When someone says "job snapshot" do you think of a job's photo shoot? In Clients & Profits, the Job Snapshot is an account management tool that provides a real-time view of a job's key totals. When you can see events happen in real-time, you can respond quickly if anything starts to go wrong.

As part of every job ticket, the Job Snapshot window is used by account executives to get up-to-the-minute balances for a job, as well as make projections about the job's progress. It's also a great way to communicate to the accounting department upcoming job billings--such as when and how much to bill. The window contains four integrated worksheets:

The estimate worksheet lets AEs enter an approximate amount for costs still outstanding to arrive at a true estimate-remaining figure. The section is an easy tip-off as to whether or not the job, as a whole, will come in under budget.

The hours worksheet lets AEs enter the approximate number of hours needed to finish the job. This section is an early warning about the job's creative is going well. The total number of actual hours billed so far also appears here.

The profit worksheet is a mini-P&L for a job ticket. As soon as work begins on a job, the profit worksheet keeps AEs informed about the job's bottom line. AEs see both gross and net profit here, depending on their access privileges.

The billing worksheet is an important tool for AEs to use, since it helps them communicate with the accounting department electronically. AEs enter the amount of the next billing for a job, as well as its billing date (i.e., when the invoice should be created). This information appears on the printed Job Snapshot report, which the accounting department can use to start billing.