ManyRequests is a client portal and client requests management software for creative services.
Do you have specific needs that Basecamp cannot meet?
Now you're looking for Basecamp alternatives that cater specifically to your creative workflows.
Basecamp competitors that can handle client communication and feedback seamlessly within a well-designed client portal.
Software with advanced project management features to handle complex, creative projects.
Tools whose price plans are flexible enough especially for small creative agencies.
In this article, I'll give you 10 Basecamp alternatives that can meet the needs of creative agencies and project managers.
Let's go...
Top 10 Basecamp Alternatives
Here are 10 Basecamp alternatives for creative agencies and project managers.
1. ManyRequests
An all-in-one solution for agencies with branded client portals.
ManyRequests was built specifically for creative agencies and project managers.
ManyRequests combines time tracking and project management to meet the needs of agencies and project managers.
ManyRequests can manage clients, bills, and invoices.
It automates processes and manages communication so you can invest time saved in other aspects of your work.
In your branded client portal, you'll be able to perform all your project management duties seamlessly — onboard clients, add team members, and assign them specific tasks.
From then on, you just manage project execution and workflows from beginning to end.
Let's take a closer look at some of ManyRequests’ main features.
ManyRequests Core Features
Centralized Project Management and Communication
Creative teams can add client projects, track and execute them, and get paid in ManyRequests.
ManyRequests’ centralized approach makes task delegation straightforward.
An agency sells a service. Then it automatically assigns that request to a team member who goes ahead to execute the task.
Everyone can see the status of the project as it progresses.
This keeps the project manager informed and allows him to make decisions quickly.
ManyRequests' in-app messaging feature guarantees that all communication regarding the project happens in one place.
You can exchange messages and share files as you work together to complete the project.
Live Tracking in the Client Portal
One of Basecamp's shortcomings is its lack of time tracking, an important aspect of project management. .
Time tracking is one of ManyRequests’ core functionalities.
You can track time as your team members (and other contractors) work on assigned tasks.
Knowing when they clocked in to work on assigned tasks, you can easily calculate how long it took to complete a task.
Armed with this information, you can draw comparisons between tasks to boost productivity.
You can easily generate time-based and timely reports and download them as pdfs.
It's worth noting that since everything happens in the client portal, you will be able to start and stop timers without leaving the portal.
Design agency, DesignGuru, needed a platform where they could run all their operations in one place. A self-service portal where customers could make their own design requests.
With ManyRequests, DesignGuru was able to scale at a fast rate, achieving double digits monthly growth and completing 1500 projects.
James Alberts, DesignGuru Co-founder, had this to say:
“One of our differentiation factors was having a dedicated client portal. It makes it simple to manage all our clients' design jobs in one place. The ManyRequests team is constantly improving as well, we're big fans!”
Checkout Forms and Payment Gateway Integration
ManyRequests offers white-labeling. This means you can brand and customize your portal the way it suits you.
Let your imagination run wild.
For example, you can add a payment gateway (such as Stripe) and let clients purchase services (one-off or recurring) right off the platform.
You'll receive payments in minutes due to Stripe’s fast processing.
You can also embed a checkout form in the pricing page to make the process faster instead of sending out payment links to clients.
UK-based design subscription service Hatchly had a problem. They spent a lot of time on calls and sending proposals, in order to sell their services on a quote-based basis.
They solved this problem by productizing their services using ManyRequests' checkout Forms and service builder features.
William Griffiths of Hatchly had this to say,
“We run a UK-based design subscription agency. ManyRequests has been the backbone of our business since day 1.”
ManyRequests Time-Based Feature
Do you prefer selling your services to clients on a one-off, project-by-project basis? ManyRequests' time-based functionality will make it happen.
Quickly put together details of the project and shoot your clients the link. It's as easy as that.
Graphic design service, DesignBuffs, did this.
They wanted to offer both hourly-based services and subscriptions.
They were able to do so using ManyRequests.
DesignBuffs' Carsten Pleiser says,
“Thanks to ManyRequests we can now offer hourly-based services to our clients. We get paid upfront and clients can control their exact design needs.”
Okay, is ManyRequests perfect? No. So what are its strengths and weaknesses?
ManyRequests Pros
- Easy to use
You can easily set up projects, assign tasks, and begin tracking progress.
Everything happens in one place — the portal.
- Real-time updates
Time is updated in real time. Time entries can also be edited.
ManyRequests Cons
- Fewer integrations
Third-party integrations are relatively few. This is because almost everything takes place in the client portal.
- Reports are only in PDF
Reports can only be exported in PDF format.
How much does ManyRequests cost?
ManyRequests Pricing
ManyRequests has 4 paid plans with a 14-day trial period.
1. A Starter plan ($99 per month)
Perfect for small agencies and freelancers.
2. The Core plan (149 per month)
Gives you 5 team accounts. Perfect for new or small-scale agencies.
3. The Pro plan ($399 per month)
Ten team accounts are available in this tier along with advanced features. Great for agencies that are scaling.
4. The Enterprise plan (custom price)
You'll get many more features including dedicated account management here.
ManyRequests ROI
ManyRequests offers a specialized client portal and task management features for service-based businesses. It'll save you time and increase output and ROI.
Since you have everything you need to run your agency, you won't need to splash the cash on another tool.
ManyRequests Use Case
ManyRequests is great for agencies that want to work off a centralized platform handling client communication, tracking projects, and offering a self-service option for clients.
It’s perfect for small to medium-sized (5-50 team members) design agencies.
Whether you offer a subscription model or one-offs, you're covered.
Marketing firms, and consultancies will also find this tool extremely useful.
ManyRequests Review
Luis Camacho of GetAds says,
"Before ManyRequests, what I was trying to build out was very complicated. ManyRequests simplified the workflow of our ad design service. Our customers can now easily request various ad creatives. We now have everything in one place: Request forms, communication, and it saves us and our clients a ton of time.
2. Asana
One of the most flexible project management tools.
Asana has simplicity and flexibility built into it.
Its many project views — general workload overview, a calendar, and Kanban-style cards, automation and integration, make it a solid choice for agencies.
What really makes Asana tick?
Let's take a look.
Asana Core Features
Gantt Charts
With Asana’s Gantt charts, you can study and make informed decisions on on-going projects.
Role Assignment and Timelines
Use Asana's role assignment feature to assign tasks and responsibilities to team members and set deadlines.
You can further break down those tasks into subtasks making them more digestible for team members.
The timeline feature makes visualizing project deadlines in a clear manner easy.
Budgeting Feature
With Asana’s budgeting feature, you can set budgets and track expenses on projects.
You can tweak your budgets to ensure they stay within your limits.
Task Tracking
With Asana’s task tracking feature, you can assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and add priorities so that everyone knows what they're supposed to do. Users can add comments and upload attachments.
Asana Pros
- Easy-to-use Interface
Asana's interface isn't hard to figure out. Creative teams love it.
With little or no learning curve, they can find their way around easily and start using the tool.
- Collaboration Made Easy
Collaboration is easy in Asana. You can bring your team together to work on a project by just inviting them.
Team members can see what tasks everyone is working on making it easy to hold one another accountable.
Team members communicate with each other in real-time through messages and by exchanging files.
Team members are notified with every revision.
Tons of Integration
For extra features that are not in Asana, you can access them through Asana's third-party integrations.
Asana Cons
- Limiting One-Person-Per-Task Policy
You might be put off by Asana's one-task-per-person policy.
With this policy, it's impossible to assign a task to another person when the person it was assigned to isn't available.
This can cause delays in completing tasks.
- Pricing can be expensive for Small Teams
If you're a small agency or team, Asana's pricing structure may not favor you.
Asana Pricing
Whether you're an individual or a large enterprise, Asana has got something for you.
1. Personal Plan ($0.00)
The Personal plan is free.
Meant for creative freelancers or small teams just getting started.
You'll get task management features, calendar views, and project boards.
2. Starter Plan ($10.99 per user per month)
Made for growing teams. Advanced search, timelines, custom fields, and milestones are all standard in this tier.
3. Advanced Plan ($24.99 per user per month)
If your team will be needing advanced project management functionalities and third-party integration, go for this plan.
Other features such as approval workflows, portfolio management and custom rules are also present in this price tier.
4. Enterprise Plan (Contact Sales for Pricing):
For very large teams with specific needs such as security features, priority support, and a dedicated customer success manager.
If your agency is big with specific security, compliance, and support needs, this plan may work for you.
The price? Call Asana's sales department.
Asana ROI
Asana offers advanced workflows and automation which save time and increase productivity.
However, you can only access them in its premium plans.
This will make sense to teams which need these advanced time-saving features. Not so much for smaller teams.
ROI may therefore be lower for smaller teams with basic needs.
Asana Use Case
Asana's simplified task management and streamlined collaboration capabilities best suit small to medium teams.
Larger agencies (over 100 members) would need third-party integration to get their complex workflows to work in Asana.
Asana Review
Shivam K. says Asana is really good for remote work.
3. Wrike
A project management software for many creative market segments.
Wrike is great for creative agencies but it also works for other audiences such as marketing teams and service providers.
There are a lot of features available.
Let's look at some major ones.
Wrike Core Features
Real-Time Analytics
Wrike analytics feature is one of the tool's shining lights. It updates automatically every 15 minutes. This means frequent updates of dashboards, reports, charts, or infographics.
You'll also get a real-time overview of workload, approvals, pending tasks, project statuses and team performance.
Automated Workflows
Wrike integrates with more than 400 third-party tools. Yes, you read right.
It’s therefore possible to easily automate processes such as analytics, and task assignment across your agency.
Time Tracking
Wrike’s time tracking feature enables users to log time spent on tasks.
This is necessary for project billing, budgeting, and efficiency assessments.
Team members can record time manually or use a built-in timer and project managers can analyze this data to identify work patterns.
AI Enabled
Wrike's AI feature is no gimmick. Actually useful, it wasn’t included just to fulfill all righteousness.
Wrike Pros
- Easy Task management
It's easy to assign tasks to your team members in Wrike.
- Impressive Gantt chart
You'll find Wrike’s interactive Gantt charts quite useful.
- Customizable project templates
You don't have to start every project from scratch. Use Wrike’s customizable ready-made templates to save time.
Wrike Cons
- Expensive for individuals and small teams
Wrike’s free plan is quite basic with basic features. They may not meet your agency's goals.
To get a taste of some of Wrike’s powerful features, you have to buy a premium plan.
Unfortunately, it may be too pricey for freelancers and small agencies.
Wrike Pricing
Wrike offers 4 price tiers.
1. Free plan ($0 per user per month)
Limited number of users and projects.
2. Team ($9.80 per user per month)
2-25 users with unlimited projects.
3. Business ($24.80 per user per month) 5-200 users with unlimited projects.
4. Enterprise (Contact for pricing)
5 to unlimited users with unlimited projects.
Wrike ROI
Wrike includes time-saving specialized integrations and workflow automation in its premium plans.
High costs may reduce ROI for smaller teams.
Wrike Use Case
Wrike suits large agencies. If you're a large agency with multiple teams, complex workflows and collaboration needs, Wrike will be okay for you.
It offers a lot of advanced features with customization and scaling. You'll also get advanced reporting and analytics.
If your agency executes large-scale projects for multiple clients and these projects require advanced features such as reporting and analytics to execute, Wrike will be suitable.
Wrike Review
Wrike has been a game changer for Paige T
4. Teamwork
A project management tool for service-based businesses
Teamwork offers detailed project tracking and management features.
It has solid project management and solid time tracking functionalities.
It also has financing capabilities, the kind you'd normally find in accounting software.
Teamwork is a good fit for service-based agencies.
Let's check out some of its main features.
Teamwork Core Features
Role Assigning Feature
With this feature, you can add different teams and subteams (depending on your price plan) to your workspace.
Then go ahead to give each team a name, a handle, and a logo, and attach them to a company. This ensures only people belonging to a specific company can be added to it.
Resource Management
With Teamwork’s resource management feature, you'll have a comprehensive view of team availability and workload.
This will enable you to make better planning and efficient resource allocation.
Managers can view individual workloads, identify overburdened team members, and adjust task assignments to balance responsibilities.
Budgeting
Teamwork budgeting feature is powerful. There's a lot you can do with it.
You can set an hourly or a fixed fee on a project, choose the budget amount, and set the start and end dates.
You can also decide whether it will be billable, non-billable, or both.
It's possible to make the budget repeat at intervals and email stakeholders automatically when it's close to the set amount.
It doesn't end there. You can do more than I just described.
Software Integration
Teamwork integrates with some very popular tools — Quickbooks Xero, Google Drive, G-Suite, Zapier, Microsoft Office. Over 80 of them.
Teamwork Pros
- Robust project management and Segmentation
Projects can be broken into categories and segments making them easier to manage.
- Task and milestone tracking
You can track the progress of tasks and milestones with real-time updates and alerts.
That way, you don't have to manually keep tabs on team members' progress.
- Budgeting for projects
Keep your project within budget and control your team’s spending by tracking expenses.
Teamwork Cons
- Limited chart graphs
If you need a lot of different visuals to relay information, Teamwork's limited chart graph functionality might be a turn off.
- Expensive for small teams
Large agencies may be able to justify the cost. Small ones may not.
Not sure if it makes enough sense for them.
Teamwork Pricing
Teamwork offers 5 plans, one free and four paid. There's also a free trial on paid plans.
- Teamwork Free Forever
For freelancers and small agencies just starting out.
- Teamwork Starter ($5.99 per user, per month)
For small teams in need of more customization and integration to automate their workflows.
- Teamwork Deliver ($9.99 per user, per month)
For larger teams which need advanced collaboration and project management features.
- Teamwork Grow ($19.99 per user, per month)
For large agencies with more complex client needs.
- Teamwork Scale (Available on request)
For enterprise level agencies needing advanced customization and scalability.
Teamwork ROI
Teamwork includes client management features in higher plans.
ROI increases for teams needing client management features that are included in higher plans.
Teamwork Use Case
Teamwork has the features agencies need — task management, time-tracking, billing, and profitability.
It works best for agencies (small or large) which need advanced project management capabilities.
Teamwork has a host of advanced features for project, resource, and budget management and is also highly scalable.
And you don't need any third-party integration to access these features.
Small and large agencies (10-500+ employees) can all use this tool.
Small agencies will be satisfied with Teamwork’s intuitive interface and core project management tools.
Teamwork’s billing, profitability tracking, and client collaboration features will be perfect for larger agencies with complex workflows.
Teamwork Review
Jacki B. says TeamWork is cost-effective and customizable.
5. ClickUp
A project management tool for freelancers and teams alike.
ClickUp has more features than you'll ever use.
Goal management, time tracking, automations are all present.
There's also ClickUp Brain, an AI feature which makes it even smarter.
Let's explore some of ClickUp's main features.
ClickUp's Core Features
Team Collaboration
With ClickUp's range of advanced features, you'll find collaboration easy. And the good thing is that it happens in real time.
You can link up with teammates (wherever you are) and complete tasks assigned to you with ease. Communication is easy via chat and email.
Customizable Task Management
ClickUp's task management feature is highly customizable.
Users can organize tasks through lists, boards, or calendar views and assign each task its own status, priority, assignee, and due date.
Easy Time Tracking
This feature lets you track how you spend time, view reports and add notes to them, set estimates, and calculate billable hours.
Watching how you spend time will keep you focused and boost productivity.
Real-time Reporting
Create reports with ease on ClickUp to gain more insight into your team's performance. And it all happens in real time.
You'll see what your team members are doing. The projects they are currently working on and the ones they've completed.
ClickUp Pros
- Many collaboration tools are available
With ClickUp offering several collaboration tools, it's easy to work with other team members.
- User-friendly interface
ClickUp's interface is intuitive and well-designed. This makes the software easy to use.
- Important integrations are available
ClickUp integrates with many important third-party tools — Zapier, Trello, Slack, Google Drive, etc. .
ClickUp Cons
- A learning curve
You can't grab ClickUp on the fly. Newbies, especially those new to project management tools will need time to get going with ClickUp.
- Can be overwhelming
You'll get to appreciate ClickUp's many features — eventually. Just not at the beginning. So bring along a cup of persistence.
- Too many features are locked into a “free trial.”
You'll only fully access ClickUp's many features when you buy one of the higher plans.
The lower tiers are fraught with limitations and restrictions.
- ClickUp charges for its AI feature
Yes, ClickUp Brain isn't free.It'll dig a $5 hole in your pocket every month. Similar project management tools offer theirs for free.
So how much is ClickUp?
ClickUp pricing
Four plans are available. One is free; the others cost money.
- Free plan
For starters whose needs aren't many yet, this is for you. .
Unlimited projects and users are included in the Free plan. But get ready to deal with those limitations.
- Unlimited plan ($7 per month)
The cheapest paid plan (at $7 per month). It offers just a little bit more than the free plan.
Skip it if you can because the real party starts when you upgrade to Business ($12).
- Business plan ($12 per month)
Business tier comes with email, SMS, advanced automations, and useful integrations.
- Enterprise plan (price on request)
The Enterprise plan offers (yes, you guessed right) enterprise-level features — administrative controls, custom roles and permissions, custom branding, conditional logic on forms, and a host of other security features.
ClickUp ROI
ClickUp's entry-level pricing is affordable. Advanced features are in higher tiers.
ROI is highest for small to medium teams due to ClickUp's flexible pricing.
ClickUp Use Case
ClickUp works best for medium- to large agencies with cross-functional teams and complex workflows.
ClickUp's wide range of features and custom workflows will benefit large agencies with multiple departments.
Can smaller agencies use it? Yes but it'll feel a bit too much.
ClickUp Review
Dharmesh K. says ClickUp is very intuitive.
6. Monday.com
For agencies which need a visually appealing project management tool.
Monday.com stands out for one thing — its highly visual interface.
This intuitive interface lets you add team members, assign them tasks, create workflows, and monitor progress.
But is Monday.com just a pretty face?
What else has it got up its sleeve?
Monday.com Core Features
Integration and Automation
Integration and automation will save you time and boost productivity.
There are more than 50 apps you can connect to Monday.com. I bet your team already uses some of them.
Do these ring a bell?
Dropbox, Google Calendar, Stripe, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Zendesk, Outlook, Gmail, Slack, BitBucket, etc.
Automation saves you time by sending repetitive tasks to oblivion.
Monday.com comes with a list of ready-made automations.
Just enable the ones you want and customize.
Time Tracking
Want your team to stay productive? Keep an eye on how much time they spend on tasks and projects.
Monday.com's time tracking feature lets you do that.
Visual Project Boards and Templates
Drag-and-drop boards are available to help your team easily visualize their work and track progress.
Pre-built templates are also included so your team can set your projects up quickly. Not every project must start from scratch.
Monday.com Pros
- Solid project organization and management
Monday.com’s workspace is easy to use. This makes organizing tasks and schedules seamless. With automation available, you won't manually repeat tasks like a maniac.
- Nice tracking features
Track task progress with ease. Monday.com’s well-designed user interface feeds you important information at a glance.
Monday.com Cons
- Limited integration
Yes, Monday integrates with more than 50 other softwares. However, that number won't satisfy every user.
Especially when an app such as Salesforce isn't on that list.
- Per-user pricing is a turn off
Per-user pricing simply means adding an extra user with full access will cost you more money. Many will frown at that.
Monday.com Pricing
Monday.com has 5 price plans, including a free plan.
1. Free Individual
It takes up to 2 users and 3 boards at no cost to you.
2. Basic Plan
For $8 per user per month (billed annually).
You get unlimited boards, 5GB storage, and basic integrations.
3. Standard Plan
For $10 per user per month (billed annually).
Basic features and advanced integrations, automation, and 50GB storage.
4. Pro Plan
For $16 per user per month (billed annually).
All the features in the Standard plan then you throw in time tracking, API access and 100GB storage,
5. Enterprise Plan
You'll get all the Pro features plus advanced security, dedicated support, etc. specifically for your business needs.
Monday.com ROI
Monday offers flexible pricing with a comprehensive set of tools for project tracking and visualization to improve efficiency. This mostly benefits large teams.
ROI can be high for teams which are focused on collaborative project management.
Monday.com Use Case
Monday.com is good for small to medium-sized agencies that don't need highly complex features or workflows.
If your agency just manages and delivers client projects and keeps up with your team members, you'll do just fine with Monday.com.
Monday.com Review
Petteri J. says Monday.com is easy to learn but gets cluttered easily.
7. Trello
A simple and flexible project management tool.
Trello became famous for being simple and flexible. Project management with Trello is straightforward — highly visual cards and boards that are easy to understand.
Okay what other stuff makes Trello cool?
Trello Core Features
Workflow Automation
Automation saves you a ton of time.
Thankfully, Trello keeps it simple. Trello’s automation bot, Butler, is there to help you set up rule-based triggers.
Just answer a few questions telling Butler your preferences and your job is pretty much done. Mr. Butler takes it from there.
Team Collaboration
Trello offers you more ways than one to collaborate — comments, the use of cards, notifications, @mentions of teammates, and document sharing.
Integration
Use Trello’s Power-Up, to boost its capabilities.
The possibilities are huge. File management, collaboration, marketing, and sales. Apps can be integrated to take care of things.
Trello Pros
1. Easy to use
If non-technical people can use Trello, you too can.
2. Adding members is easy
Simply input their email address and you're done.
3. Notification works
Trello sends out an email notification for virtually every event—updates, comments, task removals.
Trello Cons
1. Advanced features are limited
Trello lacks some important advanced features, such as time tracking, built-in reporting tools, and Gantt charts.
2. Customization options are also limited
If your customization needs are as high as Kilimanjaro, stay away from Trello.
Trello Pricing
Trello offers four pricing plans.
1. Trello Free
Good for starters.
2. Trello Standard ($5 per user, per month)
For small agencies which need a bit more features than the free plan but are on a small budget.
3. Trello Premium ($10 per user, per month)
For growing agencies.
You'll find most of the essential project management features you need are here.
4. Trello Enterprise ($17.50 per user, per month)
For large teams above 100 members.
Trello ROI
Trello’s lower price points cater to agencies with simple project management needs. Therefore ROI can be high for teams needing simple task tracking without added features.
Trello Use Case
Creative and design agencies will love Trello’s highly visual layout.
Who does Trello fit the most?
Small to medium-sized (10–50 people) creative and design agencies.
Trello Review
Trello is Çağrı’s favorite tool for content management and team collaboration.
8. Smartsheet
Spreadsheet meets project management.
Looking for a spreadsheet-style project management tool? Smartsheet has your back especially if you're a big agency which manages multiple projects. The bigger the merrier, right?
Smartsheet is built for exactly that.
If spreadsheets are your thing, you'll have no issues working with Smartsheet.
But why's Smartsheet so cool, especially for big agencies?
Let's find out…
Smartsheet Core Features
Advanced Analytics and Reporting
Smartsheet’s reporting capabilities are popular among users and for good reason.
With a few clicks, you can pool data from multiple sheets into one comprehensive report, then analyze to identify trends.
You can then publish your reports or share with team members and stakeholders.
Whenever someone updates the individual sheets, the report automatically updates.
Solid Automation Tools
For most project management tools, automation is just an afterthought. Not with Smartsheet. It seems to be the first thing on their mind.
I say this because they have a solid set of automation tools, integrations, and workflows.
You build automations by simply using Smartsheet’s drag-and-drop automation builder.
Nothing overly complex.
You get to create even advanced workflows with basic logic, conditional paths, and triggers.
Highly Flexible and Customizable Sheets
Sheets are highly flexible and customizable. Use them wherever — project management, inventory management, budget tracking, campaign tracking, etc.
Smartsheet Pros
1. Intuitive User Interface
Smartsheet’s interface is great to use. Definitely helps with completing tasks.
2. Customizable
Use Smartsheet’s ready-made templates and forms to easily customize Smartsheet to your preferences.
Smartsheet also integrates seamlessly with several third-party tools and services,
Smartsheet Cons
1. Confusing for beginners
Sorry if you're a beginner, you may have a hard time getting started with the tool. A bummer, right? No.
Come on, don't be such a quitter.
Stay with it for a while and watch it become second nature.
2. May be pricier than competitors
Pit Smartsheet against the competition, and it appears a bit more expensive.
Okay pricing. How much?
Smartsheet Pricing
Smartsheet offers 3 price tiers.
1. Free, No Cost
For 1 user and up to 2 editors
2. Pro $7 Per user/month, billed yearly
Maximum of 10 users, unlimited viewers
3. Business $25 Per user/month, billed yearly
Minimum of 3 users, unlimited editors.
Smartsheet ROI
Smartsheet works best for big agencies that need spreadsheet-style project management
The high cost for premium features may limit ROI for small agencies.
Smartsheet Use Case
Smartsheet caters to agencies whose project management needs are more complex. .
Its spreadsheets, project management, and collaboration tools come in handy when dealing with larger projects or complex workflows.
The best part?
These advanced features such as project management, resource tracking, and advanced automation are all native to Smartsheet.
That means you won't have to integrate a third-party tool before you can access the functionality.
That's why Smartsheet is best suited for medium to large agencies (50+ team members) who work across multiple teams with advanced workflows executing complex projects.
For smaller teams, you may find Smartsheet’s advanced features more than you actually need.
So if you're still small, it may be better going with a simpler tool.
Smartsheet Review
Haydee H.sees real value in Smartsheet.
9. ProofHub
Imperfect all-in-one project management tool for agencies of all sizes.
ProofHub is a cloud-based all-in-one project management and collaboration solution.
It excels at task management, time tracking, file sharing and real time communication.
And if calendars are your thing, Proofhub has got one beauty for you.
Its intuitive user interface is easy to figure out. With no steep learning curve, it doesn't take long before even newbies will start setting up projects, assigning tasks and tracking progress.
Let's look at ProofHub's main features.
Proofhub's Important Features
Task and project management
ProofHub shines at project management.
Its time tracking feature tracks how much time you spend on tasks and projects.
There are different ways to do this in ProofHub — manually or with a timer. You can also add timesheets.
Project managers can assign specific tasks to a team member according to their skillset. File upload and sharing by team members is not only possible, it's also easy.
ProofHub's Dependency feature helps team members to view tasks they should do first.
Project managers can keep their eyes on things as the project progresses.
Collaboration
ProofHub doesn't cut corners with collaboration. Several communication tools are built into the software.
Team members get to talk to one another through in-app chat.
There are also the options of comments, knowledge bases, announcements and notifications features.
With this many collaboration tools, it's easy for everyone to be on the same page and up to date.
Project views
For visualization, ProofHub offers several formats.
The Gantt view works for project timelines and progress allowing you to highlight critical paths and monitor the progress of projects.
With the table view, you can display information in a structured and organized way.
The board view lets you customize workflows.
Then the calendar view with which you can see events, tasks and milestones.
ProofHub Pros
1. Intuitive interface
ProofHub’s intuitive design and user-friendly interface make it easy for teams to get started with little or no learning curve.
2. Little to no learning curve
ProofHub is easy to understand. You and your team can start in minutes.
3. You have total control
Assign tasks, set deadlines, and monitor progress. You literally call the shots.
ProofHub Cons
1. Can be expensive for small teams
Proofhub operates a flat pricing model.
How much you use the tool doesn't really count.
In theory, larger teams would use it more than smaller teams putting smaller teams at a disadvantage.
2. Limited Advanced Features
ProofHub falls short when it comes to advanced features.
Yes, there's time tracking but it's not as powerful as those of dedicated time tracking software.
Also, reporting and analytics leave a lot to be desired.
If you or your team needs advanced reporting and analytics, Proofhub may not give you what you want.
What about integration? Same story.
Proofhub Pricing
ProofHub offers two price brackets.
Essential
$45 /month billed annually, $50/m billed monthly
40 projects
Unlimited users
15GB storage
Core features
and
Ultimate Control
$89 /month billed annually, $99/m billed monthly
Unlimited projects
Unlimited users
100GB storage
Core features + (Custom roles, Priority support, Detailed Activity Logs, White labeling, Workflows)
ProofHub ROI
Fixed pricing makes Proofhub affordable for large teams with many users. Hence a high ROI for large agencies.
ProofHub Use Case
Small to Medium Agencies (5-200 employees): ProofHub is best suited for small to medium-sized agencies which need a comprehensive project management tool with client collaboration features.
ProofHub Reviews
Santosh B. says ProofHub has made remote work management easy for him.
10. Notion
Perfect for solopreneurs and small teams
Once a note-taking tool, Notion quickly transitioned to a project management app. Freelancers and small businesses can use it to build workflows and manage project-related details from one place.
To access Notion's full power, you have to configure it. Unfortunately configuration takes some time. This means it'll take some time to get started.
Notion Core Features
Built for Collaboration
Notion makes collaboration very easy.
You can use Notion on your own or as part of a team working together in real-time. Everything is in the same place. You can share your page or workspace with other Notion users.
You can publish your notes to the web and share with others whether they have a Notion account or not.
Notion AI Add-on
Although it costs an extra $8 to $10 per user per month, Notion's AI functionality will boost your productivity. Use it to brainstorm, organize your ideas, generate, content, even summarize documents.
No, it won't write you a memo from scratch or come up with a complete blog post. But it will do the heavy lifting for you so you can focus.
Easy Note Taking
Once you get the hang of it, note-taking becomes easy and straightforward. You can do some formatting too using standard shortcuts, highlighting text, using toolbar or markdown.
Notion's note-taking feature has a laundry list of options many of which you really don't need and won't use.
Weird Organizing
Notion makes use of what it calls pages to keep things organized. Add subpages and they'll appear both on the parent page and the menu.
You can also add databases to pages. They'll appear in Gallery, List, Board, Calendar or Timeline.
You can add all sorts of databases to any Notion page and see them in the following views: Table, Board, Gallery, List, Calendar, and Timeline.
Databases can be customized in several ways to meet your taste.
Notion Pros
1. Very versatile
You won't be needing separate tools if you take time to configure Notion.
Notion can do a lot of stuff well — note-taking, task management, time tracking, agency management, CRM, documentation. Notion will do them all in one workspace.
2. Powerful collaboration
Everything is centralized in Notion. Tasks, project boards, spreadsheets, tasks, notebooks and other documents are all in one place.
This means your team can work together in real-time if they choose.
3. Integration
It's likely that Notion integrates with tools you often use. Examples include Google Calendar and Slack.
Notion Cons
1. Cumbersome set up
Like I said above, you must take time to configure Notion. That's the only way to bring out it's best. And this isn't the easiest thing to do.
To hasten things use the built-in templates.
2. Key project management features Absent
Notion lacks the time-tracking functionality. If time tracking is an important part of your workflow, you'll have to look elsewhere.
If your team is data-driven and loves reports, Notion may not be the best.
If you want to create charts and graphs to visualize data is an uphill task.
To do any decent analytics and reporting, you’ll have to export to another tool or pay for an add-on.
3. Tricky text formatting
Text formatting in Notion is very different from what you're already used to (Google Docs and Word). It'll take some getting used to.
Notion Pricing
Notion's price plans are quite flexible. Four plans are available.
1. Notion Free
Good for creative individuals or small teams who just need a tool to manage their projects and tasks with wry little collaboration and integration features.
2. Notion Plus ($8 per user, per month)
For small teams which need to a decent level of planning and organizing.
3. Notion Business ($15 per user, per month)
For creative agencies which need project management features and customization.
4. Notion Enterprise (Contact Notion) Perfect for large creative agencies in need of advanced management features and support.
Notion ROI
Notion's pricing favors individual users and small teams.
Notion lacks advanced features needed for client-facing agencies.
ROI for larger teams is limited.
Notion Use Case
Notion is flexible, customizable and affordable. Small to medium-sized agencies (5-100 employees) who need to manage projects, clients, and knowledge in one platform without requiring complex functionalities will find it useful.
Also, growing agencies which value collaboration and knowledge sharing will find Notion interesting.
For larger teams, they'll have to combine Notion with more advanced and specialized tools if they insist on using Notion.
Okay let's finish this.
Conclusion
First of all, let me say a very big thank you to you for staying with me all the way as we went from tool to tool.
I know you're likely spoilt for choice. So let me spare you that monster called analysis paralysis and give you my top 3 picks.
Depending on your needs…
If you need a tool which offers you everything you'll need to run your agency all in one place, ManyRequests is the ideal tool for you.
Want more proof?
Click here to hear from agency owners like you and here if you want to try it out. It's all yours for 14 days at no cost to you. Not even a credit card info is required
If you need a one-size-fits-all solution, that is, a tool that does everything well, Wrike takes the cake.
It's got advanced tools that creative agencies actually need and use — real-time analytics, automation, AI.
If you're a big agency and you really love good old spreadsheets, Smartsheet will be perfect for your brand. It was built for big businesses to begin with.
Okay, curtain calls now.
Thank you once again and see you on the next one.
Bye for now.