Best Creative Agency Management Software (That I’ve Used)

Agency management software

Whether you are an in-person or remote agency, these are some time tested tools for running your agency.  As you know, there are a ton of options out there offering all kinds of software services for agencies. Most agencies add new tools to their tool belt every year. But it’s often difficult to find the right suite of tools that to keep your agency humming along. There will always be a lot of trial and error and while we all dream of a One-Software-to-Rule-Them-All! That solution is always promised but never materializes.

All the services I recommend below are ones that I have used and like using (That doesn’t necessarily mean they will be perfect for you). I do advise that you do a trial run before switching your team over to something new. Sometimes moving too quickly can throw your agency off-kilter. And be sure to look into how the software you’re testing integrates with your current systems.

Also, some of these links come with discounts for you and me!

For Payroll

GUSTO – get $100 when you signup with this link

Here’s the link: https://gusto.com/r/chris6379

Do yourself a favor and just use Gusto. It’s the best out there. Payroll and benefits are a huge pain and Gusto makes it sooo much easier.  It’s also great for agencies that have employees and contractors in different parts of the world. (That is not to say that Gusto is perfect. We’ve had issues here and there, but that’s because payroll and benefits are hard and complicated). Ask any agency owner in the group about Gusto and they will swear by it.

Gusto offers:

Payroll Auto deductions and tax filing (Awesome interface for employees to see all their info and get tax forms etc.)
Benefits: Health Insurance, HFA, HSA, 401k, Workers Comp (Employees can choose their plan and signup in Gusto)
Hiring and Onboarding (Hiring letters that go out automatically! Built-in Employee handbook)
Easy Time Off Requests and Approvals
0% interest Cash Advance for Employees

Learn more about what Gusto offers here: https://promocodedisco.com/gusto-discount-coupon/

For Knowledge Base

SLAB – 20% off your first 3 months with this link

Here’s the link: http://slab.com/r/z3mnbsdi

I love Slab. It’s super intuitive and does exactly what it needs to do and not all the other stuff. It’s a wiki that doesn’t feel like a wiki. It has the ability to make pages and sections public or private, which is great for sharing docs or even multi-page guides with clients. It’s also not expensive.

If you are not documenting how your business works it will never scale. Use Slab!

 

For Project Management

Clickup

Here’s the promo link: https://clickup.com?fp_ref=51e50

Choosing a project management system is super hard. I’ve tried over half-a-dozen and they all have strengths and weaknesses and they all claim to solve all your problems. But the truth is that PM tools can only make your life easier if you have smart and proactive people willing to dive in and get their hands dirty. And it’s rare that you find something that everyone on your team is going to like. I like Clickup because it is solid tool that does lots of things. I trust it. It works. It doesn’t try to do magic. It just makes managing tasks and projects relatively easy.

 

For Domain Hosting

Namecheap – use my link below!
Namecheap is great for buying and managing domain names. The price is right and their customer service has always been much better than Go Daddy. They periodically offer deals on domains and I love their domain search feature. They also offer affordable C panel hosting and other hosting-related services.

Signup Here

 

For Productivity

Google Workspace

Save 10% on Google Workspace

Use this promo code for workspace Business Starter: E3Q6G4E99RWRNN3

Use this promo code for Business Standard: 73FHFLGCQ7Q7K77

Use this referral link: https://referworkspace.app.goo.gl/EfZt

Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, includes Google email, calendar, docs, and a ton of other cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools developed by Google. If you are not already using it–you probably should be.

 

Airtable – use my link below!

Use this promo link to signup: https://airtable.com/invite/r/ETfuYB5f

Airtable is pretty amazing and can be used for just about anything. It’s like spreadsheets on steroids with tons of integrations. We use Airtable for numerous things from client surveys to customer database management, to content planning for website projects. It also really opens up possibilities of no-code app creation.

 

For Legal

Matchstick Legal

Not cheap but the best there is for Agencies

https://matchstick.legal/

Emessay
For Contracts (By the same folks behind Matchstick but cheap!)

https://emessay.com

Other Links

Need consulting? Brand or website work? My freelance website is:

Verbal Identity (verbalidentity.net)