Most agency founders track too many numbers, and act on too few.

Dashboards get bloated. Meetings turn into data reviews. But when it’s time to act, the important numbers are hard to find, or weren’t being tracked at all.

We’ve learned (the hard way) that tracking too many metrics is overkill, and it’s about having the right focused metrics to understand what’s happening in business.

Here are the core numbers we track across Barrel Holdings, and why they actually matter.

Revenue Mix: How Stable Are You, Really?

Revenue isn’t just a single number. You have to break it down:

• Recurring vs. project-based

• Existing clients vs. new clients

A spike in revenue from one large project might look good short-term, but it won’t help you plan for the next quarter.

The goal: reduce dependence on net-new deals and build a stable base.

We’ve watched teams scramble after lumpy project quarters because the “record revenue” didn’t translate to predictability. Clarity here helps you plan, not just celebrate.

Gross Margin: Are You Running Efficiently?

Gross margin = revenue minus delivery costs (typically salaries + freelancers).

It’s a reflection of two things:

• Pricing: Did you charge enough for the work?

• Execution: Did your team deliver it efficiently?

If gross margins are consistently low, the answer is likely both.

One of our agencies realized their top-line revenue was growing, but their gross margin was dropping. They had leveled up their design team, but hadn’t raised prices. That erosion wasn’t visible until they looked under the hood.

EBITDA: Are You Running a Healthy Business?

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) accounts for your full cost structure, not just delivery.

It includes:

• Rent

• Software

• Sales + marketing headcount

• Tools and ops overhead

When our agencies went remote, EBITDA jumped simply from cutting office costs. Other times, we saw it drop because of upfront investments in BD hires or platform migrations.

It’s not just about staying lean, it’s about knowing what you’re spending on purpose.

Utilization: Are People Doing the Right Work?

Utilization is the % of time billable team members spend on actual client work.

Track it by role, not just company-wide. A senior strategist’s 60% might be great. A junior designer’s 60% probably isn’t.

We’ve made the mistake of over-indexing on blended averages. It wasn’t until we broke it out by department that we saw certain teams carrying the weight, while others were floating.

Set target utilization goals by discipline, and review them weekly.

Pipeline: What’s Coming Next?

This is the most important lead indicator. If you track nothing else, track this.

We look at:

• Volume and value of leads

• Proposals sent

• Win rate

• Weighted pipeline by month (based on deal stage and delivery timing)

This helps us answer:

• Do we have enough incoming to cover costs?

• Are there red flags (e.g., 3+ weeks of zero proposals)?

• Will new bookings start in time to impact cash flow?

We’ve been in situations where the sales team crushed bookings… but projects didn’t start for 2–3 months. That delay created a revenue dip no one saw coming, until it was too late.

Pipeline scrutiny helps you avoid false security.

Bonus: Metrics We Track Less Frequently (But Still Watch)

Some metrics matter, just not every week. These include:

• Net Revenue Retention

• Client Concentration

• Accounts Receivable Aging

• Employee Turnover

• Project-level Profitability

These are helpful on a quarterly or annual basis, but don’t need to be front-and-center unless there’s a specific issue you’re solving for.

The Takeaway

You don’t need more metrics.

You need the right metrics, and a cadence that drives real conversations.

If you’re not using a number to make a decision, stop tracking it.
If it’s never referenced in meetings, take it off the dashboard.
And if it’s not giving you forward visibility, it’s not helping you run the business.

🎧 Want to hear how we track each of these across our agencies? [Listen to the full podcast episode here.]