Best Client Portal Software for Agencies in 2024

Want to keep lucrative clients and enjoy the calm of an organised workflow?

Then you’re in the right place!

A client portal will transform your business, combining unmissable features like task management, secure client collaboration, and team tracking in one intuitive platform.

These features will help you deliver an outstanding customer experience, which is more important than ever, as 86% of customers will ditch a brand after only two poor experiences!

Let’s dive into the benefits of using client portals, the key features to look for, and an in-depth analysis of the best options for agencies.

Why Your Agency Needs Client Portal Software

Client portal software offers an all-in-one client and project management suite ready to launch immediately.

Sound easy?

That’s because it is!

Client portals will help you with the following:

Streamline your projects
Automate time-wasting admin tasks
Centralise your client communications (alongside shared documents!)
Make it easier to get paid
Dazzle clients with a professional interface
Untangle your tech stack
Offer tasks and timesheets that make your team’s workflow transparent

Client portals are your all-in-one business partner (without the huge payout!). They’re a total game-changer for agencies with complex and overwhelming workflows.

Key Features to Look for in Client Portal Software for Agencies

Not all client portals are made equal. Picking the wrong one means you’re looking to switch in a few months–a process that will disrupt your agency, talent, and customers!

To avoid that pitfall, look for the following features:

Project Management: Are you already using a project management app? If so, check that your client portal integrates well with it. If not, ensure your client portal offers project and task management that helps you stay organised and efficient.
In-App Messaging: Miscommunication and missed emails harm the client relationship. Choose a client portal for agencies that allows you to manage your complex web of clients and talent quickly and easily in-app, with document sharing paired with messaging.
Automated Features: Delays and inefficiencies are costly and unprofessional. Supercharge your processes with automation features and AI-powered suggestions.
User-Friendly Portal: Wow clients with a portal that shows off your branding and provides a seamless customer experience.
Reports: Discover how your finances are progressing with month-to-month reports and charts.
Customer Support: Choose a portal with high-quality customer support ready to guide you through any hiccups.

In a digital agency, delivering a higher-quality service thanks to a client portal is a key differentiator that will drive client retention!

How to Choose the Right Client Portal Software for Agency Work

Choosing the right client portal for your agency is a crucial decision that can significantly impact your efficiency, client satisfaction, and overall success.

Here are some key questions to ask to help you make the best choice:

What Are Your Agencies Specific Needs?: Identify the size of your agency and the volume of clients you manage. Don’t forget to ensure your portal can scale with your business.
Which Features Do You Require?: Are you a PR or marketing agency? Depending on your industry, you will have specific requirements. Analyse which features are essential for you.
What Tools Should Your Client Portal Integrate With?: Ensure the portal can seamlessly integrate with tools your agency already uses.
What’s Your Budget?: Evaluate how much you can spend on a portal each month and identify which options offer enough features to provide a good return on investment.

Remember, choosing the right client portal is an investment in your digital agency and client relationships. Take the time to check user reviews and testimonials, and select a portal that aligns with your agency's unique needs and goals.

The Best Client Portal Software for Agencies

Whether you’re a PR or marketing agency, we’ve got you covered. The following is a deep dive into each client portal's features, pros and cons, pricing, and more!

Hubflo: The 4.9*-Rated Client Portal for Agencies

Our take:

Hubflo is a top-rated client portal with a suite of valuable features.

Its goal?

To optimise your entire workflow and make working with clients a breeze.

Enjoy easy client collaboration, project management with just a few clicks, and all your favourite software integrated into a single platform.

The platform is intuitive and customisable, and many users report that it’s super easy to use, ensuring a stellar first impression for clients. And every communication becomes faster with AI suggestions and templates.

All in all, Hubflo has everything you need to be a total game-changer for your digital agency.

Pricing :

$40 per month for one user ($34 per month with annual membership) with unlimited clients and portals

Core features:

File management: ✓

Notes: ✓

Tasks / Ticketing: ✓

Invoicing / Payments: ✓

Messaging: ✓

Forms: ✓

Embed external apps: ✓

Proposals: ✓

CRM: ✓

Project management: ✓

Scheduling / Calendar: ✓

Reports: ✓

Mobile app: ✓

Integrations:

Stripe: ✓

Zapier: ✓

Google Drive: ✓

Dropbox: ✓

Gmail / Outlook: ✓

Google Calendar: ✓

QuickBooks: ✓

Xero: ✓

Slack: ✓

Mailchimp: ✓

Pros :

Hubflo currently has a 4.9* rating on Google
Supercharge your entire workflow with task and project management features
Show your professionalism with a customisable portal
Hubflo offers many integrations
AI-powered features
Excellent client portal for agencies

Cons:

Hubflo doesn’t offer multi-currency options yet
Comments can’t be left for other users

Dubsado: A Client Portal Software for Agency Businesses

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Our take:

Dubsado is a comprehensive client portal for agencies that offers project and task management on a straightforward interface. Its intuitive client portal allows you to share forms and files quickly. These documentation features are a big plus, enabling you to customise your documents.

Once your work is complete, there are auto-payment features, and you can analyse your progress with clear reports.

It all sounds pretty smooth, right?

However, some users find Dubsado’s steep learning curve insurmountable.

Remember that an overly complex client portal will drain your valuable time, plummeting your return on investment.

Pricing :

Dubsado offers two plans: the Starter and Premier Plan. However, the Starter tier lacks many key features, such as Zapier integration and scheduling.

The Starter Plan is $20 / user / month

Core features:

File management: ✓

Notes: ✓

Tasks / Ticketing: ✓

Invoicing / Payments: ✓

Messaging: 🟠 - links to email or text

Forms: ✓

Embed external apps: ✓- may need to embed using code

Proposals: ✓

CRM: ✓

Project management: ✓

Scheduling / Calendar: ✓

Reports: ✓

Mobile app: x

Integrations:

Stripe: ✓

Zapier: ✓

Google Drive: ✓

Dropbox: ✓

Gmail / Outlook: ✓

Google Calendar: ✓

QuickBooks: ✓

Xero: ✓

Slack: ✓

Mailchimp: ✓

Pros :

Advanced calendar/scheduling options
Offers a wide range of integrations
Supports customisation and branding
Financial reports help you keep track of your earnings

Cons:

Overly complex navigation and set-up
Integrations can lag and take time to establish
Some users find its customer support unhelpful
User report bugs in crucial areas, such as email functionality, that aren’t resolved quickly

Moxo: A Communication-Focused Client Portal Software for Agency Use

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Our take:

Moxo is a client portal that helps you keep in touch with your clients. Choose from the many ways to communicate, from document sharing to video conferencing to in-app messaging. Moxo is a configurable client portal that allows you to tailor imagery, colours, business content, and workflows.

Despite client communication being Moxo’s defining feature, it only allows you to save messages for 90 days, which can be frustrating if you have long-running projects.

To help those projects run smoothly, however, Moxo offers some features to help you schedule tasks and allows you to set your workflows with repeatable elements and preset actions.

Currently, Moxo is growing to upgrade its features as it still has a relatively limited set, and some users find that key features, such as voice and video messaging, function poorly with jolting videos and poor sound.

Pricing :

Moxo has three pricing plans: the Starter, Business and Enterprise. However, the cheaper tier lacks valuable capabilities, such as scheduling.

Moxo works on an active user model. An active user is anyone who completes an action on the Moxo platform in a month. The Starter Plan is £10 / for a minimum of 10 users / month

Core features:

File management: ✓

Notes: ✓

Tasks / Ticketing: ✓

Invoicing / Payments: ✓

Messaging: ✓

Forms: ✓

Embed external apps: ✓

Proposals: ✓

CRM: x

Project management: ✓

Scheduling / Calendar: ✓ (through Moxo add-on)

Reports: ✓

Mobile app: ✓

Integrations:

Stripe: x

Zapier: ✓

Google Drive: ✓ (through Moxo add-on for Google Workspace)

Dropbox: x

Gmail / Outlook: ✓

Google Calendar: x

QuickBooks: x

Xero: x

Slack: ✓

Mailchimp: x

Pros :

Electronic signature
Easy-to-use interface
Exhaustive range of features
Good mobile application
Encrypted and secure data

Cons:

Conversations deleted after 90 days
No automated reminders
Lack of AI-powered features

Notion: A Tech-Influenced Client Portal for Agencies

Our take:

Notion can be a client portal software for agency work. It’s engineered for seamless teamwork, especially in remote and hybrid settings. You can track tasks, schedule meetings, and share documents effortlessly.

But is there a catch?

Initially crafted for software developers, Notion offers AI support wherever possible and caters to various tech work styles like sprints. While these features are helpful, its tech background can make it feel overly complex.

Despite its complexity, Notion lacks a few key features. While it's a powerhouse for organisation and creativity, Notion doesn’t offer in-app payment or reports.

Pinpoint the features you need to ensure your client portal is assisting your business in every way possible.

Pricing :

Notion provides a Free tier for individuals, Plus (for small groups), Business, and Enterprise.

The Business tier is $15 / users / month

Core features:

File management: ✓

Notes: ✓

Tasks / Ticketing: ✓

Invoicing / Payments: ✓ (no in-app customer payments)

Messaging: ✓

Forms: ✓

Embed external apps: ✓

Proposals: ✓

CRM: x

Project management: ✓

Scheduling / Calendar: ✓

Reports: x (requires outside tools)

Mobile app: ✓

Integrations:

Stripe: x

Zapier: ✓

Google Drive: ✓

Dropbox: ✓

Gmail / Outlook: ✓ (paid extra)

Google Calendar: ✓

QuickBooks: x

Xero: x

Slack: ✓

Mailchimp: x

Pros :

Good customer support
Easy to set up
Looks professional
Database features for enhanced organisation
GDPR and SOC-compliant

Cons:

Some users find it unintuitive and complex
Lack of visual customisation features
Limited advanced features (no automation)
Difficult to grant specific permissions to team members

WordPress: Customisable Client Portals for Agencies Through Plugins

Our take:

WordPress is a content management system that gives you a platform to build a website.

Is your website one of the 43.1% that were built through WordPress?

If so, you can use one of the WordPress Client Portal plugins to create a client portal through your website.

These portals allow customers to access a private page through your website on their browsers.

WordPress client portals are quick to set up, and you can brand your portals to match your agency.

Pricing :

Prices for each plugin differ.

One popular plugin, Client Portal, doesn’t require a one-off payment but a subscription. From there, WordPress users can pay more for updates.

For a single site licence, it costs $199 / unlimited users

Core features:

File management: ✓

Notes: ✓

Tasks / Ticketing: ✓

Invoicing / Payments: ✓

Messaging: ✓

Forms: ✓

Embed external apps: ✓

Proposals: ✓

CRM: ✓

Project management: ✓

Scheduling / Calendar: ✓

Reports: ✓

Mobile app: x (part of the WordPress app)

Integrations:

Stripe: x

Zapier: x

Google Drive: ✓

Dropbox: ✓

Gmail / Outlook: ✓

Google Calendar: ✓

QuickBooks: x

Xero: x

Slack: ✓

Mailchimp: x

Pros :

Simple to set up
Supports in-depth customisation
In-website client portal

Cons:

Shortage of features
No standalone options
Only a client portal software for agencies using WordPress

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What's the Best Client Portal Software for Agency Work?

Your client portal will be like a business partner–so choose wisely!

Here at Hubflo, we offer a 7-day free trial before you need to pay anything. This trial period is an excellent opportunity to try our 4.9*-rated client portal to see how it can transform your workflow and impress clients. We know you’ll love it!

Start your 7-day free trial now.

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