Question:
What is (in your opinion) the best practice for keeping a single location for data, but still having different billing numbers? Do you find your billing software drives your choices in this?
Explanation:
In the world described below, 10 job numbers are needed, because billing and time must be tracked and it is the fuel that keeps us going.
Also, submittals and communications need to be in different silos.
But the data gets spread out. This seems to be a problem for any company I have been at or talked to that has more than 5 employees.
Example:
Dreamer #1 buys X property, pays us to topo it and do preliminary feasibility
Dreamer #2 picks up the pieces of X after D#1 goes bankrupt and pays us to bring it to pre-plat
Investor #1 buys from D#2 for pennies on the dollar after the economy goes to crap
Investor #2 buys from I#2 and moves to final plat
Investor #3 buys from bank after I#2 goes bankrupt and gets the permits and final plat submitted, and hires a contractor.
Contractor #1 hires us to do construction staking (we are still working for I#3 on final plat comments, etc.)
Contractor #2 takes over after C#1 demonstrates that they cannot do the work, and hire us.
Home builder #1, #2, and #3 buys the lots after the plat and permits are complete, and hire us to stake foundations.
(One project I have has splintered into projects for three different entities, which is pretty common. So this can multiply.)
Each client get's their own subfolder under the master file job number with A, B, C, etc. added to the end of the job number.
If I'm adding it up correctly, I see 11 different accounts, never, ever use different accounts with one job #. Trust me, I know why that doesn't work.
So, 11 different job numbers.
Accounts can have a number of different job#'s, but Job#s shouldn't have different accounts.
Also, if it's a big complicated job, you may wish to have sub-jobs to better track billing.
As an example: Production company ABC needs 50 gas wells staked in a field, so each gas well gets a sub job within the same job number. That way the company can apply charges to each well and submit those costs to the powers that regulate such things. But, its one account, one job#.
Each job and sub job gets a job card with Job# and location to better track jobs for future reference.
All jobs get scanned so if you need info in an area you use the job card info to get the scanned file of that job.
I haven't run into this situation enough to be a real consideration, but I think that as each new change in client arises I'd create a new project number - for billing purposes - copy the project survey files into the new project directory, and continue.
Also, just to maybe stop someone from doing something I've done; if a client changes their name, be sure and start another account.
Say ABC engineering has some jobs with you, then changes to XYZ engineering, don't go back in old jobs and change the client name. It sounds reasonable to do, but it's a bad idea.
If they hired you to do Spring water line and in the middle of the job change names; create a new account# and job#. If you wish you can go into the original account name and add AKA XYZ engineering or C/O or something like that, just be sure not to simply swipe the account name and change it. It's easy, but there is a price to pay later on.
I only say that cause I've done and regretted it.
Yes we create new job numbers based on the new client (owner) of a property we worked on but we show all of the previous job numbers for that particular property in the front of the file including going back thru all the other job numbers and adding the new job numbers into the fronts of those files. A real PITA sometimes.
For us, typically each project gets one project number based upon the initial client designation. Subsequent clients on that project get the same project number base with a decimal number after the main project number. This way nothing in the project needs to get re-pathed etc....but different clients get different accounts technically in the accounting software. Not a huge fan of this approach.
Personally I use a project number for the project and then add an alpha designation afterwords for different clients. To me, we are working on this piece of land "X" for whoever is paying the bills "Y"...Y can change but in reality X doesn't change.
11 different job numbers leads to storing information in 11 different locations. My approach to this is to create one job number, say, for example, 24105, where the project control, boundary resolution, topo and other information is stored. This keeps all of the relevant information stored in one place.
When a client sells a portion of the project to, say, a contractor, and that person engages me to do more work like layout, I create a subfolder of 24105A so that, down the line, maybe months or years, I immediately know where to look for any information I need to continue the work for a different client and can easily figure out who I am billing for different tasks.
Norman said:
I haven’t run into this situation enough to be a real consideration, but I think that as each new change in client arises I’d create a new project number – for billing purposes – copy the project survey files into the new project directory, and continue.
That is essentially what we do, but it seems there should be a better way.
moe:
Accounts can have a number of different job#’s, but Job#s shouldn’t have different accounts.
Which one is money and which one is data (account/job)
With our software system we'd recommend creating a new job number for every new job. Then in the job notes make a reference to any other job numbers you need. Our search will connect everything.
You could also have a job number 240304A 240304B 240304C to make things easier. In today's day and age with search capabilities job numbering is less important.
We also have a job map so you'd see you have a bunch of jobs in the same location and find them that way also.
