Step 10. Managing KPI in translation agency solution

Creating purchase order number
When starting a new project, the manager uses one of the available templates in the task group "Templates" which contains standard tasks for such projects as "Website translation", "Voice-overs", "Interpreting" and other. Each of the project templates includes the task "Create purchase order".  The project manager assigns a new purchase order number and renames the task by this number. Then for this task he sets price and project name in the custom fields "Price" and "Project". Note that you can configure permissions to the task "Create purchase order" by using Permission Panel so only the project manager will be privileged to assign a new PO number and set price and project name.

Defining purchase order price
To define price for a purchase order the manager should create custom fields that could show volume of the text and cost per number of characters or number of words. By using VIP Task Manager, in the translation agency solution, there can be created the following custom fields:

• Cost per 1000. This custom field shows what cost will be for each 1000 words of the text. The cost depends on translation difficulty (custom fields "Language", "Document Type", "Translation Type") and is defined by the manager. This custom field is measured in USD.
• Text Volume. The custom field "Text Volume" shows actual volume of the translated text and is measured in words. The text volume is set by the manager when obtaining a new purchase order.
• Price. The custom field "Price" shows total price of the purchase order that is the price the customer should pay for the services of the translation agency. This custom field is calculated as a multiplication between the custom fields "Costs per 1000" and "Text Volume". It is measured in USD. You need to use Formula in the custom field editor.

Using the custom fields in Task List View
To get comprehensive information about current purchase order statuses and prices, the manager of the translation agency can use Task List View. In this view there should be unhidden the custom fields "Language", "Document Type", "Translation Type", "Cost Per 1000", "Text Volume", and "Price". There can be also displayed such common columns as "Status", "Complete", "Due Date" and "Assigned". The manger can track task performance, check task deadlines, monitor outstanding orders, set reminders and other. The task list can be grouped by a column, e.g. it can be grouped by the column "Status" so that the manager could track all uncompleted tasks and check due dates to avoid procrastinations. In the footer of the task list, there can be calculated several values such as "Sum", "Average", "Min" and "Max". The screenshot shows total Sum for prices of all purchase orders and Average cost per 1000 words.

Using the custom fields in Task Tree View
In Task Tree View of VIP Task Manager the custom fields can be set for a task group and displayed in preview of a task group. The manager can sum up prices for all orders within a month so that to get monthly revenue. He can also calculate total quantity of orders during the month and build various charts which show difference between task planned time and actual time. For example, the custom field "Revenue" shows an income the translation agency earned from all activities (translations, voice-overs, enterprising, etc.) during a month. This custom filed can be displayed in preview of the task groups "January", "February", "March" and so on. The manager can sum up revenue by each of the activities by using Filter Bar, e.g. filter tasks by the custom field "Project". The custom field "Revenue" can be used by the accountant in financial assessments and profitability analysis of the translation agency.

1. Step 1. Choosing translation agency software
2. Step 2. Organizing translation agency staff
3. Step 3. Building translation agency workflow
4. Step 4. Translation agency task customization
5. Step 5. Task planning in the translation agency solution
6. Step 6. Sharing translation agency tasks
7. Step 7. Documenting translation agency tasks
8. Step 8. Tracking translation agency tasks
9. Step 9. Reporting tasks in translation agency solution
10. >> Step 10. Managing KPI in translation agency solution