New Artworks Report

Overview

The New Artworks Report is a weekly operational report that identifies all new packaging artwork items added to projects during a specified week. It serves as a batch estimate generation tool, allowing project managers and account managers to quickly review newly added artworks across all clients, verify associated dollar values, and generate formal estimate documents for multiple projects in a single workflow.

This report bridges the gap between artwork creation and client billing by providing visibility into recent creative work and automating the estimate creation process. Rather than manually tracking which artworks need estimates, the report automatically surfaces work that entered production during a specific week, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Location: Navigate to Reports from the main navigation menu, then select New Artworks under the PROJECTS section.

URL: /reports/newartworksreport.aspx

Access Level: All authenticated staff users (Project Managers, Account Managers, Administrators)

Business Value

For Project Managers

The New Artworks Report transforms a time-consuming manual process into an automated weekly workflow:

• Centralized visibility into all new artwork items added across your assigned clients and projects during any given week
• Batch processing capability to generate estimates for multiple projects simultaneously rather than opening each project individually
• Dollar verification showing the calculated value for each artwork based on packaging level and complexity
• Status-based filtering that automatically identifies artworks added when projects enter "Artwork in Process" or "Alteration" status

For Account Managers

Account managers benefit from client-centric organization:

• Client grouping displays all new artworks organized by client, making it easy to review all work for a specific account
• Division visibility shows which business division each project belongs to
• Selective estimation allows choosing specific clients or projects for estimate generation while deferring others
• Week-over-week tracking supports understanding of work volume patterns by client

For Finance and Operations

The report supports billing operations by:

• Preventing unbilled work through systematic identification of new artworks that need estimates
• Document automation generating professional estimate PDFs with quote numbers that are automatically uploaded to cloud storage
• Audit trail creation linking estimates to specific artworks with timestamps and user attribution
• Rush fee inclusion capturing finalization rush charges alongside per-piece artwork amounts

Business Benefits

1. Reduced Revenue Leakage - By systematically identifying all new artworks weekly, the report ensures that billable work is not overlooked. Artworks that might otherwise slip through manual tracking are surfaced automatically.
2. Operational Efficiency - Batch estimate creation replaces the need to open individual projects, navigate to the estimates tab, and create estimates one by one. A manager can process an entire week's work in minutes.
3. Consistent Estimate Timing - Weekly review establishes a regular cadence for estimate creation, ensuring clients receive timely documentation of expected costs rather than sporadic notifications.
4. Accurate Dollar Tracking - Dollar values displayed in the report are calculated from actual time tracking data, ensuring estimates reflect real costs based on packaging complexity and artwork specifications.
5. Professional Documentation - Auto-generated estimate PDFs follow standard company formatting with proper quote numbers, ensuring consistent client communication.
6. Cloud Storage Integration - Estimate documents are automatically uploaded to organized cloud folders by division, client, and week, creating a searchable archive of all generated estimates.
7. Alteration Tracking - The report distinguishes between new original artworks and client alterations, helping managers understand the nature of work being estimated.

Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Weekly Estimate Generation

Role: Project Manager

Every Monday, a project manager opens the New Artworks Report to review the previous week's work. They select the appropriate week using the date picker, click "Build" to generate the report, and see all clients with newly added artworks. They click the checkbox next to each client to select all their projects, review the dollar amounts shown for each artwork, and click "Create Estimates." The system generates PDF estimates for all selected projects and confirms successful upload to cloud storage.

Scenario 2: Selective Client Processing

Role: Account Manager

An account manager is responsible for several major accounts but not all clients in the system. They open the report, build it for the previous week, and scroll to find their assigned clients. They selectively check only the projects for their clients, leaving other clients unchecked for their respective managers. They click "Create Estimates" to generate documents only for their selected accounts.

Scenario 3: Verifying Artwork Values

Role: Project Manager

Before creating estimates, a project manager wants to verify that the dollar amounts look correct. They expand the project view to see individual artworks with their packaging level, complexity designation, and calculated dollar value. If any amounts seem incorrect, they navigate to the project detail page to investigate before generating estimates.

Scenario 4: Reviewing Client Alterations

Role: Account Manager

A client has requested several alterations to existing artworks. The account manager opens the report and sees entries marked as "client alteration" with their associated dollar values. They confirm these alterations should be billed to the client and include them in the estimate generation process.

Scenario 5: Tracking Rush Fees

Role: Project Manager

Several projects had finalization rush fees added during the week. The report shows these rush fees as separate line items below the artwork entries. The project manager ensures these fees are included in the estimate by selecting the parent project, which automatically includes all associated artworks and rush fees.

Scenario 6: Historical Week Review

Role: Administrator

An administrator needs to verify what estimates were created for a specific week last month. They change the week date picker to that historical week and build the report to see what artworks were added during that period. They can then cross-reference with the estimate records in individual projects.

Industry Context

Standard Practice in Creative Services

Weekly production reporting is fundamental to creative agency operations:

1. Advertising Agencies: Track new creative assets produced each week for client billing and resource planning
2. Packaging Design Firms: Monitor packaging artwork volume by client to ensure billing captures all deliverables
3. Marketing Service Providers: Generate regular activity reports showing work completed for retainer or project-based clients
4. Print and Prepress Operations: Track production volume for per-piece billing arrangements

Why Weekly Cadence Matters

• Client Expectations: Enterprise clients often require weekly or bi-weekly billing updates to manage their budgets
• Cash Flow: Regular estimate generation enables faster invoice cycles, improving days sales outstanding
• Resource Planning: Weekly volume data supports capacity planning and staffing decisions
• Quality Assurance: Regular review catches any artwork additions that might have incorrect specifications

Per-Piece Pricing Models

Many creative services use per-piece pricing where:

• Each artwork or deliverable has a defined price based on type and complexity
• Pricing tiers (packaging levels, complexity ratings) determine the base cost
• Alterations to existing work are typically billed at different rates than original creation
• Rush charges are added as separate line items for expedited work

The New Artworks Report directly supports this pricing model by:

• Displaying packaging level and complexity for each artwork
• Calculating dollars based on these specifications
• Separating original work from alterations
• Including rush fees as distinct billable items

Production Status Workflow

The report uses project status transitions to identify new work:

• Status 2 (Artwork in Process): Project has entered active design production
• Status 2.6 (Alteration): Existing artwork is being modified per client request

Artworks added before a project reaches these statuses are captured when the status transition occurs, ensuring all production work is accounted for at the appropriate billing milestone.

Business Logic Details

Week-Based Filtering

The report operates on a Monday-to-Sunday week basis:

• Users select a Monday date using the week picker (only Mondays are selectable)
• The system finds all projects that entered "Artwork in Process" (status 2) or "Alteration" (status 2.6) during that week
• Artworks are captured based on when they were added relative to these status changes

Artwork Capture Logic

The system uses a sophisticated algorithm to identify which artworks belong to each week:

For New Original Artworks:

1. Find the most recent status 2 transition within the selected week
2. Find any previous status 2 transition before the selected week
3. Capture artworks added between these two status transitions
4. If no previous status 2 exists, include all artworks added before the current status transition

For Alterations:

1. Find the most recent status 2.6 (Alteration) transition within the selected week
2. Find any previous status 2.6 transition before the selected week
3. Capture alteration artworks added between these two status transitions
4. Alterations are marked distinctly in the report display

Dollar Calculation

Artwork values are calculated from the time tracking system:

• Each artwork links to time records that capture the work effort
• Dollars are derived from the per-piece time view which calculates costs based on:
  • Packaging level (e.g., Primary, Secondary)
  • Complexity rating (e.g., Standard, Complex)
  • Billable rate configurations
• Only artworks with non-zero dollar values appear in the report

Estimate Creation Process

When "Create Estimates" is clicked:

1. Connection Verification: System confirms cloud storage is accessible before starting
2. Client Grouping: Selected projects are grouped by client for consolidated processing
3. Quote Number Generation: Each estimate receives a unique quote number
4. PDF Generation: Professional estimate document is created with:
   • Quote number and date
   • Client and project information
   • Division name
   • Itemized artwork list with dollars
   • Any associated rush fees
5. Database Recording: Estimate record is saved with all artwork associations
6. Cloud Upload: PDF is uploaded to organized folder structure
7. Result Display: Success/failure status is shown for each project

Key Features

Week Selection

• Week Date Picker: Calendar control limited to Monday selections only
• Default Week: Automatically defaults to the previous week (Monday one week ago)
• Build Button: Regenerates report for selected week

Report Display

Artwork Details

Each project expands to show individual artworks:

• Packaging Level/Complexity: Artwork categorization (e.g., "Primary/Standard")
• Alteration Indicator: Notes when an item is a "client alteration"
• Added Timestamp: When the artwork was added to the project
• Dollars: Calculated value for this specific artwork

Rush Fee Display

Finalization rush fees appear as separate entries below artworks:

• Label: "Finalization Rush Fee"
• Dollars: Associated fee amount

Selection Controls

• Select All: Check all projects across all clients
• Deselect All: Clear all selections
• Client Checkbox: Select/deselect all projects for a specific client
• Project Checkbox: Select individual projects within a client

Action Buttons

Summary

The New Artworks Report is an operational efficiency tool that transforms the weekly estimate generation process from a manual, project-by-project task into an automated batch workflow. By surfacing all newly added artworks based on production status transitions, the report ensures billable work is systematically identified and documented.

Key Takeaways:

• Weekly production visibility shows all new artworks organized by client and project for any selected week
• Batch estimate creation generates professional estimate documents for multiple projects in a single operation
• Automatic dollar calculation derives artwork values from time tracking data based on packaging level and complexity
• Rush fee inclusion captures expedite charges alongside artwork amounts
• Alteration tracking distinguishes original work from client-requested modifications
• Cloud storage integration automatically uploads estimate PDFs to organized folder structures
• Division-based access ensures users only see and process artworks for their assigned clients

The report serves as a critical link in the revenue cycle, bridging the gap between creative production and client billing by ensuring that all new work receives proper estimate documentation in a timely, systematic manner.