November 10, 2026
The Talent Agency Software Stack: Every Tool You Need in 2026
The tools a talent agency needs for email, deals, pitching, reporting, invoicing, and talent communication, and how to choose between many apps and one.
A talent agency software stack is the set of tools your team uses to pitch creators, run brand deals, and get paid. Every agency needs the same layers: email and calendar, a deal pipeline, pitching assets such as media kits and decks, campaign reporting, contracts, invoicing and accounting, and a way to keep talent informed. The choice is whether each layer is a separate app or part of one connected platform.
There is no single right stack. A solo manager with five creators needs less than a 30-person team with a finance function. This guide breaks the stack into layers, compares the two main ways to build it, and gives you a short audit to run on the tools you use today.
The layers of a talent agency software stack
Think of the stack as a set of jobs. For each one, decide which tool owns it, and make sure only one tool does.
| Layer | The job | Common tool types |
|---|---|---|
| Email and calendar | Talk to brands and talent, schedule calls | Gmail, Outlook, Google Workspace |
| Deal pipeline (CRM) | Track every deal from inquiry to payment | Spreadsheets, general CRMs, agency CRMs |
| Contacts | Keep brands and the people at them in one shared list | Address books, CRMs |
| Roster and media kits | Show brands your talent with current stats | Design tools, PDFs, live media kit tools |
| Pitch decks | Send a curated talent list for a casting | Slides, PDFs, deck builders |
| Campaign reporting | Prove results after content goes live | Screenshots, slides, automated reports |
| Tasks and deadlines | Drafts, approvals, go-lives | Project boards, task apps, calendars |
| Contracts | Draft, review, and sign agreements | Documents and e-signature tools |
| Invoicing and accounting | Bill brands, record payments, file taxes | Invoicing tools, QuickBooks and similar |
| Commission and payouts | Split each fee and pay talent | Spreadsheets, agency platforms |
| Talent communication | Keep creators updated on deals and payments | Text, WhatsApp, email, talent apps |
| AI | Read email, search content, answer questions | General chat assistants, built-in agency AI |
| Files | Briefs, contracts, creative assets | Google Drive, Dropbox |
Two layers cause most of the trouble: the deal pipeline and commission. Every other layer either feeds them or reads from them. If they live in different places, someone spends their week copying numbers between tabs.
Option 1: assemble general-purpose tools
Many agencies build their stack from tools designed for any business. A typical version looks like this: Google Workspace for email, documents, and a deal spreadsheet; a work board such as Monday.com or Asana for tasks; a sales CRM such as HubSpot for the pipeline; a design tool for media kits; and QuickBooks for accounting.
These are good products, and each can be set up for agency work:
- Google Workspace handles email, calendars, documents, and tasks. It is a natural place to start with a few creators.
- Asana is built for any team’s projects, and it tracks tasks and deliverables well.
- Monday.com gives you configurable boards. With custom boards and automations, it can cover a deal pipeline, deliverables, tasks, invoicing, and revenue reporting.
- HubSpot is a strong CRM for sales teams, with pipelines, invoicing, payment reminders, and reporting. It supports custom pipelines, properties, and workflows.
What none of them include, as of our November 2026 comparisons, is the talent side of the job: a talent roster, live creator analytics, auto-updating media kits, a talent-facing app, or commission splits between talent, agency, and manager. You add those with more tools, or build them yourself. You can see the detail in our comparisons of July and HubSpot and July and Monday.com.
When this works: You have someone who enjoys building and maintaining systems, your agency does many kinds of work beyond talent, or you are early enough that a few tools are easy to keep in sync.
When it strains: Every tool holds part of each deal, so a rate change means updating three places. Media kits go stale. Commission is calculated outside all of them.
Option 2: one platform built for agencies
The alternative is a platform designed around talent, brands, and deals, where the roster, media kits, pipeline, invoicing, and commission splits share one set of data. You still keep email, file storage, and accounting software, but most of the middle of the stack collapses into one tool.
When this works: You manage more than a handful of creators, several managers share deals, and you want pitching, deal tracking, and payments to update each other.
When it strains: Your agency also runs work that has nothing to do with talent, such as a production studio, and you want one tool for all of it. Some agencies keep a project tool for internal work alongside an agency platform for talent.
For a full buyer’s checklist, see our guide to talent management software for agencies.
A talent agency software stack by agency size
| Agency size | Suggested stack | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Solo manager, a few creators | Email, a well-built deal sheet, a simple media kit, accounting software | Rebuilding media kits by hand; missed invoice due dates |
| Boutique, 2 to 8 people | Email, an agency CRM with media kits and invoicing, accounting software | Two people editing the same deal; commission errors |
| Mid-size, 10 to 50 managers | Email, an agency platform with permissions and revenue reporting, accounting software, e-signature | Who can see financials; consistent stages across teams |
| Multi-agency groups | All of the above, plus single sign-on and consolidated reporting | Data separation between agencies; onboarding at scale |
The pattern is that the core grows more connected as you grow, while email and accounting stay where they are.
The integrations that matter most
When tools connect, data moves without anyone typing it. These are the connections worth checking for in any stack:
- Email to CRM. Brand emails carry rates, usage terms, and dates. A CRM that reads your inbox keeps deals current. Our guide to using Gmail as an agency CRM covers when that stops being enough.
- Social platforms to media kits. First-party connections to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and others keep stats current without screenshots.
- Invoicing to accounting. Invoices should land in your accounting software, and payments recorded there should mark the invoice paid.
- Deals to calendar. Go-live dates, draft deadlines, and usage end dates should come from the deal, not be retyped.
- Deals to talent. Creators should see their own deals and payouts from the same data your team uses.
How to audit your current stack
Run this audit of your talent agency software stack in an afternoon with your team.
- List every tool. Include the informal ones: group chats, personal spreadsheets, a notes app.
- Trace one deal. Take a recent booking, such as a TikTok and two Stories for a skincare brand on net-60 terms, and follow it from the first email to the talent payout.
- Mark each copy-paste. Every time a number moved from one tool to another by hand, write it down.
- Find the owner of each layer. If two tools both claim to hold the deal, decide which one wins.
- Note what nobody owns. Usage end dates and payment follow-ups are the usual gaps.
- Price the time. Estimate the hours per week spent on the copy-paste steps, and compare that to the cost of a connected tool.
How July fits in your stack
July replaces the middle of the stack: roster, media kits, decks, campaign reports, CRM, contacts, tasks, calendar, invoicing, commission splits, and revenue reporting, with a Talent App for your creators and AI on top. You keep Gmail or Outlook, Google Drive, and QuickBooks Online, which syncs with July invoicing. KMG tried Monday, Asana, Google Sheets, and nearly 20 other platforms before moving from 10 tools to one place on July.
Frequently asked questions
What software do talent agencies use?
Most talent agencies use email and a calendar, a deal tracker or CRM, a way to build media kits and pitch decks, campaign reporting, contracts and e-signature, invoicing and accounting software, and a channel to keep creators updated. Some use separate tools for each job, and others use one platform built for agencies.
What is the best CRM for a talent agency?
The best CRM is one that holds creator deal terms such as deliverables, usage rights, exclusivity, and commission, and connects them to pitching and invoicing. General CRMs can be configured for this, while agency CRMs include it from the start.
How many tools does a talent agency need?
At minimum, email, a deal tracker, and accounting software. As you add managers and creators, each extra tool adds a place where data can fall out of sync, so many growing agencies move the middle of the stack into one platform.
Can I run a talent agency on Google Workspace?
Yes, especially when you are starting with a few creators. Google Workspace covers email, documents, calendars, and spreadsheets. Most agencies outgrow the spreadsheet part once several people share deals and payments need tracking.
Does a talent agency need accounting software if it has a CRM?
Usually yes. A CRM tracks deals, invoices, and commission, while accounting software handles your books and taxes. Look for a CRM that syncs invoices with your accounting software so nothing is entered twice.
