Engagement planning

The engagement manager records the client, owning organization, engagement type, contract value, budget hours and delivery dates. The engagement starts proposed and becomes active when the agency commits to the work. Each engagement has an accountable manager so delivery entries and creative deliverables have a clear commercial home.

• Owner. Engagement Manager sets the client, owning organization, delivery dates, contract value and budget hours.
• Record. The engagement links service work, creative deliverables, time and expenses to one client commitment.
• Review. Account Manager checks the client handoff; Agency Partner reads delivery and budget signals before more work is committed.

Agree which engagement types use fixed fee, time and materials, retainer or deliverable treatment. Enter a named client and manager before delivery staff add work. Confirm how contract value and budget hours are approved, and which organization owns the engagement when the agency has divisions. Choose who changes a proposed engagement to active and who reviews on hold or cancelled work. Import the client and team member references first, then check that dates and budget values match the signed scope. Review the schedule with the people who will deliver the work.

A fixed fee engagement with a near term end date can consume its budget before the last deliverable is approved. The manager compares logged hours, delivered value and remaining billable value while work is still active. A completed engagement remains visible for billing review.

Start a fixed fee engagement for an active client with a contract value, budget hours and an end date. Move it from proposed to active after the Account Manager and Engagement Manager confirm the scope. Log a service entry and attach a creative deliverable to that engagement. As hours rise, compare logged hours with budget hours and delivered amount with contract value. The Agency Partner can open the Engagement Margin Desk and trace a warning back to the same engagement.

At the weekly review, inspect Active Engagements for current commitments and Engagement Schedule for the start and end dates that need attention. If an engagement is on hold, the manager decides how to handle new work before it is logged against that record. A completed engagement stays available for billing and collection checks. Do not infer a collected payment from its delivered amount. Finance Manager follows the creative deliverable to its payment record, while Agency Partner compares the engagement’s cost and billed amount.

• Active Engagements — Review active commitments, contract values and budget hours.
• Engagement Schedule — Check start and end dates for proposed and active engagements.

Follow engagement delivery and review billing.