Creative agencies typically have a lot on their plate at any given time. If you are a project manager, you are a master juggler, and you can easily respond to an urgent client email, join an impromptu team call to discuss a new development, and update a project timeline - all within 10 minutes. This is why project management software is so essential for creative teams, as it cuts out a significant amount of tasks, leaving you with more time for the important tasks that cannot be automated.
However, once an agency grows beyond the beginning stages, it often finds that project management software is not enough. Working on multiple projects at the same time, project managers begin to feel the need for enterprise project management software, which tracks every aspect of the business and provides a holistic view into where the agency stands at the business level.
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What is Enterprise Project Management?
Enterprise Project Management (EPM) is the practice of overseeing projects at the business level, ensuring that every project fits in with the overall strategic goals of the business, maximizes profitability, and makes the most efficient use of resources across all projects. Unlike standard project management, which focuses on individual projects, enterprise project management caters to businesses that juggle:
- Multiple projects
- Cross‑department collaboration between creative, account, and strategy teams
- A mix of retainers, one‑off projects, and multi‑month campaigns
- Strict deadlines and multiple review rounds
- Financial tracking for profitability and resource planning
Enterprise project management systems are designed to handle this complexity by unifying tasks, resources, timelines, and financials. They typically include:
- Client intake and project request workflows
- Task and dependency management
- Enterprise resource planning
- Proofing and approval tools for creative assets
- Budgeting, forecasting, and profitability tracking
- Integrated time logging and invoicing
This unified approach is a game-changer for agencies that struggle with not being able to see the bigger picture, which leads to short-sighted decision-making.
Why Agencies Need Enterprise-Level Tools
Agencies are not like traditional businesses, which run along a fairly predictable route. Agency life can be entirely unpredictable, with timelines and clients in constant fluidity. Without enterprise project management software, agencies often find themselves facing some or all of the following challenges:
- Missed deadlines due to misaligned resources
- Over‑servicing clients without realizing it
- Team burnout from poor workload visibility
- Inaccurate financial reporting and profitability tracking
On the flip side, the best project management enterprise software ensures that:
- Every team member knows their priorities and deadlines
- Managers see workload and capacity across the agency
- Budget vs. actual spending is tracked in real time
- Projects align with agency profitability and client satisfaction
This level of control puts leadership in a position to make proactive, data-based decisions, instead of finding out about problems too late and making spur-of-the-moment decisions that don’t make sense at the business level.
Enterprise project portfolio management software is also necessary for communication purposes. Trying to run a full-on agency on disconnected communication mediums can only mean wasted time and money. Enterprise project management tools improve communication because they allow everyone to work from a centralized system, which means streamlined communication and reduced miscommunication.
What are the Key Benefits of Enterprise Project Management?
Investing in an enterprise project management system doesn’t just avoid problems; it actually creates multiple tangible business benefits.
- Enhanced client satisfaction: When projects happen smoothly, clients notice. The ability to offer clear timelines and respond quickly and effectively to feedback means clients will return for more.
- Increased profitability: Enterprise project portfolio management tools allow agencies to track budgets, hours, and expenses in real time. This prevents over-servicing and scope creep, which helps protect profit margins on every project.
- Resource Optimization: Effective enterprise resource planning project management allows managers to allocate the right people to the right projects at the right time. This ensures balanced workloads, avoids employee burnout, and maximizes productivity.
- Improved Decision Making: Enterprise project management software provides real-time visibility into the status of every campaign. This enables leadership to act swiftly when issues arise, whether that means reallocating resources or adjusting timelines.
- Scalability for Growth: As agencies gain more clients and increase the services they offer, an enterprise project management solution scales seamlessly, supporting larger portfolios without adding complexity.
- Project Intake and Approval: This eliminates the chaos of email requests and ensures nothing falls through the cracks, streamlining client requests with customizable intake forms and automated approval workflows.
Must-Have Features of Enterprise Project Management Software
When looking for enterprise project management software, make sure it has the following features.
- Project Intake and Approval: This will enable you to streamline client requests with customizable intake forms and automated approval workflows.
- Task and Workflow Management: This is important for managing tasks with dependencies and recurring schedules and assigning them across teams for seamless collaboration.
- Resource Planning and Scheduling: You need this to gain full visibility into team availability and capacity, including freelancers and external vendors.
- Budgeting and Financial Tracking: This feature should track estimates, actuals, expenses, and profitability at both the project and portfolio level.
- Proofing and Creative Review: This feature facilitates client and internal feedback with version control and approval history.
- Time Tracking and Invoicing: This will enable you to track time and expenses accurately, and link them to projects for streamlined billing.
- Reporting and Dashboards: Look for reports and dashboards with a neat interface. These will show you real-time insights into project health, resource utilization, and financial performance.
- Fit for Agency Workflows: Before buying an enterprise project management software, ensure that it supports creative approvals, campaign templates, and client collaboration.
You can compare the top-rated enterprise project management software in our guide here.
Best Practices for Implementing Enterprise Project Management Software
Transitioning to an enterprise project management solution is transformative, but to get the full benefit out of it, implement the following best practices.
1. Map Your Current Workflows
The first step is to understand how your agency currently operates. This means identifying bottlenecks, pain points, and the tasks that are being done manually that can be automated, before selecting a tool that will redesign your process.
2. Involve Key Stakeholders Early
Engaging project managers, creatives, accountants, and leadership in the planning and decision-making will ensure buy-in and smooth adoption.
3. Prioritize User Training and Support
Even the best enterprise project management software will only work if your team uses it consistently. It pays to invest in comprehensive training and ongoing support.
4. Start Small and Scale
Pilot the system on a few projects or teams before rolling it out agency-wide. Use feedback to refine workflows and training.
5. Define Clear Metrics for Success
You’ll only know if your enterprise project management software is working if you track KPIs like utilization rates, on-time delivery, budget adherence, and client satisfaction.
6. Review and Refine Regularly
Enterprise project management is not a “set it and forget it” solution. Schedule quarterly reviews of workflows, KPIs, and user feedback to ensure the system continues to align with your agency’s evolving needs. Agencies that actively refine their processes see higher adoption rates and greater returns on their software investment.
While the upfront cost of enterprise project management software is substantial, the return is quick and well worth it. Agencies typically see a 20-30% improvement in project delivery times within the first quarter of implementation. That translates directly to increased capacity, which means you can take on more projects without hiring additional staff, which means more profit.
The financial impact extends beyond time savings. Real-time budget tracking prevents the revenue leaks that plague many agencies, where small overruns across multiple projects can erode annual profits by 15-20%. Additionally, improved client satisfaction from smoother project delivery leads to higher retention rates and more referrals.
Most agencies report that their enterprise project management software pays for itself within 6-8 months, and this is why it’s important to get a software that comes with robust training, because the sooner your staff know what they’re doing, the sooner you will see the pay-off. The competitive advantage of being able to deliver consistently excellent results while maintaining healthy margins is nothing to sneeze at. You really can’t compare an agency that uses EPM to one that does not!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the salary for an enterprise project manager?
According to Indeed, the average salary is $87,187, with the lower end being $14,000 and the higher end being $229,000.
What are some enterprise project management examples?
Examples include agencies using Workamajig to manage dozens of client campaigns, track resources and budgets, and streamline approvals from start to finish.
What are some enterprise project management courses?
Popular courses include PMP (Project Management Professional) and PRINCE2.
How Can Workamajig Help You with Your Enterprise Project Management?
Workamajig is a comprehensive enterprise project management software designed exclusively for creative and marketing agencies. It offers:
- Unified Workflow Management: Workamajig is all-in-one, and that means ALL. From client intake, proposal, and project planning to task scheduling, proofing, and invoicing, it’s all there at your fingertips.
- Enterprise Project Portfolio Management Tools: Visibility into all active projects, their status, and financial health.
- Resource Planning and Allocation: Workamajig provides in-depth resource planning tools, which allow you to see at a glance where your employees are spread at any given time, and know exactly where changes need to be made.
- Financial Tracking and Profitability Insights: Workamajig’s robust real-time budget vs actuals reporting helps protect margins.
- Scalability for Growing Agencies: Supports multiple offices, currencies, and user roles with enterprise-grade security.
Get Workamajig today - turbocharge your agency!
Originally published November 3, 2025.