A Pattern for Client Services
This Solution Pattern is designed for businesses that manage multiple clients and projects simultaneously, such as creative agencies, marketing firms, and business consultancies.Unlike a construction project which is often linear, agency work involves juggling numerous deliverables, tracking billable time, and managing complex client feedback loops. This pattern provides a robust starting point for building a system to manage that complexity.

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1. Function & Scope

  • Function Name: Agency Operations Hub
  • Scope: To provide a single source of truth for all client work, from the initial sales pitch to tracking project profitability and managing ongoing retainers.

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2. Universal Objects & Data Fields

  • Client: The central record for a customer company.
    • Fields: Client Name, Industry, Primary Contact.
  • Project: A specific engagement for a client (e.g., “Q4 Marketing Retainer”).
    • Fields: Project Name, Client (Object Connection), Project Type (Select List: Retainer, Fixed-Price), Total Budget (Currency), Hourly Rate (Currency).
  • Deliverable: A specific task or piece of work within a Project (e.g., “Homepage Mockup V2”).
    • Fields: Deliverable Name, Assigned To (User), Due Date (Date), Status.
  • Timesheet Entry: A record of billable time spent on a project.
    • Fields: Hours (Number), Work Date (Date), Activity Description (Text).

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3. Object Connections

  • Project is linked to one Client.
  • Deliverable is linked to one Project.
  • Timesheet Entry is linked to one Project.

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4. Workflows & Statuses

  • Project Workflow:
    • PITCH → PROPOSAL → ACTIVE → COMPLETED → ON HOLD
  • Deliverable Workflow (Creative Cycle):
    • BACKLOG → IN PROGRESS → INTERNAL REVIEW → CLIENT REVIEW → APPROVED

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5. Workviews

  • “Active Projects Dashboard”: A list or card view of all projects with the ACTIVE status.
  • “Deliverable Kanban”: A Kanban board showing all Deliverables grouped by their status, providing a clear view of the creative production pipeline.
  • “Team Workload View”: A list view of Deliverables grouped by the Assigned To user, to help with resource planning.
What’s Next? Now that you’ve seen a pattern for a project-based service business, let’s explore a pattern for a completely different business model.