What is a healthy bench percentage for agency profitability?

Most sustainable agencies aim for 75–85% billable team utilization, keeping unbilled bench time below 15–25% of total capacity.

Marketing, Dev & Creative•Recommended Target: 3–6 months

Agency Runway Calculator

Service agencies walk a tightrope between payroll obligations and client payment schedules. When a major account pauses or scope creep stalls a project milestone, knowing your cash runway ensures you never miss payroll.

Industry Benchmark Guidance (3–6 months):Top-performing creative and technical agencies typically hold 3 to 6 months of total payroll and overhead in reserve. Because agency payroll represents 50–70% of revenue, even a single client termination can rapidly turn profitable operations cash-negative.

calculator.inputs.presetsLabelClick to test scenario

calculator.inputs.cashBalanceLiquid reserves

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calculator.inputs.monthlyExpensesGross Burn

Monthly Revenue Growth

Monthly Expense Growth

One-Time Upcoming Expense

Occurs in Month

Additional Funding Cushion

Arrives in Month

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calculator.results.profitableStatus

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You are generating positive net cash flow of $15,000/month. Your cash balance is growing.

calculator.results.projectedDepletionDate:Indefinite

calculator.results.netMonthlyBurn:$15,000/mo

calculator.results.netMonthlyBurn

$15,000

Expenses − Revenue

calculator.results.grossMonthlyBurn

$80,000

Total monthly outlays

calculator.inputs.cashBalance

$160,000

Liquid reserves balance

calculator.results.breakEvenStatus

Monthly sales required to eliminate cash burn entirely: $80,000/month

calculator.results.gapToBreakEven: +$15,000/mo

Projected Cash Remaining

Based on trajectory

After 3 Months$118,501

After 6 Months$88,285

After 12 Months$67,882

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calculator.chart.cashBalance

Zero Cash Threshold

Hover or tap any month marker to inspect exact projected cash balance, revenue, and burn for that period.

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Reduce expenses by 5%Sustainable

Save $4,000/mo (new expenses: $76,000/mo)

Runway:

SustainableSustainable / Infinite

Reduce expenses by 10%Sustainable

Save $8,000/mo (new expenses: $72,000/mo)

Runway:

SustainableSustainable / Infinite

Reduce expenses by 20%Sustainable

Save $16,000/mo (new expenses: $64,000/mo)

Runway:

SustainableSustainable / Infinite

Financial Calculation Methodology & Transparency

How the Runway Calculator Works: Mathematical Model & Assumptions

1. Static Cash Runway Formula

For businesses with steady revenue and predictable overhead, runway is determined by dividing liquid cash reserves by net monthly cash deficit:

Runway (months) = Available Cash ÷ Net Monthly Burn

2. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn

Gross Burn: Total cash disbursed each month (payroll, contractors, hosting, rent, utilities).
Net Burn: Gross monthly expenses minus total monthly cash revenue collections.
Break-Even: When Net Burn $\le$ $0$, cash runway is mathematically sustainable or infinite.

3. Dynamic Growth Projections & Interpolation

When revenue growth or expense inflation rates are enabled, the engine calculates month-by-month compound flows up to 60 months:

Ending Cash(m) = Beginning Cash(m) + Revenue(m) - Expenses(m)

Fractional Month = Beginning Cash(depletion) ÷ Monthly Net Burn

We linearly interpolate the exact day/fraction when cash reaches $0, avoiding arbitrary rounded whole months.

4. Client-Side Privacy Guarantee

Every financial computation executes exclusively inside your local browser runtime. No financial balances, revenue figures, or payroll numbers are sent to any remote server or database.

Primary Cost Drivers

Major Burn Drivers for Agencies & Studios

Full-Time Bench Capacity

Salaried designers, engineers, and strategists between client billable engagements.

Delayed Scope Approvals & Receivables

Unbilled work and Net-60 enterprise accounts receivable that trap cash in unpaid invoices.

Specialized Contractor Sourcing

Freelance surge capacity hired for peak deliverable sprints before client payments clear.

Actionable Levers

How to Extend Agencies & Studios Runway

Replace Milestone Billing with Weekly Sprints

Bill clients on weekly or bi-weekly sprint cycles rather than subjective project sign-off milestones.

Maintain a 20% Flexible Contractor Mix

Use specialized contractors for surge capacity rather than hiring full-time staff, keeping fixed overhead low.

Mandate 30-Day Contract Notice Periods

Ensure client contracts require 30 to 60 days written notice to pause or terminate retainer services.

Worked Calculation: Digital Performance Marketing Agency

Starting Cash$160,000

Monthly Cash Inflow$65,000

Monthly Cash Outflow$80,000

With $160,000 cash, $65,000 in monthly retainer revenue, and $80,000 in monthly agency payroll and tooling, net burn is $15,000/month. The agency has 10.7 months of runway ($160,000 ÷ $15,000) to land new retainer clients or reduce contractor expenses.