Creative Manager Pro Announces Major Upgrade

David Blatner and Anne-Marie Concepcion

Creative Manager Inc. (https://www.Creative-Manager.com), provider of Creative Manager Pro software, has announced a major upgrade of its flagship product, featuring more features converted to Flash and updates for Apple’s latest Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.2.
Previous updates of the integrated Ad Agency system converted some of the most-used features to Flash. Today, Creative Manager announced that the next foundation upgrade to its Ad Agency management software will address interface improvements based on months of research, client interviews and user feedback. While most of the improvements will be in Flash, all of the improvements are a direct result from many man-years of research and direct client feedback from actual users of the Creative Management Software.
“This foundation upgrade is the most important step in the development of our ad agency software,” touts Ron Ause, Creative Manager’s director of marketing. “Since our clients give us tons of feedback, we had to create a foundation for future improvements. Not all of their feedback is incorporated into this upgrade. But the foundation has not been prepared for the future.”
Due in April, the upgrade gives clients of Creative Manager Pro increases in usability in key areas. Below are just three:
Speed: By converting features from html to Adobe’s Flash, the system is more intuitive, more responsive and easier to use than any other system of its kind. Accessing long lists of clients or general ledger entries will literally take a flash in the new system.
Dashboard customization: The new dashboard (now called the desktop) can be customized with drag and drop and resized as you would normally resize windows on your desktop. Each user can lay out and personalize their own desktop, a feature which was previously only available to administrators.
Easier navigation: The navigation between areas of the system has been simplified with new features such as the ‘Speed bar’ (which allows users to add links to any screen in a quick launch bar), a ‘Recent items’ menu, and a new ‘Reports’ menu that brings the reports to the top menu for more intuitive access to functions in the system.
As always with Creative Manager Inc.’s products, no installation or conversion are necessary, and all updates are at no cost to users of Creative Project Manager and Creative Manager Pro. All client logins and vendor logins are always free.
Asked about the future of this foundation, Ause said, ‘Over the next 12-18 months we will be updating each area of the system and addressing the feedback that we continue to get from our clients as each new section is rolled out. For example, we are currently working on the design of the CRM functions of our product for a future release later in the year. Exciting as it is, it needs to be done with deliberation and loads of testing.”
“Project management for creative firms is not inherently simple,” said Ause. “It’s our job to make the creative firm at ease with project management. If our years of industry experience can’t increase the profits of our clients, then we should be in another business.”
Creative Manager Pro continues to invest, adding new features that work with Apple’s latest Mac OS X Leopard Unix-based Operating System and Microsoft Windows.
All updates are deployed using Creative Manager’s own Auto-Updater, which allows them to deploy updates to all hosted sites, and to clients’ servers at any time. Repeating his refrain, Ause says, “We can deploy a change to the program in hours – even minutes! Our competitors take months or years to get to their list. ‘We’re Always Listening!'”
Creative Manager Pro goes beyond costing to offer full Project Management, CRM, Digital Asset Management, billing and accounting, and Extranet capabilities.
Creative Manager Pro (at https://www.Creative-Manager.com), is the only Ad Agency software and Project Management Software for the Creative Design industry, created exclusively for design firms, ad agencies, in-house creative/MarCom departments, and creative service firms. It is a web-based integrated project management software and job tracking solution which streamlines the entire firm, from developing new business, to staffing, managing, and executing projects through to accounting and financial reporting.
Creative Manager Pro is a full-featured, intuitive system which makes project and ad agency management a breeze. Creative Manager Pro supports Customer Relationship Management, Document Management, Shared Calendaring, Accounting and much more. Because it is web-based, there is nothing to install and it can be set up in a very short time. It works with both PC and Macintosh from any location over any connection. It may also be installed locally on the client’s own servers. All options include training and support to ensure that clients are up and running quickly.
Among the many features of Creative Manager Pro:

• Graphically view your firm’s metrics – manage your firm by the numbers.
• Manage Contacts and Leads
• Create Project Schedules, Calendars and Manage Tasks
• Take your contacts and calendar on the road with iCal, AddressBook & Outlook
• Approve Timesheets, Purchasing, Billing and Budgets
• Review and Approve Artwork Online
• Store and Manage Digital Assets
• Manage and Balance the Books
• Free client and vendor access to streamline workflow.
• Quick startup/import from Clients & Profits, Adman and other systems
• Full-featured CRM (Client Relationship Management)
• Extranet capabilities
• Manage media with an interface with Strata
• Charting of important industry metrics and firm statistics

Take a test drive at https://www.Creative-Manager.com
The team members at Creative Manager, Inc. have been leaders in ad agency software and project management software for the creative industry and on the Mac OS for over 26 years. They provide their creative clients with two major offerings: Creative Project Manager and Creative Manager Pro. Both programs work seamlessly with the Mac OS and Windows.