Gem Muzones, Spiralytics’ Content Marketing Manager, wrote this customer story
We were able to grow our client base from 30 clients to 44 in three months (almost half of it). At Spiralytics we operate like a small company to encourage creativity and flexibility. ActiveCollab was first introduced to our clients and managers on a trial basis in 2017. We were looking for a new task management tool to replace the chaotic flurry of project management systems and time trackers we had. We used ActiveCollab concurrently during the trial period. It was difficult to transition the team from our other system. We decided to drop all other software at the end the second quarter 2017 and implement ActiveCollab (and only ActiveCollab). ActiveCollab is now used across all departments in Spiralytics. ActiveCollab manages all of our clients, projects, and department. This includes approximately 50 users from the client success, content and SEO departments. How ActiveCollab organizes our projects
We organize our projects according to client and department. Each client has their own ActiveCollab project.
Each department is given a task list that focuses on them.
Some tasks may have additional subtasks that make it easier for project managers to understand the task’s stage and task owners to know what needs to be done.
Subtasks can also be helpful when the original task owner is ill or on vacation. This person will know exactly what needs to done.
Each project’s “Files” tab contains relevant resources and assets.
They track the time they spend on a project and update the discussion tab to ensure we have complete visibility of all output.
Here’s an example
This client is an international company that operates in the mobile and web app development industries. Over the course of our relationship, we’ve provided them with various digital marketing services. Next, we create a task in AC under “prospective projects” and each team is responsible for creating their respective parts of the marketing plan (content/paid, SEO, analytics, etc.). After the client approves the plan, we are ready to launch. This is how we do it: We create a new project using an existing template (we create templates according to the types of clients we have).
Add relevant and specific information to each department’s tasks if needed (this info varies for each client and is based upon formal discussions and questionnaires).
Invite members of your internal team to join the project.
Assign tasks and/or subtasks to the appropriate team members.
If applicable, set deadlines for each task.
You can set up recurring tasks such as weekly reports or monthly reports.
Once the project is completed, the team can use the AC timer for tracking how long they spend on each task. To gauge efficiency, the project manager analyzes the time spent by task type, department, client, and other factors.
We use all features of ActiveCollab during this (and any other) process: Time tracking app – because we need to know how many hours we have left on our books.
Deadlines and recurring tasks
Project Discussion Board – To keep everyone on the same page
Calendar – so everyone can see which tasks are due
ActiveCollab: Managing a Marketing Agency
