SOPs

PROJECT MANAGER

Standard Operating Procedure

 

1. Purpose

This SOP defines the daily and weekly workflow for the Project Manager role at DTC, Inc. It covers how to manage the active project board, maintain consistent client communication, track procurement and scheduling, and keep the revenue forecast current. It is designed so that any PM stepping into this role can pick it up and operate independently.

2. Tools & Key References

•       HaloPSA — Primary project and ticket tracking system. All project statuses, notes, and time entries live here.

•       2-Week Project Rotation Spreadsheet — Working spreadsheet that assigns every open project to a specific day and week for structured review. This is your daily task list.

•       Project Forecast Spreadsheet — Revenue planning tool used for monthly billing projections and next-month pipeline visibility.

3. Daily Workflow Structure

Each day follows a themed focus area. This prevents context-switching overload and ensures every project gets touched within a two-week cycle. Open the rotation spreadsheet at the start of each day and work through that day’s assigned projects.

Day	Theme & Focus Area
Monday	Pipeline & Triage — Projects needing decisions: New, Pending Review, Deposit Received, Order Processing. Assign status, define scope, set due dates.
Tuesday	Execution & Supplier — Follow up on procurement, check supplier ETAs, manage field execution. Push anything stuck with a vendor.
Wednesday	Client Follow-Up — Chase deposits, re-engage stalled clients, send Win10/Server EOL deadline reminders. Focus on unblocking revenue.
Thursday	Scheduled Deep-Dive — Prep upcoming installs, confirm dates, verify tech assignments and materials. Ensure nothing is missing before execution day.
Friday	Board Cleanup & Planning — Archive completed projects, close stale items, review invoicing, update forecast, prep next week’s rotation.

4. Priority Levels & Review Types

Every project on the board falls into one of four priority levels based on its current status in HaloPSA. These levels determine how often and how deeply a project needs your attention during the rotation.

Priority	Board Statuses	What It Means
Active	Deposit Received, Order Processing, Pending Review, New	Needs immediate action. These are your revenue drivers — money is in hand or a decision is needed now.
Monitoring	With Supplier, Waiting On Deposit, Waiting On Contact	Needs regular follow-up. Something is pending externally. Your job is to keep pressure on and prevent drift.
Scheduled	Scheduled	Execution date is set. Confirm readiness as the date approaches. Light touch until then.
Stale	Paused, Not Done, Stale Scheduled	Needs a decision: close it, re-engage the client, or archive. Do not let these linger indefinitely.

Review Types

Each project on the rotation spreadsheet is assigned a review type that tells you how much time and depth to invest:

TRIAGE (15–20 min): New project. Assign a status, define scope, set a target date, and identify any procurement needs.

Quick Check (10–15 min): Scan for status changes and verify nothing is blocked. No deep investigation unless something looks off.

DEEP DIVE (30–45 min): Open the project fully. Review all notes, check procurement status, contact the client or tech if needed. Used for complex or high-value projects.

DECISION (15 min): Project has been sitting too long. Make a go/no-go call: re-engage, escalate, or close.

ESCALATE: Something is stuck beyond your control. Flag it internally, contact the supplier or client with urgency, and document next steps.

5. Two-Week Rotation Cycle

The rotation spreadsheet divides all open projects across a two-week cycle. Weeks 1 and 2 cover the highest-priority projects. Remaining Scheduled and Stale items rotate into Weeks 3–4 as needed.

Week 1: Primary rotation. Covers the most active and time-sensitive projects across all daily themes.

Week 2: Secondary rotation. Picks up remaining supplier follow-ups, client re-engagement pushes (especially Win10 EOL), and older scheduled work.

Friday Reset: At the end of each week, reassess the rotation. Move completed projects off, add new ones, reprioritize as needed. Friday is your planning anchor.

The Full Project Inventory tab in the spreadsheet lists every open project with its assigned week, day, and priority level. Use this as your master reference when building or adjusting the rotation.

6. Weekly Wrap-Up (Friday)

In addition to the Friday daily theme (board cleanup), the following tasks should be completed every Friday afternoon:

1.     Review all completed projects for invoicing readiness and confirm client sign-off.

2.     Update the rotation spreadsheet: remove completed work, add new projects, reprioritize as needed.

3.     Pre-assign Monday’s projects for the following week so you can hit the ground running.

7. Forecast & Revenue Planning

The project forecast spreadsheet provides a high-level view of expected monthly billing and upcoming revenue. It serves two purposes: making sure completed work gets invoiced on time and giving leadership visibility into next month’s projected pipeline.

Weekly Update (Fridays)

Every Friday, as part of the wrap-up, update the forecast with:

•       Projects completed this week that are ready to invoice.

•       New deposits received and their expected project completion dates.

•       Any projects that shifted timelines (pushed out or pulled in).

•       Status changes that affect billing (e.g., a project moved from Scheduled to With Supplier delays the invoice date).

Monthly Review (Last Week of Each Month)

During the last week of the month, conduct a deeper forecast review:

1.     Reconcile the forecast against actual invoices for the current month. Flag any completed projects that were not billed.

2.     Build the next month’s forecast by reviewing all Active and Monitoring projects with expected completion dates in the upcoming month.

3.     Identify revenue at risk: projects that could slip (supplier delays, client non-response, pending deposits).

4.     Summarize the forecast for leadership: expected billing total, at-risk items, and notable pipeline changes.

Think of the weekly update as keeping the numbers current, and the monthly review as stepping back to see the big picture for planning.

8. Communication & Escalation

Consistent communication is what separates a well-managed project board from a backlog. Follow these guidelines:

•       Client-facing updates should go out per the agreed communication cadence for each project. When in doubt, over-communicate.

•       Internal escalations (stuck suppliers, resource conflicts) should be flagged same-day, not saved for the weekly wrap-up.

•       Account Managers should be looped in on any client re-engagement efforts or deposit follow-ups, especially for Monitoring and Stale projects.

•       All project notes, status changes, and client communications must be logged in HaloPSA. If it’s not in HaloPSA, it didn’t happen.

 

Escalation Response Window

Escalating timing depends on the severity of the situation.

 

Immediate Escalation (ASAP)

Situations that impact business operations require immediate response: client follow up with next steps and resolution plan with Project Execution Team

 

Standard Escalation (Within 1 Business Day)

When escalation is required but not business-critical:

1. Review ticket history and project notes.
2. Determine the root issue.
3. Inform the Account Manager.
4. Document the issue in HaloPSA.
5. Establish a clear resolution plan.

Escalations should never remain unresolved without the next steps documented.

 

 

9. Key Principles

•       Consistency beats intensity. Block time daily and follow the rotation. Small daily effort prevents fires.

•       The rotation spreadsheet is your daily driver. The forecast is your monthly compass. HaloPSA is a record system.

•       Active projects are revenue in motion — never let them sit without a next action.

•       Friday is sacred. Use it to reset, plan, and make sure nothing falls through the cracks going into next week.

•       When in doubt, pick up the phone. 5-minute call beats three days of email tag.

 

10. Revenue Scheduling Targets & Performance Expectations

The Project Manager is responsible for maintaining enough scheduled work to support the company’s monthly revenue targets.

Monthly Scheduling Goal

• Minimum expected scheduled project revenue:
  $200,000 per month
• Optimal scheduling range:
  $230,000 per month

Maintaining this pipeline ensures:

• Technicians remain fully utilized
• Projects complete within forecasted billing windows
• Leadership has predictable revenue visibility

This Achieved is by:

The PM maintains this target by:

• Actively pushing Active projects toward scheduling
• Following up on Waiting on Deposit projects
• Monitoring supplier delays that may affect billing
• Ensuring scheduled projects have confirmed resources and materials

The Project Forecast Spreadsheet should reflect this pipeline and be reviewed weekly during the Friday planning cycle.

 

Things to be mindful for scheduling purposes regarding vendor lead times

 Hardware such as Servers, Specialty Workstations, and Laptops may exceed this window depending on availability of:

• CPU chips
• RAM
• Storage drives

 During the Tuesday Execution & Supplier review cycle, verify supplier ETAs and follow up on any order approaching the 4-week mark without shipment confirmation.