01 · The problem
What problem does it solve?
A 45-person digital agency runs 18 projects at once — fixed-price builds, retainers and hourly work. Hours are logged in a spreadsheet on Fridays, if at all, and budgets live in the proposal.
Projects are reviewed at the end: the website build that “went fine” used 40% more hours than quoted, and the SEO retainer has been over its hours for three months.
Silent overruns
Found when the project closes.
Missing hours
Timesheets filled from memory on Friday.
Unbilled scope
Extra work done without a change request.
Report time
Managers build client reports by hand.