Systems for Marketing Agencies
Approvals, assets and reporting in one portal your clients will actually enjoy using.
We work with the same small businesses you do, so we know the rhythm. A client sends a logo as a screenshot, three people give feedback on the same ad in three different places, and the monthly report gets assembled by hand late at night. We build marketing agencies a client-facing portal for onboarding, approvals and reporting, so your team can spend more of its hours on the creative work.
Common challenges
What slows down Marketing Agencies
Onboarding that drags on
Logins, brand guidelines, ad account access, analytics permissions. Gathering every piece through email can stall the kickoff before the fun part starts.
Feedback scattered across channels
Comments in email, a chat thread, a text to the account manager and a voice note. It's easy for a change from round two to sneak back into round three.
"Did we approve that post?"
Months later, nobody can quite remember whether a campaign was signed off. A dated approval record keeps everyone on the same page, kindly and clearly.
Reports that don't get the attention they deserve
Hours go into a monthly PDF that a busy client skims quickly before asking, 'so is it working?'
Scope creep on retainers
"Can you just do a quick landing page?" Small requests add up, and without tracking them against the retainer, it's hard to have that conversation fairly.
The solution
The system we'd build for you
Client onboarding intake
One guided form for brand assets, account access instructions, goals and contacts, with uploads and a checklist that shows clients what's still missing.
Asset library per client
Logos, fonts, photo libraries and brand guidelines stored in one place your whole team can find.
Approval workflows
Creative, copy and content calendars sent for sign-off with comments attached and every approval timestamped.
Content calendar view
Clients see what's scheduled and what's waiting on them, without access to your internal project tool.
Reporting dashboards
Live results pulled from the platforms you use where they allow it, with space for your team's commentary so clients get context, not just charts.
Request tracking against retainers
Clients submit requests through the portal, and you see how they stack against scope before you agree to them.
Your branding, not ours
The portal can carry your agency's look and domain, so clients see your brand from end to end.
Recommended package
Custom Portal
An agency juggling a dozen retainers needs clients to approve work, drop assets and see results without another status meeting. That's logins, approval flows and reporting dashboards, so a Custom Portal fits.
Popular add-ons for Marketing Agencies
Wherever you are
Just starting, growing or decades in.
Whether you haven't opened yet or you've been at it for decades, here's how we'd help at each stage.
Starting out
Just an idea, or brand new
Freelancing and ready to become a proper agency? Even the people who build brands for others appreciate a hand with their own, and Start Your Company can set up your agency's identity, domain and portfolio site so you can keep billing clients while it comes together.
Growing
Busy and getting busier
Once you're past a handful of retainers, onboarding checklists, approval records and request tracking keep the team from drowning in email and help you spot scope creep early.
Established
Years or decades in
Agencies with long client relationships and a deep body of work have processes that already serve them well. We build the portal around how your account managers like to work, under your brand, and bring clients onto it gradually.
An example
What it could look like in real life
An illustration of how it could work. The business and details are made up for the example.
Picture a ten-person agency in Toronto handling social, paid ads and websites for a mix of retail and professional service clients. Onboarding drags, approvals happen over email and chat, and monthly reports take the last two days of every month. We build a portal under the agency's own brand: clients onboard through a guided intake, approve creative with a click and see dashboards between meetings. Requests come in through one form and get tracked against each retainer, and status meetings get shorter because clients can already see where things stand.
Questions we get
FAQ
We already use a project management tool. Is this a replacement?
No. Your internal project management stays where it is. The portal is the clean, client-facing layer, and we can connect with tools like ClickUp or Asana where they allow it.
Can it be white-labelled?
Yes. Your logo, your colours and your domain. Clients never need to know who built it.
Can clients see ad spend and results live?
Where the ad and analytics platforms allow connections, yes. Otherwise we set up a simple way for your team to update the numbers.
Why not just use a shared drive?
A shared drive stores files well. It doesn't track approvals, follow up on missing onboarding items or show a client how their retainer is being used.
Free 15-minute call
New two-person studio or an agency that's been around since print ads, we'd enjoy helping your clients feel more in the loop.
Book a free 15-minute call about your client workflow.
- Client onboarding intake
- Asset library per client
- Approval workflows