McElroy’s BusinessManager provides access for requesting quotes, placing orders, uploading source files, downloading completed projects, viewing status reports, and invoicing. The BusinessManager that our clients log into is the same BusinessManager used in-house to develop quotes, manage orders, assign work to translators and vendors, and track projects. This ensures real-time status updating and ultimate efficiency in project management, thus increasing project expediency without sacrificing McElroy quality.
So what are the top 5 benefits and reasons why clients love our portal?
1. Account history: All translation projects have been processed through BusinessManager since January 1, 2011; data on quotes, orders, and invoices are easily retrievable via secure login. Both source and translated files for projects completed since January 1 are available for download at the client’s convenience. Access to this information allows our clients to reference past project turn times and costs when planning for future projects, as well as providing backup to all past translation project files.
2. File retrieval: Files are easily uploaded via a browse option when requesting a quote or placing an order. Files are also easily located along with each record they correspond with for downloading via the portal upon completion of the project. The BusinessManager folder structure is set up by language/locale combination for clarity on multilingual projects.
3. Status reports: The progress of a quote, order, or invoice has never been clearer! Clients know when a project manager has received their request and if it is being processed. It is immediately apparent whether a quote is new, in preparation, pending, expired, revised, rejected, accepted, changed to order, or canceled. Order statuses include new, in preparation, in progress, deliverable, delivered, approved, invoiced, paid, or canceled. Additionally, each order references a quote number, and each invoice references both the quote and order number, so clients can easily review each stage of their project.
And it gets better! For each project the multiple steps or tasks involved are identified as jobs. Whatever services that are going to be performed on a project will have a job name associated with it. For example, a standard project may include four jobs: translation, setting up the file, editing/proofing, and shipping. Clients are able to see a project’s status at each individual job level as it progresses through our workflow.
4. Proactive communication: When a request for a quote is submitted, clients are notified that the request has been received and when to expect the quote. When an order is placed, a confirmation is sent to the client with the expected delivery time. Special requests per project can be made by clients when submitting the quote or order, and all requests specific to all projects are saved on the account level, allowing our clients to make sure that we have all special instructions. All project statuses are available, as well as project history dating back to January 1, 2011. By proactively ensuring that our clients have all of this data at their fingertips, we save them the time usually required to request basic information.
5. Individual and Group login, access hierarchy: Each contact who orders with McElroy will receive a private login, providing access to information regarding projects that have been submitted by that individual. If there are multiple people within a department submitting projects, there is an additional level that allows managers to view all projects within that department. This makes it possible for them to easily monitor translation volume within the department, as well as fill in for any staff members that may be out, should a quote need to be approved or a project delivered.