ERP Software for Marketing & Creative Agencies
Marketing and creative agencies face a distinctive set of financial pressures: tight client budgets, scope creep on fixed-fee projects, high turnover, and the constant challenge of capturing every billable minute across dozens of concurrent client campaigns. Agency management and ERP platforms built for this sector combine project management, creative workflow, time tracking, media buying, and agency financials in one system — giving account managers and finance directors a shared view of campaign profitability from kick-off to invoice.
Compare ERP Systems for Marketing & Creative Agencies
Select up to 4 ERP vendors to compare side by side. Filtered to show systems with strong marketing & creative agencies capabilities.
Key Challenges for Marketing & Creative Agencies
Tracking billable time across multiple concurrent client campaigns with inconsistent time-logging discipline among creative staff
Managing scope creep on fixed-fee projects without damaging client relationships or write-off margins
Handling media buying pass-throughs, vendor markups, and third-party production costs within project budgets
Producing accurate job-cost reports that reflect true profitability after unbillable internal time and overhead allocation
Managing retainer billing alongside project-based work with monthly reconciliation of hours used vs. contracted
Coordinating account, creative, and production teams across projects without visibility into shared resource availability
Generating client-ready financial reports and agency-of-record billing summaries that meet client requirements
Best Marketing & Creative Agencies ERP for SMBs
Recommended for companies with $10M–$250M revenue and 10–200 employees.
Workamajig
mid-rangeAgency-specific ERP platform covering project management, creative workflow, traffic management, time tracking, and accounting in one system designed exclusively for marketing and creative agencies.
Best for: Full-service marketing and creative agencies seeking an all-in-one agency management system
Function Point
mid-rangeAgency management platform with strong project costing, resource scheduling, and time tracking built for creative and marketing firms managing multiple concurrent client campaigns.
Best for: Small to mid-size creative agencies needing structured project management and costing
Harvest
budgetSimple, intuitive time tracking and invoicing tool widely adopted by creative agencies for its ease of use, strong integrations with project management tools, and clean client-facing reports.
Best for: Small agencies and studios that need reliable time tracking without complex ERP overhead
NetSuite
mid-rangeFull-suite cloud ERP supporting agency financials, project accounting, and multi-entity management for larger agency groups or holding companies with multiple brands.
Best for: Growing agency groups needing multi-entity ERP with strong financial consolidation
Sage Intacct
mid-rangeCloud financial management platform with strong project accounting, retainer management, and dimensional reporting suitable for agencies prioritizing financial accuracy and CFO-level visibility.
Best for: Agencies prioritizing best-in-class financial reporting and project accounting
Mavenlink / Kantata
mid-rangePSA platform with strong resource management, project financials, and business intelligence that suits data-driven agency operations teams seeking utilization and margin visibility.
Best for: Agencies focused on resource optimization and real-time project profitability insights
Best Marketing & Creative Agencies ERP for Enterprise
Recommended for companies with $250M+ revenue and complex multi-site operations.
SAP S/4HANA
enterpriseEnterprise ERP suitable for large agency networks and WPP/IPG-scale holding companies needing global consolidation, intercompany billing, and centralized procurement across hundreds of agencies.
Best for: Global agency holding companies requiring multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation at scale
Oracle ERP Cloud
enterpriseComprehensive cloud ERP with project financial management and revenue recognition automation for large agency groups with complex multi-country financial reporting requirements.
Best for: Enterprise agency networks with international operations and complex revenue streams
Microsoft Dynamics 365
enterpriseIntegrated ERP and CRM platform with Project Operations and Customer Insights modules providing end-to-end client management and project financial visibility for large agencies.
Best for: Large agencies standardized on Microsoft tools seeking integrated CRM and project financials
Unit4 ERP
enterprisePeople-centric ERP with strong project accounting and self-service capabilities designed for professional services organizations including large creative and communications agencies.
Best for: Large creative agencies and communications firms seeking flexible, people-first ERP
Essential ERP Capabilities for Marketing & Creative Agencies
Job costing and campaign profitability tracking at the client and project level
Retainer management with automated monthly reconciliation of hours used vs. contracted
Media buying and vendor pass-through cost management with configurable markup rules
Traffic management and creative workflow with task-level time capture
Resource scheduling across account, creative, strategy, and production teams
Fixed-fee project budget monitoring with scope-change approval workflows
Client billing in multiple formats including job estimates, purchase orders, and monthly statements
Overhead allocation and agency profitability reporting by client, account manager, and service line
Third-party production cost management including talent, photography, and print vendor POs
Revenue recognition for retainer and project-based engagements under ASC 606
Marketing & Creative Agencies ERP Cost Ranges
SMB
$8,000 – $40,000
5–40 users
Implementation: $5,000 – $30,000
Mid-Market
$40,000 – $180,000
40–200 users
Implementation: $40,000 – $200,000
Enterprise
$200,000 – $1,200,000+
200–1,000+ users
Implementation: $300,000 – $1,500,000+
Implementation Considerations
Establish consistent time-logging policies before go-live — even the best agency ERP fails if creative staff do not log hours daily
Configure job numbering and project structure templates that mirror your existing estimating and billing workflow to accelerate adoption
Plan your chart of accounts with agency-specific dimensions (client, campaign, service type) to enable meaningful profitability reporting from day one
Integrate with your existing creative workflow tools (Adobe Creative Cloud, Slack, Asana, or Monday.com) to reduce context-switching friction for creative teams
Define markup and pass-through rules for media and production costs in detail before configuration — inconsistent treatment of vendor costs is the most common source of billing disputes in agency ERP rollouts
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best agency management software for marketing agencies?
Workamajig is the leading all-in-one agency management system for full-service marketing and creative agencies, covering project management, traffic, time tracking, and accounting in one platform. Function Point and Workfront (Adobe) are strong alternatives for agencies with heavy workflow management needs. Agencies prioritizing financial rigor often pair Harvest or Toggl for time tracking with Sage Intacct or NetSuite for accounting.
How do marketing agencies handle retainer billing in ERP?
Retainer billing in agency ERP systems works by setting up a recurring monthly invoice for the contracted fee with a separate tracking bucket for hours consumed against the retainer. At month-end, the system compares actual hours logged to the retainer allowance and flags overages or underages for account manager review. Platforms like Workamajig, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct support automated retainer billing with configurable rollover and burn-rate reporting.
How do agencies track media buying costs and pass-throughs?
Agency ERP systems manage media pass-throughs through vendor POs linked to specific campaigns. When a media invoice arrives from Google, Meta, or a publisher, it is matched to the PO and posted to the job cost at cost or with a configured markup. The client invoice then includes the media cost at the agreed rate. Systems like Workamajig and NetSuite support both net billing (agency retains commission) and gross billing (client is billed at gross rate) models.
Why is scope creep such a financial risk for fixed-fee agency projects?
Fixed-fee projects are profitable only when the scope of work is clearly defined and held. When clients request changes without a formal change order, agencies absorb the additional hours as write-offs. Agency ERP systems address this by providing real-time budget burn alerts that notify account managers when a project is consuming hours faster than budgeted, triggering a change order conversation before the loss is locked in.
What is a good billable utilization rate for marketing agency staff?
Marketing agencies typically target 65–75% billable utilization for account and strategy staff and 70–80% for creative and production roles. The remainder covers new business pitches, training, and internal work. Agency ERP platforms track utilization by individual, team, and office so management can identify chronic under-utilization early and reassign or redeploy resources.
How does ASC 606 apply to agency retainer agreements?
Agency retainer agreements are typically recognized ratably over the service period as a series of distinct monthly performance obligations. Variable components — such as performance bonuses tied to campaign results — require estimation of variable consideration and potential constraint. ERP systems with ASC 606 automation handle the ratable recognition of base retainer fees and track variable components separately until the constraint criteria for recognition are met.
Should small creative studios use dedicated agency software or QuickBooks?
Studios with fewer than 10 staff and simple billing can often manage with QuickBooks Online plus a time tracking tool like Harvest or Toggl Track. As the client roster grows past 15–20 active accounts or fixed-fee projects become dominant, the limitations of QuickBooks for job costing and retainer management become significant, and migrating to a purpose-built system like Function Point, Workamajig, or Sage Intacct is worth the investment.
How do agency holding companies manage financial consolidation across multiple brands?
Agency holding companies use multi-entity ERP platforms — primarily NetSuite, SAP S/4HANA, or Oracle ERP Cloud — to consolidate financials across dozens or hundreds of agencies. These systems handle intercompany eliminations, shared service center allocations, multi-currency translation, and segment-level reporting from a single chart of accounts. Unit4 is also popular among mid-size agency groups for its strong multi-entity financial consolidation at lower total cost than SAP or Oracle.
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