Job Control and Front End can operate independently of each other (indeed Front End can operate independently of the parent Databuild system), but in cases where you want to track pre-production facilities, they neatly complement each other.
In the scenario below, we maintain a separate Leads company (thereby avoiding cluttering up the main company with non existent “jobs”) and use Job Control to control both pre-production and production activities
Before you start:
Setup a Leads Company, using the same System database as Main Company
In Front End
Setup User definable fields in Leads Company. This data can be used in proposals
In Job Control
Create Sales/pre-production template(s) in Leads Company
Create Production template(s) in Main Company
On first contact with leads:
In Front End
Enter lead details and user-definable fields.
Update this “quote” into Leads company, selecting Jobs and Contacts
In Job Control
Load Sales/pre-production template in Leads Company
Pre-Production:
In Front End
Define quotation
Create Tender
Create Contract
Populate Variables
Use Sales Analysis to monitor leads and sales performance
In Job Control
Monitor progress of sales and pre-production in Leads Company
At acceptance of Contract:
In Front End
Update into Main company. This creates Jobs, Contacts, Quantities, variables etc
In Job Control
Load Production template into Main company
In Databuild
Modify Quantities if required
Print Orders