What Is An Agency Management System + 10 Best Systems For All Your Needs

Running an agency can feel like a juggling act. Between onboarding new clients, managing ongoing projects, and keeping team morale high, the day-to-day of agency life can be overwhelming.  An agency management system helps make sense of all the chaos by organizing the scattered pieces of agency operations to create a cohesive and structured workflow. The better an agency management system is, the more it can help an agency run like a well-oiled machine.

In this guide, we’ll cover the ins and outs of agency management systems and how they can help your agency grow and scale. Running an agency can feel like a juggling act. Between onboarding new clients, managing ongoing projects, and keeping team morale high, the day-to-day of agency life can be overwhelming.

An agency management system helps make sense of all the chaos by organizing the scattered pieces of agency operations to create a cohesive and structured workflow. The better an agency management system is, the more it can help an agency run like a well-oiled machine. In this guide, we’ll cover the ins and outs of agency management systems and how they can help your agency grow and scale.

What Is An Agency Management System

An agency management system (AMS) is advanced SaaS software designed to automate numerous tasks across an agency. AMS doesn't just track existing customers and strengthen customer relations; it's also a robust lead-generation tool.

It helps small teams effectively manage multiple roles and automates workflows for larger organizations handling significant daily data. In this guide, we discuss the features of an AMS and the top five agency management system tools that can help your business.

Agency Management System Features 

AMS offers all the features of the best customer relationship management (CRM) systems but with a more comprehensive automation level. Some of its most important features are the following:

• Industry-specific CRM

• Workflow automation

• Sales management

• Project and task management

• Cross-selling

• Dashboard analytics

• Custom reporting

• Cloud-based access

Related Reading

• Marketing Agency Client Management
• How To Productize A Service
• Agency Metrics
• Agency Collaboration
• Agency Clients
• Best Agency Management Software
• Avoid Common Challenges That Agencies Face
• Productized Service Examples
• What Is an Agency Management System
• What Is A Productized Service
• Agency Client Relationship
• Agency Operations

Benefits of Agency Management Systems

Centralized Customer Data and Eliminate Lost Files

An agency management system creates a central location for all customer information, including emails. This means no more misplaced documents, backlogged filing, or duplicating information. The same customer information can be accessed from every employee’s desktop with an agency management system. It’s easy to back up this information to prevent loss and ensure disaster preparedness.

Improve Documentation for Errors and Omissions Insurance

With an agency management system, your agency can improve workflows and documentation for errors and omissions insurance. The system enhances organization and provides a centralized location for all notes, scanned documents, and records for carriers, vendors, employees, prospects, and clients. The system creates a permanent audit trail to document the history of all accounts.

Gain Insight with Reporting Capabilities

Agency management systems have extensive reporting capabilities that provide insight into your business operations. Available reports include information on your book of business, management reports on employee productivity and sales growth, expiration lists, call analysis reports, binder logs, production reports, marketing analysis, and more.

Download Policy Info and Automate Invoicing

With an agency management system, carrier policy information can be directly loaded into your system without re-keying. Transactions can be automatically invoiced into your system without handling policy dec pages. Also, direct bill commission statements can be downloaded to automate the allocation of commissions to particular producers.

Track Claims Efficiently 

Claims tracking capability is another significant benefit of agency management systems. Status reports for open claims are available in your system to assist your staff with providing superior service to your clients. Some carriers are beginning to allow you to download claims information directly into your agency management system to avoid manual updates.

Access Financial Reports Easily 

Instead of accessing individual carrier sites to obtain commission reports, your agency management system can download commission information from the carriers and provide valuable reports on profit, cash flow, accounts receivable, payroll, and payables.

Integrate With Third-Party Applications

Agency management systems allow for integration with third-party applications, such as Outlook, Word, Excel, email, and voicemail. This means all letters, memos, proposals, spreadsheets, emails, voicemails, etc., can be tracked in your agency management system. You can also create templates for commonly used customer letters to save typing. You no longer have to pull the file whenever you need any customer document!

Enhance Cross-Selling and Re-Marketing Efforts 

An agency management system improves your ability to cross-sell and re-market. The system centralizes all client and prospect information, which can be used to obtain quotes, move a book of business, identify opportunities for cross-selling, and other sales opportunities.

Improve Profitability and Professionalism 

An agency management system's efficiency will lead to improved profitability. Clients receive more professional service when your staff can devote more time to service without dealing with unorganized papers.

Real-Time Features Improve Agency Efficiency 

Real-time features of agency management systems improve agency efficiency and customer service. Using real-time eliminates the need to remember separate login IDs and passwords for each carrier. With the click of a button in your agency management system, information is transferred from your agency system to the carrier’s system without the need to re-enter information for quoting, inquiry, and endorsements. Real-time represents the next significant advance in agency workflows, enhancing efficiency and customer responsiveness.

BONUS: Web-Based Systems Offer Convenience and Security 

Web-based or ASP (Application Service Provider) AMS systems can be accessed anytime and anywhere, ensuring that your staff can access critical information and service clients regardless of office availability. Also, a web-based AMS ensures vendor-processed system updates are automatically processed, and your data is safe in the cloud in case of a catastrophe in your area.

10 Best Agency Management Systems For All Your Need

1. Orchestra: A Comprehensive Tool for Productized Services  

Orchestra is an all-in-one growth toolkit for launching productized services. Designed for creatives ready to scale, it provides a branded, white-labeled client portal, task management, and real-time analytics, with no coding needed, just your Stripe account.

Whether you’re a designer, developer, or copywriter, Orchestra streamlines your workflow, letting you collaborate with clients seamlessly while maintaining a private workspace with your team. Add integrations like Slack and webhooks to customize your setup and deliver a branded experience. Enhance your service with a platform built to grow alongside you. Try Orchestra for free to develop your productized service today.

2. Monday.Com: A Trusted Resource for Agency Management  

Some of the biggest companies in the world, like Hulu and NBC, use Monday.com, and there’s no reason why your agency shouldn’t give it a whirl, either. Monday streamlines workflows and task visualizations. It’s an excellent agency management system tool. You can create boards or visual tables to sync items and updates in real-time.

Status buttons and other presentable options include Gantt charts, maps, forms, Timelines, Calendars, Kanbans, and more. Available on Android and iOS, this highly responsive agency management software tool allows you to manage and collaborate with remote teams easily. You can assign owners for different tasks and let their AI bots focus on mundane matters, reducing the chances of human errors.

3. Forecast: For Confident Decision-Making  

Forecast is an agency management tool that offers a wide range of features to manage your projects, resources, time, and budget. Users typically enjoy Forecast for its extensive user interface and forecasting software that supports informed decision-making, but its project planning side could be better.

4. Notion: A Powerful Agency Management Software  

Used by giants like Verizon, McDonald’s, Pixar, and The Wall Street Journal, Notion is a robust agency management software program that you should be using as well. It is the ultimate workspace organization app designed to empower your teams and give them unprecedented collaborative control when dealing with different projects.

From creating product roadmaps to codifying processes and building CRMs, Notion has it all. You can use it to create content calendars, prepare notes and documentation, decide on participants, send out meeting invites, and integrate with other apps. If you are using multiple B2B lead generation strategies, you can also track performance with Notion.

Many leading tech giants have also introduced their Notion integrations, so if you use other apps like Slack, you can integrate them with Notion to track your data across multiple apps. It’s one of the best ways to collaborate with teams, which is why many web design agencies worldwide are already using Notion. It’s one of the best creative agency management software tools out there.

5. Scoro: A Good Comprehensive Tool  

Scoro project management offers a range of features to help you manage your projects and resources. It’s a good option for service-providing businesses looking for a single platform to manage their day-to-day operations, but it can be difficult to onboard.

6. Teamwork: Keep Projects on Track and Within Budget  

Teamwork is a project management platform built to help agencies manage the entire lifecycle of their client work in one place. Teamwork provides all the features you’d expect, including integrated time tracking, financial management, robust reporting, and free client access, to ensure your projects are delivered on time and within budget.

Forget crossed wires, unread Slacks, and endless emails. Collaborate in real-time with your team and clients to get your questions answered. Keep clients, teammates, and leadership on the same page. Centralize your work, communicate easily with your team, and reduce the complexity of collaboration so your team is free to focus on what they do best.

Teamwork lets you keep your team members and clients in the loop. Communicate with colleagues and clients without switching platforms. Update the team, ask for input, and get feedback in context. Working as a team has never been easier!

7. Accelo: A Top PSA Solution  

Accelo is one of the top PSA solutions. It offers various features to make your agency’s work more profitable and boost client communications, with the standout being its CRM feature: “…this is a software that has helped us manage our entire sales cycle” (Source: Capterra). However, it can be a pricey option.

8. Bonsai Agency Software: An All-in-One Agency Management Tool  

Bonsai Agency Software is an all-in-one agency management tool that simplifies agencies' lives. It handles everything from project management to client collaboration so that you can focus more on the creative side and less on admin headaches. This integrated approach makes it easy to organize tasks, track progress, collaborate with both your team and clients, and give you a clear idea of how your agency is performing.

Bonsai also includes time tracking, client onboarding, resource management, and automated workflows to keep your operations running smoothly and ensure projects stay on schedule and within budget. It offers various visual tools like Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and list views to help you stay organized and see everything at a glance. Real-time reporting gives insights into profitability, resource utilization, and your agency’s overall health.

Additionally, Bonsai simplifies the process of managing agency finances. You can track expenses, send invoices, and handle budgeting in one place. Bonsai is a solid pick if you’re looking for a tool to streamline your agency’s operations and boost productivity.

9. Harvest: A Focus on Time Tracking and Budgeting  

Harvest focuses on time tracking, project budgeting, and invoicing. Its built-in project management features are light, so you’ll have to invest in one of Harvest’s native integrations to cover all business operations. Due to its focus on time tracking, invoicing, and collaboration, Harvest can be a solid option for agencies working to optimize their operations. As the main downside of the tool, users on Capterra have mentioned that the time tracking feature can be cumbersome, as it requires daily tracking.

10. Productiv: Track Analytics with Ease  

Do you want to avoid those lengthy SaaS spreadsheets and confusing interlinking? Every agency needs a robust platform for tracking analytics. Productiv is the ultimate answer to that need. Productiv doesn’t just give you surface information; it goes through multiple layers to track whatever happens once a user logs in.

These custom SaaS connectors let you examine how your applications are used, which is ideal during the project discovery phase. They also offer intelligent recommendations and insights on how your applications are running. This helps increase security and compliance and ensures employees have all the right tools to do their jobs well.

Related Reading

• Marketing Tools For Agencies
• SEO Agency Management Software
• Digital Marketing Agency Management Software
• Creative Agency Project Management Software
• Agency Resource Management
• Ad Agency Project Management Software
• Advertising Agency Project Management Software
• Productization Framework
• Marketing Agency Process
• Productized Services
• Agency Client Management Software

Best Practices For Using Agency Management Systems

1. Use Orchestra 

Orchestra is an all-in-one growth toolkit that helps creatives launch productized services. With Orchestra, you can launch your productized service effortlessly and without coding skills. The platform even has a white-labeled client portal to deliver a branded experience. You can customize your setup with task management features, real-time analytics, and integrations like Slack to help you and your clients work better together.  Use Orchestra to streamline your workflow and enhance your service to grow your business.

2. Be Open to New Sales Organization Strategies 

How you organize your sales team is just as important as who makes up that team. Fortunately, today, there are many different strategies for sales organizations. Organizing your team into pods and ensuring that you have compatible personalities attending meetings to set each other up are ways to organize your sales more effectively. Here are some practical ways to structure your sales teams:

Pods

Pods are small groups of people with varying technical skills who work together on accounts. Usually, in an insurance agency, this will include salespeople, customer service, account executives, and solution specialists.

Setters and Spikers

You have one person with the credentials and know-how to talk to higher-ups and another focusing on sales. One person can constantly set the other up for a slam dunk in the meeting. All of this boils down to structuring your communication most effectively. You can only do that by knowing your staff well enough to assign them the roles they will thrive in.

3. Foster a Growth Mindset in Your Staff 

No matter where they’re at, everyone on your team can continually improve. You need to foster what is known as a growth mindset. With a growth mindset, staff will look at challenges as accomplishments to be made instead of immovable obstacles. Here are a couple of ways to encourage your staff to have a growth mindset.

Give Constant Feedback

Your staff can’t get any better if they have to guess what they’re doing right and what they could improve upon. Giving feedback, even if it’s just quick comments, can help your staff, but be objective and tactful.

Hold Staff Accountable

This doesn’t mean cracking heads anytime things don’t go as planned. What it does mean, however, is that you should be rewarding success and sitting down and figuring out what went wrong in the event of failure. If your staff knows there will be a follow-up on whatever they’re working on, they’re more likely to give it their all. In all of this, the most important thing is having open communication. That means clearly expressing what your expectations are and following up on whether or not they were met.

4. Foster a Growth-Oriented Environment 

A growth-oriented environment is one in which everyone involved shares the same goal and is willing to take action to reach it. For a growth-oriented climate to work, employees must feel like they can communicate issues without fear of retribution.

Have An Open-Door Policy

If you want the best out of those you manage, they need to feel comfortable talking to you when they have issues. Fostering an environment where everyone knows they can come to you when they’re struggling will help you avoid surprise accidents and mistakes. Make your goals explicit: Sometimes, a manager will have goals that they never quite explicitly state. If you make your goals more explicit, you’re more likely to have your team on the same page.

Allow For Feedback Yourself

The people who work under you should always feel comfortable voicing concerns when they come up. You can foster this environment by clarifying that you’re open to criticism and any new idea that will improve the agency's overall performance.

Know Your Employees And What They’re Good At

A good manager knows the talents of everyone they’re managing. Figuring out who’s good at what makes your business more efficient and helps avoid conflicts over who is supposed to do what. People who work for you should see the workplace as a space in which they can continually expand. They’ll only be comfortable going out on a limb and excelling if you make it clear that it is encouraged at your agency. Never become an agency where everyone just tries to keep their head down.

5. Have a Clear Marketing Plan That Everyone Understands 

With the advent of the internet and our constant connection via social media, it’s not enough to send clients the occasional birthday card to keep you in their minds anymore. Today, you need more robust strategies to keep you at the top of your client’s mind. That starts by making sure your team is on the same page.

To keep everyone on your team on the same page, you should Make sure no one is confused about what role they are supposed to play. Set up good incentives to carry out your plan effectively. Involve staff to an appropriate degree in the planning process. When everyone is on the same page, achieving a shared vision is much easier. Your agency's marketing goals should be seen as something in which everyone working for you has a vested interest.

Try Orchestra for Free to Grow Your Productized Service Today

Orchestra is an agency management software designed to help agencies streamline the launch of productized services. The robust platform includes client portals, task management tools, and real-time analytics to help agency teams get organized before they launch their new service to clients. The best part? You don’t need to know how to code to use Orchestra. Just connect your Stripe account, and you’re ready to go.

How Orchestra Can Help Your Agency

Orchestra helps creative agencies like yours get organized before launching a productized service. Using Orchestra, you can create a branded and fully customizable client portal to help your clients understand how your service works and what to expect before they purchase. You can also use the software to streamline your internal processes so your team is ready to deliver on the promises of your productized service. With Orchestra, you can improve client and team communication with real-time task management and analytics to keep everyone in the loop as you work to fulfill your productized service.

Related Reading

• Service Provider Pro Alternatives
• Agency Resource Management Software
• Productized Service Software
• Marketing Agency Management Software
• SuiteDash Alternatives
• ManyRequests Alternative
• Digital Marketing Agency Workflow