ERP software for Creative Agencies: How cre8 Migrated to if.team and Helped Us Become Better

Changing the ERP system for creative agencies is always a challenging step. Especially if you’re a team with well-established processes, a constant flow of projects, and a heavy workload. Even if the new platform offers more features, you can’t just switch overnight. It takes time, discussions, and a lot of trust in the product.

This case is exactly about that. How the cre8 team spent nearly a year making decisions, providing feedback, and ultimately became active users of if.team. And how together we’re making the ERP for creative agencies if.team better.

About the client

Cre8 is a creative agency working on numerous design projects, delivering quality user experiences with a business-oriented approach. They carefully analyze the niche, competitors, and user behavior to build projects focused on long-term results — from one to five years. Cre8 takes a systematic approach and treats each project as their own.

To manage such complex processes, cre8 searched for a reliable solution. They chose if.team — an ERP for creative agencies that helps unify tasks, projects, and finances in one system and increases team transparency. The migration took almost a year, and here’s how it unfolded.

Why switching ERP software for creative agencies is a crucial step for companies

Switching from one ERP system for creative agencies to another is a complex process, especially for teams with many projects and established workflows. For cre8, it was a serious challenge.

The team was working in Hubstaff, so moving to a new platform meant restructuring their usual workflows. The migration decision dragged on for almost a year — that’s how long cre8 tested the system, gave feedback, and waited for features and changes that would make if.team convenient specifically for them.

During this time, cre8 conducted an in-depth analysis of if.team — performing a sales review, project management review, and finances review. They carefully studied the functionality and often provided detailed comments and recommendations, helping us understand how competitors work and what’s important for creative agency teams.

For example, cre8 noticed that if.team lacked the ability to link a task to a client with a due date displayed directly in the contacts list — this feedback allowed us to improve usability and add the necessary features.

This thorough approach helped cre8 prepare for the migration and allowed us to make if.team a more effective and user-friendly ERP system for creative agencies.

How cre8 gradually migrated to the ERP software for creative agencies if.team

Switching to a new ERP system for creative agencies isn’t just a decision — it’s a real process with multiple stages. For cre8, it happened gradually to minimize risks and maintain work efficiency. We fully support clients at every step of the transition and do it for free — both for cre8 and other teams.

Stage one — migrating operational parts: tasks, projects, and work tracking. We helped cre8 fully migrate from Hubstaff, preserving all history and settings. Now, the team assigns tasks, manages project budgets, creates client reports, and monitors activity — all in if.team.

Stage two — financial migration. Currently, cre8 is gradually transferring financial operations and budget management to if.team. We’re supporting this process to make it as smooth and safe as possible.

At the same time, preparation for stage three — CRM integration — is underway. This will allow cre8 to manage all client interactions within a single system.

This phased approach is key to a successful ERP migration for creative agencies. cre8 took a serious and conscious step, and we’re proud to be part of this journey.

How cre8 use the ERP software for creative agencies if.team to manage projects and finances

Cre8 actively use the ERP system for creative agencies if.team as an all-in-one tool for comprehensive project and resource management. The platform helps them control task execution, manage budgets, and generate reports — all in one place, which significantly simplifies workflows and increases transparency.

Task management and role-based access

In if.team, cre8 assign tasks with full descriptions, deadlines, and responsible persons. One key feature is the ability to create recurring tasks. These tasks are set up once and then automatically generated periodically — for example, weekly reports or routine checks.

This helps avoid forgetting important regular activities and saves planning time. Cre8 can adjust the recurrence frequency as needed.

if.team also offers flexible access settings:

• Managers see the full picture — tasks, projects, budgets, and reports. This helps them efficiently manage the team and control processes.
• Employees see only their tasks and relevant information, reducing information overload.
• Clients have limited access to the system, for example, only to reports and financial data shared with them.

This approach ensures convenience, transparency, and security in team and client collaboration, which is especially important for creative agencies handling many projects.

Reports and analytics for project and financial control

In if.team, cre8 have a broad set of tools for analyzing and controlling team performance and finances. The system allows creating and viewing reports at various levels — from individual employee statistics to company-wide data. This functionality makes if.team a reliable ERP system for creative agencies.

For work time analysis, different task views and workload displays are available: Gantt charts, Kanban boards, lists, or a specialized workload calendar showing how many tasks and hours are assigned to each employee on different days. Such reporting fits well with ERP systems for creative agencies.

Tasks can be filtered by many parameters: assignees, deadlines, managers, responsible persons, iterations, projects, and more. This allows quickly finding needed information and controlling processes at any level.

Reports are available both company-wide and per project. Financial reports are especially useful — for example, cashflow, which shows money movement: incoming funds, expenses, and balance over a chosen period. cre8 can track these by pre-configured categories and iterations, giving an accurate picture of the financial status of projects and the company overall. All these capabilities are typical for a good ERP system for creative agencies.

if.team also includes a profit and loss report. It shows how much the company earned and spent over a period. This report can be viewed both as graphs and detailed tables.

Financial control is enhanced by integrations with banks — PrivatBank and Mono — enabling cre8 to automatically receive payment and expense data. This greatly simplifies budget management, expense tracking, and payroll organization.

All these features make if.team a powerful ERP tool for creative agencies, enabling cre8 and similar companies to manage projects and finances at a new level.

Accurate calculations and cost estimation

Additionally, cre8 actively use the time to material feature in if.team — a tool for precise calculation of time and material costs on projects. This level of detail helps them better evaluate pricing and profitability, as well as control budgets.

This feature is an important part of an effective ERP system for creative agencies, allowing not just project management but truly transparent and accurate project control.

Ultimately, if.team has become for cre8 more than just an ERP system — a reliable assistant in daily work, supporting all key processes and helping make informed decisions.

How the Collaboration Between cre8 and if.team Helps Make ERP Systems for Creative Agencies Better

The collaboration between cre8 and if.team helps improve the ERP system for creative agencies. The if.team platform was already a solid tool for project and financial management, but thanks to cre8’s feedback and suggestions, we’ve made it more user-friendly and adapted to the real needs of creative teams.

Cre8 actively test new features, provide valuable feedback, and share their experience, helping us identify important details and improve key processes — from task management and reporting to financial control. Their systematic approach and involvement allow us to make if.team a more flexible and effective tool.

On our side, we provide full support to cre8 at every stage of migration and product development to ensure their experience with the system is smooth and comfortable. This partnership is an example of how an ERP system for creative agencies becomes better through close collaboration between two different teams.