Comparison
Manage Agency vs Ignition
Ignition excels at proposals, payment collection, and recurring billing. Manage Agency covers the operating layer that starts once the agreement is live: delivery, approvals, onboarding, reporting proof, client communication, time, files, and the full account relationship.
Where the tools split
Ignition is best at
Proposal-to-payment flow
Service menus, proposal templates, e-signature, recurring billing, and payment automation.
Manage Agency is best at
Post-sale account command
Client portal, delivery queue, onboarding, report proof, approvals, files, messages, time, and MCP/API actions.
Together
Sales engine + delivery cockpit
Use Ignition to package, quote, and collect. Use Manage Agency to run the client relationship after the work starts.
Pick Manage Agency if…
- — You need a full client portal beyond proposal acceptance.
- — You want command guidance across client risk, reviews, receivables, onboarding, and delivery.
- — You need project tracking, deliverables, time, reports, files, and approvals in one place.
- — You want MCP/API actions tied to real client, project, invoice, event, and contract records.
Stay on Ignition if…
- — Proposal-to-payment automation is your primary need.
- — You run recurring retainer billing that must be automated.
- — You need GoCardless/direct-debit style collection and mature recurring payment reminders.
- — Your services menu and proposal templates are your sales engine.
Feature by feature
Branded client portal
Ignition has a client-facing proposal and payment experience — not a full delivery portal.
Client login with their own identity
Ignition clients log in to accept proposals — not a persistent workspace.
Per-client feature toggles
No module-level control per client in Ignition.
CRM pipeline for new business
Ignition has a proposal pipeline with acceptance tracking.
Contracts / proposals send + sign
Ignition's proposal builder and e-signature is a core strength.
Invoicing with line items
Ignition invoices directly from accepted proposals.
Stripe payment collection and paid-state reconciliation
Manage Agency supports Stripe payment links and webhook reconciliation; Ignition has mature Stripe + GoCardless collection.
Recurring billing / subscriptions
Ignition handles retainer-style recurring billing automatically. Manage Agency is strongest for invoice/payment-link workflows today.
Deliverables with status + approvals
Ignition doesn't track project deliverables or client approval flows.
Agency command dashboard with next-best-action guidance
Manage Agency ranks client risk, reviews, receivables, onboarding blockers, and pipeline work across accounts.
Report proof center and client-facing progress narrative
Native MCP/API verbs for agency operations
Manage Agency exposes domain actions for clients, projects, invoices, leads, events, contracts, messages, and deliverables.
Kanban project board
No project management layer in Ignition.
Client-facing onboarding checklists
No onboarding module in Ignition — it ends at accepted proposal.
Inline messaging scoped to a client
No client messaging in Ignition.
Time tracking with project tags
No native time tracking in Ignition.
Team collaboration (multi-user)
Ignition supports team members but is sales-workflow focused, not delivery focused.
Role-based access for team members
Ignition has limited team role granularity.
Structured audit trail
No system-wide audit log in Ignition.
Proposal templates with services menu
Ignition's services/packages menu is best-in-class for proposal assembly.
Automated payment reminders
Manage Agency sends client-facing invoice emails; Ignition has deeper automated payment reminder workflows.
Built for end-to-end agency delivery
Ignition covers the sales side. Manage Agency picks up from contract through to delivery.
Use Ignition to close and collect. Use Manage Agency to command the relationship.
Ignition is excellent when the commercial motion is proposal-first. Manage Agency begins where the account gets operational: client health, deliverables, invoices, contracts, reports, files, messages, time, and automation actions tied to the client record.