Working from home with Timbuktu Timbuktu is the leading remote connectivity solution for Windows and Mac. It allows remote users to access a company computer from home (or any location) using an internet connection (e.g., modem, DSL, cable, etc.). With Timbuktu, you can work on Clients & Profits from home just as if you were sitting inside the office. There are two parts to Timbuktu: the client and the host. The host is a computer at the office that’s running the Timbuktu software. It is a standard PC or Mac that has Clients & Profits already installed. The host computer is connected to the C&P database, just like any other user, then waits for a remote user to connect to it. The client is a remote user’s computer, which also has Timbuktu installed on it. To connect to the host, the remote user starts the Timbuktu application then connects to the host by entering the host’s IP address. The host’s desktop then appears on to client’s screen. The remote user is now in full control of the host computer at the office, and can run any program, such as Clients & Profits, that is installed on the host. From inside the office, the host computer looks like it’s being operated by a ghost -- windows open and close, menus commands are chosen -- as the remote user works. There are some limitations, though. Only one remote user can work at one time, and reports can’t be easily printed to the remote user’s printer. Also, if the host computer is turned off for some reason, remote users can’t connect to it. A high speed internet connection at both home and the office makes Timbuktu usable for just about everything in Clients & Profits, but regular modems can be used as well. It’s also cross-platform, so a Windows PC can control a Mac and vice-versa.

By Kent Richardson

     There are four likely types of staffers who need to work remotely:

      Work-at-Home Bookkeepers Small shops often have outside bookkeepers who work from home, whether for family reasons, because they work part-time, or live too far to commute. A bookkeeper working at home needs access to Clients & Profits to enter the day’s invoices, the week’s staff time (if they don’t enter time themselves), prepare checks for vendor payments and company expenses, bill clients for completed jobs, process payroll, and print reports. For these staffers, a Timbuktu or PC Anywhere solution over cable, DSL, or ISDN lines would be ideal.

      Freelancers These days freelancers are frequently used to handle surges in new work, as well as handle special projects for which the shop doesn’t have the in-house resources. Freelance creatives are typically interested only in creative briefs on jobs to which they’re assigned, production deadlines for which they’re responsible, and maybe tracking their time on the agency’s time cards. (My Clients & Profits! is an especially

good solution for creatives, since they don’t need access to accounting.)

      Account Executives Account service staff members, including account executives and account supervisors, usually need enough access to Clients & Profits to open new job tickets for their clients, track the status of production and traffic for their clients’ jobs, review job costs to track budgets, add change orders, and review billing previews when their clients are ready to be billed. They may need infrequent but instant access to job information while meeting with clients in order to keep them informed about their open projects. AEs need access to Clients & Profits while on the road for any of these reasons. Remote access for account executives almost always involves a laptop with a modem connection.

      Principals Agency owners and senior management can use remote access to review each day’s newly-opened jobs from home or from a hotel room.