Accountability handles agency finance. Pegasus runs the whole agency.
Accountability (also marketed as Counta) was built by former agency CFOs, and it shows: multi-currency accounting, AP automation, and client and project-level cost tracking are all genuine strengths. Where the model changes is scope. Accountability positions itself as the financial foundation of an agency's operations, connecting to whichever project management tool (Basecamp, Trello, Workfront) and media-buying platform (Mediaocean, Freewheel Strata) an agency already runs on. That means the finance system, the project system, and the media system are three separate subscriptions, each with its own login and its own updates, held together by an integration layer someone has to maintain. Pegasus Edge puts finance, jobs, time, and media inside one connected platform, so there's nothing to integrate and nothing to reconcile between systems.
Comparing agency finance platforms?
Download the Pegasus vs Accountability guide, a straight comparison for finance leaders and agency owners weighing a connected platform against a best-of-breed stack.
“We have full visibility over job costs and billing status, reporting is accurate and insightful.”
Where Accountability works well
Accountability's strength is the finance layer itself. Multi-currency and multi-entity accounting, AP automation and invoice matching, and client and project-level cost tracking are all built by people who understand agency finance specifically. For agencies already committed to a particular project management or media-buying tool, Accountability's open APIs mean it slots in as the financial hub without asking anyone to change how they plan or buy media. This page isn't about arguing Accountability is a weak choice; it's a well-regarded platform in its category. Pegasus supports everything in this list too, and extends further into where growing agencies start to feel the gaps.
Where the model creates friction as agencies grow
Why do agencies on Accountability still need a separate PM tool?
Accountability is explicit that it's the financial foundation, with task management handled by an integrated tool such as Basecamp, Trello, or Workfront. That means a separate subscription, a separate login, and an integration to maintain between the two systems, on top of the finance platform itself.
Does Accountability handle media planning and buying?
Accountability's media strength is billing and WIP reconciliation. For the actual planning and buying workflow, it integrates with Mediaocean or Freewheel Strata rather than handling it natively. Agencies running media through Accountability are typically managing a third system alongside their finance and project tools.
Is leave and workforce management built into Accountability?
Accountability covers timesheets and utilisation as part of its ERP, but it doesn't market integrated leave management. Agencies typically pair it with a separate HR or PM tool to track leave, which means another system holding data that finance ultimately needs for accurate cost reporting.
Is Accountability ISO 27001 certified?
Accountability doesn't publish an ISO 27001 statement or an equivalent security certification on its website. It may hold internal security controls, but there's no public evidence a procurement team can point to, which matters increasingly for agencies whose own clients ask for that assurance upfront.
How Pegasus Edge is built differently
Pegasus Edge is a finance-first ERP designed specifically for creative, media, and full-service agencies.
See Pegasus Financial Management features →
What does Pegasus connect that Accountability doesn't?
Pegasus Edge holds finance, job and project management, time tracking with integrated leave, and media booking, proformas, invoicing, and commission splits inside one platform. There's no separate PM subscription, no third-party media-buying system, and no integration layer between them to maintain or troubleshoot.
How does Pegasus handle media compared to Accountability?
Pegasus includes a native media module covering bookings, proformas, invoicing, and commission splits, so media planning, buying, and financial reconciliation happen in the same system. Accountability's media strength is reconciliation; the buying workflow itself runs through a separate platform like Mediaocean.
Does Pegasus publish a security certification?
Pegasus holds a current ISO 27001:2022 certification, published on its website alongside its Information Security Policy. For agencies whose clients or procurement teams need documented evidence of a security standard before signing off, that's available immediately rather than requested case by case.
When agencies typically make the shift
• Multiple revenue streams — media, projects, retainers — and reporting across all of them requires manual assembly from more than one system
• Growing past roughly 30 staff, when the integration overhead between disconnected tools starts outpacing the time it saves
• Client profitability figures need pulling data from the finance platform and the PM tool separately before they mean anything
• Finance and operations teams are working from different sources of truth because each owns a different system
• Media workflows need to connect directly to financial reporting without a third system in between
What agencies report after moving to Pegasus
“We were managing media bookings manually, across spreadsheets. Now, with Pegasus, every team member — campaign support, account management, finance — works from one system. It’s our single source of truth.”
Download the Pegasus vs Accountability guide
This guide walks through the structural differences between a finance-first ERP and a connected agency platform—where Accountability's model works, where the separate-systems approach starts to cost agencies time, and what a single connected platform looks like in practice. Written for finance directors and agency owners comparing their options.
Frequently asked questions
Is Accountability a good fit for a growing agency?
Accountability works well for agencies that want a dedicated finance platform and are happy running project management and media buying through separate, best of breed tools. As an agency adds more systems to that stack, keeping data and reporting consistent across all of them becomes the harder part of the job.
What is the difference between Accountability and Pegasus Edge?
Accountability is a financial foundation ERP that connects to project management and media buying tools an agency already uses. Pegasus Edge holds finance, jobs, time, and media in one platform natively. The core difference is scope: Accountability is best of breed by design, and Pegasus is unified by design.
Can Accountability handle native project and media management?
Not natively. Accountability integrates with tools like Basecamp, Trello, or Workfront for project management, and with Mediaocean or Freewheel Strata for media buying, while handling the financial side itself. Pegasus performs all of these functions inside a single connected platform.
Does Pegasus replace Accountability, or work alongside it?
Pegasus replaces Accountability as the core system for agencies that want finance, jobs, time, and media connected natively rather than integrated. It covers everything the Accountability finance layer does, and extends into project management and media booking, so agencies do not need a separate PM or media tool.
How long does it take to move from Accountability to Pegasus?
Implementation follows one of two paths: Fast Start, taking two to four weeks for fresh setups, or Full Start, taking up to sixteen weeks for full data migration. A dedicated Pegasus project manager supports the process throughout, particularly around consolidating data that currently lives across separate systems.
Does Accountability have a published security certification?
Accountability does not publish an ISO 27001 or equivalent security certification on its website at this time. Pegasus holds a current, published ISO 27001:2022 certification, which gives procurement teams documented evidence of a security standard without needing to request it directly.
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If you're evaluating your systems this year, our team is happy to talk through whether Pegasus is the right fit.