[Video Walkthrough] All About Projects

INTRO: WHAT IS A PROJECT?

Before we get into the specifics, let’s define a Project in Pixifi terms as “just like an Event except that it is not tied to a specific date on your calendar" like an Event is.  Pixifi Projects have a start and end date and while they do not show up on your calendar, they can still be tied directly to a Client; in fact a Client can have multiple Projects associated with them.  Projects can also stand alone if there is no specific Client associated with it.  Construction of a wedding album would be one instance where you would use a Project versus an Event so that you could track the entire process of image selection, album design, design review and approval, etc whereas the Event would just be the wedding itself.

So now that we have gone over what a Project is, let’s create one!

PROJECT TYPES (00:58)

Every Project needs a Project Type as a way to differentiate it from other Projects.  You should be familiar with the creation of Project Types because it works exactly the same way as Event Types.  To create or manage your Project Types, just go to SETTINGS, LISTS/TYPES, Project Types.

PROJECT STATUSES (01:17)

Statuses are different from Types.  A Status is a way to mark where you are in the process of your Project and works similarly to Lead statuses that we covered in Class 101: All About Leads. You can filter your Projects by their statuses by the filter tool which should also feel very familiar to you by now.  

CREATING A PROJECT MANUALLY (01:35)

There are multiple ways to create a Project in Pixifi.  The first way and the most convenient way is the little lightning bolt at the top where you can select quick add to add the Project.  The second is within the Projects module where you can click [+ Add Project].  And the final place you can add a Project is within a Client's profile.

For this example, let's add an Project from within the Client's profile.  Now that we're here in one of our Clients profiles let's click on the little [+ Add] button at the top.  The add “Projects" window pops up and the Client is already preselected for you and you just choose a Project Type that you’ve already created and if you haven't created one yet you can create it right there. Just click on the [+] (plus button) and another window will pop-up. Then you want to give your Project a name and a lot of people have different naming conventions so you can do this however you feel works best for you.  Some people will put the Project Type and Client name so they can see at a glance what the Project is and who it's for.  Some people name their Projects almost like a job number so that they can easily search their information later or if they need to have their Invoice numbers match their Project names, etc.  The beauty of Pixifi is that you can do this however you want - we just recommend you stay consistent with whatever you do choose to do so that you can stay easily organized and so that your process is easily replicated by anyone working for you.  

The next thing you want to be sure to do is give your Project a status (if no status is selected it will default to “active").  The next fields are Project start date and end date which are not required in case the specifics of your Project arent confirmed just yet.  This happens frequently with weddings that are several years away from the date of booking but you want to add that Clients wedding album to your radar for whenever that Event has passed and it’s time to start designing it.

Now we’re going to save this brand new Project from within this Client’s profile by clicking on [√ Save].  You will be taken right to the brand new Project.  From within the Project Info screen, you can see there so many features to go over.

EDITING A PROJECT (03:40)

First we will go over how you can edit a Project.  On the main Project screen on the left, you will see a blue dashed underline where you can edit text IN-LINE (meaning you don’t have to open up the edit screen). This can be a huge time saver when you’re just quickly editing one field at a time!  To edit multiple fields at a time just go up to the top and click EDIT (just like we did for LEADS, CLIENTS, and EVENTS).  

You’ll see when you first land in an Project, you have access to all of the Project information.

TIME TRACKING (04:08)

The tabs across the top of your PROJECTS module should appear to be very familiar, as they are all found in other areas of Pixifi and function similarly, such as Invoices, Questionnaires, Contracts, etc but these are all tied to this specific Project.  One of the newer tabs you’ll see is Time Tracking.

Time Tracking is a beast of a tool once you get a handle on how to use it!  We’re going to start by showing you what the TIME TRACKING module looks like when it has relevant data entered into it!  Let’s click on the Time Tracking tab and right away you’ll see three pie graphs that show you your data in a way that’s designed to be easy to analyze.  The first graph shows a breakdown of the time by task, the second graph shows time Invoiced vs. un-Invoiced, the last showing billable vs. non-billable hours.  The values these graphs have pulled their data-picture from are what you see entered below, divided into tasks that you create or “General Time" if you want to just track time without categorizing it with tasks.

The Time Tracking module is incredibly versatile!  To break this down into a digestible concept, we’ll use the example of Post-Production as a Project we are working on.  You could create tasks within this Project such as “culling, color correction, exporting, packaging, etc". By tracking the time spent on various parts of your Projects you can use this data to evaluate time spent by your studio or by each staff member to assess and optimize performance, calculate wages for assignments, create a more accurate CODB (cost of doing business) by factoring in compensation for time spent, or even just to create an overall accurate depiction of how much time you can expect every aspect of your work to take. Now you’ll not only know what you’re doing, but how long it’s taking you or your team to perform the tasks.   When you can see exactly where you need to trim the fat, and where you need to devote more time, etc, you will be able to optimize your efficiency.

When scrolling through this listing you’ll notice a few different icons.  When I hover over the black clock icon a tool-tip bubble appears letting me know this is “billable time."  The green check mark indicates that this time has been Invoiced and if you click on it, you will be taken to the Invoice.  Another thing you will see within each task of this listing is a button labeled [Invoice Time] any time entries set as “billable" within this section will be pulled in to populate an Invoice for billable time on that Project.  You’ll first need to tell it how to populate the Invoice, such as itemized listing or all the time spent rolled into one line item.  All the remaining fields should feel familiar to all the Invoices you’ve created thus far.  

You can also click on the [+ Add Time] button from within any of your Task lists, the pop-up box will automatically name what you want to work on, automatically select the task, and if the task is assigned to a staff member it will automatically default to that person as the one who is working on it as well as auto-populating their hourly rate.  You can add the time manually or click the [Start Timer] button and it will begin tracking time in the bottom right corner of your screen.  You can add multiple time trackers at once and these trackers will remain on your screen as you navigate through Pixifi until you click on the little [Stop] button.  

CLOSING REMARKS (07:29)

Class dismissed!  Thank you for taking the time to learn all about Projects.  In this video, we covered what a Project is, the difference between a Project and an Event, Project Types and statuses, how to filter our Projects, and how to use the time tracking feature.  

We have no extra credit for this course so go home and ride your skateboards….. OR continue onto the next lesson: “E-mail Templates: 105."