{"id":29294,"date":"2013-08-21T09:24:38","date_gmt":"2013-08-21T08:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/?p=29294"},"modified":"2013-08-21T09:42:20","modified_gmt":"2013-08-21T08:42:20","slug":"budget-estimating-and-time-management-platforms-for-marketing-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/managing-digital-marketing\/resourcing-digital-marketing\/budget-estimating-and-time-management-platforms-for-marketing-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Budget Estimating and Time Management platforms for marketing agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recommendations on time management platforms for marketing agencies or in-house marketing teams<\/h2>\n

In another post I reviewed alternative agency costing models<\/a> and suggested how simple budgets and quotes for marketing projects can be prepared using a spreadsheet. Larger agencies will require more features to manage multiple quotes and to relate proposals back to live projects. I\u2019m often asked about the project proposal and time recording systems I recommend, so in this post I give some of the main contenders that are most widely used.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t already done so, you should consider cost (and job management) platforms. Spreadsheets are useful (especially when starting out), but job management platforms are worth investigating for cross-\u00adagency collaboration on both estimate creation and ongoing time \/ resource management. Supporting the agency\u2019s profitability endeavours by providing easily accessed and accurate reporting.<\/p>\n

Time-recording features<\/h3>\n

Time recording is seen as a huge pain for most agency staff. But are most definitely a \u201cnecessary evil\u201d, without timesheets you can\u2019t monitor project progress, you can\u2019t see if your estimates are accurate or not and you can\u2019t (re)negotiate with clients on project fees. There isn\u2019t one solution to timesheet completion though, I\u2019ve used and managed the use of them for twenty plus years and ongoing \u2018carrot and stick\u2019 or \u2018hearts and minds\u2019 sums it up.<\/p>\n

Rather than simply using a time recording system, a better option is usually a project management platform with great UX \/ functionality that includes a timesheet module will help though. Making time recording as frictionless as possible will help you get meaningful, accurate reconciliation reports at the back\u00adend.
\ufffc
Typically these platforms include estimating templates \/ routines tied to a job number or project code as part of their suite of functionality. There are a lot on the market but I thought it might be useful to signpost some here. Some are all\u00ad-encompassing, providing the full gamut of process \/ functionality from initial estimate through to time and resource tracking, cost reconciliation, invoicing and reporting. Others specialise in one function (e.g proposal generation) but integrate with other platforms. There are no real typical costs but some of the cloud-\u00adbased platforms will be c. \u00a315\/30 per user per month (or sometimes that amount for a bundle of up to 5 users).<\/p>\n

Recommendations on time management platforms for marketing agencies or in-house marketing teams<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m not affiliated in any way to any of the platforms cited below.<\/p>\n

An example of niche platforms that integrate together would be Nifty Quoter<\/a> (Proposal preparation) and Harvest<\/a> (time sheet management platform) which itself has a large ecosystem of other apps \/ platforms it works with. An example of an enterprise-\u00adlevel platform i.e. it caters for network \/ late\u00adscale agencies would be BrandOcean<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other platforms you might consider if you\u2019re preparing a short list include Apptivo , Concept<\/a>, Paprika<\/a>, Function Point<\/a>, Clarizen<\/a>, LiquidPlanner<\/a> and Workamajig<\/a>.\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc<\/p>\n

There are various best \u00adbuy \/ league table guides available for cloud project management services, (e.g.\u00a0http:\/\/online\u00adproject\u00admanagement\u00adreview.toptenreviews.com\/<\/a>) which aren't necessarily tailored for agency use, so you should start with your peers and ask colleagues at other agencies for their experiences of particular platforms or ask for recommendations via\u00a0Smart Insights Answers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Online-project-management-tools\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Do let us know any services you would recommend for different sizes of consultancy, agency or in-house.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recommendations on time management platforms for marketing agencies or in-house marketing teams In another post I reviewed alternative agency costing models and suggested how simple budgets and quotes for marketing projects can be prepared using a spreadsheet. Larger agencies will …..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19287,"featured_media":29295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[347],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBudget Estimating and Time Management platforms for marketing agencies | Smart Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Budget Estimating and Time Management platforms for marketing agencies Recommendations on time management platforms for marketing agencies or in-house marketing teamsIn another post I reviewed alternative agency costing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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