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Use case

Protect project margin while there is still time to act

Projects overrun and the margin loss only shows up after the invoice. Some people are overbooked while others sit idle.

For: Agency and IT services heads, delivery managers and consultancies

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Why it matters

An overrun found at invoicing is margin already lost. Found mid-project, it is still a conversation about scope.

Ask in order

Three questions that answer it

Ask them in this order. Each answer sets up the next question.

  1. What is billable utilization by team for the last 8 weeks?

    Shows which teams are stretched and which have room.

  2. Which projects have actual hours above estimate, and by how much?

    Finds overruns while the project is still running.

  3. What is margin by client for this quarter, after delivery cost?

    Shows which clients are profitable once delivery is counted.

The numbers in these questions are examples. Use the thresholds and time windows that fit your team.

Then follow up

Ask about the chart, not the whole file again

Follow-up questions build on what is already on the canvas, so you don't restate the dataset or the time window.

For the most overrun project, show hours by person and week.

Shows when and where the overrun started.

Data you need

A timesheet export with person, project, client, hours, billable flag and date, plus project estimates.

Decision it drives

Which overrunning project to reset this week, and where to rebalance people.

Check the answer

Check every number before you act on it

Open the query behind any chart to see how a number was worked out and which figures it came from. When a question could mean two things, such as gross or net revenue, DashboardGPT asks you which one you mean.

Open the query behind utilization to see which hours count as billable.

FAQ

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Run these three questions on your own export

The playground runs on demo SaaS, e-commerce and website data, so it shows how answers work rather than these exact questions. To ask them of your own export, create an account and upload it. Every new account starts on a free 15-day Team trial, with no card required.