Agency Profit Compass
For software development firms · $1M–$10M revenueKnow where your dev shop's profit is going.
You know your bill rates. The harder number is what an engineering hour really costs after bench time, non-billable work, overhead, and project overruns.
- See your fully-loaded cost per engineering hour.
- Find the projects and work that are quietly eroding margin.
- Leave with a ranked list of what to fix first.
What the numbers say
Most small dev shops run closer to a loss than they think.
I analyzed the public 2025 financial statements of 57 software development firms with roughly 10–50 people — filed in Poland, one of the few places where private companies must publish their full accounts.
Want to see where your firm sits? Send your 4 numbers ↓
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Free first step
Start with 4 numbers — 10 minutes, no data sharing
Reply with four numbers — rough guesses are fine:
- Engineering headcount
- Approximate annual engineering payroll
- Average client billing rate
- Billable utilization
Within a day or two you get back your estimated loaded cost per hour, your margin per billed hour, and how it compares to similar-sized firms.
No P&L, no client data, no sales call.
Button not opening your email? Write to adrian@agencyprofitcompass.com with the subject "My 4 numbers".
Want exact numbers instead of an estimate?
Send a raw 90-day export from your time-tracking tool (Harvest, Toggl, Clockify, Jira/Tempo, anything) and your P&L for the last 12 months. Within 48 hours: your exact fully-loaded cost per engineering hour, and how your hours split between billable and non-billable work.
Project-level margin and realized rate vs. rate card are part of the paid Two-week Profit Diagnostic.
Your data stays confidential and is deleted after delivery unless we continue.
Why this matters
The rate card is not the economics of the business.
Most dev shop founders know what they charge. Fewer can say with confidence what each engineering hour costs after bench time, non-billable work, and overhead are allocated — or which projects quietly destroyed margin.
That is where small leaks become expensive: under-scoped fixed-fee work, unbilled delivery, low utilization, and a gap between the rate card and what you actually realize.
What happens next
Start small. Continue only when the numbers justify it.
There are three ways in, and you should use the smallest one that answers your question.
- 4 numbers — freeAn estimate of your loaded cost per hour and margin per billed hour, back within a day or two. Start here ↑
- Two-week Profit Diagnostic — $3,200Margin baseline, project economics, cash exposure, and the highest-impact issues — before committing to more.
- 6-Week Financial Diagnostic — $9,800The full repair: pricing, utilization, estimates, a 12-month forecast and a KPI scorecard.
The 6-week engagement
A defined diagnostic, not an open-ended retainer.
Six weekly one-hour calls, each covering a defined area of your firm's finances, built from your own time-tracking and invoicing data.
| Week 1 | Profit diagnostic and margin baseline — loaded cost, effective rate, margin by project |
| Week 2 | Cash flow, unbilled work, and client concentration risk |
| Week 3 | Cost reduction — cloud, licenses, and overhead audit |
| Week 4 | Utilization, bench cost, and capacity |
| Week 5 | Pricing, estimation accuracy, and client portfolio |
| Week 6 | 12-month financial forecast and KPI scorecard |
Calls are scheduled between 12 and 4 pm ET (9 am – 1 pm PT), one hour per week, at a fixed weekly slot. Clients: pick your weekly slot ↗
All six calls complete within nine weeks of the Week 1 call. Pre-work is due five business days before Week 1. Support between calls is minimal by design — the work happens on the call and in the Advisory Document.
Everything produced is compiled into a single Advisory Document that builds week by week — your permanent financial reference at engagement close. An optional monthly CFO advisory is available afterward.
What you leave with
Two weeks — what's true.
- What one hour of engineering costs you and earns you, fully loaded
- Which projects made money and which lost it
- Your top three profit leaks, sized in dollars
Six weeks — what to change.
- The rate each role has to earn to hit target margin, against what you charge today
- Whether your fixed-fee estimates hold up — and what the misses cost you
- A 12-month forecast and the KPI scorecard your team can maintain
The diagnostic is a photograph. The six weeks is the repair.
This is analysis and decisions — not bookkeeping, tax, or accounting. Your accountant stays your accountant. Project-level analysis covers the top 80% of revenue or your ten largest projects, whichever is fewer, with the remainder analyzed as one aggregate. Client-level analysis covers every client above 5% of revenue.
Investment
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Two-week Profit Diagnostic Best starting point$3,200
Weeks 1–2 only, delivered as two one-hour calls. The full $3,200 is credited toward the six-week program if you continue within 30 days — bringing the remaining fee to $6,600.
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6-Week Financial Diagnostic$9,800
Fixed fee, paid upfront. Six weekly calls plus the cumulative Advisory Document, financial forecast, and KPI scorecard. Non-refundable once the Week 1 call has taken place.
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Optional monthly advisory after the program$3,000/month
One call per month, forecast refreshed with your latest actuals. Cancel anytime with 30 days' notice.
Questions founders usually have
What exactly do I have to send?
For the free estimate: just four numbers — engineering headcount, approximate annual engineering payroll, average billing rate, and billable utilization. Rough guesses are fine.
For exact numbers instead: a raw export from your time-tracking system covering the last 90 days, and your P&L for the last 12 months. Export files are enough — you never need to provide login credentials.
For a paid engagement, two more items are needed before Week 1: a compensation summary by delivery role (no names required) and your most recent bank balance with approximate monthly operating expenses. These are what make cost-per-hour by role and the cash runway screen possible. All four items are due five business days before the Week 1 call.
Do we need a call before the free estimate?
No. The first step is intentionally async. Send the four numbers and you get your estimate back within a day or two — or send the files and get exact numbers within 48 hours.
What happens to our data?
Your data stays confidential and is deleted after delivery unless we continue working together.
Is this accounting or bookkeeping?
No. The engagement focuses on financial analysis, economics, forecasting, and decisions. Your accountant remains your accountant.
What if I am not ready for the full six weeks?
Start with the two-week Profit Diagnostic. Its $3,200 fee is fully credited toward the full program if you continue within 30 days.
Who I am
11 years in financial planning, analysis and controlling at multinational corporations — now focused entirely on the economics of billable engineering time at software development firms in the $1M–$10M range.
Certified by the Association of Chief Financial Officers. Verify badge ↗ · Verify certificate ↗
Take the first step
See your cost per engineering hour before we talk about anything else.
Reply with four numbers. You'll get your estimated loaded cost per hour back within a day or two.
Four numbers. 10 minutes. No data sharing. Free.