Toggl Alternative for PR Agencies
PR agencies run on retainers, and every month involves media outreach, press release production, event coordination, crisis response, and client reporting — across multiple accounts simultaneously. Toggl tracks the hours your team spends on these activities, but that's all it does. It can't manage campaign workflows, monitor retainer utilization, generate client invoices, or provide account dashboards. PR agencies end up patching together Toggl with a PM tool, an invoicing tool, and reporting spreadsheets — a fragmented setup that wastes senior team time on administration. AgencyPro consolidates PR agency operations into one platform.
If you're a PR agency looking for an alternative to Toggl, you're not alone. Many PR 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 PR Agencies Struggle with Toggl
Toggl cannot track retainer utilization against monthly agreements — PR account managers manually compare hours to retainer caps using spreadsheets each month
No campaign or workflow management means media outreach plans, press release production, and event timelines live in a separate tool disconnected from time tracking
Monthly client reports require combining Toggl time data with activity summaries from email, PM tools, and media tracking platforms into a manual deliverable
No client-facing access at all — PR clients can't see retainer usage, campaign activity, or deliverable status without the agency preparing and sending updates
Why PR Agencies Switch to AgencyPro
Retainer Management Built for PR
PR retainers often include a mix of monthly hours and specific deliverables — press releases, media outreach targets, monthly reports. AgencyPro tracks both hour-based and deliverable-based retainer components, shows utilization in real time, and alerts account managers when contracts are running over or under. Toggl only sees hours — it has no concept of retainer scope or deliverable commitments.
PR Campaign Workflow Management
Media pitching campaigns, product launches, and event PR require structured workflows with task sequences and deadlines. AgencyPro lets you manage these campaigns with task assignments, dependencies, and milestone tracking while your team tracks time directly against campaign activities. No more running Toggl alongside a separate PM tool for campaign coordination.
Client Account Dashboards
PR clients want visibility into what their retainer fee pays for each month. AgencyPro's client portal shows retainer utilization, campaign activity, completed deliverables, and hours logged — giving clients real-time transparency. Your team spends less time writing manual status reports because clients can self-serve the information. Toggl provides nothing client-facing.
Streamlined Monthly Billing
PR agencies bill monthly retainers, additional project fees, and overage hours — often for the same client. AgencyPro handles all three billing models with automated invoice generation from tracked time and deliverable completion. The monthly billing cycle that requires Toggl exports, spreadsheet reconciliation, and manual invoice creation in a separate tool becomes a one-click process.
AgencyPro vs Toggl: Key Feature Comparison
PR Retainer Tracking
Monitor retainer utilization combining hours and deliverable commitments with real-time dashboards, alerts, and monthly roll-up reporting.
Campaign Workflow Management
Structured workflows for media pitching, press releases, event coordination, and launch campaigns with task sequencing and deadlines.
Integrated Time Tracking
Track time against specific PR activities and campaigns with automatic retainer allocation and billable categorization.
Client Account Portal
Self-service dashboards for PR clients showing retainer usage, campaign progress, deliverable tracking, and monthly activity summaries.
Multi-Model Billing
Handle retainer fees, project-based charges, and hourly overages per client with consolidated automated invoicing.
Team Utilization Reporting
Track account manager and specialist workloads across client accounts to balance assignments and optimize staffing.
Key Features for PR Agencies
PR Retainer Tracking
Monitor retainer utilization combining hours and deliverable commitments with real-time dashboards, alerts, and monthly roll-up reporting.
Campaign Workflow Management
Structured workflows for media pitching, press releases, event coordination, and launch campaigns with task sequencing and deadlines.
Integrated Time Tracking
Track time against specific PR activities and campaigns with automatic retainer allocation and billable categorization.
Client Account Portal
Self-service dashboards for PR clients showing retainer usage, campaign progress, deliverable tracking, and monthly activity summaries.
Multi-Model Billing
Handle retainer fees, project-based charges, and hourly overages per client with consolidated automated invoicing.
Team Utilization Reporting
Track account manager and specialist workloads across client accounts to balance assignments and optimize staffing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can AgencyPro handle retainers that include both hours and specific deliverables?
Yes. Configure retainer agreements with monthly hour allocations alongside deliverable commitments — for example, 40 hours plus 2 press releases and 1 monthly report. AgencyPro tracks both components and shows combined utilization so account managers see the full retainer picture, not just hours.
Our PR team tracks time for internal analysis, not just billing — does AgencyPro support that?
Absolutely. Track billable and non-billable time, categorize by activity type (media outreach, writing, meetings, admin), and run utilization reports across your team. AgencyPro gives you the analytical depth for internal operations while also automating the billing side that Toggl can't handle.
We have 30+ retainer clients — how does AgencyPro scale versus our Toggl setup?
At 30+ clients, the manual reconciliation of Toggl hours against retainer agreements consumes significant admin time monthly. AgencyPro automates this entirely — every tracked hour routes to the correct retainer, utilization updates in real time, and invoices generate automatically. The larger your client base, the more time you save versus Toggl plus spreadsheets.
Can clients see how their retainer hours were spent?
Clients access their portal to view time logs broken down by activity category, campaign, and team member. They see exactly how their retainer budget was allocated each month without your team preparing manual reports. This transparency level is impossible with Toggl since it has no client access features.
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 PR teams are fully operational within a week.
Toggl Alternatives for Other Industries
Other Alternatives for PR Agencies
Learn more about AgencyPro for PR Agencies
View the PR Agencies use case page →Run PR Retainers Without the Spreadsheet Overhead
PR agencies replace Toggl's isolated time tracking with AgencyPro's retainer management, campaign workflows, and client portals — all in one platform.