Reports Hub (Reports Default Page)

Overview

The Reports Hub is the central reporting dashboard of the dZV2 system, providing access to over 30 comprehensive reports organized into four main categories: Billing, Projects, Time, and General. This page serves as a command center for managers, administrators, and executives to monitor business performance, track financials, analyze productivity, and make data-driven decisions about creative services operations.

Location: Navigate to Reports from the main navigation menu (available to all authenticated users).

URL: /reports/default.aspx

Access Level:

All authenticated users can access the Reports Hub
Report availability varies by role (Admin/SuperAdmin see all reports; regular users see a subset)

Business Value

For Company Leadership

The Reports Hub transforms raw operational data into actionable business intelligence. Executives gain visibility into:

Revenue performance across clients, invoice groups, and time periods
Resource utilization patterns and productivity trends
Quality metrics identifying areas for process improvement
Billing workflow status ensuring timely invoicing

For Operations Management

Operations teams use these reports to:

Monitor purchase order spend against budgets
Track project lifecycle from creation to billing
Identify bottlenecks in approval workflows
Ensure billing accuracy before invoices are sent to clients

For Financial Planning

Finance professionals benefit from:

Year-over-year comparisons for forecasting
Per-piece profitability analysis for pricing decisions
Time-to-revenue tracking via billing workflow reports
Accrued vs. billed reconciliation for accurate revenue recognition

Business Benefits

Improved Cash Flow Management - Billing reports ensure invoices are sent promptly by tracking which projects are ready to bill and identifying bottlenecks in the approval-to-billing pipeline.
Data-Driven Pricing - Per-piece reports help management understand true costs by artwork complexity, enabling competitive yet profitable pricing strategies.
Resource Optimization - Time and production reports reveal how staff time is allocated, helping managers balance workloads and identify training needs.
Quality Assurance - Quality reports track error rates and problem patterns, supporting continuous improvement initiatives.
Client Relationship Management - Reports organized by client hierarchy enable account managers to understand client-specific trends and proactively address issues.
Compliance and Audit Readiness - Status changes and approval metrics provide audit trails for regulatory compliance and internal governance.

Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Monthly Billing Cycle

Role: Project Manager / Finance Administrator

At month-end, a project manager opens the Billing Approval Worksheet to review all invoice groups requiring approval. They verify that estimated vs. actual billing aligns, mark invoices as "OK to Bill," and generate PDF reports for client review. The Monthly Billing report then shows all finalized and billed invoices for the period.

Scenario 2: Purchase Order Monitoring

Role: Account Director

An account director needs to ensure projects stay within client PO limits. They use the Purchase Orders Tracking report to see hierarchical spending breakdowns by PO, Invoice Group, Client, and Project. If a PO approaches its limit, they proactively engage the client about additional funding.

Scenario 3: Executive Business Review

Role: Executive / Senior Management

Before a quarterly business review, executives run the Per-Piece Summary Report to analyze volume and spend trends by client and artwork type. They compare current quarter performance against previous quarters and year-over-year data to identify growth opportunities and areas needing attention.

Scenario 4: Resource Planning

Role: Department Manager

A department manager uses the Production Report to analyze team utilization. By comparing time allocation across categories (Client, Internal, PTO, Holiday), they identify which team members are over or underutilized and adjust assignments accordingly.

Scenario 5: Process Improvement Initiative

Role: Quality Manager

The quality manager reviews the Quality Report and Cycle-Time Report monthly to identify recurring issues and process bottlenecks. They use this data to prioritize training initiatives and workflow improvements.

Industry Context

Standard Practice in Creative Services

Professional services and creative agencies universally rely on reporting dashboards to maintain profitability. The Reports Hub follows industry best practices by providing:

Hierarchical financial views (common in agencies managing multiple brands under corporate umbrellas)
Time-based billing reports (standard for professional services)
Per-piece/per-project profitability analysis (essential for packaging and creative agencies)
Workflow efficiency metrics (increasingly important with digital approval systems)

Regulatory and Client Requirements

Many enterprise clients require their creative partners to provide:

Detailed billing backup documentation (addressed by PDF report generation)
Spend tracking against PO limits (addressed by PO tracking reports)
Quality metrics and error tracking (addressed by Quality Report)
Time allocation visibility (addressed by various time reports)

Competitive Advantage

Agencies with robust reporting capabilities can demonstrate operational excellence to clients, supporting client retention and new business development efforts.

Report Categories

BILLING Reports (8 Reports)

1. Billing Approval Worksheet

Purpose: Review invoice groups by PO with actual vs. estimated billing. Primary tool for marking invoices as "OK to Bill" and generating billing PDF reports.

Business Value: Ensures billing accuracy before client-facing invoices are issued. Prevents billing disputes by allowing managers to review line items, compare estimates to actuals, and document approval decisions.

Key Features:

Filter by Manager, Invoice Group, Year, and Month
View PO date ranges and estimates alongside actual spend
Track accrued amounts, artwork pending, and per-piece profit
Generate detailed PDF billing reports for client review
Mark invoices as approved with notes

Access: All authenticated users

2. Monthly Billing

Purpose: View finalized and billed invoices grouped by invoice date. Identifies time records and artworks not yet assigned to invoices.

Business Value: Central dashboard for billing operations, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks before monthly close. Highlights unfinalized timesheets that could delay billing.

Key Features:

Month/year selection for period-based viewing
List of unfinalized timesheets blocking billing completion
Time records not yet included in any invoice
Artworks not yet invoiced with push-forward/backward capability
Separate sections for Finalized and Billed invoice groups

Access: All authenticated users

3. Purchase Orders Tracking

Purpose: Hierarchical breakdown of PO spending by invoice group, client, and project with PM, Design, and Artwork cost components.

Business Value: Critical for contract compliance and budget management. Allows account teams to proactively manage PO utilization before hitting limits.

Key Features:

Date range filtering with start/end month selection
Client hierarchy filtering (Corporation, BigB, Division, BAT, Marketer)
Employee filtering for manager-specific views
Status flags (Init, Completed, Finalized, Billed, Returned, Fixed Costs)
Expandable hierarchy showing PO > Invoice Group > Client > Project > Artwork
Blanket PO support with Quote Number and Salesforce Number tracking

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

4. PO Overlaps

Purpose: Identify projects linked to multiple overlapping Purchase Orders.

Business Value: Prevents billing ambiguity and potential revenue leakage. When a project spans multiple POs, billing decisions can be complex. This report surfaces conflicts for resolution.

Key Features:

Lists all projects with overlapping PO assignments
Shows each overlapping PO with date ranges
Provides unlink capability to resolve assignment conflicts
Direct project navigation links

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

5. PO Conflicts in Time Records

Purpose: Identify unbilled time records assigned to multiple POs for the same invoice date.

Business Value: Ensures billing accuracy by identifying time entries that could be double-billed or misassigned.

Key Features:

Lists time records with conflicting PO assignments
Shows week, project, and all associated POs
Direct links to time entry edit pages for resolution

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

6. Fixed Costs Report

Purpose: Aggregated project fixed costs within a date range, filterable by corporation and client.

Business Value: Fixed costs represent non-time-based charges (flat fees, retainers). This report ensures all fixed costs are captured for accurate revenue recognition.

Key Features:

Start/end date filtering
Corporation and client hierarchy filtering
Option to include/exclude artwork-level detail
Grid-based data display with sorting and filtering

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

7. Year-to-Year Invoice Group Report

Purpose: Compare invoice group revenues across three consecutive years by month for trend analysis.

Business Value: Essential for annual planning and client retention analysis. Identifies growth or decline patterns by invoice group.

Key Features:

Invoice group selection dropdown
12-month comparison across 3 years
Dollar amounts by month for selected invoice group

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

8. Time Pushed To PO

Purpose: Track time records moved from one PO to another with breakdowns by activity type.

Business Value: Provides audit trail for billing adjustments. Important for understanding why time was reallocated between POs.

Key Features:

Source and destination PO selection
Option to exclude non-invoiced records
Breakdown by Total, Hourly, Design, PP, and Budget
Hierarchical view: Invoice Date > Invoice Group > Client > Project

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

PROJECTS Reports (11 Reports)

1. Per-Piece Summary Report

Purpose: Executive dashboard with monthly/quarterly financial and volume data by invoice group, client, or project.

Business Value: Comprehensive performance metrics for business reviews. Shows item counts, spend, and cycle times across all artwork types.

Key Features:

Flexible date selection (Year, Range, or Month)
Multi-select filters for Invoice Groups, Clients, and Projects
Toggle options for IFU, PM, and Fixed Costs inclusion
Detailed breakdown by artwork type (Brand Design, Production Art, Cores, Mock-Ups)
Complexity-level analysis (Extra Simple, Simple, Moderate, Complex)
Alteration tracking and average alteration cost analysis
Full Cycle and dZ Cycle time metrics
Excel export capability
Pending (not yet billed) column for revenue forecasting

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

2. New Artworks Report

Purpose: Track new artwork items added during a specified week, organized by client and project.

Business Value: Supports workload forecasting and estimation workflows. Enables batch estimate creation for new artworks.

Key Features:

Week selection for date filtering
Client and project grouping with checkbox selection
Artwork details including packaging level, complexity, and dollar amounts
Finalization rush fee tracking
Batch estimate creation functionality with upload confirmation

Access: All authenticated users

3. Not Estimated Artworks

Purpose: Identify projects and artworks lacking proper estimates before billing.

Business Value: Prevents billing delays by highlighting estimation gaps. Ensures pricing accuracy before invoicing.

Key Features:

Visual estimation status indicators
Project and artwork hierarchy
Prioritization guidance for estimation workflow

Access: All authenticated users

4. Artwork Inventory

Purpose: Hierarchical list of clients, projects, and artwork details with flexible filtering.

Business Value: Comprehensive asset tracking for inventory management and capacity planning.

Key Features:

Date, employee, and status filtering
Client > Project > Artwork hierarchy
Detailed artwork metadata display

Access: All authenticated users

5. Search for Languages in Projects

Purpose: Find projects containing specific language versions with matching modes.

Business Value: Supports localization workflows and multi-language project tracking.

Key Features:

Language search with "Any" or "All" matching modes
Project listing with language version details

Access: All authenticated users

6. Per-Piece Budget Report

Purpose: Budget data filtered by date range for per-piece billing analysis.

Business Value: Compares budgeted vs. actual per-piece costs to identify pricing effectiveness.

Key Features:

Date range filtering
Budget allocation breakdowns
Per-piece billing comparisons

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

7. Per-Piece Gain Report

Purpose: Profit/gain metrics showing Fixed Budget, Per Piece Invoiced, Design costs, and total Gain.

Business Value: Critical for profitability analysis. Shows margin by project and artwork type.

Key Features:

Fixed Budget vs. actual comparison
Per Piece invoiced amounts
Design cost tracking
Net Gain calculation

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

8. Status Changes Report

Purpose: Audit log of project status transitions with timestamps, usernames, and notes.

Business Value: Supports compliance and process improvement by tracking who changed what and when.

Key Features:

User filtering with customer inclusion option
Date range filtering
Status transition details (timestamp, username, notes, status)
Sortable grid view

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

9. Projects with no PO

Purpose: Identify projects without assigned Purchase Orders for billing assignment.

Business Value: Ensures all billable work is properly associated with POs for revenue capture.

Key Features:

List of unassigned projects
Bulk and manual PO assignment capability

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

10. Quality Report

Purpose: Monthly quality metrics including problem types, affected employees, and Status 4.3 errors.

Business Value: Drives quality improvement initiatives by quantifying error rates and patterns.

Key Features:

Month/year selection
Problem type frequency analysis
Summary statistics (total projects, projects with problems, percentage)
Employee utilization tracking
Detailed problem listing by project
Status 4.3 error tracking with notes

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

11. Fixed Costs/Adjustments

Purpose: Dual-view report showing flat dollar fixed costs and hourly adjustments per project.

Business Value: Manages non-standard billing items that fall outside regular time-based or per-piece billing.

Key Features:

Fixed Costs view: flat dollar amounts
Adjustments view: hourly adjustments per project

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

TIME Reports (8 Reports)

1. Time Records with Zero Time

Purpose: Identify time entries with zero hours logged for data cleanup.

Business Value: Maintains data quality by identifying erroneous or incomplete time entries.

Key Features:

List of zero-time records
Deletion capability for cleanup

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

2. Biweekly Payroll Report

Purpose: Employee time entries by activity for a selected week with totals.

Business Value: Supports payroll processing by providing time allocation summaries.

Key Features:

Week selection dropdown
Employee and activity breakdown
Activity-level and total hour calculations
Visual highlighting for selected week

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

3. Time Entry Report

Purpose: Time entries grouped by type (Regular, Holiday, PTO, etc.) with weekly or annual view.

Business Value: Comprehensive time tracking for workforce management and planning.

Key Features:

Week-based or employee-based view modes
Day-of-week breakdown (Mo, Tu, We, Th, Fr, Sa, Su)
Time type categorization (Regular, Holiday, PTO)
Weekly totals

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

4. Employee Hours By Invoice Group

Purpose: Employee hours allocated to Invoice Groups with cascading client hierarchy filters.

Business Value: Shows how employee effort is distributed across client accounts.

Key Features:

Client hierarchy filtering
Employee-to-Invoice Group hour mapping

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

5. PTO Report

Purpose: PTO hours by employee with weekly periods and overlap highlighting.

Business Value: Supports capacity planning by showing planned absences and identifying coverage gaps.

Key Features:

Date range filtering
Employee PTO hours by week
Overlap detection with calendar navigation link

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

6. Time Activity Dollars Report

Purpose: Time logged by Activity and Division/BAT with dollar calculations.

Business Value: Translates time investments into dollar values for cost analysis.

Key Features:

Activity and Division/BAT breakdowns
Dollar value calculations
Excel export capability

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

7. Spend By Invoice Group

Purpose: Dollar spend by Invoice Group, Client, Project, and Activity for invoiced time records.

Business Value: Shows where billable time investments are concentrated.

Key Features:

Hierarchical spend view: Invoice Group > Client > Project > Activity
Invoiced time dollar values

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

8. Announcements Report

Purpose: Company announcements with filters for posting user, date range, and visibility.

Business Value: Provides audit trail for internal communications.

Key Features:

User filtering
Date range filtering
Visibility status tracking

Access: Admin/SuperAdmin only

GENERAL Reports (7 Reports)

1. Cycle-Time Report

Purpose: Approval workflow cycle time for artwork requests to identify bottlenecks.

Business Value: Critical for process optimization. Shows where delays occur in the approval workflow.

Key Features:

Client hierarchy filtering
Date range selection
Cycle time metrics by artwork
Status transition timing analysis
Expandable detail grid

Access: All authenticated users

2. Celum List Report

Purpose: Packaging artworks with Celum DAM identifiers for cross-referencing with external storage.

Business Value: Supports digital asset management integration and asset traceability.

Key Features:

Celum DAM identifier display
Packaging artwork listing

Access: All authenticated users

3. Production Report

Purpose: Weekly time tracking summary by allocation categories with comparison periods.

Business Value: Analyzes team utilization patterns and supports workforce planning.

Key Features:

Employee selection or all-employee view
Date range selection with comparison periods
Category breakdown: Total, Client (highlighted), dZ, PTO, Bereavement, Holiday, Star
Total and average calculations
Side-by-side period comparison
Star project drill-down capability
Active/inactive employee filtering

Access: All authenticated users

4. Approval Tool Projects

Purpose: Track projects in approval workflow or awaiting approval decisions.

Business Value: Provides visibility into approval pipeline for workload management.

Key Features:

Approval status tracking across projects
Workflow stage identification

Access: All authenticated users

5. Approval Metrics

Purpose: Approval efficiency analysis including artworks in approvals, cycles per artwork, time in process, and cycle duration.

Business Value: Quantifies approval workflow performance for continuous improvement.

Key Features:

Date range selection (journey start dates)
Time unit toggle (days or hours)
My invoice groups vs. all filtering
Metrics: Number of artworks, average cycles, average item time, total time
Weekend-excluded timing calculations
Expandable project-level detail
Excel export capability

Access: All authenticated users

6. PSD Report

Purpose: Client-specific spending report tracking weekly project costs by PM/Strategy, Design, and per-piece.

Business Value: Supports client account management with detailed cost visibility.

Key Features:

Weekly cost tracking
PM/Strategy, Design, and per-piece breakdowns

Access: All authenticated users

7. Revenue by Client Hierarchy

Purpose: Billed time and dollars breakdown by Corporation, BigB, and Division hierarchy levels.

Business Value: Strategic revenue analysis supporting account planning and portfolio management.

Key Features:

Client hierarchy breakdown: Corporation > BigB > Division
Billed time and dollar values

Access: All authenticated users

Functional Components

Role-Based Access Control

Reports are conditionally displayed based on user role:

All Users: Basic reports (Billing Approval Worksheet, Monthly Billing, New Artworks, Not Estimated Artworks, Artwork Inventory, Search Languages, all GENERAL section reports)
Admin/SuperAdmin: All reports including sensitive financial and operational data

Common Filter Controls

Most reports include standard filtering components:

Date Range: Start/end date pickers
Client Hierarchy: Corporation > BigB > Division > BAT > Marketer cascading filters
Employee Selection: User-specific data filtering
Invoice Group: Account-level filtering

Export Capabilities

Many reports support data export:

PDF Generation: Billing reports with client-ready formatting
Excel Export: Data-heavy reports for further analysis

Interactive Navigation

Reports provide drill-down capabilities:

Project Links: Navigate directly to project details
Expandable Hierarchies: Progressively reveal detail levels
Cross-Report Navigation: Links between related reports

Relationship to Other System Components

Integration with Projects Module

Reports pull data from project records, artworks, and time entries
Project links enable seamless navigation from reports to project details

Integration with Billing System

Billing reports drive the invoice creation workflow
PDF generation for client-facing billing documents

Integration with Time Tracking

Time reports aggregate timesheet data
Production reports use time allocation categories

Integration with Approval System

Approval metrics reports use approval journey data
Cycle time analysis based on status transitions

Integration with Client Hierarchy

Many reports filter by client organizational structure
Revenue analysis follows corporate hierarchy

Summary

The Reports Hub is the analytical nerve center of the dZV2 system, providing comprehensive visibility into every aspect of creative services operations. From billing workflows to resource utilization, from quality metrics to approval efficiency, these reports enable data-driven decision-making at every level of the organization.

Key Takeaways:

34+ reports organized into 4 categories serving different business functions
Role-based access ensures appropriate data visibility
Flexible filtering supports various analysis perspectives
Export capabilities enable external analysis and client reporting
Cross-system integration provides unified operational view

The Reports Hub transforms operational data into actionable business intelligence, supporting the company's mission to deliver excellent creative services profitably and efficiently.