Finance for agencies where a busy month can still lose money
Client and project profitability after every hour and pass-through, billable utilization your team actually hits, retainers recognized the right way, and contractors plus staff paid from one place - one AI finance operating system.
Why agency profit hides between the lines
An agency sells its people’s time and marks up other people’s costs. Whether it made money this month depends on how much of that time was billable, whether retainers were actually earned or just invoiced, and how much media and freelance spend passed straight through at little or no margin.
- Client and project profitability: a marquee logo can quietly run at a loss once every hour and revision is counted.
- Billable utilization: a few points of billable percentage swing agency profit more than any overhead cut.
- Retainer vs project revenue: a retainer earned monthly and a fixed-fee project earned on delivery recognize differently.
- Pass-through costs: media buys and freelancers inflate revenue but carry little margin, distorting the top line.
- Blended pay: W-2 staff and 1099 contractors must both flow to the right project cost.
How Fintra maps to an agency
- AI accounting keeps client- and project-dimensional books, so every hour, freelancer invoice, and media buy rolls up to project margin.
- Revenue recognition handles retainers ratably and fixed-fee projects on delivery under ASC 606, keeping recognized revenue honest.
- Pass-through costs are tagged so net revenue - fees you actually keep - is reported alongside gross billings.
- Payroll runs W-2 staff on a verified tax engine, while bill pay handles 1099 contractor payments coded to the same projects.
What a clean close should tell an agency owner
- Profit by client and by project after all labor and pass-throughs
- Billable utilization per person and per team against target
- Retainer revenue earned this period versus simply invoiced
- Net revenue after pass-through media and freelance spend
A worked utilization and net-revenue example
Billable fee revenue
Capacity × utilization × rate = 30,000 × 65% × $175 = $3,412,500
Illustrative example: at this size one point of utilization is worth about $52,500 a year (30,000 × 1% × $175), which is why Fintra tracks it as a financial metric, not an HR stat.
Time-tracker plus spreadsheets vs Fintra
| Workflow | Spreadsheets + generic tools | Fintra |
|---|---|---|
| Project profit | Known after the project wraps, if ever | Live budget-vs-actual per client and project |
| Utilization | Timesheet exports summarized quarterly | Tracked continuously against target by person and team |
| Retainer revenue | Booked when invoiced, not when earned | Recognized ratably under ASC 606 |
| Pass-through spend | Inflates revenue with no margin flag | Tagged so net revenue is reported separately |
| Contractor pay | A second system, re-keyed to projects | Bill pay coded to the same project as the work |
Getting started
From a profitability guess to project-level truth
- 1
Import clients and projects
Load active engagements, rate cards, retainers, and budgets.
- 2
Connect time and spend
Hours, media buys, and freelancer invoices flow to project-dimensional books.
- 3
Close on real margin
Your first close shows profit by client and project, plus net revenue after pass-throughs.
Frequently asked questions
Can Fintra show profitability by client and by project?
Yes. Every hour, freelancer invoice, and media buy carries a client and project dimension, so each engagement has a live budget-vs-actual view - fees earned against labor and pass-through cost. A marquee client running at a loss shows up while you can still renegotiate scope, not in a year-end retrospective.
How does Fintra handle retainer versus project revenue?
Retainers are recognized ratably across the service period and fixed-fee projects on delivery or percent complete, under ASC 606 - so recognized revenue reflects work earned, not just invoices sent. That keeps a prepaid annual retainer from overstating the month it was billed and understating the months it was actually worked.
Does Fintra separate pass-through media and freelance costs?
Yes. Pass-through spend like media buys and freelance production is tagged, so Fintra reports net revenue - the fees you actually keep - next to gross billings. That stops a big low-margin media pass-through from making a thin fee month look like a strong one on the top line.
Can Fintra pay both employees and 1099 contractors?
Fintra runs W-2 staff through payroll on a verified tax engine, while bill pay handles 1099 contractor and freelancer payments - both coded to the same projects as the work. You get blended project cost without reconciling a payroll system against a separate contractor-payment tool by hand.
What utilization reporting does Fintra give an agency?
Billable and total hours are tracked per person against capacity and target, rolled up by team and agency-wide. Because utilization ties to the revenue model - at a 15-person shop and a $175 rate, a point is worth roughly $52,500 a year - Fintra surfaces it as a first-class financial number that predicts the month before the close does.
Stay in the loop
One practical finance briefing a week - new guides, checklists, and benchmarks.
Know which clients actually make money
Fintra is free to start, no card required. Import your engagements and see project profitability plus net revenue in your first close.
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