Jobzilla – Job Tracking and Management
If your business involves managing individual jobs, then you might have spent time looking for Job Management or Job Tracking software.
Some time ago we adapted Bugzilla to use as our own job tracking system – we call the resulting application Jobzilla. Bugzilla is the open source bug tracking software application created and used by the Firefox project. While the core is designed for bug tracking, with some key modifications it works exceptionally well for job tracking, and now we are offering to share the way we use it with others.
Jobzilla is useful for tracking:
- Leads and Quotes: create and manage leads and quotes
- Jobs: convert successful quotes to Jobs and track them to completion
- Time: track timesheet hours against jobs
Jobzilla takes care of:
- Quote/Job Numbers: each new quote gets a unique number that serves as the quote reference and ultimately Job number
- Job History: keep a history of activity on each Job, with email notifications to owners and a cc list
- Time: set budgeted hours, track actual hours for each person involved on a job, report on budget vs actuals
- Statuses: trace each Quote/Job through a flexible set of job statuses
Job Status and History
At the core of Jobzilla is the tracking of leads and jobs through a range of statuses. For example, a job might commence with a status of Lead, progress to Prepare Quote and then Quoted status, and then on to Development and Final Review status. Along the way, a detailed history of the job is kept that keeps track of phone calls, emails, meetings and other events relevant to the job.
At any time the job system can be used to view all jobs, jobs in a particular status, jobs assigned to a certain assignee or other groups of jobs.
Archived Jobs
Once jobs are complete, they are archived in the jobs system. This means they no longer show up in standard reports and searches, but can easily be accessed by extending searches to include completed jobs.
Notifications
Each Job can be assigned to an owner, and you can add people to the cc: notification list. Each time there is a new note posted to a job, an email notification is sent to the owner and cc list. Each email notification has a link to the job, so you can easily click through and follow up.
Searches and Reporting
Reporting is quick using Saved Searches – simply create a new search (e.g. all jobs in Quoted status), choose which columns you want displayed (Assignee, Description, Value) and you can save the search for yourself or share it with other Jobzilla users.
Simple searches can be carried out by typing in a name or a few words that relate to a job in the search box. Or advanced searches can be used to narrow down using specific fields.
Custom Fields
Custom fields allow you to incorporate your own tracking fields and use them in managing jobs as well as in searches and reports. For example, custom fields can be used to record TCV (Total Contract Value) and WIP (Work In Progress) fields to trace job financials, or to record referral sources.
Contacts
Jobzilla keeps a record of the contact names, phones and emails for each opportunity/job. This makes it easy to get the contact details when you need them. Jobzilla isn’t a CRM however, so you’ll need to transfer any details you want to store in an external customer address system.
Documents and File Sharing
For simple requirements, Jobzilla lets you attach documents and other files to each Job so they are accessible to your team via the web.
You can also use Dropbox.com with your unique job number to integrate with Jobzilla. Simply create a Job folder that is shared with your team and store all related documents in the Job folder. If you need to share documents with a client, create a separate folder (also using the Job number) and share that folder with specific users.
Invoicing
Jobzilla doesn’t have an invoicing module. When quotes and invoices need to go out, you can use job statuses to manage jobs through key invoicing stages, and custom fields to link to invoice numbers.
Alternatives
I’m a big fan of 37 Signals tools such as Highrise (CRM/opportunity management) and Basecamp (project tracking). But if you have more than a few jobs and need to keep history, then Highrise ($49 or $99 a month) and Basecamp ($149/mth for > 100 jobs) aren’t entry level anymore, and you are left with your leads and jobs in separate systems.
Where Jobzilla shines is that it is a single system that helps manage opportunities, quotes and jobs. Once a customer accepts a quote you just move the status forward to one of your job statuses and you have access to the full history of the lead/quote process as well as the job execution history.
How To Get Started
Does Jobzilla sound like a job management system that would work for you?
If so, you can use your own server and your system administrator can download/install/customise Bugzilla for you using the principles outlined above.
Or, you can look at the offer we’ve put together for customers who would like to use their own ‘Jobzilla’, but have it installed, hosted and supported for them.
OM4′s Jobzilla Service
The OM4 service includes:
- Planning: planning your Jobzilla setup, including walking through the various configuration options such as job status codes, job types, custom fields, user logins and standard reports
- Setup: installing and configuring Jobzilla
- Web Access: deploying your Jobzilla system to a domain name
- Hosting: hosting your Jobzilla system
- Upgrades: applying upgrades when the underlying Bugzilla software is updated
- Training: providing training sessions to help you understand how to use the system
- Support: providing support via the OM4 Support Centre
Note that while Jobzilla is very adaptable to indvidual requirements using the Administration panel to configure field values or custom fields, we do not customise the Jobzilla software for individual customers.
We charge for this service on the following basis:
- Fixed Implementation Fee: a fixed, up front fee for installation, planning and configuration – we provide you with a custom quote based on your requirements
- Monthly Fee: an ongoing monthly fee for hosting and support – $169/mth for up to 10 users, $9/mth for additional users
- Upgrades: an upgrade fee when a new version of Bugzilla needs to be installed – approximately 1-2 hours of work each upgrade
If you’d like to explore this service with OM4, the first step is to book an initial consultation.
During this consultation we will:
- demonstrate the Jobzilla system for you
- answer specific questions on how it could be used in your company
- discuss using Jobzilla with Dropbox and 3rd party systems such as invoicing
Should you decide to proceed with the OM4 service, the initial consultation fee of $149 AUD is refundable from your first hosting payment.
