Services case study
Retainers, projects and margin per client on one Odoo system
A marketing and creative agency was busy on every client but could not see which ones made money. Odoo now shows margin per client.
- Per clientLive margin visibilityNot stated in source · Delivery report
- FewerWrite-offsNot stated in source · Delivery report
- ScopeCreep caught earlyNot stated in source · Delivery report
- 7 wkFrom kickoff to liveProject duration · Delivery report
The challenge
Busy on every client, but margin unknown
The agency ran retainers and one-off projects across many clients.Time was tracked loosely, scope crept without anyone noticing, and nobody could say which clients made money until the accounts closed. Some retainers quietly ran at a loss for months.
- Time tracked loosely, so effort per client was unclear.
- Scope crept on retainers without a check.
- Margin per client was known only at year end.
- Write-offs were common and unexplained.
The solution
One Odoo system for retainers, projects and time
We set up Odoo so retainers and projects carry their budget, time is logged against them, and margin per client and project is visible as the month runs, not after it.- Retainers and projects with budgets.
- Time logged against client work.
- Live margin per client and per project.
- Alerts when a retainer runs over its hours.
How we delivered
Made time logging painless for creatives
Creative teams resist heavy timesheets, so we kept logging to a few seconds and tied it to the work they were already tracking.We piloted with two client teams, tuned the retainer setup, then rolled it to the agency.
Go-live took seven weeks.
The outcome
Margin in view and fewer write-offs
The agency now sees margin per client and project while there is still time to act, so over-serviced retainers are caught and re-scoped.Write-offs fell, and the conversations with clients about scope are backed by real numbers.
We were busy on every client but had no idea which ones made money. Now I see margin per client during the month, and we re-scope a retainer before it runs at a loss, not after. Agency Director, Creative Agency
Related service
OdooRelated
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