Content Agency

Company Cue is a New York-based content agency specializing in copywriting, localization, and metadata for global lifestyle and entertainment brands in over 70 languages across 60+ countries.

Our role was to develop a secure internal portal tailored to streamline the company's daily operations. The platform simplifies task creation for translators, enables structured content exchange (files, text), gives freelancers controlled access to their assignments and project statuses, and supports project management - including tracking.

The client approached us intending to replace an expensive and fragmented setup based on third-party tools like Firebase and QuickBase. They needed a fully custom internal platform that would consolidate data from multiple sources, support backend development from scratch-including a flexible API for managing projects, clients, tasks, freelancers, and provide secure authentication with role-based access control. It was also essential to maintain existing workflows through integrations with tools like Slack and QuickBooks, while building a foundation for scalable automation to support their rapidly growing, globally distributed team.

Implemented secure user authentication using GVT tokens.

No self-registration: users are created by admins, and credentials are securely delivered via email.

Role-based permissions with detailed access levels for admins, clients, and freelancers.

Password reset and update functionality, both user- and admin-initiated.

Added a Spreadsheet Upload tool, allowing project managers to import large volumes of structured tasks from Excel files.

Automatic validation of data types and formats with instant error feedback.

RGreatly reduces manual entry and streamlines task generation for localization workflows.

Implemented Slack notifications for freelancers:

- Instant alerts when new tasks are assigned.

- Threaded updates for task edits-keeping the full history in one place.

Freelancers are automatically reminded when task deadlines are approaching. It helps prevent missed deadlines and improves task turnaround.

Added InvoiceBot function — a daily invoice preview tool showing completed tasks and payment summaries.

End-of-month invoices can be finalized and exported.

Integrated directly with QuickBooks via API for seamless, file-free sync-eliminating manual import and field mapping.

Added workload preferences for each freelancer (e.g., words per day for copy vs. localization).

The system balances assignments based on availability, capacity, and off-days.

When tasks are edited or reassigned, the workload is recalculated automatically.

The calendar allows users to view their workload by month, while admins can track team workloads with filtering by project and user. Bulk views are available for reviewing multiple team members at once. We also began developing a Workflow module that integrates with the calendar to automatically suggest the most suitable team member for a task-based on availability, workload, task type, and other factors. The system ranks candidates by relevance, making it especially effective for large teams.

Support for multi-step workflows involving multiple assignees (e.g., translation → editing → final review). Email notifications are automatically sent when assignments are created or updated.

The system distinguishes between tasks (containers) and assignments (individual translation jobs). For example, translating a book into multiple languages can be grouped under a single task with several assignments. Each task shows progress based on assignment statuses. In-task comments allow managers to give instructions or clarifications, and all changes are automatically logged to maintain full context.

Users can upload and attach files (PDF, DOCX, TXT, etc.) to tasks.

Integrated lightweight text editors for real-time translation and formatting directly within the platform.

The client now benefits from a centralized platform that brings task management, communication, and invoicing into one streamlined system. Real-time notifications and assignment transparency have improved collaboration with freelancers, while automated QuickBooks integration has made invoicing faster and more accurate. The platform also enhances overall efficiency in creating, assigning, and tracking tasks. By replacing multiple third-party tools with a custom-built, scalable solution, the client has significantly reduced operational costs. With a future-ready architecture designed to support features like smart workload distribution and workflow automation, the platform has become a core operational asset-delivering both immediate productivity gains and long-term strategic value.