The cost of flying blind
If you’re running a small-to-midsize agency, chances are you’ve already figured out how to deliver great work. The bigger challenge? Doing it profitably — again and again — without overloading your team or lowering the quality of your work.
That’s where the right metrics come in. Perhaps you’re already tracking revenue or logging hours. But what about delivery costs by service type? Revenue per contractor? Expansion revenue? You need to track data that shows where you are right now and where the business is headed.
To zoom in on the metrics that matter, we spoke to John Doherty, founder of EditorNinja — a lean content editing agency serving B2B brands. Within two years, John has grown his business to the mid-to-high six figures in revenue with a fractional team of 18 freelancers and two full-time employees.
How? EditorNinja has successfully baked key metrics into every layer of the business, allowing them to, as John says, “go from editing 100,000 words to one million plus words each month with a very small team — because we nailed the operations.”
What follows is a complete breakdown of essential metrics across four core pillars — financial health, operational efficiency, sales and growth, and client retention — with tips on monitoring them in Toggl Track.
“We were charging the same amount for AI editing, whether copy editing, proofreading, or general humanization, versus a piece that needs a writer to fully work with it. That just didn’t make sense, so now, we have two levels of offerings for AI content editing.”
The four pillars of agency metrics
If you’re running a small-to-midsize agency, chances are you’ve already figured out how to deliver great work. The bigger challenge? Doing it profitably — again and again — without overloading your team or lowering the quality of your work.
That’s where the right metrics come in. Perhaps you’re already tracking revenue or logging hours. But what about delivery costs by service type? Revenue per contractor? Expansion revenue? You need to track data that shows where you are right now and where the business is headed.
To zoom in on the metrics that matter, we spoke to John Doherty, founder of EditorNinja — a lean content editing agency serving B2B brands. Within two years, John has grown his business to the mid-to-high six figures in revenue with a fractional team of 18 freelancers and two full-time employees.
How? EditorNinja has successfully baked key metrics into every layer of the business, allowing them to, as John says, “go from editing 100,000 words to one million plus words each month with a very small team — because we nailed the operations.”
What follows is a complete breakdown of essential metrics across four core pillars — financial health, operational efficiency, sales and growth, and client retention — with tips on monitoring them in Toggl.
“We were charging the same amount for AI editing, whether copy editing, proofreading, or general humanization, versus a piece that needs a writer to fully work with it. That just didn’t make sense, so now, we have two levels of offerings for AI content editing.”
To zoom in on the metrics that matter, we spoke to John Doherty, founder of EditorNinja — a lean content editing agency serving B2B brands. Within two years, John has grown his business to the mid-to-high six figures in revenue with a fractional team of 18 freelancers and two full-time employees.
“Somewhere, in the $1-3 million (in revenue range), you start needing full-time people. But I don't see it being on the delivery side. Simply because, with fractional on the talent side, we can slot in the right people, and there's never a point where I'm like, we don't have the right person.”
If you’re running a small-to-midsize agency, chances are you’ve already figured out how to deliver great work. The bigger challenge? Doing it profitably — again and again — without overloading your team or lowering the quality of your work.
Agency gross income (AGI)
This calculation, across the team or by role, examines how much operational revenue is generated per full-time equivalent team member. If your revenue per employee or contractoris low, it might mean you’re doing too much for too little — or your team’s time isn’t being used where it counts. If it’s high and your margins are healthy, it’s a sign you’re operating efficiently.
AGI= Total RevenueminusPass-Through Costs
Toggl Track tip: Set each team member’s expected weekly work hours in Toggl Track to calculate actual FTE. This makes your revenue-per-person metrics much more accurate, especially for fractional teams.
Agency gross income (AGI)
This calculation, across the team or by role, examines how much operational revenue is generated per full-time equivalent team member. If your revenue per employee or contractoris low, it might mean you’re doing too much for too little — or your team’s time isn’t being used where it counts. If it’s high and your margins are healthy, it’s a sign you’re operating efficiently.
AGI= Total RevenueminusPass-Through Costs
Toggl Track tip: Set each team member’s expected weekly work hours in Toggl Track to calculate actual FTE. This makes your revenue-per-person metrics much more accurate, especially for fractional teams.
Agency gross income (AGI)
This calculation, across the team or by role, examines how much operational revenue is generated per full-time equivalent team member. If your revenue per employee or contractoris low, it might mean you’re doing too much for too little — or your team’s time isn’t being used where it counts. If it’s high and your margins are healthy, it’s a sign you’re operating efficiently.
AGI= Total RevenueminusPass-Through Costs
Toggl Track tip: Set each team member’s expected weekly work hours in Toggl Track to calculate actual FTE. This makes your revenue-per-person metrics much more accurate, especially for fractional teams.
The cost of flying blind
Agency gross income (AGI)
This calculation, across the team or by role, examines how much operational revenue is generated per full-time equivalent team member. If your revenue per employee or contractoris low, it might mean you’re doing too much for too little — or your team’s time isn’t being used where it counts. If it’s high and your margins are healthy, it’s a sign you’re operating efficiently.
AGI= Total RevenueminusPass-Through Costs
Toggl Track tip: Set each team member’s expected weekly work hours in Toggl Track to calculate actual FTE. This makes your revenue-per-person metrics much more accurate, especially for fractional teams.
Ready to stop guessing and start scaling with purpose?
Toggl Track is a powerful time tracking platform that provides visibility to support your agency's KPIs. From billable hours to delivery costs, it gives you the tools to connect daily work with profitability.
Speak to sales to see how our platform could work for your agency.
If you’re running a small-to-midsize agency, chances are you’ve already figured out how to deliver great work. The bigger challenge? Doing it profitably — again and again — without overloading your team or lowering the quality of your work.
That’s where the right metrics come in. Perhaps you’re already tracking revenue or logging hours. But what about delivery costs by service type? Revenue per contractor? Expansion revenue? You need to track data that shows where you are right now and where the business is headed.
To zoom in on the metrics that matter, we spoke to John Doherty, founder of EditorNinja — a lean content editing agency serving B2B brands. Within two years, John has grown his business to the mid-to-high six figures in revenue with a fractional team of 18 freelancers and two full-time employees.
How? EditorNinja has successfully baked key metrics into every layer of the business, allowing them to, as John says, “go from editing 100,000 words to one million plus words each month with a very small team — because we nailed the operations.”
What follows is a complete breakdown of essential metrics across four core pillars — financial health, operational efficiency, sales and growth, and client retention — with tips on monitoring them in Toggl Track.
“We were charging the same amount for AI editing, whether copy editing, proofreading, or general humanization, versus a piece that needs a writer to fully work with it. That just didn’t make sense, so now, we have two levels of offerings for AI content editing.”
Build your agency’s profitability tracking system
You don’t need to track every number. But you do need a system that connects day-to-day delivery with bottom-line results. Use this customizable template to build a profitability tracking system that fits your agency’s size, structure, and services.
1. Set your baseline
Before tracking anything, get clear on what’s happening now.
2. Choose your key metrics
Before tracking anything, get clear on what’s happening now.
2. Choose your key metrics
Before tracking anything, get clear on what’s happening now.
3. Create your tracking toolkit
Make it easy to pull these numbers consistently.
4. Make decisions with the data
Build a weekly or monthly rhythm around using the metrics.
Toggl tip: If a metric doesn’t help you make a better decision, stop tracking it. Your system should make your business feel simpler — not more complicated.
The payoff for your efforts? When your metrics reflect real-time agency performance, you stop guessing. You know when to hire or when to raise prices… and when a service is eating margin, and when to double down.
John Doherty explains, “I know exactly how many clients we need to add... and how long they’re going to stay. That projects out what revenue we’re going to do that year, and where we’ll be.”
Ready to stop guessing and start scaling with purpose?
Toggl Track is a powerful time tracking platform that provides visibility to support your agency's KPIs. From billable hours to delivery costs, it gives you the tools to connect daily work with profitability.
Speak to sales to see how our platform could work for your agency.