Skip to main content

Agency Manager Capability Map

Purpose​

This is the full product capability map for the agency manager and client portal.

It is intentionally broader than the MVP roadmap. The goal is to capture the real end-state product without pretending every feature belongs in the first release.

Grounding Rules​

This map is grounded in these truths:

  • the repo already supports three product surfaces: org, portal, and platform
  • the first real user is an agency owner running a real agency
  • billing truth should come from Stripe-backed records, not hand-maintained app-only finance state
  • portal users need clarity and trust, not exposure to agency-internal complexity
  • the product should replace fragmented operational work first, not become an overbuilt agency ERP on day one

Surface Definitions​

org​

Agency staff workspace.

Primary users:

  • agency owner
  • project manager
  • account manager
  • finance/admin staff
  • delivery staff

portal​

Client-facing workspace.

Primary users:

  • client owner
  • marketing manager
  • operations contact
  • billing contact

platform​

Future product-operator workspace.

Primary users:

  • SaaS operator
  • support/admin team
  • commercial operations

Capability Groups​

1. Identity, Access, And Account Setup​

Must exist​

  • agency account and organization setup
  • agency staff membership and roles
  • agency staff access assignments by client account
  • staff invite flow that includes client access selection
  • owner-configurable staff permissions based on role templates
  • client account records owned by an agency
  • client portal user invitations
  • tenant-safe portal authentication
  • org and portal access boundaries kept separate

Should exist later in the first major product arc​

  • multiple contacts per client account with role-specific access
  • billing-only portal contact access
  • delivery-only portal contact access
  • audit trail for invites, access changes, and membership removal
  • user-specific permission exceptions layered on top of default role behavior

Can wait​

  • SSO for agencies
  • delegated admin across multiple agencies
  • external partner access models

2. Client Account Management​

Must exist​

  • client directory for agency staff
  • client detail page
  • assigned agency team visibility per client account
  • account status
  • primary contacts
  • relationship metadata such as start date, service type, retainer/project mix
  • internal notes and account summary

Should exist​

  • account health summary
  • custom fields for service-specific tracking
  • tags or segments for filtering
  • relationship timeline

Can wait​

  • full sales CRM pipeline
  • prospect stages before onboarding
  • automated lead scoring

Truth rule:

This product should be CRM-lite for active client operations, not a full top-of-funnel CRM in v1.

Access rule:

Keep agency-side client access simple:

  • agency owners or admins can give a staff user access to all clients
  • or assign that staff user to specific client accounts only
  • the invite flow should present this choice directly instead of making access assignment a later admin chore

RBAC rule:

  • start from common role templates rather than forcing every agency to build roles from scratch
  • let the agency owner decide which important capabilities each non-owner role can or cannot perform
  • support specific staff exceptions later when the agency needs them

3. Engagements, Services, And Projects​

Must exist​

  • projects under a client account
  • project status and target dates
  • service engagements or retainers linked to the client account
  • recent updates visible to the client
  • internal staff assignment on projects

Should exist​

  • milestones
  • deliverables list
  • project health state
  • project templates
  • archived project history

Can wait​

  • deep task management
  • kanban boards
  • sprint planning
  • full resource planning engine

Truth rule:

The app should help track client-facing delivery truth, not replace every internal project tool immediately.

4. Time Tracking​

Must exist​

  • time entries owned by agency staff
  • time linked to client account and project
  • billable vs non-billable flag
  • manual entry and recent-entry editing
  • internal totals by client and project

Should exist​

  • timer mode
  • approval or locking rules for submitted time
  • budget/retainer burn tracking
  • staff utilization views

Can wait​

  • payroll exports
  • advanced cost accounting
  • complex capacity planning

Truth rule:

Time tracking is primarily an internal agency capability. Clients should see summaries when relevant, not raw internal operational noise.

5. Billing And Payments​

Must exist​

  • agency Stripe connection management
  • Stripe customer mapping per client account
  • billing summary on both org and portal surfaces
  • invoice history
  • invoice status
  • payment method visibility or management where supported
  • subscription or retainer visibility where applicable
  • overdue and failed payment visibility

Should exist​

  • billing templates or reusable service pricing presets
  • billing contacts and billing email management
  • downloadable invoice documents
  • payment reminders and billing notices
  • service/package mapping to billing records
  • credit balance or manual adjustments if the business needs it
  • post-send invoice operations such as write-offs, refunds, and credit handling

Can wait​

  • full in-app invoice authoring
  • revenue recognition logic
  • tax engine logic beyond what Stripe already owns
  • multi-currency complexity

Truth rule:

Stripe is the billing source of truth. The app owns client context, billing presentation, and operational actions around that truth.

Planning note:

For a serious agency billing product, post-send invoice lifecycle operations are eventual requirements, not optional fantasies. They may land after the first billing slice, but they belong in the long-term product contract.

6. Files, Documents, And Deliverables​

Must exist​

  • account-level document library
  • project-linked files
  • contracts and statements of work
  • invoice attachments or downloadable billing docs when available
  • client-visible deliverables and downloads
  • client-to-agency file uploads from the portal
  • a default shared drive/workspace per client account

Should exist​

  • folders or structured document categories
  • upload ownership and audit trail
  • document visibility scopes
  • versioning for changed files
  • request-for-upload flows from agency to client
  • simple shared-doc collaboration where plain files are not enough

Can wait​

  • full document approval workflows
  • granular redlining/commenting
  • e-signature orchestration

Truth rule:

The product needs document access and sharing before it needs a sophisticated document-management system.

Planning note:

The first usable release should support real back-and-forth file exchange, not a one-way drop-off experience.

Recommended model:

  • base shared drive by default
  • client uploads enabled as part of the base workspace model
  • lightweight upload requests layered on top when the agency wants more structure

7. Client Communication And Visibility​

Must exist​

  • client-facing dashboard
  • recent updates
  • next steps or outstanding actions
  • account contacts
  • support/contact handoff path

Should exist​

  • update feed or timeline
  • simple request/approval prompts
  • portal notifications for billing, files, and project changes
  • client acknowledgments

Can wait​

  • full messaging/chat system
  • shared comment threads everywhere
  • ticketing replacement for support teams

Truth rule:

Portal communication should reduce email chaos, but v1 does not need to become Slack, email, and a helpdesk all in one.

8. Reporting And Internal Ops​

Must exist​

  • dashboard summary for client health, project load, time totals, and billing attention items
  • filters and views by client account
  • meaningful empty states and operational flags

Should exist​

  • retainer burn reports
  • overdue invoice reporting
  • project profitability indicators
  • team time distribution views

Can wait​

  • advanced BI exports
  • forecasting engine
  • full executive analytics suite

Truth rule:

Operational reporting should answer the agency’s daily questions first, not optimize for vanity dashboards.

9. Automation And Notifications​

Must exist​

  • billing notices
  • invite emails
  • document-share notifications
  • project status change notifications when client-visible

Should exist​

  • scheduled reminders
  • stale project nudges
  • retainer threshold alerts
  • internal action digests

Can wait​

  • cross-system workflow builder
  • Zapier-style automation engine
  • AI-driven automations everywhere

10. Platform-SaaS Features​

Must exist eventually, but not in the first product wave​

  • agency tenant provisioning
  • platform admin visibility across agencies
  • plan/entitlement management
  • internal support tooling
  • tenant-safe operational analytics

Can wait until the product is clearly useful to one agency​

  • self-serve agency signup
  • white-label controls
  • agency-level app store/integrations marketplace

High-Value V1 Feature Set​

If the goal is a credible first release, the must-have combination is:

  • org-side client directory and client detail
  • portal user access and client dashboard
  • projects and recent updates
  • time entry logging
  • invoice visibility and Stripe-backed invoice actions
  • subscription or retainer visibility
  • client drive for shared files
  • client docs for polished shared information

Additional Features Worth Intentionally Considering​

These are not random add-ons. They are the adjacent capabilities most likely to matter for a serious agency product.

11. Contacts And Role-Based Access​

Why it matters:

Real client relationships usually involve multiple people.

Should likely exist:

  • multiple client contacts
  • separate billing and delivery contacts
  • contact status and last-invited state

Can wait:

  • highly granular per-document permissions

12. Account Health And Relationship Status​

Why it matters:

Agencies need a quick read on which client relationships are healthy, drifting, blocked, or overdue.

Should likely exist:

  • account health summary
  • stale-project or stale-update flags
  • overdue billing flags
  • last meaningful client touchpoint

Can wait:

  • predictive health scoring

13. Client Requests And Intake​

Why it matters:

Clients often need to submit files, requests, approvals, or change asks.

Should likely exist later in the first major product arc:

  • simple request intake forms
  • file request flows
  • structured client submission prompts

Can wait:

  • full ticketing/helpdesk replacement

14. Approvals And Acknowledgments​

Why it matters:

Agencies often need clients to approve a deliverable, confirm receipt, or acknowledge a document.

Should likely exist later:

  • document acknowledgment
  • simple deliverable approval state

Can wait:

  • formal multi-step approval workflow engines

15. Search And Activity History​

Why it matters:

As soon as the app holds projects, invoices, files, and notes, retrieval becomes critical.

Should likely exist:

  • search across clients, projects, files, and invoices
  • account and project activity timelines

Can wait:

  • global semantic search or enterprise search complexity

16. Templates​

Why it matters:

Agencies repeat the same account setup, project setup, and recurring documentation patterns.

Should likely exist later:

  • project templates
  • document templates
  • recurring client workspace defaults

Can wait:

  • advanced automation/template marketplace

17. Stripe Connection Management​

Why it matters:

If the product is going to behave like an agency-facing extension of Stripe, agencies need a clean way to connect and maintain their own Stripe account.

Should exist:

  • connect agency Stripe account
  • view connection status and sync health
  • detect missing requirements or broken connection state
  • reconnect or refresh access when needed

Can wait:

  • support for multiple connected Stripe accounts per agency

18. Service Catalog And Billing Presets​

Why it matters:

Agencies usually bill recurring retainers, fixed monthly services, or a small set of repeatable one-off work.

Should likely exist:

  • saved service offerings
  • reusable invoice line-item presets
  • recurring plan presets mapped to Stripe prices

Can wait:

  • full product catalog management rivaling Stripe itself

Features The Product Should Be Careful About​

These are tempting, but they should only exist if they clearly support the agency workflow instead of bloating it.

  • proposals and quoting
  • CRM pipeline
  • deep task management
  • helpdesk/ticketing
  • embedded chat
  • full accounting features
  • generic automation builder

Product Test​

When deciding if a feature belongs, ask:

  1. Does it directly help the agency manage an active client relationship?
  2. Does it improve client visibility or self-service?
  3. Does it reduce tool switching across delivery, billing, time, or documents?
  4. Is it better than leaving this job to Stripe or another specialized system?

If the answer is mostly no, it probably should not be first-class product scope.

  • Stripe-backed billing visibility
  • document library and shared files

That is enough to be genuinely useful without turning the first build into a giant agency suite.