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WORKING SMARTER EVERY DAY
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THE
JOB SNAPSHOT--
MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY PICTURE
When
someone says "job snapshot" do you think of a job's
photo shoot? In Clients & Profits, the Job
Snapshot is an account management tool that provides
a real-time view of a job's key totals. When you
can see events happen in real-time, you can respond
quickly if anything starts to go wrong.
As part of every job ticket, the Job Snapshot window is used
by account executives to get up-to-the-minute balances for a
job, as well as make projections about the job's progress. It's
also a great way to communicate to the accounting department
upcoming job billings--such as when and how much to bill. The
window contains four integrated worksheets:
The estimate worksheet lets AEs enter
an approximate amount for costs still outstanding
to arrive at a true estimate-remaining figure.
The section is an easy tip-off as to whether
or not the job, as a whole, will come in under
budget.
The hours worksheet lets AEs enter the approximate number
of hours needed to finish the job. This section is an early warning
about the job's creative is going well. The total number of actual
hours billed so far also appears here.
The profit worksheet is a mini-P&L
for a job ticket. As soon as work begins on
a job, the profit worksheet keeps AEs informed
about the job's bottom line. AEs see both gross
and net profit here, depending on their access
privileges.
The billing worksheet is an important
tool for AEs to use, since it helps them communicate
with the accounting department electronically.
AEs enter the amount of the next billing for
a job, as well as its billing date (i.e., when
the invoice should be created). This information
appears on the printed Job Snapshot report,
which the accounting department can use to
start billing. |
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By
Rhonda Brazelton
Do you have annoying clients
who always want a lower price? Or alter their jobs and not
pay for the changes? Difficult, demanding, or slow-paying (to
name only a few reasons) clients may be hurting your shop more
than you think.
Clients & Profits
provides dozens of cost and profit reports that compare and
evaluate each client’s worth to the shop. For questionable
clients, management needs an accurate, compelling look at each
to make the hard decision about keeping them.
Profitability reports get you part of the way there,
but they show only gross profit. They show how much profit a client generated
to pay salaries, rent and other expenses. Since profitability reports are designed
for account service, they don’t include overhead expenses (which may not
be any of their business). A client may look marginally profitable, but factor
in overhead, and you realize that they are actually costing you money. To see
the true picture, overhead needs to be allocated to each client.
With Clients & Profits Pro, overhead can be
automatically allocated based on different AAAA-based formulas.
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Agency
Direct Service Costs is used most often, since it allocates
overhead based on two factors: (1) how much time staffers
spent on each client and (2) staff salary expenses. So if
an owner works one hour on a client’s job, that client
gets more overhead allocated. The owner spends more overhead
due to his larger salary. (After all, who has the bigger
office and the best computer?) A junior creative, in contrast,
working an hour on the same client results in less overhead
allocated to the client.
Once overhead is allocated, the Client P&L Analysis
report shows how much each client is actually bringing to the bottom line. Some
clients will likely surprise you with how little profit they generate, and vice
versa. It won’t fix problem clients, but it at least provides a bargaining
tool the next time their retainer is negotiated.
Rhonda
Brazelton is the lead programmer for Clients & Profits.
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