We are often asked what management tools we use, so here is my top 5 list to make your agency business easy to manage!
A recent update to this post from February 2023.
- Basecamp: We use Basecamp to manage all conversations with clients and internally to help keep everthing in one place.
Bonus to Basecamp!Trackd with Basecamp: Help us create Kanban style boards to keep a log of tasks that are in progress, in backlog and ready to review. There are more columns depending on what we need from a specific clients to manage the sign off process.
2. Google Workspace:
- Google mail for managing and reading emails
- User groups for specific support so that clients can shoot through an email if in a hurry and the group is with users that would be able to read the messages
- Google Calendar to manage appointments and meet on Google Meet
- Google Meet to hold meetings
- Google drive for sharing documents such as Excel sheet, Word, Google slides etc
3. Slack: For internal communication and we have several channels for fun and random chat including gardening, photography and other things that people love to do. We also have dedicates channels for our mission such as greening the web and improving accessibility
4. Harvest: To log time for everyone so that we can bill to clients accurately. An extension of this is Forecast
Bonus to Harvest!Forecast enables us to see the future work that is scheduled and help team have visibility on what is coming.
5. Miro: Nothing beats an old fashioned wall or a whiteboard with post it notes, but not everyone can be in the same place at the same time, so we use Miro, where we can brainstorm ideas, run discovery sessions and present ideas to our clients and workshop internally
And another one!
6. Figma: Designers use to design and prototyping mini animations
How much has changed as this was our original 5 tools in 2012 post:
- Sifter App – This is a genuinely clutter free bug tracking tool. We use this to track all issues and bugs (mainly in the development phase).
- Project Bubble – We use Project Bubble to track all estimates, invoices & expenses. This also works great for storing all your contacts in one place. Also worth checking out Invoice Bubble – which is a simpler version
- Google Apps – All our emails and documents are run by Google Apps. Its a fantastic way to keep your business emails all under one roof and easy to manage
- Dropbox – Dropbox allows us to share files seamlessly within our office and with our clients aswell as ensuring that they are effortlessly backed up.
- Skype – Yes, Skype! We use Skype for several internal calls and sharing screen with our clients. Skype has made things ever so easy for people to connect – wherever they are!
