Productive Alternatives for Agencies and Firms

Forecast is a resource planning and PSA tool that pairs scheduling with project financials, and it is the most complete option in this list. Lite costs $29 per seat per month billed annually, Pro costs $49, and Enterprise is priced through sales. The platform covers resource scheduling, capacity planning, project budgets, time tracking and invoicing in one system.

The strength is the financial layer. Project budgets, billable rates and forecasts sit next to the schedule, so managers can see whether a project will make money before they staff it. AI-assisted planning suggests people for open roles based on skills and availability, and the reporting covers utilization, margin and pipeline by client and team.

The price is the main barrier. At $29 per seat per month billed annually, Lite costs nearly three times Teamwork Basics, and there is no free plan, only a 14-day trial. Small teams that need scheduling and billing at a lower price will get better value from Teamwork or Float. Firms that want one tool for scheduling, budgets and invoices will find the price easier to justify.

Price: $29 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: forecast.app

Accelo is a professional services automation platform that unifies pipeline, projects, resources and financials, with a focus on the quote-to-cash flow. It covers client management, opportunities, quotes, projects, retainers, tickets, time tracking and invoicing, with AI-assisted timesheets and a client portal. The product targets firms that want one system from first quote to final invoice.

The workflow is the draw. A quote becomes a project, the team logs time against retainers, and invoices go out with the same client record, which removes the handoffs that cause billing errors. The platform also supports recurring retainers and service tickets, so firms that sell ongoing support can manage it next to project work.

The problem is pricing. Accelo stopped publishing prices and now routes every buyer to a request-pricing form, with four plan tiers and no dollar figures on the page. The last public figures, from 2023, ran about $20 to $90 per user per month billed annually, but Accelo no longer stands behind them. Onboarding is a separate charge that is also unpublished. Ask for a full written quote, including onboarding, before you compare Accelo with a published-price tool.

Price: quote only

Free plan: Free trial (7 days)

Website: accelo.com

Scoro is a professional services automation platform that consolidates quoting, delivery, resourcing, time tracking and invoicing in one system. It now prices by app combination rather than fixed tiers: Time-Billing starts at about $17 per user per month billed annually, Projects and Resources at about $29, and End-to-End at about $57. Every combination carries a five-user minimum, and annual billing saves 13 to 17 percent.

The strength is financial reporting. Scoro tracks project profitability, utilization, pipeline and forecasts in real time, with two-way sync to QuickBooks and Xero. The modular model lets a firm buy only the apps it needs, from eight core apps that cover sales, delivery, resourcing, quoting, time, spend and invoicing, plus Scoro AI credits on every combination.

The limits are cost and minimums. A five-person team on the cheapest combination still pays about $85 a month, and the full End-to-End bundle costs more than three times as much. Monthly billing costs more than the annual rates shown here, and add-ons are priced separately. For agencies of 15 or more people that need executive financial reporting, Scoro is strong; smaller firms will find Teamwork cheaper.

Price: $17 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: scoro.com

Teamwork is a project management platform with time tracking, resource planning and client billing built in. Basics costs $9.99 per user per month billed annually, and Accelerate costs $24.99, with a free plan for up to five users. The platform covers tasks, milestones, Gantt charts, workload views, time logs and invoicing, which makes it a practical all-rounder for client-service teams.

The workload view is the resource planning core. Managers see who is over capacity across projects, reassign work with drag and drop, and track time against budgets. Client billing links logged hours to invoices, and the reporting covers project profitability and team utilization. For agencies that want one tool for delivery and billing, Teamwork is a proven choice.

The limit is planning depth. Teamwork does not offer the scenario modeling or placeholder forecasting of a dedicated planner, and its capacity views are simpler than Float. The price also jumps from $9.99 to $24.99 between Basics and Accelerate, which is a large step for a growing team.

Price: $9.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: teamwork.com

Float is a resource scheduling tool built for professional services teams and in-house delivery groups, and it is the cheapest option in this guide. Starter costs $7 per scheduled person per month billed annually and covers scheduling, capacity planning, time-off management and project scoping, while Pro at $12 adds time tracking, rate cards, cost estimation and single sign-on. You pay only for people you add to the schedule, so guests with view-only access cost nothing.

The schedule itself is the main draw. Drag-and-drop allocation, color-coded projects and per-person capacity bars make overbooking visible at a glance, and the time-off view shows who is available before you commit to a date. Project margin tracking on Starter shows whether the hours you planned match the budget, which helps small agencies catch scope creep early.

The limits are clear. Float does not invoice clients, so you will still need an accounting tool or a separate billing step. Rate cards, cost estimation and advanced reporting sit on Pro, which nearly doubles the per-person price. If your firm needs quoting and invoicing in the same tool, Teamwork or Scoro will fit better, but for pure scheduling Float is hard to beat.

Price: $7 per scheduled person/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Website: float.com

Harvest is a time tracking and invoicing tool for freelancers, agencies and small professional services teams. Teams costs $9 per seat per month billed annually, Enterprise costs $14, and there is a free plan for one user. The product covers time logs, expense tracking, project budgets and invoicing, with usage-based fees for active projects, clients and tasks on the higher plans.

The strength is simplicity. Starting a timer, logging hours against a project and sending an invoice takes minutes to learn, and the reporting shows project budgets, team capacity and billable hours without setup work. Harvest Forecast, the companion scheduling tool, adds capacity planning for $5 per person per month billed annually, but it is billed separately from Harvest itself.

The limit is planning depth. Harvest alone does not forecast capacity or model future staffing, and the scheduling add-on costs extra. Teams that need real resource planning should pair Harvest with Float, or choose a tool with planning built in. For firms whose main need is accurate time and clean invoices, Harvest remains one of the easiest tools to run.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: getharvest.com

Monday work management is a flexible work platform built around boards, with automations, timelines and dashboards. Basic costs $9 per seat per month billed annually, Standard costs $12 and Pro costs $19, with a free plan for up to two seats. Plans start at three seats, and monday prices in seat buckets, so the bill rises in steps as the team grows.

The appeal is flexibility. Teams can build boards for projects, clients, pipelines or campaigns, and automations move work between boards without manual updates. Standard adds timelines, Gantt views and 250 automation actions a month, while Pro raises that to 25,000 actions and adds time tracking, private boards and more dashboard views. AI credits are bundled on every plan, from 1,000 a month on Basic to 3,000 on Pro.

The limit is depth in agency finance. Monday does not offer the project accounting, retainer billing or utilization reporting of a PSA, so agencies that bill by the hour will need add-ons or a second tool. Basic also has no automations or integrations at all, which makes Standard at $12 the real entry point for most teams. For firms that want flexible project boards first and billing second, Monday is a strong pick.

Price: $9 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: monday.com