By Judith Hector

There are a lot of reasons why shops get Clients & Profits: better job management, accurate costing, easier billing, complete financial analyses, full agency integration. There are probably as many reasons as there are agencies using it. But no matter how compelling or logical the reason was when the decision was made to buy it, sometimes the enthusiasm fades away after the box is opened.

Sure, getting Clients & Profits up and running isn't as easy as, say, installing new fonts. But it isn't as hard as it might seem either. And the beautiful thing is, once you get the Clients & Profits database framed with a few key elements, you're more than halfway done.

If you just bought Clients & Profits, or even if you bought it years ago but didn't get it fully running, follow this step-by-step guide to rev-up your Clients & Profits software. You'll end up with a clean, fast-running system that tracks jobs from the proposal to final billing, and leaves a data trail that can be compiled into hundreds of reports.

Develop a game plan

Tackle Clients & Profits like you would a new client job. First, get to know Clients & Profits. If you're not intimately familiar with the scope of tools built into Clients & Profits, crack open that feature guide and glance at the section tabs. You'll find everything there from Job Tickets to Media to General Ledger, plus a handy flowchart that illustrates how data entered at one end makes everyone's job easier down the road (no more double-entry!).

Once you have your head wrapped around Clients & Profits, zero in on the end goal. Figure out what you want to accomplish then, just like your creative brief, write it down. It will help you keep moving forward when you feel like you're slogging through hip-deep data with no end in sight. There is an end. We promise.

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