Best CRM for Marketing, Creative & Digital Agencies
Manage clients, track projects, bill retainers, and send invoices—all in one simple CRM. No per-user fees. Works offline for client meetings.
The Agency CRM Problem
❌ Salesforce: Complex setup (2+ months), expensive ($75-150/user/mo), requires admin to maintain, overkill for agencies
❌ HubSpot: Great for marketing, terrible for client project tracking, no built-in recurring billing, $50-400/mo
❌ Monday.com: Project management tool, not a CRM, no invoicing, per-user pricing kills margins
❌ Spreadsheets: Client info scattered across Google Sheets, no automation, manually creating invoices every month
Why Lead16 is Built for Agencies
👥 Client Management
Track all clients in one place: contact info, project history, proposals sent, contracts signed, invoices paid. See complete client journey instantly.
🔄 Recurring Billing
Automate monthly retainer invoices. Set up once, invoices send automatically. Track MRR to see predictable agency revenue. Dunning emails for late payments.
💰 Built-in Invoicing
Create invoices directly from projects. Send via email with payment link. Track payment status. Saves $30-50/mo on QuickBooks or FreshBooks.
📴 Offline Mode
Meeting clients on-site? Take notes, update projects, log time—all offline. Everything syncs when you reconnect. Perfect for agency pitches and site visits.
Perfect for All Agency Types
📣 Marketing Agencies
Track campaign clients, manage monthly retainers, send recurring invoices for management fees. Log client calls, store campaign briefs, track project deadlines.
Use case: Digital marketing agency with 25 retainer clients. Recurring billing saves 8 hrs/month vs manual invoicing.
🎨 Creative Agencies
Manage design clients, track project proposals, bill hourly or project-based. Store brand guidelines, log revisions, track deliverable deadlines.
Use case: Branding agency juggling 10 active projects. Client history shows past designs, preferences, and invoice status.
💻 Digital Agencies
Track web development clients, manage hosting retainers, bill for maintenance. Log support requests, track site launches, invoice for add-ons.
Use case: Web dev agency with 40 maintenance clients. Recurring billing invoices all clients automatically on the 1st of each month.
📱 Social Media Agencies
Manage social clients, track content calendars, bill monthly management fees. Log posting schedules, track engagement metrics, store client brand voice.
Use case: Social agency with 15 clients across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn. Centralized client communication history.
✍️ Content Agencies
Track content clients, manage blog retainers, invoice per article or monthly. Store content briefs, log revisions, track publishing deadlines.
Use case: Content agency writing for 20 SaaS clients. Custom fields track word count, SEO keywords, and delivery dates.
🎥 Video Production Agencies
Manage video clients, track project timelines, bill per video or monthly retainer. Log shoot dates, store creative briefs, invoice for revisions.
Use case: Video agency with 8 active shoots. Offline mode lets team log notes on set without WiFi.
Lead16 vs Other Agency CRMs
| Feature | Lead16 | HubSpot | Salesforce | Monday.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in invoicing | ✓ All plans | ✗ Needs integration | ✗ Needs QB | ✗ No |
| Recurring billing for retainers | ✓ Free | ✗ No | Custom only | ✗ No |
| Offline mode | ✓ Full functionality | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Setup time | 5 minutes | 1-2 weeks | 2+ months | 1 day |
| Per-user pricing | ✗ Flat rate | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price for 5-person agency | $29-49/mo | $250/mo+ | $375/mo+ | $120/mo+ |
Essential Features for Agencies
📊 Client Pipeline
Visual kanban board shows all prospects and active clients by stage: Lead → Proposal → Contract → Active Client → Completed. Drag-and-drop to move clients through stages.
🏷️ Custom Fields & Tags
Tag clients by industry (SaaS, eCommerce, Healthcare), project type (branding, web dev, SEO), or status (retainer, project-based). Create custom fields for budget, deadline, deliverables, and monthly hours.
📈 MRR Tracking
See total Monthly Recurring Revenue from all retainer clients. Track new MRR, churned MRR, and expansion MRR. Perfect for agencies transitioning to retainer model or tracking growth.
📧 Gmail Integration
All emails with clients automatically logged to their record. See complete communication history without searching inbox. Send tracked emails from CRM.
🤝 Team Collaboration
Assign clients to account managers. Share notes across team. See who talked to which client and when. No more "who's handling the XYZ account?" confusion.
Marketing Agency Saves $4,200/Year, Eliminates Manual Invoicing
"We were using HubSpot ($400/mo) + QuickBooks ($50/mo) + paying per-user fees for our 7-person team. Lead16 replaced both tools for $49/mo flat rate. The recurring billing feature alone saves us 12 hours monthly—we had someone manually creating 35 retainer invoices every month. Now it's fully automated. We're saving $4,200/year and our margins improved by 8%."
— Jessica R., Founder of Digital Marketing Agency (35 retainer clients)
Simple Pricing for Agencies
Starter
- ✓ 50 clients
- ✓ 10 invoices/month
- ✓ Recurring billing
- ✓ Offline mode
- ✓ Gmail sync
- ✓ 1 user
Growth
- ✓ Unlimited clients
- ✓ Unlimited invoices
- ✓ Advanced automation
- ✓ Custom fields & tags
- ✓ Zapier integration
- ✓ 3 users
Pro
- ✓ Everything in Growth
- ✓ API access
- ✓ White-label reports
- ✓ Priority support
- ✓ Custom integrations
- ✓ 10 users
All plans include 14-day free trial. No credit card required. Cancel anytime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Agencies juggle multiple clients, projects, proposals, and retainers simultaneously. A CRM centralizes <a href="/features/contact-management" class="link link-primary">client communication</a>, tracks project milestones, manages <a href="/features/recurring-billing" class="link link-primary">recurring billing</a> for retainers, and prevents leads from falling through the cracks. Without a CRM, agencies waste 10+ hours weekly searching for client info, missing follow-ups, and manually creating invoices.
Lead16 includes built-in invoicing and <a href="/features/recurring-billing" class="link link-primary">recurring billing</a> for retainers (saves $30-50/mo on separate billing software). It works fully offline for client meetings and site visits. No per-user fees means your entire agency can use it for one flat price. Setup takes 5 minutes vs weeks for Salesforce or HubSpot.
Yes. Tag clients by industry, project type, or retainer status. Use custom fields to track project deadlines, budget, and deliverables. Link multiple deals and invoices to each client. See complete client history (proposals sent, contracts signed, invoices paid) in one place.
Yes. Growth and Pro plans include Zapier integration to connect with 5,000+ tools including Slack, Trello, Asana, Monday.com, Google Drive, and more. Pro plan includes API access for custom integrations. Gmail integration is built-in on all plans (including free).
Set up monthly, quarterly, or annual recurring invoices for retainer clients. Lead16 automatically sends invoices on schedule, tracks payment status, and sends dunning emails for late payments. Track MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) to see predictable agency income. Perfect for retainer-based agencies, subscription services, or monthly management fees.
Related Resources
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