Free tool
Agency margin calculator.
Four numbers tell you if a retainer is healthy: the fee, the budgeted hours, the hours actually logged, and the hours actually billed. This calculator runs the same math LoomDeck's margin autopsy uses, benchmarked against published agency-profitability research.
Frequently asked
What is a healthy agency profit margin?
Published agency-profitability research (Parakeeto, Swydo, and TMetric's benchmark studies) puts healthy delivery margin at 50-60% at the P&L level, with individual projects often running higher. Below 50% is treated as a pricing or scoping problem; below 40% is a structural danger line.
How do I calculate my agency's margin on a retainer?
Delivery margin = (retainer fee − cost of hours actually delivered) ÷ retainer fee. Cost of hours delivered is your blended billable rate multiplied by hours logged, not hours billed, since unbilled scope-creep work still costs delivery time even when it never reaches an invoice.
Why is unbilled hours different from budget overrun?
Overrun is logged hours exceeding the budgeted hours in the retainer. Unbilled hours is a separate gap between what got logged and what actually made it onto an invoice. Ignition's 2025 Agency and Cash Flow Report found 78% of agencies rarely or never bill for scope-creep work, so the two numbers usually diverge.
This calculator is a snapshot. LoomDeck's margin autopsy connects to your real HubSpot, ClickUp, and Xero data and finds every leak automatically, plus a full source list at /benchmarks.