Cashflow Planning for Agencies
Do you really know which projects are costing your agency money?
Most agencies only discover at quarter-end whether a project was profitable. Our project-level cashflow planning shows you in real time — based on actual bank transactions, not estimated hours.
39%
of service providers cannot manage project margins
S&P Global / Kantata 2024
~50%
of agencies affected by scope creep
SE Ranking Survey 2025
62%
of DACH agencies: client acquisition is #1 problem
iBusiness Survey 2025
How it works
Every bank transaction becomes a project
Instead of estimating hours, we work directly with your bank data — the only source that doesn't lie.
1
Bank connection
Connect your accounts in 5 minutes. All transactions flow in automatically.
2
Assign cost units
Every transaction gets a cost unit with a % split. Salary → 40% Project A, 35% B, 25% Internal.
3
Project view
Cash-in vs. cash-out per project. Real margins as a traffic light system. Instantly visible.
4
Steering intelligence
Which client is profitable? Where's scope creep? Can we hire? All answered.
Real-Time Project Profitability
39% of service providers cannot manage their project margins. The root cause: time tracking data and accounting live in separate worlds. You only find out after invoicing whether the project was a loss.
With project-level cashflow planning, every client payment and every expense flows directly into the project — with real amounts, not estimated hourly rates.
→ Your solution
Cash received minus cash spent = real margin. Per project. In real time. Instantly visible as a traffic light system — not just at quarter-end.
“Know your real project margin before the invoice goes out — not after.”
Detect scope creep before it eats your margin
Nearly 50% of all agencies are affected. The contract says €15,000, but in the end €19,000 in resources were used — because the client wanted “just one more small thing.”
You define the planned budget. As soon as transactions are assigned, finban shows consumption live. At 80% budget spent and 50% delivery → automatic alert.
→ Your solution
Budget vs. actual costs per project in real time. Automatic warning when costs rise faster than project progress.
“See the exact moment your project stops being profitable.”
End the “profitable insolvency”
22,027 insolvencies in Germany (Jan–Nov 2025), +10% year over year. The most common trigger: liquidity gaps, not lack of profitability.
Agencies invoice on milestones, but costs are due monthly. A project can be highly profitable and still burn cash. finban shows per project when costs hit and when payments arrive.
→ Your solution
Cash-gap timeline per project. See: “In April, 4 projects in the cost phase, only 2 with incoming payments — we need €12,000 in bridge financing.”
“See exactly when each project costs money and when it generates revenue.”
Detect client churn 3 months earlier
36% of agency employees say client churn is the biggest margin killer. 59% of DACH agencies cannot rely on follow-up contracts.
Since cost units also represent clients, finban shows cashflow per client over months. Declining revenue becomes visible before the churn conversation happens.
→ Your solution
Client-level cashflow trends + concentration risk gauge. When 40% of your cash comes from one client, you see the red flag immediately.
“See your client risk 3 months before it shows up in your P&L.”
65%
Concentration risk — medium-high
Can we afford to hire?
Agencies grow through people. But every hire is a cash commitment — months before the new employee becomes billable. Most agencies guess.
With forward-looking project cashflow planning, you add a new salary line, allocate it across projects, and see the cash impact instantly.
→ Your solution
What-if scenarios for hiring. Add a new salary line, allocate to projects, see the cash impact immediately.
“Model the cash impact of your next hire — before you sign the contract.”
\u221216,500 €
Cash needed until ramp-up
+8,900 €
Monthly net after
Month 5
Break-even
Practical example
This is what cost unit allocation looks like in practice
A typical 15-person digital agency from Hamburg — real transactions, real allocations.
€4,500
€800
€2,200
+€15,000
€450
€1,200
Why percentage splitting is the killer feature
No other agency tool allows you to split a single bank transaction by percentage across multiple projects. MOCO tracks time per project. DATEV tracks accounts. But a designer salary split 40/35/25 across three projects? In every current tool, that’s invisible.
Comparison
How do other tools solve the profitability problem?
Most tools solve parts of the problem. None connect real bank data with the project level.
| Tool | Approach | Project | Bank Data | % Splits | Scope Alert |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOCO | Time tracking × hourly rates | ✓ (time-based) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| awork | PM + team planning + time | ✓ (time-based) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scoro | PM + Financial Reporting | ✓ (time-based) | ~ limited | ✗ | ~ manual |
| Agicap / Tidely | Cashflow planning with bank | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| DATEV | Accounting + tax | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| \u2192 finban | Bank cashflow × cost units at project level | \u2713 (cash-based) | \u2713 | \u2713 | \u2713 |
Pricing in the AI era: from hours to margins
AI makes delivery faster. But if a project used to take 80 hours and now takes 40, hourly billing halves the revenue. Agencies need to switch to value-based pricing models.
When you can see that similar projects had real cash margins of 55–65%, you can price AI-accelerated projects to maintain margin.
→ Your solution
Historical project margin data as a pricing anchor. “This project type costs us €6,000 and generates €15,000. With AI, costs drop to €4,000 — we bid at €13,000.”
“Price by margin, not by the hour.”
Hourly Rate Model
80h → 40h via AI
\u221250%
Revenue halved with the same output
Margin Model
Costs drop, price stays value-based
+22%
Margin rises from 60% to 73%
With historical project cashflow data, you know what your services are truly worth — regardless of the number of hours.
Positioning
Not another piece of software.
The missing layer.
We don’t replace MOCO, awork, or ClickUp. finban connects directly to the bank — the single source of truth. MOCO tells you the hours. We tell you the euros. Per project.
“Your bank account knows the truth. We organize it by project.”
Who is this for?
Project-level cashflow planning for
Digital agencies (5–50 employees)
10–30 projects in parallel, mixed teams, using MOCO/awork — but the financial view is missing.
\u2192 Profitability blindness + scope creep
IT consultancies & service providers
High personnel costs, project-based. Is consultant X more profitable at Client A than at Client B?
\u2192 Resource allocation + cash timing
Freelancer teams & studios
2–5 people, 3–8 projects. Excel isn’t enough, Agicap too expensive. Need simplicity.
\u2192 Cash gaps between payments
Free Check
How profitable is your agency really?
Answer 4 questions and get your profitability score with industry comparison.
83
Your profitability score (out of 100)
Strong position! Room to optimize by identifying hidden margin losses per project.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Project-level cashflow planning means that every incoming and outgoing payment is allocated to one or more projects — with percentage splits. You see not just total cashflow, but cashflow per project: what the project actually cost, what it generated, and when the money moved. Unlike time tracking, this approach is based on real bank transactions.
Time tracking measures hours and multiplies them by hourly rates — this only works if your team consistently and accurately tracks time. On top of that, time tracking doesn’t capture shared costs like software licenses or freelancer invoices. finban works with real bank data: every transaction is directly assigned to a project. This gives you a complete picture of true costs.
No, deliberately not. Keep using MOCO, awork, or ClickUp for project management and DATEV for accounting. finban sits in between and connects the financial world with the project world — using your bank data as the single source of truth.
Every bank transaction can be split by percentage across any number of cost units. Example: A designer salary (€4,500) is split 40% to Project A, 35% to Project B, and 25% to internal work. The percentages can be adjusted at any time.
You define a planned budget per project. As real costs flow in through transaction assignments, finban shows budget consumption in real time. For example, if 80% of the budget has been spent but only 50% of deliverables are complete, you receive an automatic alert.
Yes, fully. All data is hosted in the EU. Bank connection via certified, PSD2-compliant interfaces. Your financial data never leaves the EU.
Yes. Project data can be exported in a DATEV-compatible format, so your tax advisor can use the project-level financial data directly.
Bank connection: ~5 minutes. Historical transactions are imported automatically. Setting up initial cost units: 15–30 minutes. Most agencies have their first project view with real data within one hour.
Your bank account knows the truth.
See it by project.
30-day free trial. No credit card required. GDPR-compliant, hosted in the EU. Bank connection in 5 minutes.
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