Proposals are a starting place to organize important details before the client
starts the work. Proposals can be added when pitching an idea to a client (or
prospective client, too). Once your bid is accepted, they can be easily converted
into job tickets. With a creative brief, cost, and start and due dates, you can
pinpoint exactly what resources are needed to get the job done.
The printed proposal looks like the combination
of a job ticket report and creative brief. It doesn't
get a job number, but each proposal is numbered
automatically in sequence. A proposal gets its
creative brief from a user-selected job type/spec
sheet when the proposal is added.
While you can edit a proposal that's been created, Clients & Profits ASAP does not offer the option to clone existing proposals.
To use proposals
1 Choose Production > Proposals.
The Proposals web page opens, listing all proposals
for your shop. Proposals are sorted sequentially
(oldest first) by client number. For each proposal
you'll see the client number, ID, name/description,
type (which is based on job type/spec sheets),
budget, and current status.
To find a proposal, enter a client number, then
click the find button. Clients & Profits
ASAP then lists all of the proposals for the client
number you entered.
When you select a proposal, its description appears,
giving more detail about the job. Clicking on the
proposal ID number opens the the edit proposal page
so you can view the full description, creative brief,
contact, and other details.
Proposals have one of three statuses: pending,
killed, or approved. All new proposals are pending
by default. Approving a proposal converts it into
a job ticket, changing the proposal's status to
approved. If the client turns down the proposal,
clicking the kill button changes its status to
killed. The "show status" pop-up menu
can be used to filter the proposal list to show
only pending, approved, killed proposals.
Use the window's toolbar buttons to add, edit,
and delete proposals.
To add a new proposal
New proposals can be added for existing clients
or prospective clients -- as long as they have
an account in the Clients data file.
1 Choose Production > Proposals.
2 Click the add
button.
The Add Proposal window opens.
3 Select a client from the pull-down
menu.
This is the client who will authorize and approve
the job. Every new proposal must have a valid client
number. Proposals can't be added for companies
that don't have an account set up in Clients.
4 Select a job type from pull-down
menu.
The proposal type classifies a job by the kind
of work (e.g., brochures, media, collateral, web
site, etc.) from the templates set up as job type/spec
sheets. A job type isn't required, but without
one the proposal won't have a creative brief.
5 Enter a brief name or title of the prospective
job that describes the scope of the work.
6 Enter the job's projected start date and due
date.
If you're not sure about the exact dates, add
a meaningful best guess. These dates will help
the production team better plan schedules and resources
for potential jobs.
7 Enter the name of the client contact who's requesting
the proposal.
Any name can be typed into requested by field.
8 Enter the proposal's description.
When the proposal becomes a job, the proposal's
description becomes the job's description. It also
appears on the printed proposal for the client's
approval.
9 Enter the project's initial budget, or leave
the field blank if it isn't known.
The initial budget is used to track what the client
initially wants to spend on the job.
10 Enter the proposal's creative
brief by choosing a topic from the pop-up menu then
enter the text.
The creative brief pop-up menu shows the creative
brief headings entered in the job type/spec sheet.
Only the sections that have text will appear on
the printed proposal report.
11 Click Save
To edit a proposal
An existing proposal can be edited and reprinted
any number of times -- whatever's needed to convince
the client to approve the work. An approved proposal
can't be edited.
1 Click on a proposal to select it.
2 Click the edit button then follow the steps
for adding a proposal.
To print a proposal
The print proposal button prints a hard-copy
version of the selected proposal (which looks like
a job estimate). A proposal can be printed whether
it has been approved or not.
1 Click on a proposal to select it.
2 Click on the print
button.
To e-mail a proposal
The e-mail proposal button allows you to e-mail
a copy of the printed proposal directly to the client
or someone in the agency.
1 Click on a proposal to select
it.
2 Click on the e-mail
proposal button.
To approve a proposal
Clicking the approve button automatically
creates a job ticket from the selected proposal.
When the proposal becomes a job, the proposal's
name becomes the job's name, and its description
becomes the job's description.
Proposals can only be approved for active clients.
If a proposal was created for an inactive client
or prospective client, you'll need to first make
the account "active" in the Clients window
then approve the proposal. Also, proposals can't
be approved if the client is on credit hold.
1 Click on a proposal to select it.
2 Click on the approve button.
An approved proposal can't be unapproved. Instead,
the job created by the approved proposal can be
canceled.
To kill a proposal
Clicking the kill button effectively
cancels the proposal. An approved proposal
can't be killed.
1 Click on a proposal to select it.
2 Click on the kill button.
A killed proposal can still be approved later
should the client change its mind.
To print a list of proposals
A proposal list can be printed showing the proposals
that are currently displayed in the Proposals window.
1 Find the proposals you wish to print.
2 Click on the print report button. |
