Built for agency operators
The Numbers Behind Every Profitable Agency Decision
Agencies fail on pricing, scope, utilization, and client economics — rarely on the work itself. These calculators give you the decision math before the proposal goes out, before the hire is made, and before the discount is agreed to.
The six calculations every agency should run weekly
Enter direct service costs and project revenue. Get gross margin, profit per engagement, and a benchmark against healthy agency margins — before the proposal goes out.
Enter billable and total hours for your team. Get utilization rate, effective realized rate, and flags for under- or over-capacity before it shows up in team health surveys.
Enter acquisition cost and client lifetime value. Get your LTV:CAC ratio and a benchmark — the core metric for knowing whether your sales and marketing spend is sustainable.
Enter leads, win rate, average deal size, and sales cycle length. Get the revenue velocity your pipeline actually produces — and the gap to your monthly target.
Model the billable revenue threshold at which a new hire pays for themselves. Prevents premature hiring and catches over-delayed hiring that leaves revenue on the table.
Enter monthly burn and current cash balance. Get months of runway — essential before a slow sales month, a client churn, or a team expansion decision.
The agency math problem most principals discover too late
Agency revenue is a vanity metric. A $500K/year agency running at 55% utilization and 40% gross margin is generating $200K in gross profit — from which salaries, software, rent, and principal time must still be paid. The average profitable agency targets 65%+ utilization and 55%+ gross margin simultaneously.
Gross margin = (Revenue − Direct delivery costs) ÷ RevenueUtilization = Billable hours ÷ Total available hoursLTV:CAC ratio = Client LTV ÷ Client acquisition cost
An LTV:CAC ratio below 3:1 means growth is destroying margin. The CAC/LTV calculator gives you the ratio in under a minute from your average retainer and acquisition spend.
Clear Margins Agency plan — built for client-facing work
Agency plan includes
- Saved decision history per client — assumptions never disappear between reviews
- Branded PDF exports with your agency name and accent color
- Explain-to-client mode — rewrites results in jargon-free language your client can act on
- Shareable read-only scenario links for client-facing presentations
- All Pro features plus multi-client workspace organization
Free tier gives you
- All 13 calculators with no account required
- Plain-English result benchmarks on every calculation
- Immediate access — no setup, no integration, no onboarding
- Browser-local results for quick checks before a call
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate margin on a retainer vs. a project?
For retainers: (monthly retainer revenue − monthly direct delivery costs) ÷ monthly retainer revenue. Direct costs include allocated team hours at their loaded cost rate, any subcontractors, and project-specific tools. The margin calculator handles both when you enter the right cost figure for each engagement type.
What is a good LTV:CAC ratio for an agency?
A 3:1 LTV:CAC ratio is the standard minimum — meaning every client generates three times what it cost to acquire them. Agencies with strong referral pipelines often run 5:1 or higher. Below 3:1 usually means acquisition costs are too high or average client tenure is too short.
Can I use the Agency plan for client-facing deliverables?
Yes — that is what it is designed for. The Agency plan includes branded PDF exports, explain-to-client mode, and shareable read-only scenario links so you can present margin analysis, ROAS checks, or runway projections directly to clients with your agency name on the output.
Check your service margin before the next proposal goes out.
Open Margin Calculator →See Agency Plan