Adrian Wolny · Fractional CFO
You sell engineering hours. Do you know what they actually cost — and earn?
A focused 6-week financial diagnostic for custom software development firms — dev shops, consultancies, and staff-augmentation providers — generating $1M–$10M in revenue. Not an open-ended retainer.
The problem
Most dev shop founders know their bill rates, but can't say with confidence what an engineering hour actually costs once bench time, non-billable work, and overhead are priced in — or which projects quietly lost money.
The rate you collect is usually 10–20% below your rate card, fixed-fee estimates run over, and delivered work sits uninvoiced — and none of it shows up until it's already eating the bottom line.
How the engagement works
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 |
Everything produced is compiled into a single Advisory Document that builds week by week — your permanent financial reference at engagement close. An optional monthly retainer is available afterward for ongoing CFO advisory.
What you leave with
By the end of 6 weeks, you will know:
- What one hour of engineering costs you and earns you — fully loaded, by role
- Which projects made money and which lost it — and whether your fixed-fee estimates hold up
- Whether your cash is safe — including the delivered-but-unbilled work most shops never see
- What your bench really costs, and whether your problem is pricing or pipeline
- What to fix first, ranked by financial impact
Who I am
A finance professional with 10+ years in FP&A and controlling, including at an S&P 500 company — now focused 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 ↗
Contact
Direct questions or details to:
adrian@agencyprofitcompass.com