Ateliér Pútnici, founded by two creative freelancers, Peter Rajčák and Denisa Pajkošová, has transformed into a thriving creative agency in Slovakia. Initially struggling with budgeting, accounting, and managing invoices, they found a solution in Allfred that taught them how to streamline these processes, significantly increasing their billable hours by 20-30%.
Key Results
- Improved Budgeting Skills: Ateliér Pútnici learned to create comprehensive budgets, including all necessary costs and accounting for hours, leading to more accurate project pricing.
- Increased Billable Hours: By learning to properly account for all work, their billable hours increased by 20-30%.
- Streamlined Financial Processes: Automated invoicing and reminders improved cash flow management and reduced the time spent chasing payments.
- Centralized Financial Data: All project-related financial data is now stored in one place, providing a clear overview and easier management.
- Better Client Communication: Detailed and structured budgets have made client discussions more straightforward and reduced the need for extensive explanations.
The Challenges and Solutions
#1 🚨 Struggle: Overcoming Budgeting Challenges
Starting from Scratch & Lack of Budgeting Knowledge
As a new studio, Ateliér Pútnici had no experience with traditional spreadsheet tools for budgeting and accounting. They skipped the spreadsheet phase entirely, both founders were creatives with no prior experience in budgeting or financial management. They struggled to estimate hours, account for agency work, and price external costs accurately. This lack of experience often led to underestimating project costs and missing critical financial elements in their budgets.
Incomplete Client Budgets
Their initial budgets were often less detailed, leading to lengthy discussions and explanations with clients. The lack of a structured budgeting approach made it difficult to justify costs and project scope to clients.
Budgeting Solutions by Allfred
💰 Comprehensive Budgeting Feature
Adopting Allfred from the start provided them with an intuitive and comprehensive platform for managing their project budgets and finances. Allfred’s budgeting feature taught them how to create detailed budgets, estimate hours accurately, and include all necessary costs, including those for external production and accounting hours, which they previously overlooked.
“We were creatives who didn’t know how to budget. The budgeting feature is great; we immediately learned to estimate hours, account for agency work, and price external costs. This quickly got us into proper processes.”
Peter Rajčák
📋 Smart Suggestions and Detailed Budgets
Allfred’s smart suggestions ensured they never forgot any crucial budget items. The platform offered whole sections with all necessary items for production or development work, which helped them create comprehensive and structured budgets. This made client communications clearer and reduced the need for extensive explanations.
“We learned to charge for accounting hours, which we used to do ‘in our free time.’ Now, thanks to Allfred, we know what to include in external production budgets, and the smart suggestions help us remember everything necessary.”
Denisa Pajkošová
📈 Increased Credibility and Billable Hours
By defining roles and tasks clearly in the budget, such as adding hours for supervision and account management, they increased the transparency and credibility of their creative agency. This comprehensive approach allowed clients to see the value of the work being done and justified the costs more effectively.
“There is a big difference in sending clients a smaller budget versus a detailed, structured budget offered by Allfred. It saves discussions and explanations because all data is right there. Moreover, by learning to properly account for all work, our billable hours increased by 20-30%.“
Peter Rajčák
#2 🚨 Struggle: Improving Financial Control
Manual Invoicing and Tracking Issues
Initially, they managed invoices and financial flow manually, which was inefficient and prone to errors. They had difficulty keeping track of received invoices and payments, often leading to cash flow disruptions.
Finance Management Solutions by Allfred
🧾 Automated Invoice Management & Enhanced Finance and Reporting
Both founders gained complete control over financial documents with automated invoice tracking and reminders for unpaid invoices. This process ensured a clear overview of financial flows and improved cash flow management by reducing the time spent chasing payments.
“We now have automatic reminders for invoice due dates, and a clear view of what’s been paid and what’s outstanding. It saves us time from contacting clients manually.”
Denisa Pajkošová
#3 🚨 Struggle: Managing Client and Project Data
Initial Disorganization
They initially had difficulties keeping all project-related data, such as invoices or billing addresses, organized and accessible, which hampered their efficiency.
Client Management Solution by Allfred
📋 Centralized Data Management
Allfred’s features, such as automatic business register searches and entity switching based on VAT status, streamlined their operations. This ensured all project-related data was easily accessible and organized, making it easier to manage client and project data effectively.
“We record received invoices and have all data related to the project in one place, from received costs to client billing. The automatic business register search and entity switching based on VAT status have made our operations more efficient.”
Denisa Pajkošová
From Freelancers to Creative Agency: The Impact of Allfred
Allfred has been instrumental in transforming Ateliér Pútnici from two freelancers into a growing creative agency. By providing the tools and knowledge needed to manage budgets, accounting, and invoices efficiently, Allfred has helped them streamline their operations and significantly increase their profitability.
Ateliér Pútnici recommends Allfred to any creative agency looking for a comprehensive tool tailored to the needs of creative professionals.
“The personal support and industry-specific insights provided by Allfred have been invaluable in our growth journey.”
Denisa Pajkošová
