TLDR (Summary)
The best project management software for videographers is Plutio ($19/month).
Plutio replaces the fragmented stack of project boards, review tools, and file delivery platforms. Productions run with milestones tied to deliverables, revision rounds tracked in one place, and clients checking progress through a branded portal.
Research shows that toggling between apps costs around ~9% of time, before counting hours spent updating boards and coordinating review rounds.
For additional strategies, read our freelance project management guide.
What is project-management software for videographers?
Project Management software for videographers connects your workflow to client records, projects, and billing.
The distinction matters: generic tools handle one function. Videographers-focused project-management connects to your complete business workflow.
What videographers project-management actually does
Core functions include managing project-management workflows, connecting to client records, tracking project status, and maintaining billing context.
What makes videographers project-management different
Videographers have unique project-management requirements. Without project-management that connects to your workflow, time goes to switching between disconnected tools.
When project-management connects to client records and projects, context is already there when you need it.
Why videographers need project-management software
Videographers who grow beyond 5-10 active clients face a compounding problem: each new client adds context that exists only in scattered tools.
The scattered context problem
Most videographers stack 4-6 disconnected tools. Each handles one function, but none share data automatically.
The scaling tipping point
Most videographers hit a threshold around 10-15 active clients where the manual approach breaks down.
Connected project-management software absorbs the admin work that would otherwise scale linearly with each new client.
Project management features videographers need
The essential project-management features for videographers connect task tracking and delivery with productions delivery, time tracking, and client communication while handling the unique patterns that video production requires.
Core project-management features
- Custom templates: Add your logo, brand colors, typography, and terms. Create different templates for creative projects, retainer work, complex deliverables. Set up once and apply with one click.
- Multiple payment methods: Accept credit cards through Stripe (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction), bank transfers via ACH (typically 0.8%), or PayPal. Offering multiple options increases completion speed.
- Automated reminders: Configure reminders before due dates, on due dates, and after. Follow-ups send automatically without you drafting messages or remembering to check status.
- Recurring automation: Schedule recurring tasks for retainer clients that send automatically on set dates. Pair with automation to complete without either party taking action.
- Time-to-billing conversion: Select tracked time entries from productions and convert directly to billable items. No copying hours from a time tracker. The description, duration, and rate pull automatically.
- Expense tracking: Log productions expenses with receipts attached. Add to clients billing at cost or with markup (common practice is 10-15%).
Videographers-specific features
- Deposit collection: Request upfront payment before work begins. Industry standard is 25-50% deposit. Plutio connects deposits to final billing automatically.
- Milestone billing: Split productions payment across phases. Each milestone triggers its own action when you mark that phase complete.
- Revision tracking: When scope expands beyond contracted revisions, the billing should reflect additional work. Connect revision logs to billing so extra rounds generate accurate charges.
- Proposal-to-project flow: When a client accepts a proposal, the schedule should generate automatically based on the payment terms defined.
Platform features that multiply value
- White-label branding: Custom domain, logo, colors, and fonts. All clients-facing communications show your brand. clients never see the software vendor's name.
- Unified inbox: All clients messages, productions comments, and notifications arrive in one place. Reply without switching to email. Conversation history stays attached for context.
- Permissions: Control who sees what. Contractors see only their assigned work. clients see their portal, not your internal notes or margins.
- Customizable navigation: Rename menu items to match how you talk about your work. Hide features you don't use to reduce clutter.
- Mobile apps: iOS and Android apps for full functionality on the go. Work from anywhere with the same capabilities as desktop.
- Automations: Create rules that trigger actions without your involvement. Set up once, runs continuously.
The deciding factor for videographers is integration depth. Project client management software that connects with proposals, contracts, projects, time tracking, and client communication eliminates the duplicate data entry that consumes hours every week.
Project client management software pricing for videographers
Project client management software for videographers typically costs $0-50 per month, with the total cost depending on what additional tools you need.
What videographers typically pay for stacked tools
- Project management: General project client management software (Free-$24.99/user), a project app.com ($9-19/seat), task boards (Free-$10/month)
- Time tracking: time tracking software ($10-20/user), standalone timers ($12/user)
- Invoicing: Standard billing software ($17-55/month), accounting software ($30-90/month)
- Client communication: Slack ($7.25/user), separate portal tools
Combined, this stack costs $50-150/month for a solo videographer before counting time lost switching between tools.
Plutio pricing (January 2026)
- Core: $19/month - Complete project management with proposals, contracts, invoicing, time tracking, client portal
- Pro: $49/month - Unlimited active clients, team features, advanced permissions
- Max: $199/month - Unlimited team, advanced reporting, full white-labeling
The ROI calculation for videographers
If you currently spend 5 hours/week on admin that could be automated at $75/hour billable rate, that's $375/week in potential billable capacity. A $19/month tool pays for itself in the first day of recovered time.
When comparing project management costs, add up all tools you'd need for complete workflow management. brought together platforms typically save both money and time.
Why Plutio is the best project client management software for videographers
Plutio was built for service professionals, including videographers. Here is how the project management features work in practice:
Connected workflow
Project management in Plutio connects to client records, invoicing, contracts, and time tracking. When a client accepts a proposal, Plutio creates the project automatically with tasks, milestones, and deadlines from the original quote. Time tracked against tasks appears in project budgets. Completed milestones trigger invoice generation. Videographers do not need to export data, switch apps, or retype information because Plutio handles handoffs automatically.
Built for video production businesses
Videographers have specific needs like production day rate plus editing and managing 4-8 active projects simultaneously. Plutio handles these with customizable templates you can create for different project types, video production-specific workflows with pre-production, shooting, and post-production phases, and features designed for client-based businesses where external clients and team members need visibility into progress.
Everything in one place
Instead of switching between 4 apps, you manage your entire video production business from one dashboard. Clients, projects, time, invoices, and communication all connect through one platform. When a client messages about project status, their complete history is visible without opening another app.
White-label client experience
Client portals show your brand, not Plutio's. Upload your logo, set brand colors, and use a custom domain. Clients log in to see project progress, approve the work, and pay invoices through a professional interface that matches your website and marketing materials.
How to set up project management in Plutio
Setting up project management in Plutio takes 2-3 hours for initial configuration, with immediate benefits from connected workflow.
Step 1: Create your project template (45-60 minutes)
Build a template for your typical video project with phases: pre-production, production, post-production, delivery. Add standard tasks for each phase. Include time estimates for budget tracking.
Step 2: Set up your task statuses (15-20 minutes)
Configure statuses that match your workflow: Not Started, In Progress, Waiting for Feedback, Revision, Complete. Add colors for visual clarity.
Step 3: Configure budget tracking (15-20 minutes)
Set up time tracking categories and hourly rates. Configure budget alerts to warn when projects approach estimates.
Step 4: Connect with proposals and invoicing (30-45 minutes)
Link your proposal templates to project templates. Configure automatic project creation when proposals are accepted. Set up invoice generation from completed work.
Step 5: Test with one real project
Create a project for an actual client. Track time, move through phases, and generate an invoice to verify the workflow.
Start with your most common project type. Add templates for other project types as you encounter them in actual work.
Project templates for videographers
Project templates let you create new video projects with consistent structure instead of rebuilding from scratch each time.
Recommended project templates for videographers
- Wedding Video: Phases for engagement shoot, wedding day, rough cut, revisions, final delivery. Milestone payments tied to phases. Typical timeline: 8-16 weeks.
- Corporate Video: Phases for discovery, scripting, production, editing, revisions, delivery. Clear deliverables per phase. Typical timeline: 4-8 weeks.
- Event Coverage: Simplified phases for pre-event prep, event day, post-production, delivery. Quick turnaround options for same-day highlights.
- Social Media Package: Template for ongoing content creation. Monthly delivery structure with recurring tasks.
Template components to include
- Task checklists: Standard tasks for each phase
- Time estimates: Expected hours for budget tracking
- Milestone triggers: Payment schedules tied to phase completion
- Client deliverables: What clients receive at each stage
Templates encode your proven methods. Each new project starts with proven structure instead of improvised setup.
Client portals for project management
Client portals give your videography clients visibility into their project status without constant email updates.
What clients see in the project portal
Clients see their project's current phase, upcoming milestones, shared files and previews, and communication threads. They don't see your internal notes, profit margins, or other client projects.
Reducing status update requests
During the 8-16 week editing timeline for wedding videos, clients frequently ask "where are we?" With portal access, they check themselves. Typical reduction in status emails: 70-80%.
Feedback and approvals in the portal
Share rough cuts and revisions through the portal. Clients leave feedback in context rather than scattered across email threads. Approval timestamps document sign-off.
White-label professional experience
The portal shows your brand: your domain, your logo, your colors. Clients experience a premium service that reinforces your professional positioning.
Portals change project communication from push (you sending updates) to pull (clients checking when they want). You focus on editing while clients have always-available access.
How to migrate project management to Plutio
Migration from another project client management software typically takes 3-5 hours of active work spread over a weekend, with the best time to switch being between productions rather than mid-delivery when you have active clients commitments.
Step 1: Export from your current tool
Most project client management software provides CSV export for clients data and document archives. Here's what to export from common tools:
- General project client management software: Export clients and productions data from Settings or Reports. Download important documents manually.
- a project app.com: Export contacts and history from Reports section. Download transaction history for reference.
- task boards: Export clients list and productions data. Use the data export feature for complete records.
Step 2: Build templates in Plutio (2-3 hours)
Use your exported content as reference to create new templates. Start with the production type you use most frequently. Recreate 2-3 core templates initially rather than trying to migrate every document you've ever created. Focus on forward-looking workflows, not historical archives.
Step 3: Set up integrations (30 mins)
Connect payment processing (Stripe, PayPal), calendar sync (Google Calendar, Outlook), and accounting software (accounting software, Leading bookkeeping tools). Test each integration with a sample transaction to make sure data flows correctly before relying on it for real clients work.
Step 4: Import clients data (30 mins)
Upload your clients CSV to Plutio. Map fields appropriately (name, email, company, phone, address). For active clients with ongoing productions, create their records. For historical clients you may never work with again, consider whether import is necessary.
Step 5: Run parallel for new work
Use Plutio for all new clients engagements while keeping the old system active for productions already in progress. Running parallel avoids the complexity of migrating mid-production work and gives you time to learn the new system on fresh productions. As active productions on the old system complete, those clients transition to Plutio for future work.
Step 6: Phase out the old tool
Once all active productions on your old system complete (typically 30-60 days), cancel that subscription. Maintain read-only access to historical records if the tool allows, or export final archives before cancellation.
Common migration pitfalls to avoid
- Trying to migrate everything: Focus on active clients and forward-looking workflows. Historical data can remain in archives.
- Switching mid-production: Finish in-progress work on the old system. Start new clients on Plutio.
- Not testing integrations: Verify payment processing works with a real (small) transaction before relying on it.
- Skipping the learning curve: Use the first 2-3 productions as deliberate learning opportunities.
The investment in migration pays back in time saved on every future production, proposal, and clients interaction. Plan for a weekend of setup and a few weeks of adjustment, then benefit from simplified workflows going forward.
