GUIDE Project profitability · 4 steps
Why does project profitability matter in Teamwork.com?
Busy doesn't always mean profitable. When every hour carries a cost and a billable value, you can see which projects make money while there's still time to act. Here is what you get:
Catch overruns before the project ends Track every project against a budget, so you can adjust scope, staffing or billing while it still makes a difference. | See which projects and clients make money Compare revenue, cost, profit and margin across projects and people in the Profitability report. | Price future work on real data Use actual margins, and AI forecasting, to quote and plan future projects with confidence. |
How do I find out if a project is making money in Teamwork.com?
To track project profitability in Teamwork.com, work through these four steps in order. Each step links to the help articles with the full instructions and screenshots.
1 | How do I set cost and billable rates in Teamwork.com?Profit is only as accurate as your rates. Set a cost rate for each person (what they cost your business per hour) and a billable rate (what you charge). Set rates before time is logged, so every hour has a cost and a value from day one. |
2 | How do I set a budget that matches how the client pays in Teamwork.com?Open the project's Finance section and select the Budgets tab. Choose time and materials, fixed fee or retainer to match the deal you agreed, then enter the amount and dates. Add one-off costs, such as travel or software, as budget expenses so they count against profit. |
3 | How do I track budget and margin while work is happening in Teamwork.com?Check budget usage as the project runs, not after it ends. The gauge in the project header shows current usage, and Finance › Budgets shows a usage graph. To see every budget across clients and projects in one place, use the Budget insights report. |
4 | How do I compare profitability across projects and clients in Teamwork.com?Review revenue, cost, profit and margin across all your projects and people in the Profitability report. Use the Financial overview report to compare planned, estimated and actual revenue side by side, and turn on AI forecasting to project profit for the months ahead. |
What are the key concepts in project profitability in Teamwork.com?
Rates turn time into money Revenue is billable hours multiplied by billable rates. Cost comes from logged hours multiplied by each person's cost rate, plus eligible expenses. Missing rates mean missing revenue or cost. | Profit and margin Profit is revenue minus cost. Margin is profit as a percentage of revenue or budget, depending on the view. Retainer revenue is spread evenly across the budget period. |
What are the best practices for project profitability in Teamwork.com?
Do this
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Frequently asked questions
Who can see project profitability in Teamwork.com?
Owner company site administrators can access the Profitability report. On a single project, access is controlled by budget and profitability project permissions. Cost rates are only visible to site owners and owner company site administrators.
Why is a project showing no revenue or cost?
Check that the people logging time have billable and cost rates, and that time is logged within the report's date range. The Profitability report only shows projects with time logged in the selected dates.
Do rate changes update past profitability?
Only if you apply them retroactively. A rate change applies from the day it is set, unless you choose to apply it to earlier time. See Site-wide user rates.
Can Teamwork.com forecast future profitability?
Yes. AI forecasting adds projected revenue, cost and profit to the Profitability report chart. It needs at least 90 days of profitability data.
Which Teamwork.com plans include profitability features?
It depends on the feature and your plan. See Teamwork.com Plans: Feature Comparison for what is included in each plan.