Clients & Profits X | Spring 2006

Home > Support > Newsletters > Spring 2006 > Page 3

ASK JUDY

THREE UNDERUSED
ORGANIZATIONAL TOOLS

• Job templates feature a preset selection of tasks for routine types of jobs, such as designing a brochure, creating a web site, or producing a radio spot. Most shops don’t set up enough job types to cover all of the various types of jobs they do. This means AEs have to build each new job ticket up task-by-task when, instead, C&P would build the job for them using the template. Job templates help keep your estimates consistent from job to job, since all of the job’s tasks are pre-defined in advance. They keep tasks from being accidentally left off estimates, which prevents time-wasting estimate revisions or change orders.

• Calendars are shared company-wide by anyone who uses Clients & Profits. There are different calendars for specific purposes, such as tracking cash and notifying the staff of company events. Calendar entries are integrated with media reports, cash reports, and job schedules.

• Traffic milestones are a quick-and-dirty substitute for job scheduling when time is tight or you don’t have a traffic coordinator. Instead of scheduling dates for unfinished tasks in the Job Schedule, decide on the key events in a job’s life cycle — its milestones — and schedule these events in the Job Traffic window. It’s faster than job scheduling, although less precise. You can’t print Work To Do reports by staff member or the Weekly Task Planner without job schedules, but that’s usually not a problem for small agencies with limited production staff. But milestones let you track the critical dates for all open jobs on a single traffic report. It’s an effective way for a production department to stay organized.

Dear Judy:
“Even though we bought Clients & Profits a year ago, we only use it for jobs. How do we jump ship from Quickbooks?”
— Valerie, Des Moines

In my bookkeeping practice, just about everyone uses Quickbooks. But there are limitations using QB in a creative business. It’s a great place to start, but it’s easy to outgrow.
I know that switching isn’t fun. There’s never a good time, either. But I promise the sooner you stop juggling, you’ll be a happier camper.

My Six Rules for Quickbooks Switchers:

#1) BE QUICK Try to make the switch within the next 30 days. The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be to keep in sync — and you’ll be tempted to keep using Quickbooks another month. At month-end, move all account balances into C&P. Afterwards, all new work goes into Clients & Profits, not Quickbooks.

#2) STOP ADDING JOBS Starting now, add new jobs into Clients & Profits. If all new jobs are opened in Clients & Profits, you won’t be have to add time, costs, and expenses in both systems. Only use Quickbooks to wrap up any outstanding issues, like billing.

#3) COMPARE ACCOUNTS Make sure current clients, vendors, and G/L accounts are the same in both systems. Leave out inactive accounts to save time.

#4) SYNC OPEN JOBS Prior to switching, make sure every open job in Quickbooks has been added to Clients & Profits. There’s no need to enter closed jobs (you can always use QB to look up your jobs if needed).

#5) MATCH THE AGINGST Print the client and vendor agings from Quickbooks. Make sure totals match the balance sheet’s control accounts. Then add these unpaid invoices into Clients & Profits anytime before the switch-over date.

#6) MOVE ACCOUNT BALANCES Now you’re ready for the Big Switch. The key is the trial balance. Print it from Quickbooks, then use Clients & Profits to add beginning balance JEs. Post the JEs, then print a trial balance. Balances on both reports should match exactly. Congratulations — you’ve switched!

Judy Salkind-McConnaughay is an 11-year veteran of the Clients & Profits Helpdesk and is a practicing bookkeeper. Ask your business management questions at Ask Judy