Media Orders

Generate and coordinate Cost Estimates, Purchase Orders, and Insertion Orders in a streamlined flow

Aydin Ismailov avatar
Written by Aydin Ismailov
Updated over a week ago

Introduction

With Mediatool's Media Orders function you can generate and send Cost Estimates (CEs) and Insertion Orders (IOs) directly from a media plan.

Simply format your document, select the relevant media and relevant fields, generate a PDF, and then send it to the client or publisher without ever having to leave the system. Also, Agency users can track approvals as their clients respond to CEs with the relevant Purchase Order (PO).

Continue reading to learn how!


Before You Get Started

Enable the plugin

For the Media Orders feature to appear in your account, it needs to be enabled by an Admin-level user. The Admin will be able to do so by navigating to Settings > Plugins and then toggling it on.

Set the General Terms and Conditions

Before getting started, we recommend that an Admin-level user sets the general terms and conditions in the Settings > Media orders.

To save users time, these general terms and conditions will be included by default on all future IOs and CEs. However, they can be edited later on a document-by-document basis, as needed.


Creating an IO or CE: Step-by-Step

To generate a new IO or CE, head to the sheet view of a particular plan and select the drop-down button labelled "Create order", which will then give you the option of creating an IO or CE.

After selecting either option, provide your IO or CE with a name and select which media types will be relevant to include.

This will then bring you to the configuration page where you will be able to customize.

Step 1: Select Data

When selecting what data to include in your CE or IO, you are presented with two functions: fields and filters.

Fields are located on the right side and include all the possible Number, Text, and Date fields that exist within your Mediatool account. Simply click on the fields in the order you'd like them to appear in your CE or IO. Save time finding fields by typing relevant field names into the Filter list... option at the top.

Filters are located above the generated preview of your CE or IO (highlighted in blue) and include all the Tag options that exist within your Mediatool account. You'll notice that the relevant plan and media types will already be selected. You can add additional filters which will limit your CE or IO to only the line items that contain that particular tag.

As you edit the fields and filters, a preview of your CE or IO will help keep you on track. Please note that the max number of fields that can fit on one page is 12.

When you are happy with the data included in your document, you can proceed to Step 2: Add Information.

Step 2: Add Information

In this section, you will be able to further customize your document to ensure that it includes all of the relevant information that your recipient will be looking for.

If you'd like to edit the name of the document as it exists in Mediatool, you can do so by clicking the cogwheel icon next to the given name of the Cost Estimate at the top left corner.

Your document will automatically be provided with a creation date and a unique 16-digit ID so that you can easily identify it in the future.

Your organization or agency logo will be included by default but you can also choose to not use a logo.

In the following sections, you have free text fields where you can enter relevant details on the Sender, Recipient, Order Information, Noted, and Contract.

The General Terms & Conditions set by your account administrator will automatically display at the bottom of the document. However, you are able to click on this section, if you'd like to edit it in any way.

Before saving your changes, generating a PDF, and moving onto Step 3, consider saving the details included in your CE or IO as a template for future use.

Creating Templates

Understandably, you're going to be sending CEs or IOs to the same client or publisher on a regular basis. So, save time by saving your document details as a template.

You can do so by clicking on the create template button, located at the bottom right of the Step 2 page, next to Generate PDF.

In the future, you will be able to search, select, and load previously saved templates in the top right dropdown menu, titled Load template.

Generate & Download PDF

When you are happy with the data and information included in your document, click save changes. Once your changes have been saved, you'll be able to generate a PDF version of your document.

You'll be able to download or send this PDF in Step 3.

Step 3: Send or Download

Finally, in Step 3, you can select your recipient's email address and write a personalized message to accompany your email.

Include screenshots of what the email looks like and its components.

If you do not want to email the CE or IO directly from Mediatool, you are able to download the PDF from this page.


Managing the Media Orders Section

Now that we've covered the steps to generate and send a CE or IO, it's time to review how all these documents are organized within the Media Order section.

All previously generated documents and templates can be viewed in the Media Order section under the Organization section, accessible from any page on the left-hand menu. To switch between documents and templates, simply click on the toggle button at the top right corner.

To find a particular template or document, simply search using the filter at the top left corner. The document name, sender, and recipient are all searchable fields.

Click on the IO or CE will bring you back to the 3-step process we outlined in this article, where you can make further edits and adjustments.

When hovering over a particular document, you'll be presented with four possible actions:

  • Add a purchase order (only for CEs)

  • See history

  • View generated PDF

  • Delete

Document Status

There are 4 shared statuses for the IO and CE:

  • Working: the document has been altered without the PDF being generated

  • Generating: the pdf is being generated

  • Generated: the pdf has been generated

  • Sent: the document has been sent to a recipient via Mediatool

There is another status that is reserved only for CEs:

  • Approved: the PO has been uploaded to the CE


Get Support

Have questions or need help? You can reach us directly via the messenger on Mediatool.com or the contact support button located in the top right corner of the Mediatool App.

Learn More

Not a Mediatool user but interested in learning more? Book a demo with the Mediatool team today and start being more productive with your marketing.

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