Post-calculation is the moment of truth for every agency project. Instead of relying on your gut feeling, it provides you with the answer to the decisive question in black and white: Was the job actually worth it? It compares the originally planned costs and times with the actual effort incurred, revealing where margins were lost or where your team was particularly efficient.
For agencies, this process is vital for survival. Projects often appear profitable on paper, but turn into cost guzzlers due to countless feedback loops or inefficient processes. A thorough post-calculation is therefore not a bureaucratic evil, but your most important tool for profitable growth and better quotes in the future.
Definition: What is a post-calculation?
Post-calculation (also known as actual costing or job-costing analysis) is the mathematical conclusion of a project. During this process, you compare all planned values (pre-calculation) with the real actual values. The goal is to determine the economic variance.
In agency practice, this usually means:
- Planned hours vs. actual hours: How long did the team really take?
- Planned budget vs. real budget: Were external costs (freelancers, assets) kept within limits?
- Internal hourly rate vs. realised hourly rate: Does the revenue cover the actual personnel costs plus overheads?
Why agencies waste money without post-calculation
Particularly in creative environments, teams tend to do "one more quick round" to achieve a perfect result. Without control, this enthusiasm quickly leads to projects that were calculated with a 20% margin ending up at zero or even in the red.
The benefits of consistent analysis are massive:
- Identify true profitability: You can see which clients or project types actually make money and which ones only tie up resources.
- Learning effects for the future: If you know that web design projects systematically take 30% longer than estimated, you can adjust your quotes accordingly.
- Support for negotiations: With hard data from time tracking, you can prove to clients why additional effort (e.g. due to extra requests) must be billed separately.
- Process optimisation: You identify bottlenecks or inefficient phases in project management and can take counter-measures.
How does a post-calculation work? (Step-by-step)
The basis of every calculation is data. Without the clean recording of working hours and costs, every analysis is just guesswork. With modern tools, this process is now almost automatic.
- Data collection (actual values): Your team must log their working hours against the corresponding projects and tasks. Precise time tracking is the foundation here. External costs (e.g. printing costs, server fees) must also be assigned to the project.
- Comparison with target values: You use the data from the quote or budget plan.
- Calculation of variance:
Formula: (Revenue) – (Internal personnel costs + External costs) = Contribution margin
Or more simply on an hourly basis: Logged hours × Internal cost rate vs. Project budget. - Analysis of causes: Why were there discrepancies? Were the briefings unclear? Was the team overworked? Did the client change the scope?
Automation instead of Excel chaos
In the past, post-calculation was a tedious task for the controlling department at the end of the month. Today, agency software tools handle this job in real time. In a tool like awork, for example, you can see the current status of the project budget at any time.
Features that help you with this:
- Real-time evaluations: You see immediately if a project is in danger of exceeding the budget (ongoing calculation), and not just when it is too late.
- Hourly rate management: Store internal cost rates and external billing rates to see margins displayed directly.
- Target-actual comparisons: Visual bars show you at a glance how much of the budget has been "consumed".
FAQ
When should I perform a post-calculation?
Ideally immediately after project completion, while memories of the details are still fresh. Even better is an "ongoing calculation" during the project: this allows you to intervene if things go wrong before the budget is exhausted.
What is the difference between pre-calculation and post-calculation?
Pre-calculation (quoting) is based on estimates and assumptions before the project starts. Post-calculation is based on actual facts and figures after the project is finished. Comparing both values shows the quality of your planning.
How do I handle unpredictable ("already there") costs?
Costs for internal organisation, coffee breaks, or business development are difficult to assign directly to a client project. These overheads should be included in the calculation via a markup on your internal hourly rate, so that your projects ultimately also finance the agency's operations.
What do I do if the post-calculation is negative?
Don't panic, but: learn from it! Was the quote too low? Did the team work inefficiently? Or did the client blow the scope? Use this knowledge for the next work breakdown structure template or the next quote.
[.no-toc]Conclusion[.no-toc]
Post-calculation is not an instrument for punishing the team, but the key to a healthy agency. It transforms projects from "hopefully the budget is enough" into predictable successes. Those who know their numbers can negotiate more confidently, plan better, and work more relaxed. Start by consistently tracking your time – the rest is simple mathematics that pays off immediately.
