"This year, I want to get more sleep, read more books, and spend less time looking at my phone."
Does this sound familiar? Most people make New Year's resolutions come midnight on December 31st, but we all know that the hard part is sticking to them! A few months later our lives are so busy that we have forgotten all about those promises that we made to ourselves while ringing in the new year. However, if your goal is to be more organized and on top of things when it comes to managing your team, your projects, and your deadlines, FunctionFox can help with that! Whether you have been a FunctionFox user for ten years or ten months, we have got some tips to help you tidy up and transition your account into a new year.
Closing and Archiving
The Project Status page is a great place to review the due dates and current status of all projects within your account, but it can quickly become overwhelming as more and more projects are added. Do you have to scroll down half the page in order to find what is current? Go ahead and close out and archive those projects that you are no longer working on. Archiving is a way to put those completed projects into storage, so to speak, in order to keep your project lists manageable. When you archive projects, you aren't deleting or removing data – the information will still be there when you run your reports – and you can always de-archive projects if needed.
You can only archive projects in a closed status. On the Project Status page, go through your list of projects and move them from open to closed status by clicking within the Status column itself, as this page allows for in-line editing. Once projects have been closed, click on the Tips/Links box on the upper right-hand side of the page and use the Archive Projects link to archive them. When you get into the habit of archiving completed projects, it is much easier to see exactly what is being worked on and whether you have the capacity to take on more projects, without having to scroll through long lists of projects that were finished months - or even years - ago.
Personnel changes can be managed from the Personnel page. Archive inactive users while retaining their historical data, and easily add new users by filling in the required fields to create a login profile that they will use the access the account.
Project Codes and Task Rates
Every Project in FunctionFox must have its own unique Project Code. By default, the code starts at 00001 and increases sequentially as projects are added, although you do have the ability to manually edit this code as needed. Under Account Settings, you can also designate optional preceding or following characters – many users choose to include the current year in either of these fields to indicate the year those projects were created. To update your Project Code, click on the Settings & Preferences cogwheel at the top right, and then click on the Account Settings tab – the Project Sequencing section will be at the top of the page (if you are using Client Sequencing for custom Project Codes per Client, you'll want to update your codes on the Clients page).
Billing rates often change at the start of a new year as well. These can be updated on the Tasks page. Any changes made to your Common Task List only will take effect for new projects going forward, so if you need to update rates on an existing project or split rates as of a certain date, the FunctionFox Customer Success Team has tools on their end to facilitate this, just let them know how they can help.
Getting the Most out of Your FunctionFox Subscription
A new year often brings new challenges, but FunctionFox has the tools to meet your needs. Did you know that we offer different platforms? FunctionFox Classic focuses on time tracking and reporting, while FunctionFox Premier features a whole suite of Project Management tools such as Project Scheduling, Gantt Charts, To-Do Lists, and Project Calendars. FunctionFox In-House includes all the features included in both Classic and Premier, plus additional reporting capabilities and customizable project intake forms.
On our website you will find resources like our Help Center, which includes step by step guides, PDFs, video overviews, and the link to our Training Calendar - whether it is refresher training for the whole team, a one-on-one to review features, or questions about upgrading to one of our other platforms, choose a convenient date and time to schedule an online meeting with a member of our Customer Success Team, and make sure that you are getting the most out of your subscription.
While keeping New Year’s resolutions can be a challenge, keeping your FunctionFox account organized and up to date does not have to be! As your company grows and evolves, FunctionFox has the tools to grow with you. Check out our Release History page where we document all our latest improvements and updates and take a moment to review all the features that we offer. As FunctionFox celebrates over 20 years in business, we are excited to continue helping creative companies succeed. Let us help make this your best year yet!