Runn is built for the question that sits one step before this week: if these tentative projects close, does the agency still have the people, and do the forecasts still hold? It schedules the team, shows utilisation and availability, holds pipeline work as tentative, and lets you compare scenarios before a hire, a sale or a start date is committed. Time can be tracked in Runn or synced from another tool. The project tasks usually stay somewhere else.
Kavaro is built for the question in the room. Who can take this work, what is already confirmed, what is only tentative, and what does the choice do to delivery and margin? The proposal is checked against the live plan. A person confirms it. Phases, approvals, checkpoints and the client view stay with the bookings, so the forecast and the week the team has to deliver are not two different stories.
Kavaro vs Runn at a glance
| Capability | Kavaro | Runn |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Run the live people plan and the delivery on it | Forecast capacity, pipeline and project financials |
| Pipeline | Tentative bookings beside confirmed work | Tentative projects you can include or exclude |
| Future options | Ask what taking the next piece of work does to the plan | Saved scenarios for different mixes of tentative projects |
| Skills and capacity | Match skills to remaining availability before you commit | See workload, skills, holidays and utilisation across the team |
| Actuals | Timesheets log against the booking | Built-in time tracking, or actuals synced from another tool |
| Commercial view | Permission-controlled cost and charge views from the live plan | Project forecasts, budgets and profitability |
| Delivery | Phases, approvals, checkpoints and a client view | People and forecasts, with task management left to the project tool |
Why agencies look at both
Runn is the planning model: what happens to capacity and margin if the pipeline lands in one shape rather than another. Kavaro is the operating plan: who is actually on the work, what still needs a name, and whether this week’s delivery can absorb a yes.
1. Scenarios are Runn’s advantage
An agency deciding which three of seven opportunities it can resource needs more than a single tentative flag. Runn lets you treat projects as tentative and compare the capacity effect of different combinations, including saved scenarios on eligible plans. Kavaro does not replace that modelling. It keeps unconfirmed work visible on the live schedule so the resource team can see it while they are staffing the work already sold. If the buying decision is “which future can we carry?”, start with Runn. If it is “who takes the work we are about to commit to?”, that is Kavaro.
2. The live week still has to be staffed
A forecast can say the agency has room and still leave Monday’s kickoff without a named person. Kavaro holds open roles until someone is confirmed, and insights flag overload, leave clashes, unfilled seats and roll-off while there is time to move someone or book cover. Chat asks who has the skills and the hours. The answer is a proposal, not a silent rewrite of the plan.
3. Delivery does not live in the neighbouring tool
Runn is explicit that project management tools own the tasks, and Runn owns people, time and the forecast. That is a clean split until approvals stall and the schedule still says the team is on track. Kavaro puts the phase, the checkpoint, the approval state and the client view next to the booking. When a date slips, the capacity consequence and the client consequence are visible together.
4. Margin from the plan you are actually running
Runn forecasts whether projects land over or under budget and compares plans with tracked time. Kavaro’s commercial view is the effect of a staffing choice on the live plan: cost and charge for the people allowed to see it, and utilisation from bookings plus logged hours. Finance gets a number it can trace. The resource manager still has to confirm the change that produced it.
Other comparisons
- Kavaro vs Float — If you want the visual schedule and project reporting more than pipeline scenarios.
- Kavaro vs Resource Guru — If rooms, kit and other non-people resources need a booking.
- Kavaro vs Productive — If the forecast needs to include expenses, budgets and invoicing.
- Kavaro vs Bonsai — If the tool in place today was built for a freelancer’s commercial admin.
Frequently asked questions
Is Runn built for agencies?
Yes. Runn is resource management and forecasting software for agencies and professional services teams. It schedules people, tracks utilisation and availability, holds tentative projects, and forecasts whether a mix of future work fits the team and the budget.
What does Runn do that Kavaro does not?
Runn is built to compare futures. Tentative projects can be included or excluded, and saved scenarios show the capacity effect of different pipeline combinations. Kavaro does not replace that kind of scenario modelling. It keeps tentative bookings on the live plan and uses them when someone asks who can take the work.
Does Runn manage client delivery?
Runn positions itself beside the project tool. It plans people, time and project forecasts, and it can sync actuals from time-tracking tools. Kavaro keeps phases, approvals, checkpoints and the client view on the same plan as the bookings.
How does Kavaro handle a staffing change?
Ask who is free with the right skills and what the allocation does to utilisation and margin. Kavaro proposes the bookings. A person with permission confirms or rejects them. The plan does not change on its own.
See how Kavaro handles this work
Try Kavaro free for 30 days. Bring a live plan, ask who can take the next piece of work, and approve the staffing before it goes live.