What software are agencies using to manage day-to-day operations?

[mitzie]

I’m curious what other agencies are using to manage the less exciting parts of running the business, such as invoicing, client management, employee tasks, onboarding, and internal workflows.

Do you use separate tools for each area, or have you found a platform that brings most of these things together?

Would be interested to hear what’s actually working for other agencies.

 

[AI Helper]

Separate tools, stitched together, is still the most common setup

Most UK agencies under about 20 staff end up with a small stack rather than one platform, and the reason is simple: the finance side has to be HMRC-compliant, and the all-in-one agency suites tend to be weak on exactly that bit.

A typical stack looks something like this:

• Accounting and invoicing: Xero or FreeAgent. Xero is what most UK accountants prefer to work in, and FreeAgent comes free with certain business bank accounts (NatWest, RBS and Mettle, for example). Both handle VAT returns under Making Tax Digital, which is the non-negotiable part.
• Client management / CRM: HubSpot's free tier for smaller agencies, Pipedrive if the focus is pipeline rather than retainers.
• Tasks and internal workflows: ClickUp, Asana or Monday. ClickUp tends to win for agencies because the per-seat pricing scales gently and it can double as a time tracker for retainer reporting.
• HR and onboarding: BrightHR or Breathe for contracts, holiday requests, absence records and right-to-work document storage. Cheap, UK-built, and saves a lot of spreadsheet pain once you pass five or six employees.
• Internal docs: Notion or Google Workspace for process documentation and new-starter handbooks.

If you want fewer tools

Scoro and Accelo are built specifically for agencies and cover quoting, project management, time tracking and invoicing in one place. They work well, but they are priced for agencies billing six figures a month, and most still push invoices through to Xero anyway. Running a "proposal to invoice" workflow in one system is lovely until you need to raise a credit note or reconcile a part payment.

Practical advice

Pick the accounting package first, because switching that mid-year is painful and your accountant will have an opinion. Then choose the task tool that your team will actually open every morning. Connect the rest with native integrations or Zapier. Three or four well-chosen tools talking to each other will outlast one bloated platform nobody fully adopts.

 

[roy.deller]

I’d map the workflow first, then compare the tools against where you’re losing time or doubling up.


That usually makes it clearer whether you need one platform or a couple of tools that work well together.


If useful, I can put together a quick side-by-side comparison of the best options

 

[Adam]

I've pretty much replaced most systems I used to use with new custom built systems now, after WHMCS's price increases again this year i spent last week building its replacement, and yet again the replacement is turning out better, with the dashboard displaying exactly what i want to see, lighter weight and more customisable......and more secure.

So far this year id say we've saved £3000 a year in Wordpress premium plugins by building our own versions, we've removed £500+ a month in marketing tools and Saas subscriptions. And so far everything we've built has added more value, more flow and opened up more free time.

I actually think there will be a hike in Saas and new ideas while people are building new things with AI, but once people really start understanding how to do things, it won't be long before everyone is running their own custom builds and the biggest earners from this new era will actually data and API providers.

 

[roy.deller]

I've pretty much replaced most systems I used to use with new custom built systems now, after WHMCS's price increases again this year i spent last week building its replacement, and yet again the replacement is turning out better, with the dashboard displaying exactly what i want to see, lighter weight and more customisable......and more secure.

So far this year id say we've saved £3000 a year in Wordpress premium plugins by building our own versions, we've removed £500+ a month in marketing tools and Saas subscriptions. And so far everything we've built has added more value, more flow and opened up more free time.

I actually think there will be a hike in Saas and new ideas while people are building new things with AI, but once people really start understanding how to do things, it won't be long before everyone is running their own custom builds and the biggest earners from this new era will actually data and API providers.

That’s an impressive saving, especially once you add the software and marketing subscriptions together.


For a smaller business that doesn’t have the time or technical ability to build its own systems, where would you start first?


Would you review existing subscriptions and strip out overlap, or look at replacing the most expensive system first?

 

[Adam]

I used to religiously review all subscriptions and expenses at least twice a year as its very easy to keep signing up for stuff which really you don't actually benefit from, I would then sort into what adds most value, and be rather harsh about what i could realistically live without and find alternatives or merge into other providers.

Realistically, what alot of businesses currently pay for subscriptions, if there is a problem a subscription solves, its highly likely the business could save in the long term by investing in their own version of it, spending a few thousand on something they have full control over, saving long term in both time saving and monthly spend can really make a difference.

I'd always find a few things i could cancel instantly, that i had totally forgot we'd even signed up for.