Results
Four engagements, written up without names, and the numbers we can substantiate
4 engagements
- Four engagements written up in full
- No client named
Percentages, multiples and timeframes only, and no client named. No client revenue figures either, because those are theirs and not ours to publish.
Every number here traces to a monthly close we performed, a report we built, or a recorded conversation with the owner. Every quote comes from a transcript, with filler removed and nothing reworded.
Three of these are unambiguously good. One is a turnaround still in progress, and that page says so in the owner's own words rather than waiting for a better quarter.
-
A creative agency grew revenue 22% while team cost grew 13%
Revenue up 22% in eight months, team cost up only 13%, net income three times the prior year period, and receivable days back to normal inside a month.
- +22%
- 3x
- +13% vs +22%
-
Revenue up 36% and contractor cost down 38% at a video agency
Margins the owner called razor thin, three modelled scenarios, and a 38% month-over-month cut in contractor cost. Honest caveat: the turn is not finished yet.
- +36%
- -38%
- 3
-
A forecast that held for a full quarter, on flat revenue
Revenue roughly flat year over year, profitability up, and a forecast that came in nearly identical to actuals for a full quarter.
- 3 months
- -3 pts
- Flat
-
Receivable days from 18 to 5, and margin visible per project
A weekly reporting rhythm, a written follow-up process for late invoices, and per-project margin built from tracked time rather than estimates.
- 18 to 5
- 3,736 hours
Want the version of this that has your name on it?
Bring last month's P&L. Thirty minutes tells you which of these four you most look like.
How these pages are written: the five rules
- No client is named. Every engagement here is anonymised. The numbers, the reports and the quotes are real and traceable to a close we performed or a recorded call; the company names are not published. Putting a client's financial story on the internet under their own name is the client's call.
- No client dollar figures. Percentages, multiples, hours, counts and timeframes only. A client's revenue and cash position are theirs.
- Quotes are real or absent. Every quote comes from a meeting transcript, with filler words removed and an ellipsis where anything was cut. Nothing was reworded, and nothing was invented. Where a client's words were only paraphrased in our notes, the page summarises in third person rather than inventing a quote.
- No third-party names. Our clients' clients, staff and contractors stay out of it too.
- The parts that have not worked are on the page. One of these four is a turnaround still in progress. It is written up as one, in the owner's own words, rather than held back until a better quarter makes it read cleanly.
What these four have in common
The same
- Marketing, creative or video agencies
- QuickBooks Online as the system of record
- A Fathom dashboard on top of it
- A close on a date they can plan around
Different
- Cadence: weekly reporting, or a monthly close
- Depth: per-project margin, or quarterly forecasting
- That difference is the tier
The tiers are priced on the pricing page. If you want the frameworks behind all of this first, the Agency Financial OS is free and covers the benchmarks these engagements are measured against.
Questions
The ones people actually ask on the first call
Why are there no client revenue figures on these pages?
Because they belong to the client. Percentages, multiples, hours, counts and timeframes tell you whether something worked without publishing a private company's revenue, profit or cash position.
Why are the clients not named?
Because the story on each page is a financial story. An owner can clear the use of their name and still not want their margin history indexed under it for a decade. The numbers and the reports are the same either way, so anonymising costs you nothing as a reader.
Are these the only clients you have?
No. These are the four engagements with enough documented material to write up honestly. Several other agencies appear nowhere on the site by choice.
Are the quotes edited?
Filler removed, never reworded. We cut the "ums" and the false starts every recorded conversation has, and an ellipsis marks anywhere a phrase was dropped. The words are the client's. Where we only have a paraphrase in our notes, the page summarises in third person rather than inventing a quote.
How long before an engagement shows results like these?
The audit month produces the diagnosis and the 90-day plan. The margin numbers on these pages accumulated over quarters. The one that moved fastest was receivable days: 13 days better inside a single month, once a weekly report and a written follow-up rule existed.
Next step
Thirty minutes, and you'll know where you stand
Bring last month's P&L. We'll tell you what it's actually saying about your margin, your owner pay and your next hire. If we're not the right people to fix it, we'll say so on the call.
You bring
Last month's P&L. That's it. No prep, no forms.
We do
Read it live and tell you what it says about margin, owner pay and your next hire.
You leave with
The two or three things worth fixing first, whether or not you hire us.
No deck, no pitch. If we're not the right people for it, we'll say so on the call.