See the project margin before the budget is used up
In consulting, utilisation decides the profit. MetronHR keeps billable hours apart from internal ones and shows per project where the budget stands.
- A target-against-actual traffic light per project: green, at risk from 80 per cent, over budget above 100
- Billable hours kept apart from internal effort
- The margin per project as the basis for the next quote
In short
See the project margin before the budget is used up, with a target/actual traffic light and a split between billable and internal time.
The project was profitable, probably
Consulting projects are sold at day rates and delivered in hours. Whether the calculation worked out often only shows once the next quote has gone out.
The margin arrives too late
If the contribution margin is only known after the project ends, it no longer helps that project.
Internal effort is invisible
Quotes, research and coordination are working time but cannot be assigned to a client, and they disappear from the invoice.
Estimates stay estimates
Without solid hours from earlier projects, every quote repeats the same costing mistake.
Budget, actual hours and margin in one view
Set hours and an hourly rate per project. Every entry draws on them, the traffic light shows where it stands, and the profitability report turns the project into a basis for costing.
The budget position per project visible at any time
For every project it is clear how much of the budget has been used and what margin is left.
From the quote to the costing afterwards
Three steps that turn hours worked into a basis for costing.
Step1
Set a budget per project
Enter the project, the number of hours, the hourly rate and the client, and MetronHR works out the total budget.
Step2
Book hours, let the traffic light run
Every entry draws on the budget. Green up to 80 per cent, at risk above that, over budget beyond 100 per cent, visible while you can still step in.
Step3
Report the margin and pass it on
Profitability per project with hours, revenue and margin, as Excel or CSV for the invoice and the next quote.
What consultancies need from time tracking
Budget control, utilisation and solid costing, with no controlling department.
A project budget with a target-against-actual traffic light
Hours and an hourly rate per project, with the usage colour-coded.
Green up to 80 per cent, then at risk, over budget beyond 100 per cent.
Only client time draws on the budget
Client hours draw on the budget; internal effort does not.
You book quotes and coordination without a client, counted as working time.
Profitability per project
Hours, revenue and margin in one table.
Download as Excel or CSV for the invoice and the costing.
Utilisation per consultant
Hours worked against hours planned, broken down by day.
Makes overload visible before it becomes a mountain of overtime.
Hour packages for framework agreements
Allowances per client with a usage display and carry-over.
For retainers and framework agreements alongside project billing.
Booking between meetings
iOS and Android, at the client's site too.
Recordable at a client without a guest login, and transferred automatically.
Client data in Germany
German data centres, encrypted storage, GDPR compliant.
Roles control who sees which projects and clients.
Ready without a rollout
Runs in the browser and as an app, so nothing is needed on the client's devices.
Invite external consultants by email and deactivate them afterwards.
For partners, project leads and the consulting team
Four roles, four reasons, from the margin to the payroll.
Knows which project makes money
The margin is only known once the project is over.
The budget position and profitability per project, while the work is happening.
Steps in before the budget tips
The overrun shows up while the invoice is being written.
A target-against-actual traffic light per project and utilisation per consultant on one page.
Books without friction
Hours get reconstructed from the calendar on Friday.
Pick the client, the project and the task, at the computer or on the phone.
Gets project hours with no rework
Hours from a calendar and spreadsheets that have to be merged first.
One file per month with hours per project, balances and absences.
Client data that survives an audit
Consultancies work with other people's business figures, and are audited by their clients. MetronHR runs in Germany and provides the evidence that gets asked for.
- Servers in Nuremberg and Falkenstein, so client figures do not leave Germany
- Encrypted transfer and storage, demonstrably in line with the GDPR
- A data processing agreement and a record of processing for tenders
- Roles control the access: not every consultant sees every client
Trust Center
Processing agreement and record included
Frequent questions from consulting
Budget, billability and costing, answered briefly.
You set hours and an hourly rate per project. Every entry draws on them, and the position is shown as a traffic light: green, at risk from 80 per cent, over budget beyond 100 per cent. Looking at the overview replaces asking the team.
No, there is no automatic email. MetronHR shows the status as a traffic light in the project overview. Anyone looking in regularly spots the risk early, but no alarm reaches you from outside.
Yes. Entries with a client and a project draw on the budget, and internal time such as writing a quote or team coordination you book without a client. Both count as working time; only the client hours go into the project figures.
The profitability report shows hours, revenue and margin per project. That lets you cost the next quote with real figures rather than a feeling from last time, exportable as Excel or CSV.
Yes, that is what client allowances are for: hour packages per client with a period, a usage display and automatic renewal. Unused hours can carry into the next period.
Project budgets, quotas and advanced analytics are part of the Professional plan at 10 € per user per month. Time tracking with customer and project assignment, absences, overtime and Excel/CSV export are included in the Team plan at 5 €.
Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.
See the project margin while you can still act?
Try MetronHR free for 14 days, no credit card. Team plan from 5 € per user per month.
Questions about budgets and costing? Write to us: an answer within 24 hours, within 8 hours on the Professional plan.