Guides for studios that want to keep their margin
Margin, planning and time tracking for studios of 10 to 50 people, written for the person who runs Monday.
Agency retainer profitability: how to keep a monthly retainer in the black
Retainers feel safe until the hours creep. How to define the scope, track burn each month, check margin and review an agency retainer before it starts costing you.
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How to plan the studio week in 30 minutes
A 30 minute Monday routine for weekly capacity planning in an agency: check the edges, place the work, find clashes, glance at margin and share the plan.
Resource planning for creative agencies: a practical guide
Agency resource planning without the guesswork: list the work, find real capacity, match skills, view the whole studio and review weekly. A guide for studios of 10 to 50 people.
Time tracking for creative agencies: what to track and how to make it stick
Time tracking for creative agencies: what to track, why timesheets matter for margin, why people skip them and how to build a habit your team will keep.
Billable utilisation vs margin: why a full schedule can still lose money
Billable utilisation shows how busy a team is. Margin shows whether the work paid. The utilisation rate formula, how it differs from margin, and how to read both.
Cost rate vs bill rate: what each one tells a studio
Cost rate is what an hour costs you. Bill rate is what the client pays. How to work out both for your studio, with an example, and why margin needs the first one.
Fixed-fee project profitability: where margin leaks and how to catch it early
Fixed fees reward tight scoping and punish drift. Where margin leaks on a fixed-fee project, the weekly check that catches it, and how to talk to the client about scope.
How to calculate project margin in a creative studio
A plain method for working out project margin in a creative studio: the fee, cost rates, logged hours and a forecast you can act on before the invoice goes out.