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Job Scheduling FAQs
Summary: Answers to frequently-asked questions about scheduling jobs with Clients & Profits.
Q. Do I have to use the job scheduling feature in Clients & Profits?
No. Job scheduling is a separate part of the production and traffic system. It's optional, and can be started any time. It may be more practical to use it to remember upcoming deadlines and less for resource planning. Traditionally, it's been very difficult to tightly schedule creatives in the ad business. Unlike building airplanes, creatives don't fit well into rigid work schedules. If you start slowly by scheduling only key deadlines, you'll soon have a good idea about how involved (and automated) you want job scheduling to be.
Q. Do I have to schedule all jobs and tasks, or can I only start with those for one client?
Since all jobs are scheduled independently, you have complete flexibility over which jobs can be scheduled with Clients & Profits. You can always start small, scheduling just a few important jobs.
Q. How do I start using Clients & Profits job scheduling?
First, start scheduling just the new jobs. Let the jobs already in progress move through the shop as they always have, even if it's less than organized. Scheduling helps you track each task's start and due dates (including the exact time of day, if necessary), who is responsible for the task's completion, and the production specifications that describe the work. Then familiarize your production and creative staff with the My > My Creative Dashboard so they can quickly see what work is assigned to them.
Q. Should I schedule all tasks?
No. Only those job tasks that have important, can't-miss deadlines should be scheduled first. Then the job's interim deadlines should be scheduled to automate the daily and weekly and work to do for each staff member. Tasks that either don't have deadlines, or have deadlines that aren't critical to clients or to the staff, don't need to be scheduled.
Q. Why are our job schedules cluttered with non-production tasks like Project Coordination, Copies, and Stock Photography?
Someone has marked those estimate/billing tasks as "scheduling" tasks. A task can be used for estimating/billing, scheduling, or used for both. It's a setting in the Task Table that's customizable for each task. Any task that is marked as "scheduling" will appear on the job schedule. To keep tasks like Project Coordination off the schedule, uncheck the "Scheduling" option in the Task Table's Edit Task window. [ Option: When editing a task in the Task Table, select the Update Existing option for all job task settings to be changed as well ].This setting can also be changed on a specific task on the job ticket by double-clicking on the task in the Job Tickets window then unchecking the "scheduling" option.
Q. How do I schedule a job's tasks?
From the Job Ticket window, click the Traffic: Deadlines link > Deadlines tab Assigned to: (staff names)
Q. Our staff usually doesn't work on weekends. Does that affect how I schedule tasks?
Yes. Make sure to check the Skip Saturdays and Skip Sundays checkboxes at the bottom of the schedule before entering any start or due dates on the schedule. Then, if you try to schedule a start or due date on a weekend, Clients & Profits won't let you. (You can set this as a default for all jobs in Preferences > General > Company Holidays tab. )
Q. When scheduling a job, how do I relay instructions to staffers about their work?
Special instructions, which are used to describe the work to be done, can be entered for each job task. Print on production reports like the Job Schedule, Jobr menu > Resource Worksheet (Deadlines), Snapshots menu > Jobr: Production > Schedules/Work to Do tab, and My > My Creative Dashboard reports. Special Instructions are entered into the Job Schedule window for each task. Special Instructions can also be entered from the Deadlines (Tasks/To Do's) and My > My Creative Dashboard windows by double-clicking on a job task.
Q. What's the purpose of the "step" numbers (i.e., schedule sort) on a job schedule?
The "step" number is optional and determines the order in which the tasks are completed. They will override the default alphabetical sorting by task code. It's necessary to use step numbers to properly set the order of task completion before using the ballpark schedule. It is called the Traffic Priority number (sort order number) in the Task Table, and is copied to jobs when tasks are added. They can also be assigned to each job task in the Job Schedule window. Don't confuse this with the "Sort" field which is used to order tasks on the job ticket window and job ticket estimate.
Q. What's the difference between ballpark scheduling and rescheduling tasks?
Both are accessed through the job deadline window links. Ballpark scheduling is used to automatically assign start and due dates to the tasks, based on the job's start or due date, the lead time for each task, and the order of the tasks in the scheduling window. It's a quick way of getting approximate due dates for tasks assuming a perfect sequential flow of the tasks (no parallel paths). Rescheduling tasks automatically rearranges an existing job schedule when the job needs to be either postponed or rushed. You can select only the tasks you want to reschedule, whose start and due dates will be adjusted based on the new start or due date for the job. Another option is to just re-ballpark schedule the job based on a new start or due date, which will ignore any finished tasks when rebuilding the schedule. Re-ballpark scheduling impacts all unfinished tasks, where when rescheduling you can choose exactly which tasks you want to reschedule. As well, if a schedule was created manually, always use the reschedule feature to automatically update the schedule. If you re-ballpark schedule, it will erase your manual changes.
Q. How do I use ballpark scheduling?
Ballpark scheduling is used when a job is brand new. It creates a sequential schedule using the tasks' lead times (i.e., the days needed to complete the task), the start or due date of the job, and the order of the tasks in the deadline window. So, make sure you change the order of the tasks using "step" numbers in the job's "No." column (i.e. 1 for the first task, 1 for the next task to be worked on, etc.). Lead times can be set up in the Task Table, which are copied to new jobs automatically, but can be edited in the job's deadline window. The ballpark option starts with either the job's start date or due date. Then task by task, in their sequential number order it calculates the start and due date for each task. Once the ballpark schedule is created, its dates and other information can be fine-tuned.
Q. How do I use the reschedule tasks?
Use the Reschedule Tasks option to update a job's schedule when the job is either delayed or accelerated. If there are only a few tasks left to complete, it may be faster to adjust each task's start and due dates manually, instead of automatically via the rescheduling feature. Unlike the Ballpark option, the Reschedule option keeps the existing intervals between each task's start date and due date, ignoring the order of the tasks in the scheduling window. Essentially, it preserves the schedule you initially created (critical if you manaully created a parallel path schedule). It then changes each task's start and due date up or back depending on the job's new start date or due date assigned in the reschedule window. As well, you have the flexibility to choose exactly which tasks you want to reschedule, where ballpark scheduling will impact all unfinished tasks.
Q. Can I see the other jobs that a staffer has been assigned while scheduling a job or view by a specific date to see everyone's deadlines?
Yes. After entering a deadline into a job's task, you will see an additional link in the window called unfinished tasks for the date you used. Here you can view everyone's tasks for that date. Also, when you enter a staffer's name into a job's task, you will see another link, unfinished tasks for that staffer where you can view all their deadlines regardless of date.
Q. How do I assign two (or more) staff members to the same task?
Different people can be scheduled for the same job task by adding sub-tasks. Sub-tasks are used exclusively for scheduling multiple start dates, due dates, or staff members to a job task. A job task can have many sub-tasks, which appear on job schedules, My > My Creative Dashboard, and Deadlines (Tasks/To Do's) reports. Sub-tasks have the same task code as the main task, and they aren't used for billing. All of the hours worked on a sub-task are assigned to the main job task.
Q. Is there a quick way to update schedules and print schedule reports for many jobs?
Yes. To update deadlines for many jobs & tasks, go to the Jobr menu > Resource Worksheet (Deadlines) > make your selections > & click the magnifying glass icon. This window can be sorted and printed by the column heading you select. Double-click on a line to mark it finished or make changes. Or, select several line items and right click to make multiple changes. Tasks are marked finished with today's date and are removed from all deadlines windows and reports.
The most commonly used reports are under the Snapshots menu > Jobr: Production > Schedules/Work To Do, but you will find some in the job tickets reports as well.
Q. What happens when a scheduled task is completed?
When someone marks the task finished, it's given today's date in the finished column of the job (you can modify the date from the job if needed). Finished tasks no longer appear in the deadline widnows or reports. You can mark tasks finished on a job by entering a date into the job task's finished column, by editing a task and selecting the finished box or by highlighting tasks and right-clicking. To edit many - Jobr menu > Production CAlendar or Resource Worksheet (Deadlines), the My menu > My Creative Dashboard or My Calendar or even from My Time Card & Accounting menu > Time Sheets.
Q. Can Clients & Profits print a time line that graphically illustrates the job's schedule?
Yes. The Job Ticket Timeline report is a Gantt-like chart that graphically displays the start and due dates for the job's tasks. clearly illustrates the job's work flow by showing the time between each task's start and due dates as a solid bar. To print the time line report, go to the job > select Traffic: Deadlines link > Print button.
Q. When would I use the scheduling calendar?
The calendars provide you a calendar view of the task due dates. From the job ticket's calendar, you can drag & drop deadlines moving them around.
Q. How can I tell if a staffer is too busy to take on new work?
The Unfinished Tasks window lists deadlines for a selected staff member. It helps you balance a staffer's work load by preventing too many deadlines from occurring at once. To see the staffer's scheduled tasks, select a task in the Job Traffic: Deadline window assigned to this staffer, then click the Unfinished Tasks link. You can also see this from the Jobr menu > Resource Worksheet (Deadlines) window by filtering or column sorting by staff.
Q. What happens to unfinished tasks if the job is closed?
First of all, the job shouldn't be closed if it has unfinished tasks. If the job shows unfinished tasks, they could be finished but haven't been updated with finished dates (that's a common occurrence). If a job is closed with unfinished tasks, they are automatically marked as "finished" by Clients & Profits as a time-saver (though they are not given a finished date). You can also prevent a job from being closed with unfinished tasks with a customizable setting in Preferences > Jobr: Production.
Q. What can Jobr only users do or see?
From a web page or an iPad, Jobr only users can edit deadline information. If they install the C&P application on their computer, they will also have most of the My menu and the Jobr menu.
Q. How can I evaluate whether or not our deadlines are being met?
The On-Time Performance report, which is printed from the Snapshots menu > Jobr: Production > Analysis tab, compares how many tasks are finished early, on time, late, and very late. The Missed Deadlines report focuses on only tasks that are finished late -- how many days late for each task and an average number of days for all tasks by resource, AE/Team, or client. These reports can be printed every month to evaluate the shop's progress (or lack of progress) in meeting deadlines throughout the year.
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