and reporting capabilities. When considering Basecamp for agency management, keep in mind that it doesn’t offer features such as time tracking and financial reporting tools.

Podio is a cloud-based collaboration tool that allows teams to customize workflows and workspaces to fit their needs.

Podio gets positive user feedback regarding its flexibility and ease of use, while negative feedback has cited limitations in its project management and reporting capabilities. If looking into Podion for agency management, note that Podio doesn’t offer tracking and financial reporting tools.

Jira is a popular project management software tool developed by Atlassian, primarily used for software development.

As per customer reviews, Jira tends to be praised for powerful issue tracking and agile project management features. Some negative feedback has cited that Jira has a steep learning curve and limited customization options. Jira doesn’t offer resource allocation, which many agencies see as a critical feature of their agency management tool of choice.

Zoho is a suite of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools that includes project management, CRM, email, accounting, and more. 

Zoho often gets positive feedback for its suite of business applications and affordable pricing. Negative feedback has cited limitations in its project management and reporting capabilities. Zoho may not be ideal for agency management as it lacks some essential features for agency workflow, such as time tracking and financial reporting.

Freedcamp is a free web-based project management and collaboration tool that offers task management, file sharing, and real-time communication.

Freedcamp has been praised for its extensive project management capabilities and affordability. However, there have been reports of occasional technical difficulties and limited integration options. It may not be the best fit for agency management as it lacks some key features specific to agency workflows, such as resource allocation and project costing tools.

Clarizen is a cloud-based project management and collaboration tool that allows teams to plan, track, and execute projects.

Clarizen has received positive feedback for its robust project management and collaboration features. Sometimes users state that its financial reporting and resource management capabilities aren’t what they expected. Clarizen lacks time tracking and invoicing features, which is critical for many agencies in profitability management and cashflow management.

ProWorkflow is a web-based project management tool that offers task management, time tracking, and team collaboration.

Proworkflow users highlight its powerful project management features and customer support. Some negative feedback includes limitations in its financial tracking capabilities.

Easy Project is a cloud-based project management software tool that offers project tracking, task management, and team collaboration.

Positive user feedback on Easy Project often emphasized its comprehensive project management features and user-friendly interface, while negative feedback has cited occasional performance issues and limited integrations. However, agency professionals should keep in mind that Easy Project lacks resource allocation and financial tracking tools.

Teamwork is a web-based project management and team collaboration tool that offers project tracking, task management, and real-time communication.

Positive customer reviews of Teamwork often include: powerful project management features, intuitive user interface, and excellent customer support. Some negative reviews have cited limitations in Teamwork’s financial reporting capabilities and occasional technical glitches. If you’re looking for an end-to-end agency management tool, keep in mind that Teamwork lacks  resource allocation.

See also: 11 Best Teamwork Alternatives

Nifty is a cloud-based project management and team collaboration tool that offers project tracking, task management, and real-time communication.

Positive customer reviews of Nifty often emphasize its user-friendly interface and comprehensive project management features, while negative feedback has included issues with limited integrations and occasional bugs. Nifty may not be ideal for agency management as it doesn’t offer invoicing.

In conclusion, effective project management is essential for the success of any creative agency. However, managing multiple projects and teams can be overwhelming without the right tools and processes in place. That’s where project management software comes in.

By investing in a project management software, creative agencies can streamline their workflow, improve collaboration, and increase productivity. The software can help them keep track of deadlines, allocate resources, and monitor progress, allowing them to deliver high-quality projects on time and within budget.

To get started with your creative agency project management software, it’s essential to identify your specific needs, select the right software for your agency, and train your team on how to use it effectively. By doing so, you can achieve better project outcomes and build a reputation for excellence in the industry. Remember, successful project management is the key to growth and profitability in the creative agency business.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one tool you might want to check out Productive. 

1. What is Creative Agency Project Management Software? Creative agency project management tools are designed to help creative agencies manage their projects, teams, and workflows more efficiently.

2. What are some popular creative agency project management tools? Some popular creative agency project management tools are Productive, Asana, Trello, Monday.com, Wrike, and Basecamp.

3. What are the benefits of using a creative agency project management software? It can help creative agencies streamline their workflow, improve communication and collaboration, manage resources effectively, and deliver projects on time and within budget.

4. How do I choose the right Creative Agency Project Management Software for my agency? When choosing a Creative Agency Project Management Software, consider your specific needs, budget, and team size.

5. Can Creative Agency Project Management Software integrate with other tools? Yes, many platforms can integrate with other tools like design software, communication apps, and file-sharing platforms to streamline your workflow.

6. How do I train my team to use Creative Agency Project Management Software? It’s essential to provide proper training and support to your team when introducing new software. Offer training sessions, provide tutorials, and encourage team members to ask questions and provide feedback.