Review criteria
- +Budget vs. actual cost per project
- +Hours and blended-rate cost math
- +Margin and over-budget highlighting
- +Works in Google Sheets and Excel
Project Profitability Tracker in Marketing Agency
The Project Profitability Tracker is a copy-ready spreadsheet for marketing agency that tracks projects, budget, hours, cost, margin. It opens unchanged in both Google Sheets and Excel, needs no add-ons or macros, and takes about 15 minutes to set up.
Last updated: August 2026
Excel workbook · opens in Google Sheets · 3 tabs · no sign-up
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What’s inside “Project Profitability Tracker”
Tabs: How to use · Projects · SummaryFormat: Excel (.xlsx) · opens in Google SheetsSetup: About 15 minutesColumns: 10
Columns (grey = calculated for you)
- Project
- Client
- Fee
- Hours logged
- Blended cost per hour
- Other costs
- Total cost
- Margin $
- Margin %
- Budget used
- Open the Projects tab and replace the sample rows with your own — one row per entry. Formulas fill in automatically for new rows.
- Blended cost per hour is what an hour of your team costs (salary + benefits ÷ hours), not your billing rate.
- Update Hours logged weekly from your time tracker. Margin % goes amber under 25% and red when a project loses money.
- Using Google Sheets? Upload the file to Google Drive, then open it with Google Sheets (or File → Import in an open sheet). Formulas, dropdowns and highlights carry over.
The file opens locally on your device — nothing is uploaded, and you own the copy outright.
Project Profitability Tracker
About this template
It is built for people who want results without another subscription: agencies checking which projects make money. The whole template is free to copy — there is no paid tier. Because it is a plain spreadsheet, you own your data outright and can shape every column to how you actually work.
Review evidence
What to verify before choosing Project Profitability Tracker
Use the review criteria below to decide whether this template fits your workflow.
Often worth considering when
- +Agencies checking which projects make money
- +Anyone tracking budget vs. actual by project
Pause before choosing when
- -Automatic timesheet imports
- -Full PSA software
About Marketing Agency
Why people consider this option
- +Track retainers, campaigns, and profitability without paid agency software
- +See which projects actually make money
- +Watch scope and hours against each retainer
What to review before acting
- -No time-tracking automation or resource planning
- -Bigger agencies need dedicated operations software
Trust FAQ
Questions people ask before copying a template
Does the Project Profitability Tracker work in both Google Sheets and Excel?
Yes. It is built with standard functions and no macros, so it opens and works the same in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel — on desktop or your phone.
Is the Project Profitability Tracker really free?
The core template is free to copy and use. There is no paid tier — download the Excel workbook, replace the sample rows with your own, and you are ready to work.
What does the Project Profitability Tracker track?
It tracks projects, budget, hours, cost, margin. The workbook comes with these columns plus the formulas, dropdowns and highlights already set up. Replace the sample rows and the totals update as you go.