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This frequently asked questions page was answered by our clients that was asked to them by our prospective clients.
I'm managing two installations of Creative Manager in an agency and an audio/video studio and have been blown away by the massive feature set, flexibility, and the great support from this team. Creative Manager is light years ahead of the competition in delivering a true cross-platform and easy-to-use solution for agencies and creative studios.
We conducted our training class on rolling out the Digital Assets as a replacement to Microsoft Portals and everything went great! Thanks for answering all of those last minute questions for me!
We began using Creative Manager Pro in Oct/Nov 2003 in training mode, and cut over to full production use on January 1, 2004. We are a mixed Mac and Windows environment, with about 100 employees spread across many floors in two buildings, as well as remote offices out of state. Our priority was to find something that was easy to use (or our designers wouldn't use it), that would work the same on Mac or PCs, and could be accessed over the Internet. Creative Manager has fit that need perfectly.
The Creative Manager website has become the home page for all our users, and we customized it with all kinds of Intranet features. People log into Creative Manager to do their time sheets, expense reports, vacation requests, POs, and every other facet of the business. We have added links to our employee handbook, company directory, security camera system and company newsletter. It is our gateway to web-based mail, FTP sites and more. In everyday use, it sits right beside Mail and Outlook, and the Creative Manager calendar supplements iCal and Outlook's calendar features.
1 - What did you use before Creative Manager
We were using Clients and Profits, had no access via remote clients, and the support for OS X was non-existent. Plus, we were having major problems with the software as well as usability.
2 - How many use Creative Manager
We have about 90 people using it over the local area network, and about 10 accessing from remote offices. In addition, we have several dozen clients and vendors that log in for access to projects, digital art reviews, digital asset libraries and more.
3 - Do they host the data for you or do you host your own
We opted to host it ourselves. We purchased a new server and installed it, and the Creative Manager engineers remotely logged in to install and set up Creative Manager.
4 - Do you have a dedicated administer (traffic) for entering new jobs, etc.
No, all Account Executives and Coordinators do their own job entry and management. We do not have a traditional traffic department. Our AEs and AC interact directly with both client and creative, skipping the traffic step. Much of what traditional traffic managers did is now virtualized and built into Creative Manager, with full task and scheduling options.
5 - Do you use Creative Manager for billing
Yes, we do our full accounting, billing and invoicing within Creative Manager. Creative Manager has a built-in invoice template system, allowing us to create multiple invoice types for different clients and job types.
6 - Have you had issues/down time
In over two years of full-time use, we have had zero down time. Updates and patches are downloaded automatically and installed by our early AM system administrator, and we have had no significant issues or inability to conduct business as usual.
7 - How long have you used it
Just over two years.
8 - Favorite feature
Web-based interface. Everyone in the company intuitively knows how the system works because it uses standard web page forms and layouts. No one get intimidated or thinks of it as "new software" to learn. It's just our intranet with all our business tools on it.
9 - Least favorite
Web-based interface. What makes this system work for 99% of the company is also the one that draws the greatest complaints from some people. Because Creative Manger is web-based, it works differently from Quicken and Excel. This is evidently a problem for 1 or 2% of users.
10 - Pros/Cons
There are so many positive impacts we have had from Creative Manager, I don't even know where to begin. Among the most important: the web-based services allows everyone to work whenever and where ever they are. While traveling, people have the same access they would have in the office. Remote offices see the exact same thing as people at the home office. And for those long, long days, people can stop...go home...have family time...then finish up their work from their home computer. The check-in/check-out digital asset libraries, online approvals, custom report builder and forms builders are all important assets as well.
No system is perfect, but this is one company that really listens to its customers. We constantly make suggestions and find potential enhancements, have those ideas added to the "enhancement list," and then see those requests come to reality a few days or weeks later. Support is timely and knowledgeable, and have proven many times that they will do what it takes to make sure we're able to use the system to run our business effectively.
11 - Do you feel it's worth the price
Absolutely. It has allowed us to consolidate a variety of services of offerings into one package. It allowed us to totally shut down Microsoft Sharepoint portals and reduced the need for FTP. It is project management, time tracking, reporting, time-off tracking, and scheduling all in one easy-to-use, use-anywhere package.
Here's my story with moving from C&P to CM. It was a really smooth transition, but we took it slowly and planned all our moves carefully, with the help of the CM folks!
a) what data they decided to export from C&P import into CMP
- We began entering data into CM one month before we went live.
- We brought in Client and Vendor data (only active ones).
- We then set up job type templates (which are AWESOME and warrant the time to set them up before starting to enter projects).
- We then created projects in CM that we knew were still going to be going on when we went live.
- We created the GL Accounts, getting rid of the dozens that we never used in C&P and re-ordering them so it made more sense for us. I asked our accountant to tell me which ones I could aggregate for his tax purposes. We got rid of a lot of extra C&P baggage that way.
- After we were up and running, my accountant came over and we brought in beginning balances from the ending balances in C&P.
b) their overall impression of and experience with the migration process
- The transition was much easier and the product is such a vast improvement over C&P that it instantly made our lives easier.
- The CM team was really helpful during the training and after and helped us get everything up and running very quickly
c) what they might do differently so we can learn from their mistakes
- We didn't have any big mistakes, but there were a couple of things that we had to go back and fix globally (which I can't remember--sorry!). But, what I would suggest, is after each major step in the implementation process, ask your rep at CM to check it out and make sure you did it right. They're really nice about it.
d) if they had considered Function Point, why did they pick CMP
- We didn't consider FP so I'm no help to you there!
e) how long does it take to get a question answered- same day, same phone call??
- Questions are answered within minutes. We only e-mail them now. At the beginning we would e-mail and call but now most questions are easily answered via e-mail.
- We also get updates regularly, direct to our server during the night. Bug fixes, improvements, etc., all while we sleep! It's awesome!
f) how smooth does year end run- 1099's etc
- The reporting features in CM are comprehensive and easy to use. AND, as opposed to C&P, they're totally customizable. You can get basically any information you want out of CM in any format you want. It's so helpful.
g) accounting software- any glitches
- I'm knocking on wood right now (ok my pressboard laminated desk will have to do) but no glitches. And, in C&P I was starting to get scared because we had glitches a lot.
We have been very happy with CM from the start. I have never regretted switching and something pretty darn cool would have to come out for me to want to switch!
We love the fact that we can access the info via the web from ANYWHERE.
We have added custom information to the database that's helpful for us (has anyone backed up a job, is it a piece we might want to enter in an awards competition, does this person get a holiday card, etc.)
Another agency switching from C&P
Will the creative team really embrace the product? If they
aren't willing to use it then half the data is useless - I
don't know about you guys, but getting the creative team to
do timesheets is nearly impossible - why would this program
change things?
CM sends out these nice emails when people don't fill
out their time cards and we've never had better timekeeping!
Were you guys on Client's and Profits before the switch?
How long did it take people to really start benefiting from
the tools - it seems like a really cool program with lots
of tools that will be useful.
We used C&P for three years and the switch was pretty
smooth. Instead of getting into all the cool new tools right
away, we concentrated on being able to do everything we
use'd to do in c&p and then gradually started using the
other stuff that cm has. Some things required nothing--nice
metric graphs just appear for you, etc.
Does it really take a lot of data entry to keep this thing
moving or do you find it is a time saver after everyone is
up and running on it?
We made sure to create templates for everything so
adding new stuff involves more cut & paste, not reinventing
the wheel each time.
Would you make the switch again? What other products did
you compare it to?
I would make the switch in a heartbeat. We looked at a bunch
of other programs, but I can't remember them at the
moment...!
Another Agency switching from Quickbooks
How long has your firm been working with Creative Manager Pro?
One year--we implemented it 11/1/05
Did you set up CMP as Hosted on their server or Self-Hosted?
If Self-Hosted, would you recommend this option?
Self hosted, and it has worked well for us. Totally seamless once it was set up. We get regular updates quite often and we just arrive in the morning to an e-mail saying we have an update. It's been great. You need to have a reliable server.
Did you opt for the Custom software?
If so are there any specific points that you would recommend?
We didn't get custom software. I don't remember it being offered, but we customized stuff for us. It would have been nice to have some of the things we had to do already be done for us. For example, we set up job templates for every type of job we do so when we open up a job we just copy the template and edit it to match the exact specs. It would be nice to have a set of 20 of those already done. If that's what they're doing, I think it would be well worth it. Sometimes I think it would be good to have them come "check our work" to make sure we're doing things right, but all in all it seems to be working!
Would you consider it to be an over-all user friendly program?
Yes. It's really easy to use and super easy to customize reports, etc. And, it works on the web so you can do stuff at home or in France or....
What was your firm's 'learning curve' with CMP?
In the introductory stage, do you feel that the one-hour per week training session is enough?
We did a lot of preparation before hand, like figuring out which clients we wouldn't be working with any more so wouldn't need to enter in CM, basically cleaning out the database of stuff we had in Clients and Profits, which is what we used previously. It was nice having the training sessions and at first I thought it would be good to have them all in a row over a few days, but spacing them out let us do part of the set up and come up with a list of questions for our next session. It took about a month for everything to be in CM and not in C&P anymore.
Did you previously use Quickbooks for billing and productivity purposes?
If so, have Time Sheets and project billing become more efficient?
We used Clients and Profits and things are SO much better now! Time sheets are really easy to use and I use the daily time sheets notifications to shame people into getting them done every day. Project billing is also great. The billing and production status codes you can set are really helpful and the reports you can run (e.g., show me all jobs that need 1/3 billed, etc.) help you keep on top of everything.
How many employees use CMP at your firm?
10
Are you a Mac or PC based firm?
We have both, but all the designers have a Mac. AEs and web designers have a PC.
Is there anything you would like to add about CMP?
Having CM has been a lifesaver. We have a core of three people who know how to do everything really well and most of the staff just enter time cards and use the calendar and go along their merry designing way! Any time you switch programs, there's a certain amount of work, but the payoff is totally worth it. Be prepared to get yourself organized and do things a bit at a time and you'll be so happy you did.
And, the email tech support is awesome. I get timely, helpful responses to all my questions.
A customer satisfaction survey that CM sent out a few months ago, with my responses.
1) How did you hear about Creative Manager Pro?
We contacted Ron Ause, as he had set us up with C&P (yikes!) before the invention of CM.
2) What type of company are you listed as?
Graphic Design firm?
3) Are you part of an industry group network? If so, Which one?
Is this like AIGA or GAG or Western Art DIrectors club or something else?
4) How many employees does the company have?
12
5) How many employees use Creative Manager Pro?
12
6) Is the system being used by:
EVERYONE!
7) What job or database system did you use prior to Creative Manager Pro?
C&P, before that MYOB
8) What accounting system did you use prior to Creative Manager Pro?
C&P, before that MYOB
9) Which area in Creative Manager Pro do you consider the strongest part of the system? Why?
Reporting, because I can get the info out however I need. And, the web access so I can get the info in and out whenever and wherever I need!
10) Which area in Creative Manager Pro do you consider the weakest part of the system? Why?
On-screen displaying of info, mostly due to it being a web-based product. So, it's not your fault! But, if I could eliminate some fields from displaying on certain screens, that would be great. (There are a bunch of project fields we never use so it would be great to just not display them on the Project Setup screen, for example.)
We also don't use the traffic and scheduling stuff because no one wants to invest that much time learning how to do so.
11) How effective was the training process?
Very good, but it would have been nice to have some of the custom reports and templates already in the system. We spent a lot of time creating things that everyone could probably use.
12) Did you hire a consultant? If so, Who? What was your experience?
Nope.
13) How effective is our email support? Are you getting your questions answered in a timely manner?
Yes, it's been awesome! And, I love frequent automatic updates.
14) Name one thing we can do better?
Include more pre-fab stuff. Maybe have a way for folks who have created nice reports to share them with others.
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