Situations we resolve
The team is swamped, and at year-end almost nothing is left.
Being busy isn't the same as being profitable. When you can't see which project pays and which drains, effort grows and profit doesn't. Here's how we'd work that situation, step by step.
This is an illustrative scenario: it represents the kind of problem an owner brings us and how we'd approach it. It does not describe a real client or guarantee results.
“We're swamped, the team never stops — and at year-end almost nothing is left. We charge by project, but I never know whether a project made money or cost me. I say yes to almost everything so I don't lose the client.”
The kind of owner who comes to us — an illustrative voice, not a real client.
Three questions we ask before proposing anything.
There's no formula for profitability. There are three answers worth sorting out first.
Do you know how many real hours each project takes, compared with what you charged for it?
How many of your clients consume more of the team's time than they actually pay for?
If your biggest client left tomorrow, how much of your profit — not your revenue — would leave with them?
Three clients brought in 58% of revenue and barely 19% of profit. The most expensive team was assigned to the accounts that paid the least — and one in three projects was delivered below cost, with no one seeing it.
Where we'd put a hand on the helm.
A few decisions, well chosen. Each one measured in a single number.
Measure real hours per project
We surfaced the true hours against what was billed. The real profitability of each project emerged, ranging from −7% to +24% depending on the account.
Price for value, not loose hours
We redesigned how we quote the services where price didn't reflect the work. Margin per project rose without adding more hours to the team.
Reorder the client portfolio
We focused the best team on the accounts that do pay, and renegotiated or let go of those that drained time without paying for it. Three accounts changed terms.
Five numbers every Monday
Instead of discovering the result only at year-end, the owner receives the handful of figures they can actually steer the week by — and a call when something is worth correcting in time.
We don't arrive with a profitability formula or a branded method. We start by understanding your practice from the inside — where the team's time goes, which client pays what they cost, which project pays and which drains — and translate that into the few decisions that change the year's result.
You stay in command; we put an experienced hand on the helm and give you back numbers you can steer the business by, not just watch it. In complete discretion, and at a fraction of the cost of a full-time finance director.
Does your company recognize itself in this situation?
Let's talk about yours. The first conversation is to understand, not to sell.