TLDR (Summary)
The best project management software for agencies is Plutio ($19/month).
Agencies managing multiple client accounts simultaneously need project management that tracks work across accounts while connecting to time tracking and invoicing. Plutio organizes projects by client with real-time budget tracking and automatic invoice generation from logged time.
UC Irvine research shows it takes 23 minutes to regain focus after each interruption. Connected project management eliminates status meetings and manual data transfers.
What is project management software for agencies?
Project management software for agencies is software that organizes client work across multiple accounts, tracks tasks and deadlines, manages team assignments, and connects to time tracking and billing.
The distinction matters: task management handles to-do lists, project management coordinates complex work with dependencies and team collaboration. Agency project management adds multi-client organization and operational connection to billing.
What agency project management actually does
Core functions include organizing projects by client account, breaking work into phases and tasks with deadlines, assigning team members with workload visibility, tracking time against tasks and projects, managing files and deliverables, and providing status visibility to clients and team members including clients.
Generic vs agency project management
Tools like other tools and a project app.com handle project organization but don't connect to agency operations: client accounts, retainer tracking, time-to-invoice flows, or client-facing portals. Agency-focused tools like Plutio treat project management as part of the client relationship, not just task organization.
What makes agency project management different
Agencies juggle multiple client accounts with different project types, billing arrangements, and team assignments. Projects need to roll up to client accounts for relationship visibility, track against budgets (retainer hours or project estimates), and connect to invoicing without manual data entry.
When project management connects to client accounts and billing, project work becomes operationally visible. Managers see not just task status but budget health, team utilization, and revenue implications.
Why you need project management software
Agencies without proper project management lose visibility across accounts, miss deadlines due to unclear ownership, and spend excessive time in status meetings that connected tools would eliminate.
The multi-account visibility problem
With 10-20 active client accounts running simultaneously, understanding overall agency status requires synthesizing information from multiple sources. Research shows significant time just gathering status information across systems.
What breaks without proper project management
- Deadline misses: No clear visibility into what's due when. Dependencies unclear. Things slip
- Ownership confusion: Unclear who's responsible for what. Tasks fall through cracks
- Budget overruns: No real-time visibility into time versus budget. Overruns discovered at invoicing
- Capacity blindness: Can't see team utilization. Some overloaded, others underutilized
- Status meeting overhead: Managers need constant check-ins to understand project status
The client communication burden
Without client-visible project status, account managers field constant progress requests. Each "where are we on this?" email takes time to investigate and respond. Multiply across accounts and the overhead is substantial.
Connected project management replaces status meetings and email updates with self-service visibility. Team members update progress in one place, and everyone who needs to know can see it.
Project management features agencies need
The essential project management features for agencies handle multi-account organization while connecting to time tracking, budgets, and billing.
Core project management features
- Project organization: Projects organized by client account. All work for each client visible together
- Task management: Break projects into tasks with assignments, due dates, and priorities
- Multiple views: List, board, calendar, and timeline views for different working styles
- Team assignments: Clear ownership with workload visibility across team
- File management: Attach and organize files within projects. Centralized storage
- Dependencies: Link related tasks. Understand what blocks what
Agency-specific features
- Client account structure: Projects roll up to client accounts for relationship visibility
- Budget tracking: Real-time visibility into time versus project estimates or retainer allocation
- Time tracking integration: Log time directly against tasks. Automatic project hour totals
- Invoice connection: Generate invoices from logged project time without re-entering
Platform features that multiply value
- Client portals: Clients see project status without requesting updates. Self-service visibility
- Project templates: Standard project structures for common work types. Quick setup
- Automations: Trigger actions based on project events. Reduce manual steps
- Reporting: See patterns across projects and clients. Identify issues and opportunities
The deciding factor for agencies is operational connection. Project management that links to time, budgets, and billing provides complete visibility rather than standalone task organization.
Project management software pricing for agencies
Project management software for agencies typically costs $10-30 per user per month, with per-seat pricing adding up fast as teams grow.
What agencies typically pay for stacked tools
You piece together multiple subscriptions:
- Project management: a project app.com ($12-24/user), General project management software ($10.99-24.99/user), Teamwork ($12-29/user)
- Time tracking: standalone timers ($12/user), time tracking software ($10-20/user)
- Invoicing: Standard billing software ($17-55/month), accounting software ($30-90/month)
- Client CRM: a CRM (Free-$800+/month), Salesforce ($25-300/user)
A 15-person agency spends $400-1,000/month on disconnected tools requiring manual data synchronization.
Plutio pricing (January 2026)
- Core: $19/month - Complete project management with CRM, time tracking, proposals, contracts, invoicing, and client portals
- Pro: $49/month - Unlimited clients, 30 team contributors, advanced permissions, priority support
- Max: $199/month - Unlimited contributors, advanced reporting, white-label portals
The ROI calculation for agencies
If connected project management eliminates 2 hours weekly of status gathering per project manager:
- Time saved: 2 hours/week per project manager recovered
- Monthly impact: $1,920/month in recovered productive time
- Tool cost: $199/month for entire agency
When comparing project management costs, factor in integration overhead. Multiple per-seat tools cost more than unified platforms while creating data synchronization burden.
Why Plutio is the best project management software for agencies
Plutio handles project-management as part of a complete platform where proposals, contracts, projects, time tracking, and clients communication work together rather than as separate tools that need manual connection.
Complete workflow integration
When a client accepts your proposal, Plutio can automatically create the project, set up the project-management schedule based on milestone payments, and prepare the contract for signing. When they sign, setup tasks generate. When you track time on agency work, those hours attach to the project. When a milestone completes, the action triggers. Every step connects to the next without copying data between systems.
White-label everything
Use your own domain (clients.yourstudio.com instead of plutio.com/yourusername). Upload your logo, set your brand colors and typography. Every client-facing touchpoint shows your brand: proposals, contracts, invoices, portals, emails, receipts. clients never see "Plutio" or any indication you're using third-party software. Brand perception matters for agencies because professional appearance affects perceived value and justifies premium pricing.
Unified inbox for all clients communication
When a client messages about a campaign, responds to a proposal, approves work, or asks about billing, the message appears in one inbox. Reply directly without opening email. The conversation history stays attached to that client's record, so months later when they return, you have full context.
Granular permissions
Control exactly who sees what at the level that makes sense for your business. Contractors see only their assigned work. clients see their portal and documents. Neither sees your internal notes, profit margins, or other clients data.
No-code automations
Create rules that trigger actions without your involvement. Common agencies automations include: send reminders before due dates, notify you when a client views a proposal, create follow-up tasks when items are overdue, send welcome emails when contracts are signed. Set up once during initial configuration, runs continuously without attention.
Native integrations for agencies workflows
Connect Stripe and PayPal for payments with no additional configuration. Sync Google Calendar or Outlook for scheduling. Add Zoom links to booked calls automatically. Push financial data to accounting software or Leading bookkeeping tools for accounting. Use Zapier to connect 3,000+ other apps. Plutio handles the core workflow while integrating with specialized tools where deeper functionality is needed.
Resource allocation views
See team capacity across all projects at a glance. Identify overloaded team members before deadlines slip. Find availability when new projects come in. Balance workload proactively instead of reacting to burnout.
Automated status updates
Configure rules that update project status automatically based on task completion. When all tasks in a phase complete, the project moves to the next phase without manual intervention. Clients see accurate status without you updating it manually.
Everything runs from one app with your branding, your terminology, and your workflow logic. Instead of switching between 5-8 different tools to manage one client, you operate from a single platform designed to handle the complete service business lifecycle.
Resource Allocation View
See team workloads at a glance to prevent burnout and improve assignments. Balance capacity across projects and identify availability for new work before overcommitting your team.
Client-Connected Projects
Every project links to its client record automatically. View all active and completed work for any client without searching across multiple systems. Track margin per client over time.
How to set up project management in Plutio
Setting up project management in Plutio takes 2-4 hours for initial configuration, with Plutio ready for daily team use immediately after.
Step 1: Create project templates (1-2 hours)
Build templates for your common project types:
- Campaign projects: Strategy, creative development, production, launch, reporting
- Website projects: Discovery, design, development, launch, maintenance
- Brand projects: Research, concept, refinement, delivery, guidelines
- Retainer work: Monthly ongoing tasks organized by type
Step 2: Configure team structure
Set up team members with appropriate access:
- Account managers: Full project and client access
- Creatives: Assigned project access with time logging
- Reviewers: View access without edit permissions
Step 3: Set up client accounts
Create client accounts if not already done. Projects will link to these accounts for relationship visibility.
Step 4: Create first projects
Start with active work. Create projects from your templates, assign team members, and set due dates. Connect to client accounts.
Step 5: Train team on daily workflow
Focus training on core actions: updating task status, logging time, communicating within projects. Advanced features come after core adoption.
Start with current active projects rather than migrating historical work. Build team habits with live projects, then refine processes based on experience.
Project templates for agencies
Project templates standardize delivery while speeding up project setup. Build templates for common project types and refine based on actual delivery experience.
Recommended templates for agencies
- Campaign template: Phases for strategy, creative brief, concept development, production, launch, and reporting. Typical 8-12 week timeline
- Website template: Phases for discovery, wireframing, design, development, QA, launch, and post-launch support. Dependencies between design and development
- Brand identity template: Research, strategy, initial concepts, refinement, final delivery, and guidelines development. Built-in review rounds
- Monthly retainer template: Recurring task structure for ongoing accounts. Resets or carries over each month
- Social media template: Content calendar structure with approval workflows. Weekly or monthly cycles
Template components
- Phases: Major project stages (discovery, design, delivery)
- Task lists: Standard tasks within each phase
- Default assignments: Role-based assignments that map to team members
- Duration estimates: Standard timing between milestones
- Dependencies: What must complete before next phase starts
Templates should capture 80% of typical project structure. The remaining 20% is project-specific customization. Don't over-engineer templates; let them evolve with experience.
Client portals for project visibility
A client portal gives each agency account a branded view into their project status without requiring constant email updates or status meetings.
What clients see in project portals
Configure visibility per client. Options include: project timeline with milestones, task lists with current status, pending items awaiting approval, completed deliverables, files and documents, and communication threads.
Reducing status update overhead
Every "where are we on this" email represents interrupted work: stop current task, gather status information, compose response. Portal visibility eliminates most status requests because clients can check themselves. Account managers focus on strategy, not information retrieval.
Deliverable approval workflows
Share deliverables through the portal. Clients review, provide feedback in context, and approve directly. The approval history creates documentation of what was signed off and when.
Building client trust
Portal visibility signals transparency. Clients see work happening rather than waiting for updates. Work visibility builds trust and demonstrates professionalism beyond email-based communication.
Portals turn project communication from push (agency sends updates) to pull (clients access when needed). The communication shift reduces overall agency operational overhead significantly while improving client satisfaction and engagement. Project transparency builds trust and reduces the anxiety clients feel when working with agencies. Visible progress demonstrates value being delivered continuously rather than only at milestone presentations. Clients become active partners in the creative process rather than passive recipients waiting for the work to arrive
How to migrate project management to Plutio
Migrating project management involves setting up new structures and, optionally, importing active project data. Agencies typically complete the full migration in 2-4 weeks.
Step 1: Audit current project data
Inventory what needs to migrate:
- Active projects: Current work in progress and upcoming projects
- Project templates: Standard structures you'll recreate
- Historical data: Past project data (often stays in old tool for reference)
Step 2: Set up Plutio structure (2-4 hours)
Configure project templates, team permissions, and client accounts. Most structure work happens before any data import.
Step 3: Decide on active project handling
Options for in-progress projects:
- Complete in old tool: Finish current projects where they are, start new ones in Plutio
- Migrate active projects: Recreate current projects in Plutio for unified tracking
- Hybrid approach: Major ongoing projects migrate, small wrap-ups stay in old tool
Step 4: Run parallel systems briefly
Keep old system accessible (read-only for team) during transition. New work goes into Plutio from day one.
Step 5: Train and transition
Focus team training on daily workflows. Once comfortable (typically 2-3 weeks), archive old system access.
The cleanest migration starts new projects in the new system while wrapping old projects in the old system. Avoid complex mid-project migrations when possible.
