Client relationships

A new client starts with a named account owner and agreed billing terms. The account manager records the client name, primary contact and owning division before an engagement is opened. A prospect can move to active when the agency is ready to deliver; the client record remains the reference for all related engagements.

• Owner. The Account Manager keeps the client name, primary contact, billing terms and account owner current before an engagement is opened.
• Record. Each engagement points to a client account; its owning division and account owner help route a commercial question.
• Review. The Account Manager checks prospect and active clients separately, while Finance Manager confirms terms before billing.

Choose stable client codes and decide when a prospect becomes active or an account goes on hold. Agree who updates billing terms when an account has open engagements. Link each account owner to a team member and each division to the corresponding agency organization. During import, compare one client with two engagements so an older engagement does not make a closed client look active. Test whether the Account Manager can find the client from both the client list and the engagement detail. Review who may see commercial terms before inviting the wider team.

The account manager checks that the engagement points to the right client. When the billing term changes, the finance manager reviews the client record before the next deliverable invoice is prepared. A closed client should not be mistaken for an active account merely because older engagements remain visible.

Use a prospect that becomes active after the agency accepts its first engagement. The Account Manager checks the primary contact, division and billing terms, then opens the linked engagement. If the engagement points to a different client, correct that reference before staff log work. Finance Manager should see the same billing terms when the first creative deliverable reaches billing. An account with older completed engagements can later be closed without changing those historical engagement links.

At the next account review, open Active Clients and Client Prospects side by side. Confirm that the owner can identify the current account status from the client record rather than from an old engagement. A division change should be checked on the client and new engagements before portfolio reporting. If terms change while a payment is already invoiced, Finance Manager reconciles that payment against its original invoice number. The client record remains the starting point for the relationship; payment collection stays on the linked deliverable payment.

• Active Clients — List current accounts with their owners and billing terms.
• Client Prospects — Find prospects whose contact and owner need an engagement decision.

Follow engagement delivery and review billing.