How early can you tell a project will go over?
Read margin while the project runs, not after it invoices: the project that flagged itself and what the numbers said.
Margin found in arrears
Agencies usually discover margin late, when the invoice and the timesheets meet and someone explains the gap. While the project runs, works it out: it prices each logged hour at the rate in effect that day and nets it against the project's fee.
What the flag looked like
In our example agency, Meridian & Co. (example data), 30 projects are active and one is in trouble: Halcyon's onboarding funnel rebuild has logged 560 hours against the 320 its $60,000 fee covers, and its margin is down to −3%.
When a project's hours are burning faster than its timeline allows, marks it at risk, and the overnight check drafts the note. Nobody has to pull a report: the flag sits on the projects list the team already opens every morning.
Decide while you still can
When a project flags, you have two honest moves while scope and price can still change: cap the remaining work or re-price it with the client. The flag gives you the arithmetic and a date; the decision is yours. Teams that read margin weekly stop being surprised at month end, because the number no longer lives in a spreadsheet someone forgot to open.