Tracking Photography Client Jobs for Your Business

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Running a studio means taking on several photography jobs at once. You have to know how to track them separately, or you risk mixing up results. Clients will get upset if you don’t send them the correct images, therefore you need to know how to track client jobs.

There are several elements at play when it comes to client management. Whether you travel to client locations or host everyone in your studio, most of the information you track will remain the same.

Client Information

You need to track all of your client information. Their name, any contact information, and how they heard about you. Taking down this information will help you separate your jobs according to which client ordered them. You’ll also need to track your client and anyone that is photographed with them. At the very least, you’ll want to include their relationship to the client. That can set the tone for the types of photos they want.

Photography Client Jobs Information

Once you know who your clients are, it’s time to track the job they’ve ordered from you.

This is where details will matter most. What type of shoot did they order? How many prints do they get? What type of event is being photographed? What format will the finished product be in? Where is the shoot happening? What type of equipment is necessary for you to get the job done? Tracking all of this information will help you calculate how many hours went into the job, what assets were used, and any travel expenses that came from it.

Cost

Tracking cost is highly dependent on job information. For example, do you charge extra for multiple locations? Do you have different packages that result in different deliverables? What is included in the original cost, did the client order add-ons? Having heavily outlined job information can help calculate your final invoice and tell you how much to charge. 

Options for Tracking Client Jobs

What options are available for tracking separate client jobs and all of the information that goes along with them? It turns out there are dozens of options, and you just have to choose what works best for you.

Spreadsheet (not recommended)

Many photographers will, if they track their clients' jobs at all, rely on a spreadsheet to track their clients. They end up spending hours documenting everything and lose time doing administrative tasks. Using spreadsheets is problematic because they're not programmed to reflect what you need, so you're limited by the constraints of the program. 

Customer Relationship Management Software

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software helps track different aspects of client jobs. You can track things like invoices, expenses, projects, and more.

However, most CRM software platforms aren’t customizable. They also charge per user, so if you have more than one person who needs to use the platform, you could end up paying significantly extra. CRM platforms also may not be set up for the way photography studios need to track client jobs.

Asset Panda

Asset Panda is one of the most customizable solutions available. You can configure it to make sense for tracking your client jobs, and include every single detail relevant to what you do.

There are unlimited asset fields, meaning you can track as many workflows and workloads as you need. You can also add as many users as you need, from one to a dozen, the system will grow with your business.

Tracking client jobs ensures your business hours are being applied appropriately. Asset Panda can give you an all-in-one system that'll help you get there.

By:

Mel Van De Graaff

Mel creates research driven content for companies in the health and wellness field, and specializes in creating action driven blog posts for Mental Health and Self Help topics as well as creating white papers and case studies.

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