The Ridiculously Complicated Agency Workflow

Introduction

Every marketing agency has that client. The “Are my deliverables done yet?” guy.

And somehow, to answer that simple question, we end up building a workflow that looks like a Rube Goldberg machine.

• Export from Asana or ClickUp at 9am.
• Copy/paste everything into Google Sheets (hopefully it doens't conflict with yesterdays version).
• Email the CSV to the client.
• Set up a Zap to ping Slack with “Update sent ✅.”
• Realize half the team is still updating the wrong version of the spreadsheet.
• Client calls you anyway because, "What's the update?"

Oh, what a feeling.

After half an hour into the call, the client finally knows what you're waiting for and what's done. Let’s walk through the comedy of errors that is the “DIY reporting stack", and why agencies are starting to ditch it for something cleaner.

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What's wrong with Google Sheets?

Google Sheets is powerful. You can do just about anything with it. But just because you can run client deliverables from a spreadsheet doesn’t mean you should.

We’ve all done it:

• Tabs for “To Do,” “In Progress,” “Done.”
• Conditional formatting that makes your sheet look like a rainbow exploded.
• One unlucky account manager becomes “Spreadsheet Admin” for life (Thanks, Mick).

Clients hate it. They open the link once, find a giant mess, you look unprofessional, and they go back to emailing you for updates.

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The dreaded daily export

Of course, no spreadsheet-machine-3000 is complete without the daily export ritual.

Every morning, someone exports the sheet, renames the file (“Client_X_Deliverables_FINAL_FINAL_v3”), and emails it off.

By 11am, the client replies: “Hey, this looks outdated. Can you resend?”

By 2pm, the updated file has already been replaced by a newer “FINAL” version.

It’s 2025. Why are we still doing this?

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The forgotten slack alert

Some agencies try to spice things up by adding Slack notifications:

• Google Sheets → Zapier → Slack → Client channel.
• Message: “Client_X Deliverables updated at 9:00am.”

Sounds good, right? But what are we all subconsciously doing to automated slack alerts? Do we really pay attention to them?

Half the team mutes the channel.
The client still misses the update.
And the poor PM is still stuck writing a summary email because “we don’t want the client scrolling through Slack.”

Automation ≠ communication.

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Finally, we're back at "The Quick Call”

When all else fails, we do what agencies have always done. We pick up the phone.

“Hey, just checking in — did you see the update?”
“No? Okay, let me walk you through it.”

And there goes another 30 minutes explaining what your spreadsheet already said. Multiply that across 10 clients, and you’ve built a full-time role called “Chief Re-Explainer of Status Updates.”

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Enter Swooche: The Anti-Ridiculously-Complicated Workflow

Now imagine this instead:

• No spreadsheets.
• No daily exports.
• No Slack spam.
• No “just checking in” calls.

With Swooche, agencies give clients a branded deliverables board that shows one thing: promised vs. delivered.

That’s it.
No fluff.
No overwhelm.
No rainbow-colored spreadsheet tabs.

Clients log in, see what’s been done, what’s next, and move on with their day.

“For the first time, I don’t need to send 12 reminders just to prove we’re doing the work.”

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Let’s be real. Agencies don’t need another heavy ERP.

ERPs do a bunch of other stuff (and charge for it) that most agencies don't end up using anyway. They need something that:

• Clients will actually use.
• Cuts out busywork. No more daily exports.
• Keeps deliverables clear. Everyone knows what’s done and what’s next.
• Saves time. Less chasing, fewer calls, more actual work.

“Swooche is like the status meeting that happens automatically while I’m at lunch.”

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Conclusion

Every time you:

• Export another spreadsheet,
• Write another “just checking in” email,
• Or waste another Friday afternoon on calls...

...you’re paying the busywork tax.

The alternative? Stop duct-taping Google Sheets to Slack and email and just give clients what they actually want. A clear, simple view of deliverables.

Because when clients can see progress at a glance, you don’t need a spreadsheet-machine-3000 to prove you’re doing the work.