Running projects
Kanban for agencies: a board your team and clients will use
How to set up a kanban board for agency work: columns for stages, labels for states, job types, priorities and due dates that everyone can read.
9 min read
Project management software for agencies
Run client projects without the inbox chaos.
Sound familiar? Re: Re: Re: Logo feedback. 247 unread. A Slack channel per client. Nobody sure which version the client saw.
Context? Lost.
One place. Total clarity.
Every client. Every project. Organised.
The problem
Email wasn't built for agencies.
Every client conversation splinters across inboxes, threads and channels. The work is fine. The context is what gets lost.
- Conversations siloed in personal inboxes The decision lives in one person's mail. When they're off, so is the answer.
- New team members have zero context Onboarding means forwarding threads and hoping nothing important was in a reply-all.
- Decisions buried in threads Which version did the client approve? Somewhere under "Re: Re: Re:".
- Clients chasing updates you missed A follow-up you never saw is a client who thinks you don't care.
How it works
Three steps to a calmer client project
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1
Create the project
One board per client project. A new project starts with Backlog, Active, QA and Completed; rename them the way you already work.
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2
Invite the client as a free guest
Add them straight onto a job. They see that project only, comment where the work is, and it costs you nothing.
The invite dialog on a job: tom@northwind.co typed into Email addresses, a line saying someone new joins as a free guest who sees that project only, a preview marking Tom as new with an invitation to send and no change to the paid seats, and a Send invitation button.
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3
Approve work where it lives
Name who approves and by when. Your client reviews from the email, pins comments on the spot, and approves or asks for changes with a note. A new version asks again, and every round stays on the job. No “final_v3_FINAL.pdf”.
Why it works
What changes once the work lives on the board
The conversation sits on the work
Feedback, files and decisions live on the job they belong to, not in a thread somebody has to forward.
Nothing is stuck in one inbox
Everyone on the project reads the same history, so a holiday does not take the answer with it.
Hand-offs happen on their own
When a job reaches review, a rule can assign the next person and tell the client. Each change shows on the job with the rule's name.
Review it from a phone
One column at a time with a switcher, hold to drag a card, and approvals that work at phone width in the browser.
Sign-off you can point to
Every decision stamped with who, when, which version and whether it came from the app or an email link.
Clients free, always
Single-project guests are never billed, on any plan.
- Your client sees one project
- A single-project guest can open the project they were invited to and nothing else in the workspace.
- Every approval is stamped
- Who signed it off, when, which version they were looking at and how, kept on the job.
- Guests are never billed
- Single-project guests do not count towards your user limit on either plan.
FAQ
What agencies ask
Billing questions are on the pricing page. Anything else, email support@skybase.it.
Can our clients use Skybase without paying?
Yes. Invite a client to one project as a single-project guest and they are never billed, on either plan. They see that project and nothing else in your workspace.
How do clients approve work?
Ask for approval on the job: choose the files, name the approvers and give it a due date. Each client gets their own secure link by email, reviews on any device without signing in, pins comments on images and PDFs, and approves, approves with changes or requests changes with a note. Every decision stays on the job with who made it and when.
Can we move our boards across from Trello?
Yes. An administrator uploads a Trello board exported as JSON from the Projects page. Lists become columns, cards become jobs, and their labels and checklists come across.
What does Skybase cost an agency?
It is free for up to 5 users, with every feature. Pro is $3.99 per user per month, or $39.90 per user per year. Single-project guests are free on both plans.
Read next
Client work
Client approvals without the email chain
A client approval process for agencies: named approvers, review links that open without signing in, a clear decision with a note, and every version kept.
10 min read
- Guide Invite your team and clients Members or guests? How to invite people to your workspace, a project or a single job, and which roles count towards your bill. Read the guide
- Guide Board, table and calendar The same jobs three ways: drag them across the board, sort and group them in the table, and plan due dates on the calendar. Read the guide
Put your next client project on one board.
Free plan, no credit card. Your client joins as a guest that never costs you a seat.
Free plan · No credit card · Clients always free