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Agency Manager Master Roadmap

Sequencing Rule​

Do not jump to advanced automations or platform-commercial features before the client workspace, delivery model, and billing spine are real.

Current Position​

The repo is no longer sitting at the start of this roadmap.

  • Phase 1 outcomes are materially present in the product today.
  • Phase 2 outcomes are materially present in the product today.
  • Phase 3 is materially live through agency Stripe connection management, customer mapping, invoice/subscription authoring, customer-detail billing surfaces, and portal billing views, but it is not complete.
  • Phase 4 is underway through shared files and project-linked delivery, but richer approval and request loops are still incomplete.
  • Portal-side self-service people management is now live on top of the multi-company grant model, and org time entries now have an approval-plus-lock baseline instead of approval-only drift.

The active baton is to finish the remaining Phase 3 and Phase 4 operational detail before spending effort on Phase 5 platform breadth.

One product-model correction is now explicit inside the shipped portal slice:

  • portal access can no longer assume one company per org-scoped portal identity
  • the product must support one external person holding multiple invite-only company grants inside the same agency organization
  • deeper portal-side people administration should build on that grant model rather than the older single-company membership assumption

Phase 0. Product Foundation​

Goal: turn the generic starter into a clearly named agency product with a stable domain model.

Deliverables:

  • brand and app vocabulary updated from starter defaults
  • live product spec and planning docs in place
  • first-pass entity model for agency, client account, project, time entry, internal billing mapping, invoice record, and document
  • route inventory for org, portal, and future platform responsibilities

Exit condition:

  • the next implementation slice can be built without debating naming, scope ownership, or what the product is

Phase 1. Client Workspace Foundation​

Goal: prove the core relationship loop between agency staff and client portal users.

Deliverables:

  • agency-side client directory
  • client account creation and portal access flow
  • client portal home/dashboard shell
  • shared account summary model spanning client details, active work snapshot, billing snapshot, and shared files snapshot
  • bidirectional file exchange between agency and client at the account workspace level
  • seeded demo data that reflects a believable agency-client relationship

Exit condition:

  • an agency can create a client-facing workspace, a client can log in, and both sides can actually exchange core account artifacts

Quality rule:

Do not treat the first usable release as a disposable MVP. Early phases can be narrower in scope, but they should already feel dependable enough for real agency use.

Phase 2. Delivery And Time Tracking​

Goal: make the product operationally useful for day-to-day agency work.

Deliverables:

  • projects and project statuses
  • time entry model with project and client attribution
  • agency-side time logging and reporting views
  • portal-visible project progress and recent updates

Exit condition:

  • the agency can manage active work and log time in the product instead of relying on external trackers for the core flow

Phase 3. Billing And Payments​

Goal: turn the portal into the billing home for client accounts.

Deliverables:

  • Stripe customer mapping and internal billing-mapping sync
  • invoice history and payment status views
  • payment method management from the client portal
  • retainer or subscription visibility where applicable
  • agency-side billing visibility connected to the same client account model
  • agency-side analytics for utilization, revenue, receivables, and billing attention trends

Exit condition:

  • a client can review and act on billing inside the portal, and the agency can manage that account relationship without leaving the product for common billing tasks or core finance reporting

Phase 4. Files, Documents, And Approvals​

Goal: centralize client-facing artifacts.

Deliverables:

  • client-first drive model with a global org finder plus client-specific drive workspaces
  • nested folders inside each client drive
  • first-class rich text docs in the drive alongside uploaded files
  • backend migration from the legacy documents table to driveItems, fileAssets, richDocuments, and fileRequests
  • lightweight request and fulfillment workflows layered on top of the drive
  • landed scoped upload links for one-off outside contributors that land in the right drive destination without exposing the full workspace, including portal-client creation and management inside visible shared destinations
  • project-linked deliverables and account-level drive organization

Exit condition:

  • the client portal and org workspace both treat the drive as the default place to find, exchange, and author account artifacts

Phase 4.5. Personal Operating Layer​

Goal: give agency staff a personal operating layer inside the org shell without blurring the client-work navigation model.

Deliverables:

  • a shell-level Notes utility with top-bar launcher, full route, and dock action
  • a sidebar Today workspace for the logged-in user's daily operating view
  • internal notes that may link to client accounts or projects without becoming portal-visible docs
  • a lightweight personal checklist instead of a full team task-management system

Exit condition:

  • a logged-in agency operator can keep personal working context, lightweight follow-through, and internal note capture inside the app without turning overview, time, or Drive into catch-all personal surfaces

Phase 5. SaaS Hardening And Platform Ops​

Goal: prepare the product to be sold to other agencies.

Deliverables:

  • platform admin tooling
  • cross-agency provisioning and support workflows
  • commercial packaging, plans, and internal operator controls
  • tenant-safe analytics and lifecycle tooling

Exit condition:

  • the product can be operated as software for multiple agencies, not just one internal deployment

Deferred Until Proven Necessary​

  • CRM pipeline management
  • proposal generation
  • white-label theming per agency tenant
  • complex workflow automation
  • deep task management beyond what active delivery requires