Hey there! In this article, we're gonna chat about how to move your live jobs over to Streamtime in a way that's easy and stress-free. We've broken it down into three main categories: jobs you just signed, jobs that are in the middle of being done, and jobs that are almost finished. Each category has its own tips and tricks, so you'll know exactly what to do to make the move go smoothly. Let's get started!
🗂️ Organising Live Jobs for Streamtime Migration
When it comes to migrating your live jobs to Streamtime, understanding where each one stands is crucial for a smooth transition. Here’s a simple guide to categorise your jobs, ensuring each one moves over seamlessly:
🆕 Recently Signed Jobs
These jobs are the fresh faces in your workload, having just begun their journey. Integrating these into Streamtime at this early stage is ideal, setting them up for success right from the start. It's about getting the basics right, ensuring that everything is in place for the project to unfold smoothly.
🧑💻 Jobs In Progress
Here, you'll find jobs that have made some progress – they're either at the midpoint or approaching it. At this stage, there's enough detail and structure in the job to require a careful migration, but there's also still room for adjustments. This flexibility makes it a good time to move them into Streamtime, ensuring the transition doesn't disrupt the flow of work.
🏁 Jobs Nearly Complete
Lastly, there are the jobs that are almost done. They might need just a little more work or a final review before they're complete. While these seem simpler to migrate because of their status, it's important to capture all their details in Streamtime. This ensures a full overview and proper closure, keeping track of every aspect until the very end.
Categorising your live jobs in this way helps tailor the migration process to the specific needs of each job, facilitating a transition that's as efficient and effective as possible.
🛠️ Setting Up Master Items for Project Migration
To streamline the job migration process from another system, we recommend setting up two important master settings commonly encountered. For a thorough walkthrough on setting these up, consider tuning into Brooke’s insightful webinar.
Total Approved Budget: This setting tracks the total approved budget for a project as of a specific date. You’re encouraged to choose the date format that aligns with your preferences. It’s categorised as a Fixed Price Item.
Time Spent To Date: Identified as an expense, this setting records all the time spent on the job prior to its migration.
🆕 Recently Signed Jobs
When you've just started on a job and decide to pop it into Streamtime, we'll set it up as a new job in the system. This isn't just us being overly tidy—it's because you're going to need to invoice for this job at some point, and we want to make sure you're all set for that. Plus, it keeps your project records looking sharp from the get-go. Basically, you're prepping Streamtime to handle everything smoothly as the job rolls on.
Here’s how to kick things off:
Set up your new job: Templates are your best friend here, making everything a breeze. If you're scratching your head over templates, check out Brooke’s webinar for a step-by-step guide.
Get the basics down: Things like Name, Job Number, Budget, and Rate Card are your starting blocks. Using a template? Just tweak the start date back to the original when you’re duplicating your job. It’ll help keep your timeline accurate.
Match your job plan with your quote: Make sure your costs, items, hours, and team line up with your original quote if you have already raised one
Raise A Quote: Even if you have already raised a quote in your previous tool. Make sure your quote is as close to how you would want your invoice to look and it has the same quote number as the quote raised in your previous tool. Now approve the quote this way you will set the total Budget of the job.
Account for previous time: Got some items already complete? Mark them tham as complete and set the total cost as 0.
Now we are going to use our Time Spent To Date Master Item as an expense to account for that time. Set your cost rate as the total cost of the time already spent, the sell rate as the total sell amount for the time already spent and back date that expense to the date you transitioned to Streamtime.
And there you have it – your job’s moved over to Streamtime, set up for a smooth run.
And just like that, you've moved a freshly signed job from another tool into Streamtime.
🧑💻Jobs In Progress
When talking about jobs in progress, it's like our projects are straddling two worlds: the old tool and Streamtime. So, you might already have some time logged in the old system, but going forward, we're all about managing the job in Streamtime.
Here's how to do it:
Create or Duplicate a Job: Start by creating a new job or duplicating an existing master template. This sets the foundation for your migrated project.
Adjust Your Budget: Use your "Total Approved Budget" master item. This should be a fixed price item reflecting your budget. Update its price to match your budget accordingly. Then, create and backdate a quote for this item, label it, and approve it. After approval, mark it as non-billed in the job screen.
Tidy Up Your Template: If you're working from a template, now's the time to remove or zero out any items that don’t apply to this job. Focus on the tasks that still need to be completed.
Log Time Spent: Use the "Time Spent" master expense to account for any work already done. This ensures your project reflects all the effort put in, even before the switch.
And there you have it! You've smoothly migrated an in-progress job from another tool to Streamtime. Easy peasy.
🏁 Jobs Nearly Complete
Alright, let's talk about those almost-done jobs. These are the ones where we've still got a bit of budget left, and the main goal here is to make sure team members can log their time as easily as possible. We want them to do it just like they would for any other job from the to-do screen. The idea is to avoid the hassle of having to log time in two different places.
Here’s what to do:
Start With a New Job: Initiate a new job in Streamtime. Name it to reflect its migration, something like, "Migrated from [Old Tool Name]". The client for these jobs will be your own company, keeping it all in-house.
Line Items for Each Job: For every job you’re bringing across, create a line item. It's vital to copy the job name exactly as it appeared in your old system, including the job number and any brackets. This level of detail avoids any confusion later on. Pop any necessary details in the description field.
Sort Out Pricing and Budgeting: Assign the pricing for each item as a fixed price. This will cover tracking the team involved and setting the sell rate. For the cost, enter the remaining budget for each job. This ensures your financials are bang on from the get-go.
Assign Your Team: Add team members assigned to each job using the schedule feature. This is a quick way to assign multiple people or roles to the project without any faff.
Duplicate for Similar Jobs: Have more jobs that are nearly done? Just duplicate your first item and tweak the team and remaining budget as needed. It’s a clever shortcut that saves you from starting anew for each job.
Get to Scheduling and Time Logging: Head over to the to-do screen for scheduling tasks and logging time. Searching by the job name will swiftly bring up the relevant items, making it easy to keep tabs on what’s pending.
And there you have it! By following these steps, your nearly finished projects will be neatly organised in Streamtime, ready for you to tie up efficiently. It's all about making the transition smooth and ensuring nothing gets left behind in the move.
🤷🏼♀️ Why Migrate?
Switching project management tools can feel like a daunting task for you and your team. But one of the simplest ways to tackle this is by diving into Streamtime as much as possible. Sure, migrating those jobs with just a few hours left might seem like a bit of a pain at first. However, in the grand scheme of things, you're fast-tracking your journey to a healthier and happier business with Streamtime. Plus, once you lose access to your old tool, having everything in Streamtime makes reporting a breeze. It's all in one place, making your life so much easier! Trust me, it's worth it in the long run!