Overview
Quotes (or Estimates) are usually where most projects begin. And generally speaking you either need to prepare a Quote for a Client to approve or you’ve been given a budget upfront and need to divvy up or allocate the appropriate amount of time and resources that each part of the project will require.
This Quote also becomes the basis by which you measure your project’s progress.
Quoting, or estimating a project can be a complicated process. Arguably one of the most complicated. However, it’s also one of the most important processes in any business as it relies on both experience as well as expert knowledge. And if not done right can genuinely impact a businesses profitability.
And further more, being able to accurately measure your projects progress provides you with the ability to learn and more accurately estimate your next project.
Quotes allow you to prepare detailed estimates that form the basis of any Project. Of course you don’t need to create a quote in order to start working on a project. Such as in the case where you work on a time and materials basis. In this instance you can simply create Tasks manually, log time against them and then generate an invoice based on the time logged against these completed Tasks.
Let's look at each Role
AKA: The Boss
This is the Owner of the Account and more often than not they are also the Owner of the business. The business Owner should obviously see everything so of course they have Full Access to all parts of the application but importantly they are unique in that they are the ones who are responsible for managing the Beeswax Subscription and associated Plan.
It's likely they have a business partner or a dedicated senior staff member who needs to be able to see and do all the same things that the Owner can. That's what the Super
Admin Role which we get to next.
Business Partner or a Senior Employee
The Super Admin User also has Full Access to everything however they don’t have access to the Subscription but that’s all. These are usually Partners in the business or Senior Employees who need to see and control everything in the Business. Warts and all!
Production Manager or Account Manager
The Manager Role is generally the person who takes care of the day to day running of Projects, and oversees Tasks.
This Role would be for a Production Manager, Studio Manager or Account Manager for instance.
They generally don’t get involved in Payroll financial reports and as such are not expected to know anything about Accounting or Tax related matters.
Of course these things aren’t necessarily that difficult to understand, however, so as to avoid the potential pitfalls associated with incorrectly allocated transaction Accounts and / or Taxes we have chosen to limit this Users access and control over such things.
So, while Manager can create Quotes, Expenses and Invoices, they can’t change the Transaction Account and Tax when working on any of these documents. While Managers can create Quotes, Expenses and Invoices, they can’t change the Transaction Account allocation nor the Tax Allocation when the are preparing any
These are defined by the Items that make up these documents and are therefore meant to be set up specifically by someone with this knowledge such as your Bookkeeper or Accountant.
Your Accountant (obviously) or your Bookkeeper
This Accountant Role is obviously for the Accountant or Bookkeeper who need access to all things Money. They essentially have full access to the entire system with the exception of being able to manage the subscription.
A User who primarily works on Tasks
This Accountant Role is obviously for the Accountant or Bookkeeper who need access to all things Money. They essentially have full access to the entire system with the exception of being able to manage the subscription.
External Resource
This is someone who usually is a freelancer that needs access to Tasks but not much more. They have a similar level of access as the Basic User but we've included this for future use.
The Client
Someone who probably would like to get access to all your stuff but really you only want them to see things you want them to see. Like outstanding invoices and access to Files you share with them but apart from this you don't really need much more.
Dashboard
Projects
Companies & People
Companies
Contacts
Users
Money
Items
Templates
Bank Reconciliation
Bank Import
Scheduled
Bank Transfers
Manual Journal
Chart of Accounts
Reports
Reports
Who Owes Me
What I Owe
General Ledger
Profit & Loss
Tax Report
Time
Statement
Subscription
Subscription
Overview
Companies exist for two main reasons:
- Assigning Projects & other related things
- Grouping Contacts and Users
1. Assigning – Projects and other related things
Most things in Beeswax, like Projects, Quotes or Invoices, need to be assigned to a Company. These things can’t be assigned to a specific User or Contact.
Why? Because small businesses, those businesses that Beeswax is specifically built for, generally work with and provide services to other businesses rather than individuals or customers. In other words, we think of Beeswax as being a B2B application rather than a B2C. It’s one of the key assumptions we’ve made when building Beeswax.
Remember a Quote or Invoice is technically a legal document that relates to the obligations that your business has to another party. And therefore the name of the other party, which is usually a business, should be stated specifically. Of course you will have a contact who will receive documents from you but they are still technically representing the third party and are usually not themselves obligated to fulfil their financial obligations to pay you.
It’s the company or business they represent. When they leave the company still owes you money.However, while we think of these entities as Companies, it’s not to say that a Company can’t be something else. That’s for you to decide.In any case just remember that Projects, Invoices, Quotes and Expenses are all allocated to this idea, this entity, this concept, that we call a Company.
2. Grouping Contacts & Users
SM
JC
DJ
JC
It’s the way Beeswax groups or organises Users and Contacts. We think it makes sense to keep all Users and Contacts under the specific Company that they are associated with.