Why do agencies go over budget so often?
Creative work jumps from client to client. A banner in five sizes, copy that needs a tweak, a client who calls for a minute. Each task is small, and those minutes disappear from your timesheet—and your margin.
The biggest leak is usually revisions. The third round of feedback takes twenty minutes, so does the fourth. Together, that’s half a day you never quoted for. Without tracking, you only notice when the project is already losing money.
A project looks on budget—until the revisions start. If you track each round, you’ll see the overrun coming and can talk to the client before it happens.
How should you organize clients, projects, and activities?
For each client, create a project for each campaign, website, or job, with an hourly budget that matches your quote. For retainers, set up a project per month or quarter, using the agreed hours as the budget. That way, you’ll see if the retainer fits each period.
Activities describe the type of work: concept, design, copy, development, campaign management, meetings, revisions, extra work. Keep the list short and consistent across clients, so you can compare projects.
| Level | Example | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Client | Baker's Bikes | Invoicing and overview by client |
| Project | Spring campaign 2026 (60 h), Retainer Oct 2026 (16 h) | Budget per job or period |
| Activity | Concept, Design, Copy, Meetings, Revisions, Extra work | Where time goes, rate, billable |
What billing models are there, and how do they affect your hours?
Agencies usually mix a few models. You track hours for all of them, but the hours play different roles: sometimes as invoice lines, sometimes just to check if the price holds up. More on that in Billable hours.
| Model | How it works | What the hours do |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | You invoice the hours worked | Become invoice lines |
| Fixed project price | Agreed amount for a defined job | Show if the price holds; extra work tracked separately |
| Retainer | Fixed monthly fee for a set number of hours or tasks | Show if the retainer matches the work |
How do you keep revision rounds and scope creep visible?
Spell out in your quote how many revision rounds are included—two, for example. Log each round under the ‘Revisions’ activity. The report will show how much time they really take, so you can have a fact-based conversation when round four comes up.
Work outside the agreed scope goes on a separate, billable ‘Extra work’ activity. That keeps the project budget clean and the extra work ready to invoice—if the client agreed to it up front.
- Put the hourly budget and number of revision rounds in your quote.
- Set that budget on the project.
- Log revisions and extra work as separate activities.
- Check each week how much of the budget is used.
- When the budget’s nearly gone, talk to the client before continuing.
Do calls and meetings count too?
Yes. A kickoff, a feedback call, or a quick check-in with the client is all project work. Short calls are especially easy to lose track of, since they fall between other tasks.
Log meetings under a ‘Meetings’ activity for the right project. Whether you bill them depends on your agreement: usually yes for hourly billing, while for fixed-price projects they’re part of the budget. Internal meetings go under your own agency as a client, non-billable.
What should you watch out for?
Agencies tend to hit the same pitfalls:
- Only checking the budget at invoice time. By then it’s too late to adjust. Check weekly.
- Everything under one ‘Design’ activity. Then you never see how much time goes to revisions or meetings.
- Extra work without agreement. It’s hard to invoice if the client didn’t approve it first.
- Using hours to monitor people. Hours are for managing projects and pricing. The difference is explained in Productivity without surveillance.
How Half5 does it
In Half5, every project belongs to a client and can have an hourly budget. The project shows the budgeted hours, percent of budget used, logged hours and billable amount, and a percentage over budget if you go over. The project health report compares projects side by side. You create activities like ‘Revisions’ or ‘Extra work’ yourself, set them as ‘Billable’ or ‘Non-billable’, and can give them their own rate. Budgets are always in hours, not dollars.
The timeline tracks your day on your own device (programs and windows, websites via the browser extension, meetings from your connected Google or Outlook calendar) and prepares ‘Suggestions’. Your agency only sees the hours you log.
Approved hours become draft invoices for Moneybird, WeFact, or Exact Online using ‘Create draft invoices from report’. With e-Boekhouden, the draft stays in Half5 until you choose ‘Finalize’. Draft invoices are built from hours; a fixed retainer fee is invoiced from your accounting software.
Frequently asked questions
How do you track time for a retainer?
Set up a project for each month or quarter, using the agreed hours as the budget. That way, you can see if the work fits the retainer each period.
Should revision rounds be tracked separately?
Yes, as their own activity. That’s the only way to see what they cost and back up a conversation about a fourth or fifth round.
What do you do with work outside the quote?
Agree on it with the client first, and log it as a separate billable activity. The project budget stays clean and you can invoice the extra work.
How often should you check the budget?
Weekly is a good habit. For short, busy projects, check even more often so you can adjust before the budget runs out.
Do internal brainstorms count?
If they’re for a client project, log them there. General internal sessions go under your own agency as a client, non-billable.
