Creative Manager Pro, Ad Agency Software and Project Management Groupware for Creative and Design firms, has released version 8.1 sooner than expected, squeezing more into its new version than previously announced, with improvements for Retainer Billing, Cash Projections, Mac OS X 10.4.2 and more.

November 7, 2005

Lakewood NJ-based Creative Manager, Inc., (http://www.CreativeManagerPro.com) provider of Creative Project Manager and Creative Manager Pro, has released version 8.1 of its flagship product, with more features and sooner than previously announced.

After announcing that Creative Manager Pro 8.1 would include metrics from David Baker of ReCourses, Inc., and a QuickBooks conversion tool, Creative Manager Pro has released version 8.1 with additional features that clients were asking for, like automatic overhead allocations in the General Ledger Income Statements.

No installation or conversion will be necessary, and the update is free to all users of Creative Project Manager and Creative Manager Pro. All client logins and vendor logins are always free.

Creative Manager Pro's new easy-to-use Retainer Billing function allows user to set up client retainers, track jobs that are part of a retainer, automatically bill out these jobs against the retainer, and view the status/balance of the retainer at any time.

Improvements for Cash Projections are also included in this new version. One simple cash analysis view that projects cash in/out on a weekly basis. Creative Manager Pro users can now anticipate cash requirements easily and accurately.

Ron Ause, Director of Marketing for Creative Manager, Inc., said "On top of these important metrics, and the QuickBooks conversion tool, we found a way to include more key functionality that our clients were asking for. We're Always Listening!"

Creative Manager Pro continues to invest, adding new features which work with Apple's latest Tiger Mac OS X Unix-based Operating System and Microsoft Windows.

The new automatic overhead allocations in Creative Manager Pro come in handy for those clients that produce detailed P&L analyses. Income statements can now include automatic overhead allocations to provide a true picture of the profitability by client, department, project, etc.

When asked about the new upgrade, Ause said "When our clients are able to view their numbers, ratios and metrics as they grow, planning for growth becomes second nature. Since Baker's metrics are important to help our clients watch their growth, we had no choice but to include them. They're essential to running the business."

The following are some of the details of the current update:
Financial Management Enhancements
* We have added a new set of business metrics to the system. Based on David Baker's business management philosophy, users can now check the heartbeat of their business in an instant.
* We have added a cash projection drill down report. This report will give users better visibility to how much cash users have on hand in the future.
* Users can now run their project profitability reports for a Client, Division, Product and more.
* When printing financial statements, users can now have overhead expenses automatically allocated to a client or project based on that client's percentage of labor cost.
* We have added a new check run proofing report that allows users to check their payments prior to printing.
Estimating and Billing Enhancements
* Users are now able to edit the rates for services on each estimate.
* Estimates can now be entered for services only.
* Estimate Printing Options
* Users can now roll up estimates to the billing item like an invoice.
* Users can optionally show zero amount line items on estimates.
* Users can now optionally show the approvers name at the bottom of the estimate
* Purchase Orders can now have sales tax specified on them. These sales tax settings carry over to the vendor invoice when an order is applied to an invoice.
* Users can now run the billing worksheet report and the mass billing function by Campaign.
* We have added a retainer management section to the system. Users can now set up retainers for their clients, link them to projects and automate the billing of the retainer.

Project Management Enhancements
* Users can now add attachments to assignments and access them from the My Assignments screen.
* When a project is placed on hold, the system will not count that project when calculating the availability of staff.

System Integration Enhancements
* We have completed our import interface for Smart Plus which allows users to import orders and invoices directly into Creative Manager.
* For new users who are converting from Quickbooks, we have a new conversion tool that can help get Creative Manager set up quickly and easily. Our new conversion tool will pull in customers, vendors, items and open AR and AP.

Creative Manager Pro goes beyond costing to offer full Project Management, CRM, Digital Asset Management, billing and accounting, and Extranet capabilities.

Creative Manager Pro (at http://www.CreativeManagerPro.com), is the only Ad Agency software and Project Management Software for the Creative Design industry, created exclusively for design firms, ad agencies, in-house creative/MarCom departments, and creative service firms. It is a web-based integrated project management software and job tracking solution which streamlines the entire firm, from developing new business, to staffing, managing, and executing projects through to accounting and financial reporting.

Creative Manager Pro is a full-featured, intuitive system which makes project and ad agency management a breeze. Creative Manager Pro supports Customer Relationship Management, Document Management, Shared Calendaring, Accounting and much more. Because it is web-based, there is nothing to install and it can be set up in a single day. It works with both PC and Macintosh from any location over any connection. It may also be installed locally on the client's own servers. All options include training and support to ensure that clients are up and running quickly.

Among the many features of Creative Manager Pro:
- Graphically view your firm's metrics - manage your firm by the numbers.
- Manage Contacts and Leads
- Create Project Schedules, Calendars and Manage Tasks
- Take your contacts and calendar on the road with iCal, AddressBook & Outlook
- Approve Timesheets, Purchasing, Billing and Budgets
- Review and Approve Artwork Online
- Store and Manage Digital Assets
- Manage and Balance the Books
- Free client and vendor access to streamline workflow.
- Quick startup/import from Clients & Profits, Adman and other systems
- Full-featured CRM (Client Relationship Management)
- Extranet capabilities
- Manage media with an interface to the Strata Media Buying systems
- Charting of important industry metrics and firm statistics

The team members at Creative Manager, Inc. have been leaders in ad agency software and project management software for the creative industry and on the Mac OS for over 26 years. They provide their creative clients with two major offerings: Creative Project Manager and Creative Manager Pro. Both programs work seamlessly with the Mac OS and Windows.

Take a test drive at http://www.Creative-Manager.com


Contact Info:
Ron Ause
Creative Manager, Inc.
800.203.7684 x3051
communicate. collaborate. control.