1 Teamwork.com
Best for agencies and services firms that bill clients by project
Client work adds a question internal projects never ask, which is whether the job made money. Teamwork.com ranks first because it is built for that, with projects tied to budgets and billing. The two lower paid plans have published per-user prices and list 300 and 600 projects. Quotes, multi-currency budgets and profitability insights start at the Optimize plan, which is the one a services firm of 50 or more should price.
Watch for. Optimize and Enterprise are listed as contact us, and single sign-on is Enterprise only. Get both prices before you plan around the lower tiers.
- How it charges
- Per user, billed yearly, with seat minimums, top plans quoted
- Main limit
- Lowest paid plan allows 300 projects and 5,000 automations
2 Custom build by Black Badger
Best for firms whose quoting, staffing and billing rules are their own
Black Badger publishes this guide and builds custom software, and for services firms that is often a system that follows an engagement from quote to final invoice. It ranks second because billing rules are where products stop fitting. Retainers, rate cards per client and approval of time before it is invoiced are yours alone. We build those as you run them, with no per-seat fee, and you own the code and the accounts.
Watch for. It starts with discovery and a written scope, which gives you the cost and the schedule. If your billing is plain time and materials, a product will serve you well.
- How it charges
- One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
- Main limit
- Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
3 Wrike
Best for services firms of 50 to 200 that want one fixed plan
Wrike ranks third for services firms. The Business plan covers 5 to 200 users at a single published per-user price, which fits a firm that wants a predictable rate while its client load rises and falls. It ranks behind Teamwork.com because Teamwork.com is the one built around client budgets and billing, and the Wrike pricing page states no automation, storage or API limits to plan around.
Watch for. Business and above are annual only, and seats are sold in groups of five on accounts of up to 30 seats. Size the contract for your steady headcount.
- How it charges
- Per user, billed yearly, top plans quoted
- Main limit
- Team stops at 15 users, Business at 200, seats sold in groups of five
4 monday.com
Best for firms that want clients looking at a shared visual board
monday.com ranks fourth. Guest access and Timeline and Gantt views start at the Standard plan, and time tracking and private boards start at Pro, so Pro is the plan a client services firm should price. It ranks here because it is a general board tool, so the link from a project to its budget and invoice is something you set up yourself. That setup runs inside an automation quota of 25,000 actions a month on Pro.
Watch for. The page asks for a quote above 40 users, and resource management is listed as an Enterprise feature. Ask about both if you staff people across many client projects.
- How it charges
- Per seat, billed yearly, from 3 users, Enterprise quoted
- Main limit
- Pro caps automations at 25,000 a month, portfolios need Enterprise
5 Asana
Best for firms running many client projects that leadership must see
Asana ranks fifth for client work. Starter and Advanced list no seat limit and unlimited automations, and Advanced adds unlimited portfolios, which lets a managing director see every client project in one place. It ranks below the board and billing tools because universal resource management and capacity planning, the features a services firm uses to staff engagements, are listed only on Enterprise.
Watch for. Enterprise is priced by contacting sales. If staffing across clients is your main problem, get that quote first.
- How it charges
- Per user, billed yearly or monthly, Enterprise quoted
- Main limit
- Portfolios need Advanced, resource tools and SSO need Enterprise
6 Smartsheet
Best for firms that manage client schedules in a spreadsheet grid
Smartsheet ranks sixth. A services firm that already plans engagements in spreadsheets gets a familiar grid with Gantt and approvals on the Business plan, plus unlimited automations. It is last on this list because it is a general planning tool, and a firm of this size starts on Business since Pro stops at 10 members. Portfolios across clients are listed as an Enterprise addition.
Watch for. Business has a 3 member minimum and Enterprise needs 10 or more members. Confirm how the people outside your firm who need access are counted.
- How it charges
- Per member, billed yearly or monthly, Enterprise quoted
- Main limit
- Pro stops at 10 members and 250 automations a month, no API calls