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Why Job Tracker? |
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Because it's a complete, agency-proven job tracking, costing, billing, and accounting system for advertising agencies and design studios.
Clients & Profits Job Tracker is the most popular software we make. It's used by more people in more places than any other agency management system.
Clients & Profits Job Tracker is cross-platform, so the same program works on Windows and Macintosh. So your creatives can keep their Macs. And your accountants can keep their PCs. And don't worry about outgrowing it -- your Job Tracker system can be upgraded to the Oracle-based Clients & Profits SQL without losing your invaluable client, job, and costing data.
Clients & Profits is the only job production and accounting system designed as much for creatives as for accountants That's why job tickets, (i.e., electronic job jackets) are as important as the General Ledger. It's not a back-office system for the accounting department. Job tickets seamlessly integrate production with accounting, so there's no troublesome, time-consuming double-entry. Clients & Profits Job Tracker can handle hundreds of open jobs at once, while your database can contain thousands (and handle them 2-4 times faster than previous versions of Clients & Profits).
So, why use Clients & Profits Job Tracker?
EVERYTHING'S VISUAL, of course, because it's designed for creatives. Clients & Profits is the original mouse-based agency management software. So we know how to put a mouse to work. You can see what you need to see from any computer in the shop, whether on a PC running Windows or a Macintosh (menus and windows look and feel the same, so learning is easy).
FORGET THE JOB BOOK
Now everyone can open new jobs from their computer. New jobs are numbered automatically, eliminating the job book. Job tickets are completely customizable. Generous descriptions, specifications, and notes let account executives create thorough, descriptive job tickets. To save time, routine jobs can be created from spec sheets, which contain standard options and settings that are copied to new jobs automatically. Or, a job ticket can be cloned to create a new job from the original's specifications, estimate, and schedule. Both help jobs stay consistent, especially when many people open jobs.
TRUE MULTI-USER
Because Clients & Profits Job Tracker is multi-user, the jobs you open are published immediately on client job lists, daily status reports, and job logs for better communication. Need to change something? It's easy. Everything about a job ticket can be changed any time-updating everyone's job reports instantly.
Production/Traffic - automated work flow
JOBS AND TASKS
Every job ticket has tasks that track estimates, schedules, costs, time, billings, and profit. Job tasks are user-defined, based on a task table. The Task Table lists hundreds of plain-English, user-defined tasks, like Artwork, Copywriting, Typesetting and more. These tasks contain essential information that appear on estimates and invoices (which is copied automatically from the Task Table to the job ticket, so there's no rekeying). A job ticket can have dozens of tasks, all of which are customizable. You'll track small jobs and big jobs the same way-using job tasks. This makes tracking estimates, schedules, costs, and billing much easier and more accurate-which your clients want (and, these days, probably demand.
FLEXIBLE ESTIMATING -- WITHOUT SPREADSHEET
Estimates are created from the job's tasks automatically: All you enter is the budget, estimated hours, and estimate amount. Or, you can enter up to three different estimates for the same job-then let your client choose the final estimate. Estimates are very customizable. You can choose the estimate's font, margins, headings, and subtotals without programming. They're designed for laser printers, so they look very professional (they print on your letterhead). You can even add a custom disclaimer and contingency, for better accountability. Up to five copies of an estimate can be printed for different people without using special forms. Later, job reports compare estimates with actual costs, helping you control time and buyouts before it's too late. To improve cash flow, jobs can be automatically billed for any percentage of the estimate amount before the work has even begun. What about client revisions? They're easy: revisions can be tracked effortlessly using integrated change orders.
DAILY HOT SHEETS AND JOB STATUS REPORTS
Opening a new job adds it automatically to production reports, so it's impossible to overlook. Jobs are managed using status codes, such as new, awaiting approval, in production, and closed - ready to bill. These status codes are completely customizable-use as few or as many as you need. (For flexibility, new status codes can be added anytime.) Every job has a separate production status (for the traffic department) and billing status (for the accounting department). So each department can print its own job reports, without affecting one another. As the job progresses, you'll change its production and billing status. The Daily Job Status report lists open jobs by status. Status codes have custom alerts to warn creatives if a job is new, awaiting estimates, over budget, or otherwise shouldn't be used. These status alerts help prevent spending time and money on unapproved jobs.
SMART TRAFFIC & SCHEDULING
A job's most important milestones-meetings, presentations, approvals, press checks, etc.-are tracked by job type (e.g., Print, Collateral, Advertising). These jobs appear on traffic reports that are ideal for weekly (or daily) production meetings. In addition, job tasks can be scheduled independently by due date, start date, and who will do the work. (A job can also be automatically scheduled using its start date or due date and each task's standard lead time.) Work-to-Do reports summarize unfinished tasks by resource, date, client, job, or task-and can be printed daily, weekly, or for any time period. These reports keep your production staff focused on deadlines. Anyone can update traffic and schedules from their own computer (even while using their time card), updating production reports instantly. Job status reports can be printed for clients showing their jobs' next steps; since these reports use up-to-the-minute traffic and schedules, they'll always be current. (What client won't be impressed?).
BUILT-IN JOB DIARY
The Job Diary logs changes to the job's status, estimate, and specifications. You can also quickly review a job's costs for one or more tasks-right from your computer screen. The new Job Progress window shows the job's to-date costs, labor, expenses, POs, and change orders for each job task. An innovative Snapshot window calculates the job's up-to-the-minute estimate remaining, costs and time to-date, gross margin, and next billing date. And over 30 job reports, lists, and summaries can keep you aware and informed about the work-every day.
Job Costing - tracks every cost for any job
PURCHASE, INSERTION, AND BROADCAST ORDERS
Clients & Profits Job Tracker lets everyone write purchase and insertion orders from their own computers, eliminating manual PO forms. New purchase orders update jobs instantly, so users will always know their commitments. Purchase orders are customizable, and can be simple or detailed. POs are numbered automatically, or you can enter your own custom number. There are few limits on what kind of detail you can show on printed purchase orders, making for fewer costly misunderstandings. A purchase order can contain dozens of line items, each with a net and gross amount. Multiple copies of purchase orders can be printed on plain paper without using preprinted forms. POs are automatically reconciled with vendor payables, updating jobs at the same time.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
Everything purchased from vendors is tracked through Accounts Payable, including job buyouts, unbillable costs, and agency overhead. Each invoice can contain dozens of different jobs and tasks, for flexibility. Every line item can contain a net amount, markup, and gross amount. Costs posted in Accounts Payable appear on work-in-progress reports, and (eventually) on client invoices. When adding a payable with a PO number, the vendor, job, task, and amount are copied to the invoice-saving time as well as making the entry more accurate. (To prevent budget overruns, a warning appears if the vendor's invoice exceeds the PO.) Markups are completely customizable, and can be set by vendor, client, or job task. And thorough error-checking prevents out-of-balance entries, invalid accounts, and other data-entry errors.
Client Billing - flexible billing for all kinds of clients
ONE-CLICK CLIENT BILLING
Billing amounts are calculated from costs, including commissions, so you'll always bill the right amount. Invoices are extremely flexible: you can bill any task for an amount, regardless of the job's actual costs to date. Billing can be automated using the Auto-Bill feature, which creates invoices for unbilled jobs automatically-in one step. Invoices can also be created without jobs, for easy billing of miscellaneous fees. Later, post-billing reports analyze who's generating the most revenue by client and account executive.
GREAT LOOKING INVOICE EVERY TIME
Invoices have many options that affect how billing amounts are displayed (or hidden, if needed), for flexibility. The printed invoices are customizable, so you can choose the font, margins, and how the amounts are displayed. Invoices print on letterhead or plain paper, and are designed especially for laser printers-so they look great. Invoices can be printed in batches, by date or by number, for convenience.
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
Client payments are applied automatically to unpaid invoices. Payments are matched to receivables on-screen, so there's no paperwork to review. Oldest invoices are paid first, but can be changed-letting you choose which invoices will be paid. Discounts and adjustments can be applied to payments as needed, without making complicated adjusting entries. Client payments can be summarized on detailed statements, making a credit card-like statement of charges and payments by date. Or, a simple statement of unpaid invoices can be printed instead A/R aging reports can be printed at any time during the month to keep As up-to-date on their client accounts.
Financial Accounting - an integrated one-write, double-entry General Ledger
ADVERTISING-TUNED ACCOUNTING
Clients & Profits Job Tracker includes a complete, full-featured General Ledger that seamlessly combines job costing, billing, and overhead accounting. Everything is there: Purchases from A/P, billings from A/R, and cash from check writing and client payments. It's all in the same program, so there's nothing to integrate at month-end. Everything goes where it should, automatically. The accounting system in Clients & Profits Job Tracker is tailored especially for growing advertising agencies, using programming code proven in over 1,200 agencies over eight years. Its state-of-the-art relational database lets Clients & Profits Job Tracker manage larger shops than any previous version of Clients & Profits. So it's dependable, flexible, powerful, and difficult to outgrow.
WINDOWS OR MAC, SAME LOOK AND FEEL
The accounting system looks and feels the same on Windows and the Macintosh, dramatically simplifying training and in-house support. This means you'll be more productive faster. Its 15 accounting periods are user-defined, and can be selectively locked and unlocked. Entries can be posted on demand, by period, or by person (letting you proof or post only your own entries). Printed lists, summaries, journals, and audit trails provide exceptional accountability. Every A/P, A/R, check, and client payment entry creates debit and credit journal entries automatically, so there's nothing to reenter. Since the General Ledger is updated in real-time, financial statements can be printed daily, weekly, or monthly-for any period. Also, this eliminates complicated month-end closings.
SNAPSHOTS
With a click of your mouse you can see vendor and client agings, job cost, productivity, profitability, and cash flow reports. All this is available from any computer in the shop, whether it is a Macintosh or a PC running Windows. For security, each user has his or her own password and access privileges.
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