Customer story: Digital Signage Resolutions

The problem

For Laura Gray, running a digital ad agency meant a lot of inefficient processes and double data entry. Since she was using tools that didn’t integrate with her accounting software, she was constantly trying to keep all projects up to date.

“Our designers are supplied with a purchase order, but all items within those purchase orders require separate review, approval, changes, and finalization. When you have over 40 ads being created at one time, it becomes difficult to track the status of any given ad as it moves through the production process.”

Laura also struggled to streamline purchase order creation for projects involving multiple designers. At the time, there wasn’t an option in QuickBooks to convert an estimate into a purchase order. This meant she had to take each estimate and create individual purchase orders for all of the designers involved.

“The process was inefficient and I found I was making errors with all the repeat entries.”

The solution

After searching for a tool specific to agencies, Laura kept coming back to Method CRM because of its industry-leading QuickBooks integration. She also quickly realized that she could streamline her purchase order process and save herself from double (or triple) data entry by customizing her Method account.

“I signed up for the free hour of customization that came with my trial and everything changed. [My customization consultant] Phil understood exactly what I needed when we chatted about my process. Over the course of 1-2 months, he solved everything we needed and made me realize anything was possible with Method’s powerful tools. It was like a gift from the heavens! The customization cost paid for itself in the time it saved me on double data entry.”

Simplified purchase order process

The first frustration that Phil and Laura tackled was related to creating purchase orders. They set up Laura’s Method account so each job item is associated to a designer or vendor, which simplified the purchase order creation process.

Laura explained: “Having each of my items associated to a designer or vendor saves so much time. Now, when the estimate is accepted, I click a “Create POs” button on the estimate screen in Method and POs are automatically created from the items.”

After the POs are created, they can be found on Laura’s purchase order screen in Method. And if she needs to add any new items to a particular PO, Laura simply clicks an “Update Purchase Order” button that triggers an email to the vendor notifying them of the changes.

A custom project management tool

Laura also worked with Phil to simplify how she manages numerous projects on the go. The result was a project management tool using Method’s online guest portals, where both Laura and her designers can access and update each project.

When POs are created in Laura’s Method account, they appear in a project dashboard within a certain phase. As the work progresses, the designers update the project status so Laura can track the progress of each digital ad in production.

“Phil listened to what functions I wanted in a project management tool and created it in Method. I now have project management, CRM, and accounting all connected and talking to one another. No more double data entry — it’s just great,” Laura remarked.

“I now have time to focus on the development of my products, services, and sales strategies.”

— Laura Gray, Founder & President

Business benefits

When asked if she would recommend Method to other business owners, Laura’s answer was a resounding “yes.”

“I’ve worked with other companies who over-promise and under-deliver. When I use Method I feel relieved, excited, efficient, happy, informed! I can see everything that’s happening. I’m focused on building the business instead of chasing my tail all day getting purchase orders in place. I’m building my business instead of just keeping it running.”

For many small businesses, trying to fit your workflows into out-of-the-box software is more trouble than it’s worth. But when you have a software solution that’s tailor-made for you, it makes your day-to-day work so much easier — and allows you to focus on the big picture of why you started your business in the first place.