Can I use it for retainers?

Yes. Treat a month as the project, the retainer as the fee, and track the hours delivered against the hours sold.

Should I include non-billable time?

Only the non-billable time caused by this project, the extra status call, the unplanned workshop. General overhead belongs elsewhere.

Does this work in Excel and Google Sheets?

Both. Google Sheets: File > Import, or open and make a copy. Excel 365: open it directly. No macros, no add-ons, nothing to install.

Should I measure margin against the estimate or the actual?

Always the actual. Measuring against the estimate tells you how good your forecast was, which is useful, but it is not profit.

I'm not confident with spreadsheets. Will I manage?

Yes. The white cells are the only ones you touch. The Quick-Start Guide has your first real number on screen in about five minutes, and if you get stuck, message me.

Home → Tools → Agency Project Profitability Tracker

Agency Project Profitability Tracker

The retainer renewed, the team stayed busy, and nobody can say which projects made money.

Compare what a project was scoped at against what it actually cost in hours, and find where the fee went.

$49 USD · one-time

Buy on Etsy · $49Gumroad coming soon

Instant download · Excel & Google Sheets · works on Mac and Windows · on Etsy today, Gumroad soon

Agency Project Profitability Tracker dashboard

Who it's for

Made for the way you actually work.

Agency owners pricing next quarter off what projects really cost
Studios whose scope grows while the fee stands still
Freelancers running several clients and one blurred margin
Teams billing hours nobody reconciles against the quote

What's included

Everything in one file.

Dashboard: True margin, variance and cumulative profit. Read-only.
Start Here: Five steps from opening the file to a real number on screen.
Project Costing: Where you close out one job. The main working sheet.
Project Log: Every job you have closed, and cumulative profit across them.
Settings: Your target margin and the cost categories you track.
Instructions: What each sheet does, and what to do if a number looks off.
About: Version, license and support.
PDF Quick-Start Guide: two pages, first result in five minutes

How it works

Three steps to a number you trust.

Open Settings. Set the margin a project is supposed to earn, and edit the cost categories to match how you break one down.
Open Project Costing. Name the project, enter the Fee value excluding tax, and the date it completed.
Enter your estimate for each category, the numbers you worked from before you started.

A look inside

The screens you'll be working in.

List of the eight sheets in the agency project profitability tracker

Project Costing sheet comparing estimated and actual cost by line

Project Log sheet with every shipped project and cumulative profit

Settings sheet with target margin and cost categories

Three steps: enter the estimate, enter the actuals, read the margin

Compatibility: works in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel 365

Questions

Good to know.

Can I use it for retainers?: Yes. Treat a month as the project, the retainer as the fee, and track the hours delivered against the hours sold.
Should I include non-billable time?: Only the non-billable time caused by this project, the extra status call, the unplanned workshop. General overhead belongs elsewhere.
Does this work in Excel and Google Sheets?: Both. Google Sheets: File > Import, or open and make a copy. Excel 365: open it directly. No macros, no add-ons, nothing to install.
Should I measure margin against the estimate or the actual?: Always the actual. Measuring against the estimate tells you how good your forecast was, which is useful, but it is not profit.
I'm not confident with spreadsheets. Will I manage?: Yes. The white cells are the only ones you touch. The Quick-Start Guide has your first real number on screen in about five minutes, and if you get stuck, message me.

One mispriced job costs more than this.

$49 once, and it's yours to keep. It pays for itself the first time it stops you underpricing a job or leaving margin on the table. No subscription, no login, just a file that does the maths.

Buy on Etsy · $49Gumroad coming soon

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