Toggl Alternative for Design Agencies
Design agencies adopt Toggl to track billable hours, then quickly realize they still need a project management tool for creative workflows, an invoicing tool for billing, and an approval tool for client feedback. Toggl becomes just one piece of a four-tool puzzle with no glue holding it together. Your designers waste time switching between apps, and your operations manager wastes hours reconciling time data against project budgets and client invoices. AgencyPro gives design agencies time tracking embedded in a complete creative operations platform — from project brief to final delivery to paid invoice.
If you're a Design agency looking for an alternative to Toggl, you're not alone. Many Design teams switch when they outgrow Toggl's capabilities — particularly around primarily a time tracker — no invoicing, crm, or client portal. AgencyPro is purpose-built for agencies like yours, combining project management, client portals, and billing into one platform.
Why Design Agencies Struggle with Toggl
Toggl tracks hours per project but has no task management — designers can't see briefs, deadlines, revision rounds, or deliverable status without a separate tool
No creative proofing or client approval workflow means design agencies cobble together email, Slack, and file-sharing tools for feedback rounds
Billing requires manually exporting Toggl time reports and recreating them as invoices in a separate tool every billing cycle
No visibility into project profitability because Toggl's time data lives in isolation from project budgets, scope, and client billing rates
Why Design Agencies Switch to AgencyPro
Creative Project Management with Time Tracking Built In
Design agencies need to manage creative briefs, assign tasks to designers, track revision rounds, and monitor deadlines — with time tracking embedded in every step. AgencyPro connects your project timelines and task assignments directly to time entries, so tracked hours have immediate context. No more toggling between Toggl and a separate project tool to understand where time went.
Client Approval & Proofing Workflows
Design deliverables need structured client review. AgencyPro's client portal provides a branded space where clients view deliverables, leave contextual feedback, approve final versions, and request revisions — with revision rounds tracked against contract limits. Toggl offers zero client-facing functionality, forcing design agencies into email-based approval chaos.
Project Profitability in Real Time
Knowing how many hours were tracked means nothing without knowing whether those hours are profitable. AgencyPro shows real-time project margins by comparing tracked time against budgets and client billing rates. You see which design projects are profitable before they're completed — insight that requires manually combining data from Toggl, your PM tool, and your invoicing tool today.
White-Label Client Experience
Design agencies sell a premium creative experience. AgencyPro's white-label client portal with your agency's branding, custom domain, and polished interface ensures every client interaction reflects your creative standards. Toggl has no client-facing component — clients never see or interact with it.
AgencyPro vs Toggl: Key Feature Comparison
Creative Workflow Management
Manage design projects from brief through delivery with phased timelines, task assignments, revision tracking, and deadline management.
Contextual Time Tracking
Track time directly against design tasks and deliverables with automatic project and budget allocation — no manual exports needed.
Client Proofing Portal
Branded review space where clients provide structured feedback, approve deliverables, and request revisions with round tracking.
Automated Invoicing
Generate invoices from tracked time, project milestones, or retainer agreements without manually exporting data to another tool.
Profitability Dashboards
Real-time margin tracking per project, per client, and per designer based on tracked time, budgets, and billing rates.
White-Label Portal
Fully branded client-facing experience with your logo, colors, and custom domain for a premium creative presentation.
Key Features for Design Agencies
Creative Workflow Management
Manage design projects from brief through delivery with phased timelines, task assignments, revision tracking, and deadline management.
Contextual Time Tracking
Track time directly against design tasks and deliverables with automatic project and budget allocation — no manual exports needed.
Client Proofing Portal
Branded review space where clients provide structured feedback, approve deliverables, and request revisions with round tracking.
Automated Invoicing
Generate invoices from tracked time, project milestones, or retainer agreements without manually exporting data to another tool.
Profitability Dashboards
Real-time margin tracking per project, per client, and per designer based on tracked time, budgets, and billing rates.
White-Label Portal
Fully branded client-facing experience with your logo, colors, and custom domain for a premium creative presentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
We love Toggl's simple interface — is AgencyPro complicated?
AgencyPro keeps time tracking just as simple — one-click timers, keyboard shortcuts, and manual entry. The difference is everything else. You gain project management, client approvals, and invoicing without adding complexity to the time tracking experience your designers already know.
Can we track time per design deliverable, not just per project?
Yes. AgencyPro supports task-level time tracking within projects, so you can see exactly how many hours went into a logo concept, a website mockup, or a brand guideline document. This granularity feeds directly into project profitability and scope analysis.
How does revision tracking work?
Define the number of included revision rounds per deliverable or project phase. AgencyPro tracks each client feedback cycle automatically. When revisions exceed the contract scope, the system flags it and can trigger additional billing at your defined rate before more work proceeds.
What about Toggl Plan — doesn't that cover project management?
Toggl Plan is a separate product with separate pricing that offers basic timeline planning. It still lacks client portals, invoicing, profitability tracking, revision management, and creative proofing. You'd need Toggl Track plus Toggl Plan plus an invoicing tool — three subscriptions with no true integration versus AgencyPro's single platform.
Switching from Toggl Is Easier Than You Think
Switching from Toggl to AgencyPro is straightforward. Our team helps migrate your projects, client data, and workflows so nothing falls through the cracks. Most Design teams are fully operational within a week.
Toggl Alternatives for Other Industries
Other Alternatives for Design Agencies
Learn more about AgencyPro for Design Agencies
View the Design Agencies use case page →Design Agencies Deserve More Than a Stopwatch
Move from Toggl's isolated time tracking to AgencyPro's complete creative platform — projects, approvals, billing, and time tracking unified.