When it comes to choosing an agency partner, there’s a multitude of questions potential clients will have for us. They want to know about our creative process, our portfolio, our industry experience, the resume of your project team amongst others – but the one thing we never get asked about is our accounting system. Not that surprising, as in general that is not top of mind for most clients, especially when it comes to choosing an agency for a one-off project.
But it’s actually an area of critical importance for ongoing relationships. Done well, it eliminates administration efficiencies, while building trust and transparency on both sides – and critically important it improves reporting so that we can work with clients to manage cost and ensure budget is allocated to where it matters most.
As Finance Manager, this is my take on what makes for a successful relationship between accounts functions.
Beneath the beauty of the work we deliver to our clients here at Threesixty, there’s another area of work that flows parallel to the entire process. Like white noise running in the background, it’s rarely seen but it’s happening all the time, joining the dots from that first client enquiry to the final transaction.
My role here in Threesixty is holistic, in that we take a systematic approach to getting things right – quotes, POs, invoicing and payments are actually all part of the one system – every element has to be aligned for it to work smoothly. In the same way our creatives and client contacts work hand-in-glove with marketing and communications functions, my job is to do the same with our clients’ accounts functions – building relationships, removing any barriers to efficiencies and when queries do arise, quickly finding solutions.
This is the glue that holds our company together and no two days are the same. Organisation and attention to detail are key. As we are living in a fast-paced digital world our systems and software allow flawless management of this aspect of the business.
For more than 15 years we have used the Pro-Ad Agency Management system, this is a cloud based accounting and client management system that enables the team to record and track time from anywhere, and importantly, enables us to generate client or project reports in real time, any time.
Branding, communications, design, logos, presentations and websites are what we are all about but walls will not stand without a solid foundation. I guess at the end of the day/month/year, it’s my job to ensure it all adds up!
