
Top performing agencies have much more than just creative flair — they excel at building scalable processes to keep all projects running smoothly. If you’re feeling the strain of inefficiencies, perhaps it’s time to rethink your agency workflow.
But how exactly can you do that?
We caught up with Gray MacKenzie, founder of ZenPilot, to discuss how to streamline agency operations. With over 1,600 agencies under his belt, Gray shares loads of practical tips on building systems that simplify workflows, reduce errors, and improve profitability.
Here are some of our key insights.
Listen to the full podcast episode: Systems & processes for agencies with Gray MacKenzie |
Identify workflow pain points first
Every agency, no matter the size, faces bottlenecks and inefficiencies that slow down operations. Pain points could range from poor communication between teams to missed deadlines or inconsistent client experiences.
To fix these, you need to look at where the most friction occurs in your current processes.
Gray emphasizes the importance of starting by mapping out the agency's workflow pain points:

In other words, it’s crucial to pinpoint where things are going wrong, before you can move forward with an optimized system.
For example, are you constantly chasing clients for information? Are tasks falling through the cracks due to lack of visibility? Or maybe your team is repeating the same tasks manually, wasting valuable time that could be spent on high-priority work?
Once you’ve identified these areas, rank them based on three factors:
- How painful they are
- How frequently they occur
- How complex they are to fix
This simple matrix helps you prioritize which workflow issues to tackle first — ensuring you’ll focus on what will have the biggest impact.
Critical processes to optimize agency workflow

Your creative agency might have unique workflow issues, but most firms struggle with similar problems that have a substantial impact on efficiency. Gray stresses the importance of getting these systems in place — even if it feels like a time-consuming effort at first:
“People often think that having systems in place will take more time initially, but the investment pays off in the long run.”
So, what are the most important processes every agency should optimize? These are the usual suspects:
1. Client onboarding
Onboarding is the first touchpoint in your client’s journey, and it sets the tone for the entire project. That’s why it’s best to come up with a standardized onboarding process.
That way, you’ll make sure that each client receives the same level of attention and understands what to expect right from the start. The simplest way to do it is to set up a client intake form template to quickly gather necessary information, documents, and content.
Related: How to create a client intake form (template included)
2. Project management and delivery
The core of any agency’s workflow is how it manages and delivers projects. This is what optimization entails in most cases:
- Creating tangible milestones
- Assigning tasks with deadlines
- Providing team members with the tools and information needed to do their work
Many project management tools can help you in the process, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
3. Client reporting and communication
According to Gray, clients “really don't like when stuff gets dropped or doesn’t get followed up on correctly.” In other words, communication and reporting are the cornerstone of your agency’s workflow optimization.
Related: How to improve client communication in your business (and mistakes to avoid)
When you properly set up a recurring process for updates (daily updates, weekly check-ins, monthly performance reports, or project milestone reviews), it leaves no room for guesswork because your clients always know what’s happening.
4. Financial management
This is by no means the core of your work, but it has a huge impact on overall efficiency and client relationships. That’s why it’s best to automate invoicing, set up payment reminders, and track income to make sure that your agency gets paid on time. In addition, it’s just as important to rethink how you address discrepancies or billing queries.
Some of the best tools to streamline agency processes
Workflow optimization sounds complicated — and it really is — but you can improve many processes simply by using the right tools. Here are a few useful suggestions that cover the above mentioned processes.
Content Snare for client onboarding

Content Snare is a superior form builder that helps agencies gather information, content, and documents from clients. It guides respondents with clear instructions and automatically follows up on your requests. Here’s how Gray MacKenzie describes it:
“Clients hire you because they know that they need someone to push them to make things happen. Content Snare will do the pushing.”
For one, Content Snare speeds up your work with customisable onboarding questionnaires. Our library of ready-made templates contains nearly 20 different questionnaires for digital agencies, so you can quickly collect anything from website content to SEO requirements or landing page assets:

Secondly, Content Snare chases clients for files and information on your behalf. All it takes is to select the desired communication schedule, and the system will automatically send request reminders to the client:
Content Snare offers a whole range of additional features that help teams spend 71% less time gathering information. The best part is that you can test it for free — no credit card info required, no strings attached.
Stop chasing content — make it come to you
Give your clients fool-proof instructions and your team an easy way to organize project assets, then enjoy your freedom from chasing content.
ClickUp for project management and client comms

ClickUp stands out as one of the most powerful tools available for managing projects and improving client communication. Gray emphasizes its transformative potential for agencies:
“ClickUp is our Trojan horse. It helps agencies streamline the way they service customers and build out processes. They’re almost like the Apple of project management.”
What makes this tool truly effective isn’t just its features, but how it enables agencies to simultaneously standardize workflows, centralize communication, and automate repetitive tasks.
For instance, you can create predefined workflows for common projects. One option is to set up task dependencies and automation to assign tasks to team members as soon as the project kicks off. You can even link tasks directly to clients, making it easier to track progress and update them with a click.
At the same time, ClickUp integrates all your communication directly within tasks. For example, team members will use task comments, threads, or @mentions to keep all conversations in one place. That way, the system makes client feedback and internal notes easily accessible and connected to the relevant project.
FreshBooks for financial management

FreshBooks helps agencies stay on top of invoicing, expenses, and cash flow — all while saving time on administrative tasks. This is possible because FreshBooks automates much of your financial management procedures.
For example, you can set up recurring invoices for ongoing clients or long-term projects. It’s also possible to automate payment reminders and reduce the time spent following up with clients about overdue payments. This keeps your cash flow steady but it also prevents uncomfortable conversations with clients about late payments.
Reporting is another important feature.
FreshBooks generates profit and loss statements, tax summaries, and expense reports in a couple of clicks. That way, you can quickly analyze your agency’s financial health and forecast future revenues. Detailed reporting also simplifies tax season because you’ll already have financial data organized and ready for submission.
Final thoughts: Optimize your workflow and stick to it
Workflow optimization is about laying the foundation for long-term success. The idea is to make your job easier while delivering a consistently excellent experience for your clients. That’s why the key to success lies in optimizing your workflow and committing to it.
Or, as Gray MacKenzie rightfully concludes:
“Consistency is the key. Without consistency of the process, it's hard to create consistent outcomes.”