As its name suggests, this software has been developed for process optimization in agency operations. Here, extensive project processes cross with pure company administration and coordination. Since agencies work on a team basis and also involve their customers in project management, an efficient and transparent process design is required that can guarantee good agency software with a variety of modules and features. In similarly structured companies, where it is also important to link and map the workflow of teams with each other and to design the company’s organization, correspondence, accounting and financial management effectively via a central database solution, agency software should be used.

There are agencies with different competence orientations, structures and sizes,
but for all of them, from a size of about 5 employees upwards, an agency software
indispensable:

• Advertising Agencies,
• Media Agencies,
• Event Agencies,
• Marketing Agencies,
• PR Agencies.

Very different users benefit in one agency from the advantages of an
agency software, such as:

• Executive managers and controllers
• Project and event managers
• Creative professionals
• Producers
• Media planners
• Accountants
• HR managers
• Office managers

If you meet one of these criteria, you URGENTLY need the
support of agency software:

• You are currently working with various programs for accounting, correspondence, scheduling, quotation creation and CRM – i.e. still cumbersome with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, e-mail and calendar programs, InDesign and the like.
• Briefings and corrections are communicated to team members individually, e.g. in individual mails, or in time-consuming meetings.
• In your agency, the job bag is still “wandering” from desk to desk every day as a collection of sheets.
• If you need contact data of a customer or supplier, you have to rely on the secretary of your agency.
• A team member drops out at short notice – and your workflow breaks down.
• Team planning, project and resource planning are complicated and cost time and nerves.
• You work with an international team and still translate your documents into different languages?
• You lack an overview of the billing status and profitability of your current project.
• You work with individual customer price lists and first have look around for the old calculation every time you create an offer.
• Your distribution channels are unfathomable and no one knows who discussed what with whom and when.
• When your accountant is on holiday, your bills go astray.
• You still send your newsletters in bulk mails.
• Inquiries, offers, briefings, meeting minutes, approvals and invoices are stored tediously on a data server. It happens time and again that documents have to be searched for because they accidentally ended up in the wrong folder.
• Your agency needs reinforcement – and you as HR manager need IT support in the recruiting process.
• It annoys the daily bureaucracy and you feel like an overqualified document filer.
• You are dissatisfied with your current agency software and do not want to compromise any longer.

Contact and address management

This part is the heart of agency software. All customer, supplier and employee information is stored
via contacts. These are used within
the system as follows:

• Addresses, contact persons, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers for contacting customers, suppliers and employees or for CRM measures;
• Business master data of companies such as tax numbers and VAT ID for accounting;
• Credit information from customers and suppliers for accounting and controlling;
• Individual customer price list for calculations by project managers;
• Chronicle of all related processes within the system
• Mailing list assignment for sending newsletters and press releases.

Time management

This function is a standard in the range of functions and features of agency software. The hours worked by agency employees can be booked via time recording – with selection of the job/project, the activity type and duration of the work. Ideally, you can also specify whether the service is an internal or a chargeable service. Absences such as leave and sick days are also stored in time management.

Controlling/Reporting

The hours booked from time management are very important for controlling. Here, cost calculations are set in relation to the actual expenses incurred. Good agency software enables cost-benefit analyses according to various parameters, e.g. according to certain periods, employees or types of benefits. Surveys and evaluations can also be selected according to customer. In addition to controlling the efficiency of customer projects, controlling also serves to monitor economic costs.

Job-/project management

Once they have used these features, project managers
will no longer want to do without them: Here you can create individual jobs or multi-level projects,
Calculate quotations, create project plans, plan teams,
delegate tasks and store briefings and approvals. All operations belonging to the job/project
can be called up on a daily basis, including incoming
invoices, the status of outgoing invoices and posted times. With the task delegation to a certain team member, it is
also possible to assign individual tasks not only a target
date, but also the planned hourly budget. Many providers have integrated an option into their
functions that sends warnings to the project manager if
the budget is threatened or has already been exceeded.

Accounting/Finance

Accounting is an elementary component of a company and requires the utmost care. Modern agency software should also take this into account. An intelligent system offers the possibility to enter, assign and post incoming and outgoing invoices and to keep a cash book for cash documents. Recurring invoices are created automatically on the key date. A further advantage of an accounting tool is the possibility of being able to select certain processes at lightning speed. Filter functions are usually available for this purpose, for example for convenient selection by customer or supplier, document number or date.

Open-item lists with due dates for incoming and outgoing payments are also available at the push of a button. When using an agency software, the need to write payment reminders is a thing of the past. The system does this. With interface integration for financial accounting export and e-banking, a powerful agency software offers all-round convenience and service.

Human Resources

Agency software can make a lot of work easier for HR managers, e.g. in:

• strategic personnel development,
• entry of days absent,
• monitoring of working hours and overtime,
• holiday planning,
• general personnel support,
• individual personnel development,
• planning of personnel requirements,
• recruiting processes.

Thanks to intelligent document management, personnel application documents and the status of processing can be called up at any time.
 And within the framework of personnel controlling, measures such as salary increases, further training and individual target agreements can be stored, retrieved and analysed.

Those thinking about an agency software for the first time or about purchasing a new system, should
be well informed in advance and take the following into consideration:

• determine current in-house needs, including all areas,
• try demo versions,
• read reports from long-time users,
• use specialist advice and have it analysed,
• take the potential development of the agency into account,
• check contractual flexibility (terms, license design, rights management, module selection),;
• individual services and technical support,
• observe safety criteria and certifications,
• evaluate cost transparency.

Checking the initial situation and deciding in terms of perspective

By choosing agency software, a company sets the course for the future. Therefore, in addition to the current situation, this decision should also take the entrepreneurial vision and structural optimization into account. Overall, agency software should not create any constraints, but rather support process optimization and agency development. Below are a few tips on what you should be aware of well in advance:

Determine individual requirements

Before you decide on a product or a provider, you should – in addition to your preliminary research – have your concrete needs for functions checked. Experience
shows that it makes sense not only to try out test versions, but also to take advantage of professional
advice. Often there are other aspects that can be decisive for the maximum benefit of an agency software. If you also want to introduce comprehensive change management with the introduction of a system in order to carry out far-reaching process optimizations in your company, you should have your operational structures analysed.

Remaining flexible in every respect

Even if it is not yet clear what development path your agency will take and what size you will reach, you should rely on a product that leaves all options open for the future. You are on the safe side with additional user licenses, adjustments within the rights management and the extension of functions (e.g. with modular structure of the software). Ideally, the provider also develops
individual features for you.

If you choose cloud or web-based technology, you can work with the agency software flexibly in terms of location and time and do not need to maintain any local storage capacity. The system should be as comfortable as possible to use on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.

The larger your agency, the more important it is to have flexible rights management. It should offer the options of differentiated access rights. This allows you to determine individually at any time whether an employee is assigned all or only selected content and functions. This option is indispensable especially for the areas of accounting/finance, controlling and human resources.

Full cost transperancy

Transparency within the project workflow is a central benefit of agency software. But this added value should also refer to the cost structure of the system provider – as a basis for a trusting and cooperative partnership. You should also have the choice between purchase or rental licenses.