Agency Margin Command Center

## Executive verdict Project Alpha remains profitable on the supplied delivery-cost basis, but gross margin fell by 9.6 percentage points and 70 hours are documented as unapproved scope leakage. Recovery should focus on commercializing the changes and controlling the remaining work—not on unsupported staffing cuts. | Metric | Planned | Actual | Variance | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Delivery hours | 400 | 520 | +120 | | Delivery cost | $19,000 | $23,800 | +$4,800 | | Gross margin | $31,000 | $26,200 | -$4,800 | | Gross margin % | 62.0% | 52.4% | -9.6 pts | **Formulas:** planned cost = 300×$45 + 100×$35 + $2,000. Actual cost = 360×$45 + 160×$35 + $2,000. Gross margin = recognized revenue − delivery cost. ### Leakage register - 70 excess hours are evidenced against three client-requested changes. Their exact cost is **Unknown** because the role mix for those hours was not supplied. - The remaining 50 excess hours require classification before attributing cause. ### Priority interventions 1. Map the 70 hours to each change request and prepare an evidence-based change-order decision. 2. Classify the remaining 50 hours as rework, estimating error, internal overhead, or approved delivery. 3. Forecast remaining hours by role before committing more capacity. ### Scenarios A recovery scenario cannot responsibly show dollar savings until remaining effort, billability, and client approval probability are provided. The next model should vary only those named inputs. ### 30-day action plan Within 48 hours, reconcile time entries to change requests. This week, assign commercial owners and decide which changes to price, absorb, or stop. Before the next fixed-fee sale, add approval gates at scope change and budget-consumption thresholds.