Question

Monthly Work Piling Up

  • 8 November 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 70 views

How are other firms “cleaning up” their reoccurring work that is waiting on client requests? I have open work items for 9 months (Jan - Sep) that is waiting on statements of some sort from the client. They now have 9 different check-lists open and my dashboard is cluttered. How are you managing open work items?


3 replies

Userlevel 5
Badge +6

@Danielle Boobyer At times I have closed all the past Work, but made notes in the current work so that I remember that certain tasks need to be completed for past months as well.  For example, if it’s a bank recon, I would write as a Comment in the current month task “Also complete for June, July & August.”

Another option could be to create another Work with Tasks to complete the past Work.  For example, create a task for “Finish July Close,” and another one for “Finish August Close.” 

You also may be able to create a sub-status under Completed status that indicates that even though the older Work is closed, it can be quickly found and re-opened when you can complete it.

Userlevel 6
Badge +7

@Danielle Boobyer I guess it would depend on the type of work. If some of the work is required to be open that long then it would be difficult to clean up, if it is more of the client not completing the request timely, then we follow up via a call when the next work item is created, adding the item to the new request, or we determine if maybe the client is not a good fit anymore. It would drive me nuts if a a client request was open for 9 months. I like to try and solve via a call when it goes on too long. I find email is just a black hole at times.

Userlevel 7
Badge +10

Hi @Danielle Boobyer we have created a sub status under Completed called 

Held Over - Documented that we use to close the ‘old’ work that we have not been able to complete.

The documented part is to pin a note to the time for the work order that is held over and then to pin a note in the current / open work order documenting the work that is brought over.

Sometimes we will add the ‘held over’ work to an existing open work order, along with the pinned note I will change the title of the work to Sept - Oct 2022.

When it has gone on for a number of months, we end up having to ‘held over - documented’ close we will create a new work order to catch up the period that has been an issue.

Where we really run into trouble is capacity planning.  If the work is not done, we move the budget but once you get to 3 - 6 - 9 months the budget will start to look quite different (if you are working on 9 months in 1 sitting it is not going to take 9 times as long as 1 month, but it will most likely take longer than just a couple of months).  

When recurring work is being held up by long over due client requests we start an escalation process.  We explain the issue and the effect that has on our ability to get the work done and if needed we advise that all work is stopping and a new proposal will come into play to re-start the work.  Sometimes hardball is the way to go.

Hope that helps.

V

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