Why Intuitive Websites moved all their agency operations from Asana to Bonsai

Intuitive Websites is a full-service digital marketing agency based in Castle Rock, Colorado, specializing in WordPress website design, SEO, PPC management, social media marketing, and content creation.

The challenge: fragmented systems and blind spots

Limited project management visibility

Intuitive Websites had been using Asana for project management, but the platform fell short of their business intelligence needs.

"Asana didn't give us business insights regarding time tracking and workload efficiency."
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— Kerianne Leffew, COO

Despite upgrading to Asana's premium tier specifically for portfolio-level workload visibility, the feature didn't work as expected because subtasks didn't roll up to show team utilization. Every Monday morning required manually calculating team member workloads by highlighting tasks and checking totals.

Time tracking and reporting challenges

The agency's previous time tracking setup involved multiple disconnected systems: they initially used Harvest for time tracking alongside Asana for project management. 

But this meant team members had to leave Asana to manually add time entries in Harvest for each task. They stopped using Harvest, but also lost crucial business insights.

Lack of profitability insights

The agency struggled with fundamental business questions like knowing the client profitability at the project level. They were unable to track estimated vs actual time per task, and no way to know if they were going over or under budget.

"We don't have any clarity on profitability by client or metrics on hours log versus what was estimated."
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— Kerianne Leffew, COO

Why Bonsai stood out

The search for a better solution

Intuitive Websites had extensively researched project management solutions, including Accelo and other agency-focused platforms.

However, none provided the right combination of project management capabilities and business intelligence features they needed. The turning point came when Kerianne attended a Bonsai webinar:

"I discovered Bonsai during a webinar. I know a good thing when I see it."
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— Kerianne Leffew, COO

Key decision factors

Several factors made Bonsai stand out for Intuitive Websites:

1. Agency-specific design: Built specifically for agencies rather than as a horizontal project management tool
2. Integrated time tracking: Native time tracking with robust reporting capabilities
3. Subtask time tracking: The ability to track time at the subtask level, which was critical for their detailed workflow processes
4. Business intelligence: Comprehensive reporting on team utilization, project profitability, and client insights
5. Customer support: Access to human support rather than ticket-only systems

The results: visibility and control restored

Enhanced project visibility and control

With Bonsai, Intuitive Websites now has complete visibility into their operations:

• Real-time project insights: Every project shows budget status, cost breakdown, and profitability at a glance
• Comprehensive reporting: The project profitability dashboard allows filtering by client, team member, billing type, and time periods
• Task-level tracking: Detailed estimated vs. actual time reports help identify efficiency opportunities and training needs

Streamlined resource management

The resourcing capabilities in Bonsai have transformed their weekly planning process:

• Visual workload management: Team capacity is displayed in an intuitive calendar view showing task assignments across the week
• Easy rebalancing: Tasks can be dragged and dropped to balance workloads without manual calculations
• Utilization tracking: Clear visibility into billable hours logged by each team member

Improved team productivity insights

Bonsai provides the business intelligence that was missing from their previous setup:

• Performance analytics: Team profitability reports show billable time, profit capacity, and margins by team member
• Time tracking reports: Detailed timesheets and activity reports provide complete visibility into how time is being spent
• Efficiency identification: Estimated vs. actual time reports help identify training opportunities and pricing adjustments

Integrated financial management

Beyond project management, Bonsai consolidates their entire client lifecycle:

• Unified client management: All client information, projects, and financial data in one system
• Automated workflows: Streamlined processes from project creation to invoicing
• QuickBooks integration: Seamless financial data synchronization

Scaling with Bonsai

As Intuitive Websites continues to grow, Bonsai provides the operational foundation they need with unlimited task templates supporting their 170+ service offerings and sprint-based project management that delivers clear profitability metrics.

The platform's comprehensive reporting enables data-driven decisions around client profitability, resource optimization, and pricing strategies, while standardized processes and subtask-level tracking ensure quality control and operational excellence across all client engagements.

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