Do Creative Agencies Need Pricey Project Management Software?

If you’re ready to banish clunky spreadsheets, project management software is the logical step to greatly enhance your team’s efficiency, especially as you grow and scale your business.

Adept project management software with powerful integrations can take your creative agency to the next level by streamlining your workflows, helping you get paid faster, and more...

In this post, we’ll explore whether or not creative agencies actually need pricey project management software to get the job done. Let's find out by looking at three of the big-name softwares.  

Option 1: Asana

How does Asana work for project management?

Asana is extremely easy to use and made for simplicity. You can seamlessly plan, manage, and track every piece of the project in Asana (task management) along with basic resource management tools included to help with capacity planning. Not to mention, many users report they actually enjoy task management with Asana. And it’s a great option for global teams, with portfolios and workload management views keeping team members abreast across the status of various projects.  

Where Asana may come up short for creative agency project management:

Asana lacks common features available in more robust solutions like Teamwork, with only a handful of integrations available e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, and Slack. It also can feel a bit overwhelming to set up, though once you’re used to the software, you’re off and running. In the respect of 360 Degree Project Management, Asana lacks contract management, time tracking, and invoicing. Asana’s limited functionalities may not be sufficient once your company expands, which may not be a deal-breaker at the outset, but still worth considering.  

Who is it for: 

• Small businesses including creative agencies.
• Content publishing
• Frequently praised for its colorful interface that’s clean and attractive

Price: Starting at $11.99/user/month

Option 2: Teamwork

How does Teamwork work for project management?

Teamwork goes further than Asana’s basic project management functionality and incorporates more aspects of 360-degree project management, specifically:

• Time and expense tracking
• Budget management  
• Collaboration tools

Designed with agencies in mind, Teamwork lets teams manage the most complex of projects.  Clients can be added to the agency’s Teamwork portal for approvals; and Google Drive, Dropbox, and HubSpot integrations are available.  

Where Teamwork may come up short for creative agency project management:

There are loads of bells and whistles with this project management software, some of which can be unnecessary for fledgling agencies or super-small teams. On the flip side, you’ll need to find another platform to handle your invoicing, and Teamwork lacks self-driving capabilities that can make your life a lot easier than simply offering a ton of features.

Who is it for:  

• Small to medium agencies  
• Users in agencies enjoy Teamwork’s ability to manage their workflows.  

Price: Starting at $12.50/user/month

Option 3: PSOhub

How does PSOhub work for project management?

Unlike Asana and Teamwork, PSOhub is more than just a project management solution, purpose-built for 360-degree project management without the expensive price tag. With PSOhub, you can take control of the full scope of your projects with:

• Task management
• Time and expense tracking
• Invoicing
• Budget and contract management
• Resource management
• Self-driving features

PSOhub’s aim is to deliver unparalleled visibility across all aspects of project management.  Because it’s sophisticated enough for small teams and designed with a user-friendly interface and premade templates, your agency can hit the ground running. You can use PSOhub alone or connect your favorite CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics). Pick and choose whatever integrations you may need; however, you’ll probably find out soon enough that other platforms are redundant. Many agencies find that PSOhub outdoes competing options at a similar price point, with more value wrapped into an all-in-one solution.  

Learn more about project management with PSOhub.

Who is it for:

• Small to medium size professional service organizations
• Creative agencies, IT companies, and more
• Loved for its great onboarding resources, ease of use, and ability to integrate HubSpot data 
• Great for smaller creative agencies, yet can grow with you as you scale

Price: Starting at $12.50/user/month

So, do creative agencies really need pricey project management software?

Overall, your project management solution needn’t be pricey to be effective, and most of the big names aren’t priced out of reach. All 3 options on this list are in the same price range. However, value for money varies between project management software platforms, especially when it comes to everything a creative agency needs to get the job done. The value winner here is PSOhub, which sets you up with simple project management tools topped off with invoicing, budget, and contract management. It’s currently the only option to deliver 360 degree project management without breaking the bank.

Curious how PSOhub works? Try our free trial today!