As Canopy Fitouts grew rapidly, they found it difficult to stay on top of projects and job profitability. Realising spreadsheets were no longer viable, they sought help from Business Continuum to migrate their business to WorkflowMax, and they attribute a 400% increase in growth in part to the support and expertise that Business Continuum was able to provide during the migration process. Read the full case study here.
At Xerocon 2017, Xero introduced Xero Projects, a new platform that offers small business owners simple ways to track projects, timesheets, invoicing and other factors to ensure better profitability. Because Xero owns both Xero Projects and WorkflowMax, it can be confusing for small business owners: which solution is best for your business?
Here are the key factors to consider when deciding which of these impressive cloud-based software solutions is right for your business.
Xero Projects is very new
Yep, since the announcement of Xero Projects at Xerocon in mid-September 2017, AFL club Richmond has not lost a football game (we checked). Even though it’s new, it’s well thought out and is priced accordingly with a $7 per user introductory rate (that will increase to $10 per user in 2018). But bumps are to be expected, and Xero is yet to roll out the full suite of functionality for Xero Projects. Features like iOS and Android apps, and integration with Quotes and Expenses are not available yet. But, it’s only getting better from here.
What is Xero Projects good for?
The current incarnation is suitable for small businesses with simple costing needs, such as freelancers, sole traders and micro businesses with less than ten staff. If your small business is in the creative, IT, finance, design, consulting and digital marketing space, you’re the ideal customer.
For example, a freelance web developer can use it to record time, cost jobs, manage subcontractors and track the progress of projects. Importantly, it allows you to easily build reports to assess each project’s profitability and cost-effectiveness. This reporting allows you to quote more accurately and concentrate on the most profitable aspects of your business. It’s a great way to bring quality project management software to smaller businesses, potentially giving them a more level playing field with larger competitors.
What is WorkflowMax good for?
WorkflowMax is a sophisticated cloud-based project management tool, with much more complexity and functionality. Managing larger teams brings further complexity in scheduling, operating processes, task tracking requirements and job costing that WorkflowMax is capable of handling. Importantly, WorkflowMax can be configured to your business processes. For example, your business might follow a process of initial scoping, getting approval, integration and then final delivery. WorkflowMax can be configured to these stages in your project life cycle.
And with its lead management and CRM tools, you can track your leads pipeline from one place. Taking leads on a journey from initial interest through to a signed proposal can be streamlined and simplified with WorkflowMax. If you have sales staff, you can track how they are performing by assessing how many of their leads convert to customers and the value of the customers they are bringing in. WorkflowMax makes costing jobs easier as you can access data from similar jobs, meaning you’re less likely to underquote a job and be stuck delivering an unprofitable project. And with more than thirty add-ons, WorkflowMax can integrate with other cloud-based software tools that produce financial reports, track expenses, manage payroll, schedule staff shifts and much more.
Simple versus complex
As you can see, WorkflowMax offers a lot more features and functionality than Xero Projects. But with that complexity comes difficulty. It’s not a system you can set up easily yourself. In contrast, Xero Projects is quite easy to get started on your own, if you have basic cloud software experience (such as Xero). If you’ve no plans for extensive growth and can’t see yourself using many features of WorkflowMax, you may find yourself happily using Xero Projects for years without issue. However, as a growing business with the intention to increase sales, revenue and staff numbers, you may find yourself outgrowing Xero Projects in its current form within a few years.
Migration
If you’re small, you might be tempted to start with Xero Projects and move on to WorkflowMax later as your business grows. However, there is no path in place to enable simple migration from one to the other. (Or back again, if your business is scaling down in its twilight years.) So, it may be wiser to start with WorkflowMax while you’re still small, building in the functionality along the way, rather than going through the hassle of upgrading to WorkflowMax in the middle of a complex growth stage.
Pros and Cons
Benefits of Xero Projects:
Cons of Xero Projects:
Benefits of WorkflowMax:
Cons of WorkflowMax:
The upshot: our recommendation
If you’re small and have no growth plans, Xero Projects may be all you need. If you have more than five staff and growing, WorkflowMax is the better choice.
Also, if you’re small now but have ambitious plans for the coming years, start with WorkflowMax now. Choose a platform that will support your rapid growth down the track.
It’s packed with features, easy-to-use, and the most comprehensive new project management tool to hit our shores in a long time. Meet Scoro. We’re thrilled that Scoro is now available in Australia and New Zealand, and that Business Continuum has been announced as the exclusive integration partner for this region.
So, what is Scoro?
This cloud-based software solution is considered to be the Salesforce equivalent in the project management software space. It’s seriously impressive and packed with features, and it’s customisable for any business with project management needs – like creative agencies, design studios and other professional service businesses. Users can get more work done, organise multiple projects, track timesheets, invoices and payments and manage the entire business within a single cloud solution.
Effective immediately, Business Continuum will be introducing Scoro’s broad spectrum of services to Australian and New Zealand businesses that need advanced project management support.
Ben Harrison, in-house Scoro expert
To ensure Business Continuum has advanced in-house knowledge of Scoro and all its features, we recently sent our Client Manager Ben Harrison to Estonia for an intensive two-week immersion course with Scoro’s founders. Ben spent time working with the Estonian founders of Scoro, learning all facets of its impressive features and enjoying the sights of the Estonian capital Tallinn.
“Because I was concentrating on my deep-dive into Scoro as much as possible, I didn’t get much time for sightseeing,” said Ben. “But I did enjoy getting around Tallinn. Estonia is a beautiful country with an ancient history that is visible with the walled city in the centre of Tallinn which I enjoyed exploring. It’s a fascinating contrast of different styles of architecture from significantly different eras.
A great welcome from Scoro.
“The Scoro team was really welcoming. What’s impressive about Scoro is how seriously they take improving their product—they average five major releases a year, all with 20 or more significant updates. They are very open to suggestions on how the features could be improved and they are keen to understand the unique requirements of the Australian market.”
Project management features for complex projects
“Scoro is a modular product, one of its core strengths. It does very specific things and yet it remains very customisable. If some features that are not applicable to certain types of business they can easily be switched off. And, it offers great ways of assigning tasks within teams or offices. Because it provides customisable views, users can create a dashboard showing who’s doing what as part of the project.
“Now that I’ve learned it intricately, I am looking forward to helping Business Continuum clients get the best out of its project management features.”
Attention to detail and speedy responsiveness
“This (the Scoro team) is a young, diverse and enthusiastic team,” says Ben. “It was great to be part of such a positive and enthusiastic organisation. To me, it’s a brand that feels more human and authentic now that I’ve worked closely with them. They’re really dedicated to quality and continual improvement, so if an issue is raised, it’s corrected within hours or days. They move fast. There is no defensiveness. If a user or a partner raises an issue, they take it on board and do their best to fix it rather than pushing back. I’m convinced that’s part of the reason for their phenomenal success and quick uptake around the world.”
A typical day in Scoro’s Tallinn office
“For the fortnight I was there, I would set myself up in a meeting room, and check in with emails from the Business Continuum team back home,” says Ben. “I would then typically have meetings with the team to talk through the processes and features of Scoro in detail. At lunch time, like clockwork, everyone would take a break at the office ping pong table. Actually, plenty of good ideas got their origin at that ping pong table! Of an evening, I would join up with the team to enjoy the dining scene of Tallinn, it’s right on the Baltic so it’s famous for its seafood dishes.
“Being there for two weeks allowed me to really immerse myself with the software and actually use it for applications. I can confidently say I know Scoro inside out now and have built some great relationships into the heart of the business.”
Party like an Estonian
“I was lucky enough to be with Scoro during their annual summer get together. The Scoro office from Riga in Latvia joined the Tallinn team for a weekend retreat in a stunning lakeside cabin in Latvia. And, they did not hesitate to let their hair down! There were plenty of team building games and drinking. All terrific fun, and I was honoured to be invited along.
Want to know more about Scoro?
Contact us for a chat about how Scoro can help improve your project management workflow.
Creative agencies large and small rely on external resources to get the job done. It simply makes great business sense. But how do you get the most out of your third party suppliers?
We help creative agencies improve their operations to make working with suppliers easier, smoother and more efficient. The results can save time, impress clients and reduce the common hassles that often come when engaging a third party.
Find them before you need them
Many agencies fall into the trap of recruiting suppliers after being appointed for a project. This places unnecessary time constraints on your search. By considering your skills gap and dedicating time to finding a variety of suppliers that complement your services, you’ll be ready when that client job hits your inbox.
Carolyn Stebbing, Director of Little Village Creative says she’s totally open about collaborating with external freelancers. “We tap into specialist expertise to get the best outcome for our clients,” she said. “We’re not restricted by location when it comes to finding great people.
“We work with people who don’t fit the traditional full-time workforce model. These are experienced, top-of-their-game professionals who may be looking for flexibility, but are also 100% accountable and can deliver the goods without having their hand held. They might be a stay-at-home-parent, or keen on work ad-hoc simply for health or lifestyle reasons. If we’re keen to work with them, we ensure we have clear supplier agreements in place before any work starts – and once our freelancers are officially part of the fold, we call on them regularly for various projects. We love having their skills as part of the ‘Village’!”
Don’t be limited by location
Cloud technology means agencies and consultants are no longer limited by geographical boundaries. Your perfect supplier may be in Brazil, Japan or South Africa – anywhere at all. There is often little need to meet face to face. By opening up a project beyond the geographical boundaries of your city or even country, you can choose the best from a bigger talent pool.
Consider time differences
Your UK-based supplier will be great for delivering overnight work, but will not be able to dial in to meetings. So if you do plan to use remote workers, consider the job requirements in advance.
Lock in supplier agreements
Before getting started on a project, negotiate the terms of any working relationship in advance. Take the time to negotiate elements like restricted terms, conflict of interest, confidentiality, payment terms and any other relevant subjects. It’s a good idea to have this formally signed by both parties. That way, when a brief comes in, everyone is set to go.
Give them an ironclad brief
Be clear on your brief. Many agencies make the mistake of engaging a supplier without specifying all the necessary information. This can result in shock costs and mismatched expectations later. Lock down the brief and use this as your central reference point during the project. Your brief should include:
Fixed-fee is your friend
If you’re a small operator, it’s a good idea to negotiate a fixed fee for projects that have a limited budget (provided you have a very clear scope defined from the beginning). If you’re engaging someone to work on a retainer client, you may be in a position to negotiate a daily rate or supplier retainer that will work for everyone involved. Of course, some jobs will require payment by the hour, but if you strive towards flat-fee arrangements your costs are fixed before the project begins.
Freelance copywriter Kate Merryweather of Dot Com Words works with many agencies and always provides flat fee prices. “Agencies appreciate having the total cost upfront,” she says. “Hourly rates can blow out if the brief changes. The challenge for me is accurately estimating the project fee to reflect the hours incurred. I manage this by being clear on the scope, and indicating well in advance if the work is out of scope, where the hourly rate will apply. I always track my hours, which gives me a good reference point for future quotations.”
Don’t get quotes just because you always get quotes
Competitive quotes are always a good idea on bigger jobs. But they’re often an unnecessary time sucker on little ones. Decide whether it’s worth your while seeking out a competitive quote. You might be better off proceeding with your favourite trusted supplier rather than wasting time researching all sorts of other alternatives.
Do you want it good, fast or cheap?
The famous Project Management Triangle approach says you can only have two of these options at once. This can be a good reference when choosing a supplier. The expensive yet experienced guru, who bashes out high quality work at a speedy pace? Or the inexperienced yet cheap beginner who’s looking for runs on the board? Choose wisely based on your priorities.
Capture all your costs in one place
Even though your freelancer or external company supplier is not your employee, you can still set them up with project management software like WorkflowMax. This does wonders in accurately capturing time spent and project costs. Without this, agencies can easily misrepresent the total project cost if they don’t include all elements of third-party expenses, accidentally undercharging and losing valuable margin. The insights you gather from previous projects can also help you to estimate time and expenses more accurately for future projects.
There is no hard and fast way to set up contractors in WorkflowMax. It is not necessary for all projects, but it makes sense for semi-permanent contractors. Either get the contractor to enter their time directly, or use WorkflowMax to raise purchase orders and monitor invoices. Regardless of how you track hours or costs incurred, your should strive to accurately capture the supplier’s project input.
Treat suppliers as you would treat your staff
Suppliers are an extension of your workforce. Respect them and importantly, pay them on time. Freelancers and suppliers talk amongst themselves and you don’t want to get the reputation as the ‘difficult’ agency – funnily enough, you’ll find the best suppliers are always ‘busy’ when you come calling with projects, and the quality of your work will suffer. You are only as good as the people you work with – inside and outside your organisation.
“Freelancers are their own bosses, so they get to be choosy about who they work with,” says Carolyn. “We do our best to look after them by giving them a tight brief, offering constructive guidance throughout projects and importantly, we make sure we pay them on time. Talented people are not easy to replace, and we know we’re only as good as the people we are fortunate to work with.”
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